The Bommy Knocker (pt 2 of the Israli Who Would Not Lie)

I was lying in bed, unable to sleep, hearing creaks and the noise of the wind blowing. I kept telling myself that all that mattered was making sure that Pam escaped, no matter what happened to me. I was also wondering if he had already dispensed with Susan and Irvin and was making his way to our room. I put suitcases in front of the doors and was thinking that I might be strong enough to yank a part of the sink loose and use it for a weapon. It turned out that Pam was awake as well and it was then she suggested that I get the Bommy Knocker.
The Bommy Knocker was nothing more than a decent-sized rock, but it’s name does demand some sort of explanation: Pam is a kindergarten teacher and there is a children’s book that has a story about a giant that chases little children around with a weapon called a Bommy Knocker. Pam has had a small passion for collecting rocks from everywhere we travel and putting them in our rock garden at home. The trip had been great for rock collecting and she had gathered almost fifty pounds of rocks it seemed. One was large and fit into a fist of a hand. She dubbed it the Bommy Knocker and said that it would make an excellent weapon. The only problem now was that it was in the car and that was two flights of stairs away, and who knew where the caretaker was right now. I got up against my will and went as quietly as I could down the stairs in the dark, foggy night. I didn’t see any looming shadows and got into the back of the car and fumbled under the seat for the rock Pam wanted. There were so many and half of my attention was diverted to listening for the sound of footsteps and a voice saying “I won’t lie to you….”
There…I found the largest rock, backed up and closed the door as quietly as I could. I crept up the stairs, a few creaking noises, but nothing more and got back into the room unscathed. Pam was sitting up, staring at my hand with the rock. “That is NOT the Bommy Knocker!” she said, “Go back and get the right one.”

Things Get Very Interesting

In some truly Zen fashion, I'm am being taught another lesson. Or, the same one for the 100th time. Just as I feel that some things at work are just too much to take, other things happen in my life that derail the energy I wanted to put into anger and resentment.
One, out of the blue, I'm asked by a friend to fill in for his keyboard player for a gig at Northland Church, doing a kind of gig, I've never done ever. Playing music I've barely listened to. I'm practicing my butt off, listening to these songs around the clock and am determined to do my best. The band is happy and even have remarked that I'm doing more with the music than they normally expect. So what's the big deal? Northland is a megachurch with a band that is top notch. The first time I witnessed them, I remarked that I definitely belonged in the audience and not on stage with guys like that. Yet here I will be tonight, up on that stage...wasn't even on my bucket list!
Yes, bucket list, because while all of this is going on, my doctor is having me tested, telling me "don't worry" while I hear stuff to worry about and my brain starts playing, "What would you do if you only had 6 months to live?" Would I drop out and surf Hawaii until I can't get out of bed, or would I work until they carried me away in a stretcher?
I sure hope I pick the surf in Hawaii option....

I Still Have a Pulse

Here I am, almost a week later, still fired up. The only thing that would disappoint me now would be if I sat back and decided it's not worth the effort. I've heard friends say that you need to choose your battles, and what they need to know is that this is the one I've chosen. This is not some keen observation, merely the old "Are you a man or a mouse?"
The really strange thing is that I cannot see the future. Perhaps that is good because right now I have to believe that I can make a permanent change....and that is a tough belief to hold.

This Will Be Interesting

This is a bookmark..today should be the beginning of a pretty fundamental change for me. I've been on the bench since 2003 and now somebody with a short memory has called me lazy. today, he will be witnessing my A game.
Perhaps he will go down in my history books as yet one more negative coach, the ones that instead of shouting encouragement, shout "pussy!"
We'll see.....

Finding a high spot

A high point of our summer road trip was the Fundy National Park in New Brunswick. Lots of people with campers,bikes and hiking gear. We were not doing any of that, but I'd love to come back again and really dive into this park instead of driving through it. The people are friendly and in fact, the biggest difference between there and the states is the friendliness of the people. There seems to be a lot of old guys with big camper trailers. One other surprise, the old guys must love old American muscle cars, they are everywhere and get lots of attention. Has Canada been settled by retired autoworkers?

Getting Directions

Bah...I've got a cold, no voice, but I can enjoy this trip regardless. I love the people of this region, everyone has been very nice and welcoming. I think that I'm so far away that none of these folks will have met a Florida person before, when I find out last night the lady working the counter at our hotel is from Clermont! How do you end up in Sussex, New Brunswick from Clermont?
One of the things that really has me smiling is getting directions. Everyone is helpful, but the directions sound like something from a joke. I'm in a relatively rural place and nobody ever knows street names. It goes something like this: go to the bridge and make a 'shop' left, a 'shop' left mind you, and then follow that road for a ways and look for a little pull off on the left. Or: Take hwy 1 to the flashing light, go behind the Chevy dealership and make a 'shop' right at the railroad tracks....I'm usually laughing before they finish the directions because my brain is unable to hold all of the details. We finally found our hotel last night after asking directions twice...the dang gps is useless and my phone has no data, so we are really doing this trip old school with paper maps and asking locals for help. It did help us find the secret 'Jasper Beach', which was a find that many Maine people probably never get to see!

Damn the allergies, full speed ahead!

Well, it's feeling more like a cold, but Pam got it almost exactly when I did. I overdid it biking one morning and feel like this is the payment for it. It's not keeping me from enjoying this trip though. Everyone is nice, the traffic is easy and the scenery is constantly changing. I still can't get over how, like the northwest, I'm finding really cool people in very rural places. I'm used to thinking rural equals redneck hicks, but that is not the case here. I can only believe that the people that are here are here by choice, escaping the big cities, not stuck in small town poverty. This moment, I'm in a little 12 room hotel on the side of the road, with giant windows overlooking the water. 50 steps away is a really good old diner, where I had the best ever "Haddock burger" last night. Besides the cold/allergies, the only problem on this trip is too much good food. While standing in the diner last night I heard a reference to bikers coming from all around to get their strawberry pie, so after ordering a piece of that, I found that there is a really cool trail, right next to the hotel...I'm leaving to go explore that now....