Ron Sexsmith - My Snuggie

Yup, you read that correctly folks, I've just compared my favourite musician to a big ol' warm fleece throw. I should state for the record that although I do own all of Ron's albums, I don't own a Snuggie. However, I do have a fleece Bay blanket, and although it lacks the convenience of sleeves, (so indeed my arms are trapped - tis the cross that I must bear), it still provides me with the same kind of warmth that Ron's music gives me.
That is an extremely simple comparison, but a fairly accurate one when you get right down to it, the most basic reason that he's won the spot of my favourite is - Ron's music makes me feel warm and good. If I'm Linus, he's definitely my security blanket.
Even though I'm a fan of his music, I must admit, I find it hard to describe, I often think that if you put Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and The Beatles in a mixer you might end up with an idea of what Ron's sound is like.
There's something almost mystical about his music, now don't go getting all these images of unicorns and fairies in your head because that's not what I mean. I mean there is a certain quality to his music, that I don't think anyone really understands until they get his music. And I do me 'get', it seems as if you almost have to be at a certain point in your own life to have this music affect you, if you listen to his music and think, 'yeah, I like that, it's pretty good'....then you're not fully ready. Like Daniel LaRusso, when he discovers what 'wax on, wax off' really means, you'll know when you've had your moment of discovery because you'll go from, 'yeah, that's pretty good' to 'I must own ALL of his music!'
It's a strange phenomenon that makes even the most conservative person, giddy with joy to collect and then share his music, like you've been sent on some mission. Suddenly you're transformed into Marvin the Martian and it's your job to bring more people to your leader aka Ron Sexsmith. Beyond feeling this sensation myself, it's hard to fully understand it, until you become one - deep huh.

In my opinion he truly is one of the finest songwriters walking this big ol' planet we call Earth, albums jammed full of lyrics that are quietly brilliant.
His words are definitely a pretty clear window into his soul, he puts his emotions out there for all to see, sad, happy, heartbreaking, lonely, hopeful, hurt, regret, guilt, sorrow, gratitude - they're all there and many more too. He is about as honest of a songwriter as you'll find, not many people will sing about their own personal shortcomings, without having some kind of gloss over factor, this kind of honesty is a rare and wonderful gift. A gift to the listener who is reminded, that indeed, someone else feels what you're feeling. That we're all just stumbling through life doing the best we can, you fall, you get up and you try again.
Combine beautiful lyrics, gorgeous music and a voice that grabs your heart and the result is the most intoxicating cocktail!

If that wasn't reason enough to dig the man, let me give you another...he is about as humble as they come. I've got a pretty low tolerance for BS in general, so 'sun glasses' rock stars with 'their people' all around them, kinda gets up my nose at the best of times, what makes matters worse is, often the ones who play the 'part' have very little real talent to speak of - I'm assuming it's their way to compensate. Ron has definitely got the goods to back it up if he was even a smidgen pretentious about his talent, but that's just not how he rolls - which is greatly appreciated by his fans. Ron is also incredibly generous with his fans, signing autographs, doing song requests at times (was nice enough to do that twice for my kids) or even having a chat after the show. All of this things are pretty unheard of in 'mainstream' music.


Why does his fame not measure up with his talent? Well in some ways, I think it depends of your definition of fame is. If fame was purely based on talent, then he'd be on the top and a massive line of others would be handing in their fame tiaras right now.
He does have a whole host of mega famous fans - though I'm not going to list them, as it seems everything written about Mr. Sexsmith has to be followed by a list famous folks that dig him and it's a good list of some fine people, don't get me wrong, but I have a different kind of list to share with you, because as much as the list of famous folks may help to reinforce in someones mind why they need to check out Ron's music, there's an equally strong force of non-famous people who wave their pom-poms and sing his praises, every chance they get.
People like Ian, Jerry, Mark, Martha (I'm with the band), Evey (I'm with the fam), Roisin, Catriona, Beth, Laurie, Patricia, Colleen (I'm with the dude), Lisa, Marjolijn, Kerry, Anne, David, Iris, Mary, Chris, Marie-Claire, Violeta, Marty, Pauline, Laurent, Paul, Andrew, Steve, Cathy and the list goes on and on....but like Santa's list, if you don't see your name, don't despair, we know you're out there! All of these fans create what I like to think of as a kinder, gentler KISS Army type of following - maybe more like Ron's Brigade, just as steadfast in our devotion and ready to recruit new members at every opportunity.

Having a lot of money in your bank account obviously has it's perks, like being able to eat and other important stuff like that but at the end of the day, if a musician had to choose his legacy, I'd much rather say, I touched the hearts and soothed the soul of thousands and will continue to do so for generations to come, than my claim to fame being, I moved the hips of millions for a few moments in time, only to then fade in the sunset never to be heard of again.
So if you measure fame in devotion and not dollars, then indeed I'd call Ron a very rich and famous man.

