Gone skiing

 We were coming out of tap dancing class.  It was sometime in the spring of 1977.

“Time for a coffee” I asked my friend Mimi.

‘Can’t”replied Mimi. “I promised to address some coffee party invitations in the Margaret Scrivener committee room.   I have to get going.  Come with me”! 

“Oh I have terrible handwriting “ thinking to myself, that addressing anything to be seen in public was probably not a good idea.

“Oh no worries” Mimi answered.  “The canvass will drop them by hand.”

It was all new vernacular to me:  committee room, coffee parties, canvas???

The only works I had understood in the whole discussion were  “Margaret Scrivener.”

I actually knew Margaret.  She was an old time friend from school days of my  father in law and our current Member of Provincial Parliament. (MPP)

But i had never been a member of a political party, nor ever worked on a campaign.  The thought had never crossed my mind.

“Ok” came my reply.  “Sounds interesting

‘Ahha” laughed Mimi.  “There is nothing very interesting about coffee party invitations.’

We arrived in a short time at the Margaret Scrivener Committee Room.  It appeared to be occupying an empty office space.  The windows were full Margaret Scrivener signs.

Mimi breezed in .. Mimi always entered a room breezing.  I trotted behind. 

There were a few desks at the front, all occupied by women talking on the phone. 

With a wave to them, Mimi went straight to the back of the room, and stopped at the long tables and chais where about a dozen women were busily writing away .

“Sit here” said mu friend.    I sat.

Instantly a woman appeared putting in front of us long list of names, which I was told was a voters lists, and a stack of cards.. the very coffee party invitations. 

“Mimi, we have to get polls 35 and 36 done quickly . We have a canvas going in there tonight” the taskmaster shared this news with Mimi.

The mystery deepened from my perspective. 

I took a quick peak at the other side of the card.

“Please join us to meet your candidate Margaret Scrivener at 99 Jones Street on Thursday at 10am.” 

“Ah I see” I told myself.  :The people are these streets are going to meet Margaret” 

I start very carefully filling in those coffee party invitations, trying to make my efforts as legible as I possible could.’

“Ring ring”. There was a phone ringing and ringing .  I looked around and saw a phone on a table behind me  It was one of those old fashioned phones, not seen much now in the cell phone era.  It had about five lines coming into one receiver.  All those lights were flashing. 

I looked over at Mimi.  She was not paying any attention to the phone.  None of the other scribbling women were paying the slightest attention to the ringing.  I could see the women at the front  of the room, the ones with their own desks.  There were all busy talking on their phones.

In one of those life changing moments, I reached over, picked up the receiver and pushed one of the flashing lights and said. “Margaret Scrivener campaign” figuring this was probably a safe response to answering  the phone in the Margaret Scrivener campaign. 

“I was just wondering where I should go to vote” came the woman’s voice on the other end.

I thought very quickly .  I decided the best answer was probably the honest one.

“I have absolutely no idea.  But if you give me your name and number I will call your right back” came my reply. 

Now what?  I decided that the place to solve this problem was probably up there at the front of the room where the desks were.  I make my way up and stop at the front desk.

Phone in one ear, hand busily writing something on a pad, in the mode of what I would come to recognize as the key to good committee room efficiency, multi tasking,  the woman looks up with a :what’s up “ to me. 

“Ah a women who called in wants to know where she should vote”. I whispered.

“Where does she live” came the somewhat curt response. 

“Oh dear that makes sense.  I will call her right back”  I called over my shoulder as I made my way back to the phone.

Call her back I did and approach the front desk once again.  “Aw , I have her address”

“Well look it up in the poll key’ the important women at the desk did not even look this time up as she answered me.. 

I top toed away  from her desk  I approached a friendly looking face wandering by.

“Where would I find something called a poll key”? 

“Oh right over here” she said guiding me to table in the corner.

“Oh now this IS very interesting “ I was completely captivated flicking through the big book marked Poll Key…. Every street was listed alphabetically with a poll number beside it. 

There is was.  My caller lived in poll number 78

And right beside the poll key was a book marked. “List of poll locations”

Another find.   The location of poll 78 for Election Day., Rosedale United Church. 

I thought I had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

With great pride of accomplishment I call the woman back with the information.

