The Legend Of Orm Part 5

Epiphany I open doors for claustrophobia I wear glasses for myopia But triskaidekaphobia Won’t let me be No More Pencils, No More Books I quit school twice in 1972. The first time was in February. I was in grade twelve. Champing at the bit to put my plan in motion, I had been thinking it…

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The Legend of Orm Part 4

Existential Angst If The Dog Hadn’t Stopped To Have A Crap, He Would’ve Caught The Rabbit That was one of Dad’s more philosophical aphorisms. He considered the game of “WHAT IF….” to be ridiculous.  He was all for learning from life’s experiences, but in his opinion, wasting precious time obsessing over ‘what might have been’…

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The Legend of Orm Part 3

CHANGES My Father chose an excellent place for us to live. We backed onto a densely wooded area with a stream running at the rear of our lot. There was wildlife galore and off to the left, an abandoned orchard. Later the first summer, we discovered that we could eat the tasty Macintosh apples, although…

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The Legend of Orm Part 2

Family Life — Music Vs. Kids We are the children of Frances and Ormiston Heffernan. In the order in which we were born, we are Patrick 1952, Michael 1953, Mary 1960, and Jane 1962.  I could easily write a hundred pages about my remarkable family. If I’m alive and kicking for a few more years,…

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The Legend of Orm Part 1

A SINGULAR MAN Named after an officer who fought in the Great War, Ormiston was born November 28, 1923. He became known as Ormie and later simply Orm. What an unusual man he was—I mean that in a good way. He was intelligent with a quick sense of humor and the ability to “do a…

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We’re In The Year 2025

Happy New Year I’ve talked before about New Year’s Resolutions. My favourite one is that old saying, variously attributed to Socrates, Oscar Wilde, Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, and Mark Twain: Moderation in all things, including moderation Okay, so who did, in fact, say it? To begin with, let’s rule out Socrates. Those old Greeks were a…

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Season’s Greetings

Hey Everbody It’s 11:45 PM Christmas Eve. I haven’t got enough time to write one of my usual long winded missives but I thought I’d at least send off a quick festive note. There’s a little bit of snow on the ground, the hedge by my front porch is lit with 125 multi-coloured lights, there’s…

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The Bright Red Mud

The Road To Anne Land It’s magnificent—truly awesome. Usually, when I’ve been media-hyped to death about some “have-to-see” thing, I’m less than inspired by the reality. Not this time. What an absolutely stunning marvel of engineering it is; all eight breathtaking miles of it. Of course, I’m talking about the Trans Canada Highway connection between…

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Once, When I Was In Moncton….Never Mind

Moncton Casino The two-hour and forty-five-minute drive from Halifax to Moncton was uneventful. This was a travel day only. The Casino was supplying us with rooms for two nights in its adjoining hotel.  Barry rode with me, and we took it easy. No rush. Rick T-Bird Haynes, as usual, was way ahead of us.  Discussions…

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On To Halifax

Bad Planning? The show in Fredericton went well. It was a very appreciative crowd. We were really putting across well this idea that we aren’t a tribute band. Our point is to keep the music going rather than to pay some kind of homage to Mr. Lightfoot. This by no means indicates a lack of…

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