I Close My Eyes And I Listen - @Studio30Plus Writing Prompt

June and Bob had spent months planning their annual hike along the Trans Canada Trail. Not the whole trail, of course. 14,000 miles in a long weekend was absolutely impossible. Over the last several years the adventurous couple had hiked several sections of the trail. Last year it was Prince Edward Island, the first province to complete its trail. The year before they'd hiked a section of the Trail in Alberta. This year, June and Bob had decided to hike Gatineau Park, virtually in their own backyard.

And so, on October 11, at the beginning of Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend, they set off from Tache Boulevard into the Park. The sun was shining and it was warm for this time of year not to mention this time of the morning. But their backpacks were light and their gait swift at the outset of their journey.

Bob was quite pleased with himself this day. There was a time when he was overweight and sedentary, a smoker and lover of fast-food. But after June's persistent admonishments Bob had finally got his act together. Sure, he was still no Charles Atlas but he was in a lot better shape than he used to be. And no one could be happier than June who now had an eager partner in her outdoor excursions.

"Look at those colours" said Bob as he took in the fall's panorama. "Aren't they lovely?" replied June.

And so they walked on until mid-afternoon at which point June turned to her husband and asked "Are we lost?" "Could be" replied Bob.

"Have you got the compass?" said June. "Don't need a compass" said Bob. "I've hiked enough now that I just close my eyes and listen. The sounds of the woods tell me which way to go."

"Well, open you eyes Einstien" said June. "I don't think they told you you're standing in a brook."

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

The Dangling Conversation

There's a debate underway in my household between my wife and I. I say "underway" because it hasn't quite reached the "raging" stage. If you want raging, my wife (a Francophone) and I (an Anglophone) from time to time (usually in a weak moment of my own making) slip into our number one discussion around why we don't speak more French at home - ergo - when am I, a former public servant who learned French at the expense of our gracious taxpayers and was technically rated bilingual (even though I hardly used it), going to improve my use of Canada's other language? This one never gets resolved, hence it's ongoing nature. But the current debate is over a remark I casually made the other day. I'm no geek, but with a lot of time on my hands I surf the web, converse on Facebook and such and - I have to admit - "I'm nonamedufus and I'm a Twitterholic". In an epiphany-like moment I was struck by the apparent impact of social networkin...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

nonamedufus

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