During one of his last gigs in Vancouver I noticed something rather strange and in a way, very fitting. As Ron and his amazing band played, I felt myself taken by the shadows that were being cast on the wall, so much so that I spent a great deal of time watching them. Ron's shadow was about twice the size of those of his bandmates, some may say, it's just a coincidence of how the lighting was set up, but I wonder if lighting really played into it at all, it just seemed to represent how this humble man, hasn't yet realized how big he really is.

There you have it, my ode to Ron. It has to be said, I'm a music fan of varied taste. But just as I love to travel and experience other places and cultures, I always get a great sense of peace when arriving back to Vancouver, seeing those mountains, I know I'm home. That is the same feeling I get when I put on Ron's music, I may listen to many styles of music, many other artists, but when I put on Ron, I feel like I've come home.
Home sweet home.

Another Curtain Call

Yet another moment of my life brought to you in theatre format.

The scene - Pacific Centre Shopping Mall - Vancouver
The plot - Find me some killa boots

The background story - Tony and I, both armed with some mad money courtesy of Christmas gifts head downtown while the kids are in school for a few hours of shopping. To make the most of our time - we go our separate ways....to be in communication via our walkie talkies aka cell phones. I am on the hunt for some new boots to replace a pair that I've put a few hundred miles on - including walking the entire sea wall in them, but it's time to let them go. Other possible candidates for my cash are, a new coat and I also could use a new purse for work.
As I shop alone, I attempt to focus on the objects that are on my list - hard for a gal who is easily distracted by shiny objects. I'm doing pretty good though, I've just skimmed past about 150 purses and deemed each and every one as not fitting the bill of what I'm looking for...I'm also what's known as a fuss arse. Just then my phone rings, it's Tony. He wants me to come down to the men's floor to give him my opinion on some of his choices, I tell him, I'll be down in 5 mins, just finishing up in purses.
I get to the end of the purse section and then get distracted by a shiny object - actually a striped scarf by Coach, though it did have metallic threads in some of the stripes so it was sorta shiny.

We continue the play from here.....

Woman - to be played by me - (though I'm sure Meryl Streep would kill to play this part)

Skiing cowboy - to be played by random stranger, short dude, about 60ish, English accent, missing a few teeth, wearing a ski jacket and cowboy hat.

The curtain rises.....
Act one -

Woman - lost in her own world, lifts scarf out of it's box to feel it - woman always needs to feel fabrics so is in mid-fondle of the scarf when cowboy voice snaps her back to reality.

Cowboy - 'go on, treat yourself - I bet Santa would want you to have it'....'you do believe in Santa don't you?'.....'unless, my parents lied to me before they died.'

Woman - though trying to be polite, (also remembers she was about to head downstairs)...so as to not prolong this conversation, she half-heartedly says, 'oh yeah, I believe in Santa.' She continues to fondle the scarf and check out the price, hoping she'll turn back and skiing cowboy will be gone, though she knows this never happens - strange people really like her.

Cowboy - 'what about Olive, the other reindeer'....'you know about her don't you?'

Woman - looks around to confirm what she already knows, indeed there were many others that skiing cowboy could have chosen to talk to, but she also knows that this kind of encounter is a regular thing in her life - ponders yet again, why she is the 'chosen one'.

Cowboy - not getting a reply the first time asks again...'you do know Olive don't you?'

Woman - a bit tired today to play his game, knowing Tony is probably wondering where the heck she is....mumbles an unenthused, 'oh yeah, Olive, yup I know her'...'yeah, she's great.'....woman gives skiing cowboy a slight smile and starts to wander away from him. Woman leaves him with a 'have a good 'un.'

Cowboy - serenades her departure with a rousing rendition - 'Olive, the other reindeer....used to laugh and call her names....' cowboy is not deterred by the fact that the woman is now about 100 feet from him and heading towards the escalator.

Woman - starts down escalator, is now near the bottom and can still hear the faint sounds of the skiing cowboy singing to her.

Act Two -

Woman heads down the second escalator where she can no longer hear the sounds of her new friend. When she finally gets to Tony - slightly drained from the experience, she just says to Tony, 'sorry I took so long, I had some British dude in a cowboy hat singing to me.' Woman doesn't really need to explain much more, Tony is not surprised at all by this, just slightly chuckles at the latest stranger encounter.

Curtain slowly comes down -

Woman bows at yet another fine performance, and knows the encores will never end - as long as there are strange people, woman will star in many plays.
The curtain will surely rise and fall again and again.

Lovely Strangers

More strangers and why I love them.