“Oh thank you very much” came the pleasant voice,  and then,  “Oh, and I would like a lawn sign.”

“:Oh no problem” I said cheerily.  “We will get right on that”

I was lying. I knew absolutely nothing about lawn signs>

Once again, I approached the front of the room. “Aw, I have another question”. I said in a somewhat trembling voice to this important woman at the desk. “ Who do I tell about this sign business?  This woman wants a sign and I told her I would get right on it.  I have her name, phone number address”, and  then I added with a flourish “her poll number”

The important looking woman from the front of the room, stood up from her desk, held out her hand and said as I shook hands”I am Lorraine Armstrong. Who are you “?

“Katie Hermant” I said.”Friend of Mimis Came in with her to do coffee party invitations.”

Lorraine walked me over to the next desk and showed me a form marked’Sign request”

I started filling out the form.  Lorraine said to me”How much time do you have”

“Oh a bit I guess. Why?” 

“That’s good” she said as she pulled out the chair at the desk with a phone,,, at the front next to hers and said to me those fateful words  “Come and sit here”

I thought I had better mention something.”I haven’t finished my coffee party invitations”

“Never mind that “ said Lorraine.  “What we really need around here is people who can answer the phones”!

She sat me down at the desk with its poll key and poll location and sign requests form, and volunteer forms and scrutineers forms and lists of who was who in the campaign.. And a phone with many lines.

It was around 3 pm

I was still there at 6pm where a man came in blazing.. rumpled grey suit, hair and tie assure barking instructions to various desks as he went through the room.

“That’s Warren Armstrong”Whispered the woman beside me.  “Lorraine runs the office,  Warren runs the campaign.”

What I would not I know that day but would reflect years later, how lucky I was to have had leading my first campaign, the genius that was Warren Armstrong   . There was no one better at teaching how all the piece fit together in an election campaign, and to make sure we all had the best time doing it. 

By the time I left that committee room on my first day at around 9 pm I had the phone answering, form fill out, catching people going by reminding them to sign the volunteer book, and to always ask “what are you doing Election Day” ..all that multi tasking….down pat. 

I was still at the very desk on that very phone taking in the results on Election Day.

We won that election. 

There followed years of hosting my own coffee parties , and election workers parties,  and nominations and leadership campaigns and conventions and riding executives and riding presidents and fundraising. 

Some elections we won, and some we lost.  

But through it all I felt right at home. The camaraderie and Adrenalin and the tears and the cheers.. there was noting before or since I had ever done that was quite like it.  I was never good at sports.. I never got picked for teams,  But the playing on a team in a political campaign  I was good at that.   \

I smile now when I think of it    I went in one afternoon to address some coffee party invitations and never left. 

And I often wonder where my life’s journey would have taken me if I had not reached over and answered that phone. 

“

 September 7 2021. Tuesday

It was bound to happen.  Vaccine passports.  They are coming to us sometime soon. 

We will have to show we have been vaccinated to enter various places, and activities.

Some of the Canadian provinces have their passports already.

It will be a typical Canadian jumble sale at the moment.

Canada will end up with around 12 or 13 passports if we include the territories.

We will have that jumble till Canada gets around to a national passport by New Year…. Maybe

Just to be clear here.  The Musical Director and I are in complete agreement that the time has come for such a passport.  I have no problem with the passport.

My problem is going to be with the cell phone.

Being the demographics we are, ie OLD, we still watch news on the television via our cable subscription. And that news has been full of newscasters showing us how their provincial vaccine passports work on their cell phones. 

“Oh look” I said to the Musical Director.  “We are going to have to get one of those blog things on our phones”

“How do we do that”? I asked 

“I do not know” came the unhelpful reply.

“I think those things are called QPS” I said.

  “NO wait! “I tell myself, laughing right out lour.

“QP’s are something quite different, and QP does not refer to a quarter pounder at McDonalds.”

I wonder to myself,”Now that we can buy legal weed on every corner in Toronto, if such purchases require the same vernacular.?  Do people still buy their weed by the ‘ QP’?”

I do not know, but I am pretty sure those blobs are not called QPS

Into Google I type

“What are those blobs in the middle of squares called”?

“Q R”s”, says Google. 

