What a month!
My idea of retirement! Nothing to do and having all day to do it in. A ton of swimming and boating every day, unless the weather does not cooperate, foisting ourselves on friends "Hey is this where you come for free beer?" creating the perfect excuse to reciprocate.
We had my aunt Monique come with a friend from Ottawa to visit, and we entertained like crazy all month long. Janice has made so many dinners, she could open a restaurant. We have befriended new people and made some great friends. The river seems to encourage islanders to do that.
Meanwhile we attended a big 'do' for a friend who was recognized and honored for decades of significant community service in general and her involvement with our local Thousand Islands History Museum in particular. It was a great opportunity to get dressed up. It was a fete and fundraiser attended by over a hundred people at a local event center called the Rockport Barn.
And a barn it was
Remember, we are in a very rural area so there are no Waldorf Astoria's here.
Moving on, this was the month where I got serious about contributing articles for the Thousand Islands Life magazine. Having no more big projects to do, I found myself wanting more intellectual stimulation. I bamboozled my way into doing a series of articles on "Our island neighbors and interesting local people". Once the editor gave me the green light, I shot ahead. Knowing that we are gone for 8 months, I wrote a bunch that will stay on the back burner until the editor decides if she needs or wants them.
When you look around, it is surprising what you can find. Plumbers and accountants may seem rather tame subjects for an article, until you might find that their hobby was to build the largest privately owned telescope in North America. Woah! Now we might have something to write about. Or some fellow who owns a hotel on a small island and has a recording studio with a record label. I am finding that meeting these unusual people is simply fascinating.
Nestled in our island community, we have some pretty incredible people. We have an astronaut. We have a world class photographer (I just interviewed). We have a man who started a firm to destroy forever chemicals called 'polyfluoroalkyl substances'. How's that for a mouthful? Funny, I don't remember hearing about that when I studied police science. I had to read up for days to educate myself just enough not to sound like a clueless moron when I interviewed this molecular engineer. Ya see? Intellectual stimulation!
Anyhow, this month saw two more articles that I wrote published. The first was on a Canadian Parks warden (The Canadian version of Smoky the Bear) who spent his 37 year career patrolling our part of the river. Some of his experiences were really cool. If interested, you can read it click HERE.
The second was on Janice and I being "Part Time River Rats". In these parts, river rats are the local term for islanders. The story is click HERE.
I'd love to hang around but as they say, 'It's five o'clock somewhere"
