Growing up and Growing older on Random Island
Waking up and looking out over the waters of Smith’s Sound, you can really believe you can hear the world breathing. Its so still, the blue sky and blue water, serenity. Then you hear the unmistakable sound that gave an engine its nick name, put put put goes an old Atlantic Make and Break engine. I know […]
No way siree bob! Back when we were kids, we didn’t get no fancy schmancy kool-aid! We had freshie and we liked it! I still remember the little packages stacked in their boxes on the shelf at the CO-OP in Clarenville. I’m sure the flavours had names too, but no one called freshie by its flavour name. You had […]
Anyone that knows me reasonably well, knows that my favorite snack has to be chips. Yes, I’m an unabashed chip-a-holic. Growing up back home we had more brands than now, there were Lays yes, and Humpty Dumpty, but also Scotties (click the link for an image of those), and of course the big one of […]
One of the staple things we had growing up was fresh, frozen and salted cod. Here in Nova Scotia haddock reigns supreme, but nothing to me beats the taste of a fresh out of the water cod. Generally the casual fisher back home used a hand line with a traditional or Norwegian jigger. We’d lower the line […]
I remember when Random Island first got pavement. It only came down as far as the end of Elliott’s Cove if I remember correctly. We used to call it Election Pavement, because it was slapped down really quickly just before or just after an election call in 1972, with no road upgrading whatsoever. Still though […]
I grew up, well as much growing up as I did anyway, back in the 70’s and 80’s. We had a pet rabbit back then, named Flip Flop, because of his habit of flip flopping which ear he had up and which he laid flat. As he was terrified of being out loose, my dad […]
Newfoundland has a great tradition of entertainment, from our own magazines such as the Downhomer and Decks Awash to wonderful TV shows like Tales from Pigeon Inlet, Codco, Wonderful Grand Band, and Up at Ours. I can remember many a Monday evening busting a good laughing at Dickie on WGB and their take on things. […]
Back in the 60s and 70s, Red Rose tea distributed these little cards in different sets (dinosaurs, butterflies, birds, animals, I forget them all). At the decrepit old age of 4-6, I wasn’t much of a tea drinker, but tea was and is a hugely popular drink back home, and Aunt Ethel Cooper, god […]
One of the infuriating things about my buddy Eric was that he ALWAYS beat me trouting. We have trouted in some pretty out of the way places back home, scrabbling over deadfalls, walking through the thick woods where there was no path, one day, maybe more, taking off our or at least my shirt(s) and […]
Random Island had about 2000 people when I was growing up, and of course a major metropolis like this needs somewhere to shop. So lets see, how many stores were there? I’ll probably miss a few but and misspell more, and only trying to list those on the go in the mid 70’s… Boyd Smith’s […]
All The World’s a Stage
The Three Dons
Nickels on the train track
If you follow the tech scene at all, and likely even if not, you’ve probably heard a lot of buzz about Mastodon lately. I’m actually perhaps a little late to the scene, but I joined the bandwagon this past weekend, and thought I’d share my thoughts and tips. Sorry for any incoherence. And I’ll update […]
Was watching (or trying at least) to watch some sports last night. Harkening back to my love of curling, there’s a tournament in Toronto, and I was expecting coverage. Apparently they aren’t deeming to until Thursday, so be it. But for the love of god, between them TSN and SportsNet have 10 different feeds. Last […]
I can’t say I watch wrestling much anymore, but when I was younger I remember going to some bar or another to watch almost all the major events. I have a memory of this one motel bar out by what used to be the beginning of the divided highway, which was nearly into Kenmount road […]
The NHL announced today it won’t be participating in the next olympics. I get some of the reasons, but I really think it’s short sighted. Yeah it’s in the middle of the season, yeah some of the players could get injured. But they could get injured walking to the rink too. To me the the olympics […]
I’m currently watching the men’s world curling championships. I know a lot of people laugh at the game and can’t seem to follow it, but to me it’s probably my favorite thing to watch. It sounds simple, get your rock as close to the center as you can, and prevent the other team from doing […]