“That’s it” I shout out to the Musical Director

“They are called Q R’S   For Quick Response. “

I do use my cell phone quite a bit really .  It is where I turn when I wake up in the night.  It is then I catchup on my reading; The  Washington Post  and The Guardian, both Uk and Australian versions, and lots of columnists on twitter.

I listen to podcasts on my phone (Current favourite is the Curse of Politics every week day morning)and I listened to audiobooks on my phone as I march around the living room for those ten thousand steps 

Oh yes, my cell phone gets a lot of use.  Just not for phoning.  I never have the ringer on.  I will respond to texts and messenger sometimes, but do not bother calling to speak to me.

We still have a land line for that. 

My problem comes when I read the phrase “ download to your phone”

You know that little feeling you get, the kind that makes your hands a bit wet? The feeling you get when that little tickle starts to run down under your collar?

“Download” does it every time.  I already have enough apps on my cell phone screen,  It is already a complete mass of confusion.  Into this mess  we will now have to start adding blobs?

Still there may be something in the wind.  I heard on the news that in Quebec and Manitoba where those vaccine passports are already in use, stores have run out of plastic covers and print shops are out of laminate for the vaccination cards. 

Those good Double Vaccinated citizens are showing their vaccination certificates in something they have printed off, Something they can carry .. in their wallet or their purse. 

This thought gave me great comfort

 In this great land of ours, this Canada, there are thousands out there just like me.  

They are not one bit adverse to the vaccine, or the passport to prove their vaccination. 

It’s just the phone and that blob .

Amazon.ca has plastic vaccine certificate covers.  My order is on the way. 

New system and thanks for reading along. 

If you like to send a message along, please do it here on the blog and not on Facebook.

August 27, 2021 Friday.

Just some this and that to wrap up this trip.

Except for the first part of the trip when we left in freezing rain, we had wonderful weather... we followed spring the whole way.. and when we got to St. Simon's Island on the border of Georgia and Florida we were is full bloom.
As as we drove North the trees were just coming out..and this weekend  in Toronto the blossoms are now fully.  So three weeks in April was a good time to go driving south.
We used out Garmin (GPS) system a great deal , but I always travel with a map on my lap.  That way when we had time I could take us off the interstates and a slower and more interesting drive to see the sites.  However, if there were to be a next time, I would make sure I have lots of big scale maps for each state.
And the interstates and toll roads were all in good nick.  Peter did all the driving, and I the navigating and it worked.  It is no wonder so many Americans never leave their country.  The interstate system is simply amazing, clean, lots of places to stop and very clear directions, with lots of warning, when off and on and service etc. were coming.  And so much to see along the way.

I spent a long time planning the trip.. mapquest was a great tool, and the idea was not to drive more than 4-5 hours a day.  This meant lots of time for stops along the way, and an arrival at a new place, and settled in daylight, in fact before rush hour.

The only day we had a longer run, was to Asheville, but we had lots of daylight to look around and a whole morning for exploring before we left.
As with us, we took tours everywhere, but NOT large groups.. and we do not feel we have to hit every museum and catherdral  We are much more likely to walk and stop and stare, or sit at a busy cafe to asorb the place .  There is no test of facts at the end of the day!  So just enjoy whatever strikes your fancy.  We learned many years ago when traveling to a new face we will never see everything so relax and enjoy.
If you like a place: go back to revisit ...eg  we loved a restaurant the first night in Charleston SC so we went back again . Same with Savannah.. loved the market square and the river walk so we went back a few times.  May not suit everyone, but suits us.

We continue to be asked the diffence between Charleston NC and Savannah... Restaurants are better in Charleston (for foodies) and Savannah is probably more of a party town Charleston is older and have been at the preservation longer, but Savannah is doing a great job of catching up in this regard.

The Stuart McLean cds were a really treasure on the longer drives.  Hint to self.. more of the same, and maybe some audio books.  The radio drifted in and out with static alot, NPR especially seemed to be on a continual fund raising drive everywhere, I can only take so much of Rush Limburgh(!) and the rest of the stations are religious.. which I wouldn't have minded if they played more good old fashioned gospel music!   Our car came out the year before you could plug your own ipod in.. Anyhow we will get  that side organized before we do another long trip.  And thanks to the secret santas for the Stuart McLean.

