On this New Year’s Eve we began our day much as we always do,
commencing around 5:00 a.m. with the routine coffee and silent perusal of our accustomed
web sites and email. We did however
elevate our typical breakfast in a small way by having bacon and corn bread
with our “over easy” fried egg. Then,
when the sun had risen sufficiently on the distant horizon of the Ocean and
sky, we bundled ourselves in sweaters, coats, gloves and hats and pushed off
for our habitual early morning bicycle ride.
Monday, December 31, 2012
New Year’s Eve in South Carolina
I don’t imagine there is anywhere on earth that New Year’s
Eve doesn’t involve an element of entertainment and merriment. Being by the Atlantic Ocean adds a further feature
of festivity particularly when, on a day of dazzling sunshine and warm
temperatures such as today, the beach is flecked by throngs of families playing
with one another, throwing balls for their barking pets and sitting about in
beach chairs and chatting. The regular shrieks
of children heighten the carnival air.
Sunny Day at the Beach
On the heels of the temperature having approached 65˚F yesterday afternoon, we were somewhat unprepared today on our early morning bicycle ride for temperatures closer to freezing. In point of fact we were rather under-dressed all considered, sans woolen gloves or hats. When however we came into the direct sunlight, away from the overhanging trees on the bicycle paths, we knew it would not be long before things improved. The vibrant blue skies soon provided ample radiant heat.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Trauma on the Bike Path
Whether for the love of exercise (“exercise is medicine”) or – what is perhaps more likely –whether to expiate last night’s immoderation of martinis, shrimp, wine and pousse-cafés, early this morning we climbed aboard our respective tandems not long after the sun was up. The weather was decidedly cool. We were heavily layered in undergarments, golf shirts, long-sleeved shirts, sweaters and jackets, along with woolen gloves and tuques (and for me the requisite silk scarf). Thankfully, however, it wasn’t long before we began removing some of the layers. There was no wind on the beach so we felt the full warmth of the increasingly intense sun.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Le Bien Être
Progressively the manacles of the workforce are falling from me and I am acclimatizing myself to the locale both in fact and metaphorically. This morning’s rising sun and clear skies brought the assurance of another fine day. After our predictable breakfast of fruit, coffee, muffin and one egg we bundled ourselves in woolen fisherman knit sweaters, gloves and tuques and set off on our one-speed bicycles along the beach, into the wind (to have the advantage of it upon our return). The broad face of the unpopulated beach was welcome refreshment, as we breathed deeply to capture all that is good in the Atlantic sea air, savouring the glittering sunshine. After we reached the most southerly point of our adventure, we swung back to retrace our passage, this time with effortless swiftness.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Pacem in Terris
Apart from the necessities of nature (food, clothing and shelter essentially), when all is said and done it’s about peace of mind. Peace of mind is however not something easily won. Being a bleeding heart liberal isn’t a realistic prescription either: “…and world peace”. Rather it is a matter of accommodation, adjusting to the aspirations, strengths, weaknesses, successes and short-comings of both one’s self and others within one’s orbit. Peace of mind is as at times as illusory as perpetual happiness. No one is above the struggle to achieve peace of mind, no amount of prosperity or social advantage can ensure it and there is no one recipe which suits everyone.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas Day on Hilton Head Island
Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas Eve on Hilton Head Island
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Preparing for Christmas
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Small Town Law Practice
Quite unexpectedly (being as I am a virtual recluse in a town which is but a satellite of the metropolis) I have been asked to meet with a third year law student who apparently has ambitions to practice law in a rural environment and seeks my take on it. He heard of me through one of his law professors who is a family friend. I understand the scholar is from a smaller urban centre and supposedly has hopes of returning to it upon being called to the Bar. Until now I hadn’t imagined that a small town law practice would hold any interest for an aspiring lawyer, not because I denigrate it but more because I felt it to be uncool or archaic (even if moderately quaint).
Monday, November 12, 2012
The Trustee
Although it smacks of the esoteric, the term “trustee” may nonetheless arise not infrequently in daily communication. For example, there is the “estate trustee” (what some may equate with the now historical expression “executor and trustee”), trustee-in-bankruptcy, board of trustees, trust company and a mere trustee. In its broadest sense, a trustee can refer to anyone who holds property, authority or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another (which may in the case of boards of trustees include the public benefit or other charitable purpose). In all cases the trustee may be a natural person or a corporation, whether or not they are a prospective beneficiary.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Under Siege
Since the brutal market melt-down in 2008, when years of accumulated savings of many people simply evaporated over-night, there has been a pervasive and unsettling sense of being under siege. Like any successful military operation, the attack came unexpectedly and lethally, causing a feeling of instant isolation and surrender. The spin-offs of the initial calamity include imperceptible recovery, continued unemployment, forced re-thinking of the worth of a university education, the growing need to abandon hopes of early retirement (or worse, the need to return to work), a stepped-up acceptance of the diminution of the value of money, an acknowledgement of the pragmatism of raising the age of right to Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, the paradox of low interest rates and commensurate laughable return on investment and a general loss of any candidacy for entitlement.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
All Hallows’ Eve
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Rainy Sunday Morning
Monday, September 24, 2012
Tea with Miss Jill
Saturday, July 21, 2012
People Talk
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Axiomatic Living
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sans Enfants
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Construction Zone Dining
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Ridden Hard and Put Away Wet
The logbook of existence for many people is scarcely enviable. Rather it is a balance sheet with uncommon liabilities. In brief, life is hard.
The accomplishment of getting out of bed in the morning is a victory won with only waning pride. It merely sets in motion the lurching disappointment which already reigned through much of the night when frustratingly trying to smother one’s orbiting dreams in the pillows. Once standing disarrayed and staring into the mirror, one lamentably murmurs, “How long can I keep doing this?”.
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Daunting Task of Doing Nothing
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Those January Blahs!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
First Week Back
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Last Day at the Beach
We’ve succeeded in prolonging our last day at the beach by having started the day at two o’clock this morning in response to a fire alarm. Just as we bumbled our way into the hallway along with the other startled guests in the building, the piercing alarm stopped and we were seamlessly reabsorbed into our respective compartments. After such an eruption we were too disconcerted to return to our lairs. We made a pot of coffee and pretended to begin the day as normally as possible, although it wasn’t long before we again submerged ourselves under the duvet. We reawakened closer to the more respectable hour of seven o’clock not much worse for wear.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
First Business Day of the Year
Monday, January 2, 2012
Right this way.....
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year's Resolutions
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