All you have to do if you are trying to fill a space with words like this one is engage your fellow human beings now and again. It is surprising what some people will say.
Today I spotted a man sitting down with his wife, lunching on mall hot dogs. (Nothing wrong with hot dogs, millions of the slimy creations will be choked down during the Winter Olympics. You cannot eat raw seal heart and other Canadian delicacies with every meal.) It was not the hot dogs that interested me in the couple. What did interest me was the man's beautiful handknit Cowichan sweater. I complimented the gent on his fine Canadian style.
"Nice sweater buddy!"
He looked up at me proudly and managed to force these words out of his mouth even though it was fucking packed with half chewed hot dog. "Thanks. It's not one of those cheap slave labour knock-offs bloody VANOC is selling!"
6 comments:
So when are you going to get me a deal on one of those sweaters? They're even more expensive down here. I need an ugly stick too. I"m doing OK for maple syrup and beaver pelts.
12,600 yen for that sweater in Japan. You have to sell a lot of Subarus to wear a Cowachin.
Believe it or not I am at work on a new ugly stick. Wore the old one out. I am making it from a stick I found by the river, cleaned of its bark by a beaver. I would stain it with maple syrup but that would make for one sticky ugly stick.
Since we're talking Newfoundland. I just found out they have Mummers in Newfoundland. Different kind of mummers from the Philadelphia mummers I was trying to find out about, but originating in the same Euro tradition. I think I'll have to go to Newfoundland sometime soon. The place sounds weird.
When I swing through BC for my Cowichan sweater we'll have to get together for a ukulele and ugly stick jam session.
Mummering still goes on in Newfoundland but I gather the old tradition is only carried on by a select few.
I can't really say, because, as I have said before, I do not know shit, but I bet if you took a vacation swing through Newfoundland you would soon be having your pension cheques mailed there to your saltbox on the sea.
A few years ago I was in touch with a gay, socialist Episcopalian folklorist from Newfoundland. He knew a few of my remote relatives. I don't know any of them but anyone named Newhook is a relative and the Newhhooks are concentrated in a fairly small area. He was telling me that there's quite a little folk life scene in Newfoundland. People are going to some trouble to keep traditions like mummering alive.
I like the idea of living in Newfoundland until I hear about the winters. As I understand they start at the end of August and end on the fourth of July. My great aunt used to say "The weather is terrible for ten months out of the year but the other two months are much worse." I'm afraid my California candy ass would melt in the first storm.
Also the Canadian government has made it clear that I'm not wanted. I've taken the means test a few times over the years. I'm too old. I don't have enough money and anyone can drive a bus. I used to be a weldor, but any idiot can weld too. When I was younger I was too young. I've never had enough money. I might get a relative to sponsor me, but I rarely talk to any relatives besides myself. It's a nice thought.
The cold has been keeping most of this country sparsely populated for centuries. I only wish it were colder. The Avalon peninsula, particularly the Irish Shore, has become remarkably warmer in recent years. Still a little chilly for most folks, mind. If the South Atlantic current ever gains the upper hand in its battle against its Greenland counterpart there will be more vinyards in Newfoundland than there are in California.
Post a Comment