Something Mythic...

Interesting day today.

At home with the kids this week (last week they had a day camp that allowed me to get a little work done). With a pair of bright and high-energy kids I have certainly been challenged to keep them busy and interested. More often then not, I fear, I've relied upon the computer and that other electronic teat to keep them entertained. Right now, the boy is watching Rocky and Bullwinkle on the TV as I type - I suppose there's worse stuff he could be watching. My daughter has announced she's bored and has hightailed it upstairs to read. Piano practice and multiplication table review is still on the agenda for this afternoon.

Earlier, as an excuse to get out of the air-conditioning on this humid day, we went Letter Boxing (or, more accurately, Atlasquesting). - Here's the website. We have but a single letter box right in town although I suspect letter boxing's cousin - geocaching - has a couple of treasures locally. We sought out and found Fergus' single box as a diversion and a reason to get in w walk for the dog.

Taking care of the kids makes it difficult to get any actual writing done, but during those blessed times when they occupy themselves or, miracle of miracles, actually play with each other without fighting, I have found time to ruminate upon the 3 Day Novel Contest.

The entry form has been sitting on the printer's output tray for a few days now. I've walked by it but haven't been of a mind to fill it out. Yesterday and today I've let a story that's been rattling around in my head for a couple of years take centre stage. I've been considering a beginning that, in my mind at least, works. I have even formed a few scenes in my mind's eye. The thing, however, that made me grab that entry form and fill it out was an almost continuous string of dialogue that was going through my head for the last few days. It's very good dialogue.

So - barring any illness or emergencies between now and Labour Day Weekend, I will be participating in the 3Day Novel Contest this year. I won't disclose too much right now but I'm thinking something Mythic and Psychological set in the wilds of Northern Ontario.

Gotta go - my daughter has found a remote control train that I was sure had "accidentally" found the garbage long ago. I can hear the annoying electronic whistle and it threatens to drive me mad...

There and back again...

Lots of fun and adventure on the family vacation, but there's always something comforting about home.

We got back yesterday in the early evening and things were mostly as we left them. The grass is a little longer, the vegetable garden has exploded with bounty and ... hey, wait a minute! Why is it so easy for me to walk straight through the carport? Didn't there used to be an old, beat-up 12 speed bike in here?

Gone. Evaporated, apparently. The disappeared bike wasn't the new one that I have grown to love - that bike was safely locked in our potting shed. And something told me to throw a chain through the spokes of the wife's and children's bike, so they're all there, but that shitty 12 speed ball-cracker is gone. It isn't so much that I'll miss that bike - I was going to put it at the end of the driveway with a "free" sign on it anyway, but the point is someone (really tall without much respect for his testicles, if he rode it away) came into my carport and stole it.

Man, that pisses me off. I hope whoever took it enjoys it and rides the bike often. That way, maybe, his balls will become so hopelessly crushed (have I mentioned the uncomfortable seat the black bike has?) that he will become insignificant from an evolutionary standpoint and not be able to pass on his thieving genes.

Other than the stolen bike - and really, I don't care that much - the vacation was a lot of fun. There was fishing - brook and rainbow trout and bass, boat rides, hikes through bear-haunted woods (lots of bear sign on this visit - scat - one huge pile crawling with slugs near a pick-clean blueberry patch, torn open trees and smashed apart ant hills). I took the kids on their first atv rides.

In Sault Ste Marie we toured the locks along St Mary's River, explored the museum ship Norgoma and patronized the world's most unfriendly Used Book Store.

We attended a Pow-wow on the local Indian Reserve (and yes, I checked, the Thessalon Native North Americans prefer the term Indian) and what a blast that was. With the Thessalon Pow-wow there's a really strong element of respect for veterans and soldiers (something I believe to be a common thread running through all pow-wows). One of the dancers, a veteran of the Korean War, had a poppy as an integral part of his traditional regalia. It was wonderful for the kids. They were invited to join in many of the dances. The dances ranged from a very dignified and sombre entry dance with 49 drum beats of remembrance for 49 Indian (Native North America) prisoners of war who were executed by Nazis during World War II to the hilariously silly Potato dance where partners dance with a potato held between their foreheads. And that was the flow - sombre to silly and back and forth.

I took my nephew and the French exchange student staying with them golfing. He's here as part of an immersion program to learn conversational English. When he flubbed a short I heard him mutter "Merde.." "No, no, no." I told him. "You're here to learn English. When you fuck up a golf shot here you must say 'Shit'"

My sister-in-law was neither impressed nor surprised.

Yesterday - after a long drive we stopped of a couple of hours at a new visitor's centre at French River. Wonderful place that educates about the fur-route that opened up that part of North America to Europeans. We went on a fairly rugged hike with kids and dog in tow and were rewarded with this sight at the end of the trail (photo courtesy of my son):

Northward

Tomorrow the Beynon family heads north. Several times a year we make the trip to the north shore of Lake Huron to visit with the in-law side of my family. Sometimes we camp - sometimes not. Given the colder and wetter than usual conditions so far this year any camping will be done in a trailer already set up at a campground.

The weather forecast is ambivalent but I look forward to daily swims in Lake Huron (cold, yet refreshing), a little golf and a lot of fishing. I discovered a few years ago that Northern Ontario fishermen are a little snobbish when it comes to their fishing. Pike, muskie, pickerel (walleye) and trout appear to be the fish of choice. I was surprised to discover that bass are largely overlooked as a game fish.

My brother-in-law and I went out in his little tin boat - that's the boat up there at the top of the page - up the river that runs right by his front lawn. Over the course of a leisurely two hours we caught dozens of bass and even kept a few to eat. One of the reasons why bass might be over looked as a catch and eat fish might be the parasitic worms they get. The ones we ate after that initial run up the river did indeed have worms, but not many. Some folks painstakingly pull the worms, writhing, from the meat with tweezers. I'm not that patient. The worms cook up just fine in the frying pan. Can't even taste 'em.

Anyway - with the cooler weather this year the parasites should be at a minimum and we're all looking forward to a couple of bass and egg breakfasts.

We are bringing the lovely Willow on the trip and, to make the trip more comfortable, we've decided to rent a larger vehicle for the journey. We had reserved a Ford Flex (a really ugly car from the outside, but surprisingly spacious inside) but, I was informed yesterday, may end up with some sort of Lincoln SUV. As long as it is more spacious than the Impala we should have a decent trip.

A relaxing trip with the whole family - just what the doctor ordered. I may even get some writing done while lounging on the beach.