We did find it best NOT to get into political discussions.   The Democrats think all Republicans are devils, and DEFINITELY do not even think of mentioning Obama might have had some good ideas, to the Republicans.  Even when staying with family and friends we stayed right out of this one.  Talk about polarized.. very worrying actually.

The other thing we noticed and we could not figure it out... there were very few places we stopped where the crowds were mixed.  We stopped at a Huddle Hut for lunch on our way south, and we were the only white people in the place(this was just off the interestate) and other times we would be with all whites..eg.. the cute little place we went for lunch in Canton.   must be some sort of a code that we do not know.. . The two places we visitied where the crowds mixed and socialized in bars and restaurants were Savannah and Cleveland..   This is in no way anything more than a passing observation on my part.  Just something I noticed.

Oh. and in Charleston WVA at the fun sports bar, two of the guys at the bar were phoning home ... in Spanish.. then would talk to you in English.  Mexicans are now quite far north!!

It was a great trip..    I keep a blog when I travel on big trips, for myself, really.. but nice to know there are others that check in from time to time.
As Bugs would say.. that's all folks.

We left for Niagara on the Lake around 11 and as we had some time, when we got into New York we got off the interstate and headed towards the Lake for lunch.  This trip pretty much runs along Lake Erie, so we thought we should at least have a look at it.  I directed us onto a little beach road and we drove along, looking at still boarded up summer cottages, some pretty run town little towns till we came to Dunkirk, NY.  It is defintiely a summer cottage place,.  And the day was lovely , there was much activity with boats getting put in for the weekend.  There was not much open for lunch but we did find a Greek restaurant which stays open all year.  When asked by the waitress where we were headed we reported Niagara on the Lake... she said ah the casino.... Guess she was not a theatre goer..
And a couple of hours later found us through the Nexus pass bridge in Niagara falls, and settled into a lovely bed and breakfast on Lake Ontario.  Shaw Theatre Festival, whose home is in NOTL, is just starting for the summer season, and the shows are in preview.  There was a play by Somerset Maughm called Our Betters, playing that night, but it started at 8 pm and has two intermissions.  I did not think we would stay awake for that,(!) we opted for our favourite spot.. The Angel Inn, for some supper and an early  night.
The are some of you reading this that have never been to Niagara on the Lake.  Suffice to say it could not be more different from Niagara Falls(both the US and Canadian Cities)  The first settlement here was in 1781  (the first in Savannah was 1751) and it still retains much of its colonial charm.  It is however, much better to visit in the spring or late fall when the town is not quite so over run with tourists.
We were amazed to discover at breakfast the next morning that our b and b  The Old Stone House has 6 bedrooms in use.. we were twelve for breakfast.. and we had not heard a thing.  It is the quietest band b we have even been to.  It is a wonderful town for walking and we did a good long walk in the early morning before we tackled the most amazing breakfast.

Then it was off to see our favourite musical Guys and Dolls.. A very good production indeed with a superb Adelaide(always my favourite all time part) and great cast all round. As many of you know we have seen by our count this show in various countries at least a dozen times.  This show holds up very well and be hopefully a big summer hit for the Shaw Festival.
And by 4 pm we were home .  7880 k
One last post to come.  

The weather stays lovely and clear.. not too hot and no rain.   We headed on our way to Cleveland.. a pretty clear run four hours from Charleston WVA.  About two hours out, Peter noticed that we were going to pass right through Canton.. and the ProFootball Hall of Fame.  Needless to say, a stop was quickly arranged.  It is a very well run place.. not too big, but with lots of memorabelia from and about your favourite playes.   And there were some very nice men who acted as volunteer guides.  Can you imagine a better job for one's retired husband?  We took a slight wrong turn and ended up in downtown Canton... pretty sad and empty so I am sure there are happy to have the museum to bring people there.
We did have lunch at a very pretty little local place and it was in a nice neighbourhood.  The houses and the gardens looked just like a street in north Toronto. so all is not lost in Canton Ohio.

