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STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES: BARN BUILDING FIASCO

From: Alan Skeoch
Subject: Barn Building – a skill I seem to lack
Date: January 5, 2018 at 3:01:48 PM GMT-5
To: alanskeoch

STUPID  IS AS STUPID DOES:  A  HARD LESSON LEARNED  IN BARN BUILDING

alan skeoch
january 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Marjorie, stand  beside the car…Pregnancy getting close to term…we  are going to have a  baby!”“Alan, when  the baby arrives you will have  to pay attention to other things.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning,  I will need help.”
“Right!  You can count on me.”
“We can  no longer pile farm equipment and planks on the roof rack.”
“Why not? The baby isn’t going be put on the roof rack, is it?
“Think…think…think, Alan.  Or is that too much to ask?
“Act like an adult for once  in your life.”
So that is when  the great idea came to mind…like  a flash of  lightning.

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MARJORIE … TAKES CHARGE OF TORONTO WESTERN HOSPITAL NOV. 16,2017

MARJORIE SKEOCH…”MY  GOOD HEALTH IS ALL DUE  TO MY  HUSBAND ALAN”
Nov. 16, 2017

“Are you physically active Marjorie?”, asked Mary, her  nurse at Toronto Western Hospital.
“Well, let me  put it this  way.  See that man over there, my  husband.    He does not know how to start the  washing machine or the dryer.   “
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THE LAST FLIGHT OF HX 313

On May 27, 1944, a Halifax Bomber, HX 313, was ripped and torn by a German night Fighter after dropping its bomb load on Bourg Leopold, Belgium.
A cousin who I had  never met was the upper Middle Gunner and was killed as the  night fighter shells ripped  across the underbelly of the plane.  Over the last few decades I have been able to reconstruct much of what happened before, during and after that fateful evening.  My use of dialogue may offend sensitive ears.  Sorry about that.  This will be a long story…to be sent in segments.

Continue reading “THE LAST FLIGHT OF HX 313”

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FIRST DANCE…AND SHE WAS THERE…64 YEARS LATER SHE IS STILL THERE

alan skeoch

So the 125th is over.  Return of the Native has happened.   Lots to think about…old friends, older teachers, still older hallowed halls of the old school.   Mistakes made.

Achievements that surpassed me.  Probably a few grads who considered me a fool.  And a few good friends who liked me in spite flaws.  That is how you know colleagues are more than just fellow travellers.

Continue reading “FIRST DANCE…AND SHE WAS THERE…64 YEARS LATER SHE IS STILL THERE”

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MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF

alan skeoch
Nov. 3, 2017

“Long ago I hung a little sign in the old pantry of our farm house….before we gutted and rebuilt everything.  It said, “My Days Are in The Yellow Leaf”.  It is  a  quote from Lord Byron which he may have borrowed and changed from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, “My way of life is  fallen into the  sere and  yellow leaf.”  Both quotes  are depressing…expressions of dread…

Continue reading “MY DAYS ARE IN THE YELLOW LEAF”

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Before and After the Lizard Got Loose

THANKS FOR THE WONDERFUL DINNER AND SOCIALISING…YOU MIGHT FIND THIS STORY AMUSING OR HORRIFYING
hope I spelled Torgunn’s name right. Excuse typos…my machine does weird things to words.

BEFORE AND AFTER THE LIZARD GOT LOOSE

alan skeoch
oct. 22, 2017

(You may be surprised where the thread of this story leads you.)

“Alan, could you and Marjorie come for dinner at Chad’s house on Sunday.  Dirk and his kids are coming as well?” Continue reading “Before and After the Lizard Got Loose”

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JOY GOODWIN: THE CONCERT THAT NEVER HAPPENED

NOTE: The dialogue is really me talking to myself…imagination. Pictures vary..some are mine, some from other sources

JOY GOODWIN: THE CONCERT THAT NEVER HAPPENED

This is Joy Goodwin, creative genius, alongside her Tuba player Paul Caron who may have been the oldest member of the Parkdale Collegiate Orchestra.

This is the story of one of our PCI Music Field Trips. But more, it is the story of Joy…both capitalized and lower case…Joy and joy.

Continue reading “JOY GOODWIN: THE CONCERT THAT NEVER HAPPENED”