When we planned the trip we decided to stay right in downtown Cleveland, to be near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  And so it was we drove up to the very lovely Renaissance Inn.  This was a much more upmarket Marriot than we have been used to,  a really lovely old hotel that has been lovingly restored.  Downtown Cleveland has been restored, updated and looks very good indeed.  We walked to the museum(open evenings on Thursday).  It shares a huge waterfront site with the football stadium and a knock out looking Museum of science.  Wonderful use of waterfront space.... They have built quite inventive ways of getting over the throughways.. including one through a multistory parking lot.  The museum is a great.. loads of fun and as typical of the music it showcases verges on sensory overload.   It was such a fun place to visit and I would love to go back.

We also dropped in to have a look at their new downtown casino.  It is run by Caesars., and it quite large... huge numbers of  slots of course.  It has been placed in an old underused office building .. and there had been plenty of those.    But here is the thing... there is no one really on the streets. No one lives downtown... we did not see one dwelling or condo between the hotel and the casino and museum.

We had a lovely time in the old fashioned bar/restaurant in the hotel.. reminded us of the Royal York and to be fair it seemed busy, as was the museum.  The staff told me they have been quite busy, so I suspect Cleveland may be driving some of their economy with tourism. Not a bad way to go.   We would definitely go back.  Cleveland has always had one of the best symphonies in the U.S. and has just opened a new Museum of Modern Art which I would love to see.

And we had a good early morning walk all around the squares and streets of downtown.  We love doing this when we travel.  You can really get a feel of the city and we try to head out before breakfast to get in our walk. The streets started to fill up with people coming to work mostly by car from the suburbs.   We did enjoy our lovely breakfast in the executive lounge(included!) before we left for our final drive home.

After we had visited the beautiful Biltmore estate we got underway for Charleston West Virginia.  I had expected this to be quite a difficult day.. I could not have been more wrong.  The roads were fabulous and not too crowded.. divided four lanes all the way.  And the scenery!!! The Blue Mountains, and then Adrionracks...not too sure where one starts and one ends but if you get a chance take the drive from Asheville to Charleston be prepared to gasp with delight.  When we turned north into West Virginia I had not expected the roads to be as good as they were.. including truck escape lanes in case their brakes failed.. and tunnels right through the mountains....Simply stunning.

We have friends in Barbados who have bought property in North Carolina.. we kept hearing about how nice the mountains were and as we wanted to head back up north by a slightly different route.  we decided to spend a night in Asheville NC.  What a great idea that was.  We left St. Simon's Island around 9 in the morning and after a couple of stops we pulled into Asheville around 4pm.  This was the longest day of the trip, but the interstate highways are not busy and the drive was terrific.  Secret Santa had provided Peter with a boxed set of Stuart Mclean and we listened and laughted for about 4 hours of the trip!  We left the most beautiful, languid south, and ended up in the beautiful mountain air taking breathtaking views from Asheville.
We unpacked and headed out to explore.  It is not a very big place and we were able to drive the entire downtown area and see the many art galleries and restaurants and lots of students.  Most of them looking like they are trying out for a movie about the late 60's.   Great fun.
We have found that the best advice comes from fellow travellers... especially while sitting at the bar talking to the bartender.  We usually eat at the bar and have picked up great tips from the bartenders.. they are always outgoing, and helpful.    The same lovely man, Randy, who told us about going to see Beaufort SC, suggested if we got to Asheville not to miss the Grove Park Inn.  This hotel is now 100 years old, and in great nick.    All Arts and Crafts and Tiffany type lights.. In fact the American Society of Arts and Craft movement meets here every year.  The stone fireplaces are huge and working, the staff lovely and the views breathtaking.   We loved it.
We headed back to have dinner by our hotel(we were staying in the Biltmore District..five minutes from downtown) and had a really good dinner at a place called Reze in Biltmore district(should you find yourself in Asheville)
We spent part of the morning visiting the Biltmore estate.  The estate was built by the Vanderbuilt family to entertain family and friends.  It opened in 1895... has 43 bedrooms and most beautiful gardens.  The entrance driveway alone is three miles long.. and another four miles winding through the estate to leave.  The family, concerned by lack of employment in the area opened it for touring in 1930It is still owned and run by decendents and now employs 1800 people.  The gardens are famous, and many people who live in Asheville have season passes.   I would too.. We arrived around 9:30am and the place was already full of visitors.   Economic engine indeed.  But worth the ticket... what a treasure.