Only at a folk festival is this attire completely acceptable - OK granted, I'm sure (I hope) that she was one of the attractions. Maybe after her clown shift was over she didn't have time to de-clown before catching the Ron Sexsmith gig? I've been to a lot of gigs over the years, but this is the first time I've had a clown in my peripheral vision for the whole show. I was waiting for her to shout out a request for Ron's song 'Clown in Broad Daylight'....never happened though. Pity.Elvis shades, CBC shirt - what's not to love?!!

Captured this trio on the ferry this summer, and what struck me about them was, how much this couple seemed to be enjoying having their photo taken. I mean, I love being behind then lens, but to get me to pose for even a picture or two is painful, let's just say, I'd rather be stabbed repeatedly on the hand with a fork. These two were practically twirling with glee, this is only one of probably 30 poses they did - it was seriously cracking me up. Good for them though - love that they were enjoying the process so much.

Spotted this dude while stopped at a traffic light and I loved the way he looked - What can I say, I'm a sucker for a striped sweater!

This chap was actually spotted by Tony first, I was busy being distracted by some cute dresses in a shop window, when I got a 'pssst' from Tony. I turned my head and this is what I saw!! Of course I went into Secret Agent Mel mode right away and did my casual 'I'm shooting this planter'...but not really, I'm shooting you Mister Awesome!!! I'd say he was in his 70's and in pretty great shape and obviously dang proud of it - and why not I say!! He was all kinds of happy, the white socks with a wallet jammed in them, the short shorts, his lovely snowy white hair - I can tell you, this man was turning heads of both men and women!! Kudos to your chutzpah sir!!

Another drive by shot, taken in Chilliwack. We've all seen these type of folks before, and I know, or guess they want us to question or at least wonder about the signs that they are holding, and for a quick moment I do, but then my thoughts always then lead to what are they like at home. I wonder, do they make dinner, watch Wheel of Fortune and then think, nothing else on the tube I fancy watching, perhaps I'll make a few signs stating my opinions on religion and take it to the streets. I'm not sure that's how their day really plays out, but I do wonder. I don't have a religion to call my own and I'm more than OK with that, but I do have opinions on many other issues. I think if the moment was to take me and I felt like I needed to hit the streets to 'educate' people about some issues, well then, you might spot me holding a sign that says, 'Just say NO to mum jeans'...also an important message.

I was having a wander around Mission with my kids when I noticed this man and something about the scene was quite romantic to me. The shopkeeper sweeping his shop, it's not something you see that often any more and it put me in mind of all the shop tales I heard growing up. My grandparents had a shop in Wales and my mum worked in the shop since she was a small child, so I've heard shop talk all of my life.

This last scene was taken in Vancouver, I was on the other side of the street when I noticed that beam of sunlight shining down. It almost looked like a spotlight highlighting this trio who were deep in conversation. I just fell in love with this little vista.

That's all folks - for now.

Not The Drill!!!

Years back a good friend of mine was living on the Island, I was talking to him on the phone one day and mentioned that I was heading to Victoria, he said to me 'oh when you're here you should visit Miniature World'.
This made me laugh, I said, 'why, so I can be amongst my people?' He of course didn't mean anything by it, merely pointing out a tourist attraction that he enjoyed, but being only 5 feet tall it amused me that it was the first place he mentioned.
I've always liked miniature furniture, the fine details of these scaled down versions fascinated me. Even when I was a kid and watched The Friendly Giant, my favourite part of the show was the close up of his hand moving around the small furniture in front of the fireplace.
On a recent trip to Victoria I happened upon a shop window filled with miniature furniture and all kinds of doll houses. As I was looking through the selection on offer, I came across this little beauty. I mean what doll house would be complete without ye olde Victorian dentist chair?? One can only assume this would go in the dungeon room?? Thinking of it now, I perhaps should've bought this and put in on the bathroom counter as a friendly reminder for my kids to brush their teeth - probably be a good motivator. Just put a little post-it note on it saying....'this could be you!' Worth a shot.

WOW!!!

WOW!! That's the reaction I have each time I pass this house....WOW!! There's too much for my brain to process in that moment, so I finally had to take a photo to better analyze it. I still think, WOW!!
This little gem of a house is located in Vancouver and I'm rather curious as to what the neighbours think about it. I'm even more curious about what kind of people live here. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for people having freedom of expression - that's cool. I'm honestly interested in how their mind works...what makes you stand back, after the 200th ornament and say, 'hmmm, something's just not right, I know, we need more'. Obviously they must get a lot of pleasure from their display and I definitely enjoy things that make you pause and ponder and it does bring a smile to my face each time I see it.
It's clear to see that they put a lot of thought into it, colour selection, repetition etc, however my favourite detail is the small 'beware of dog' sign in the window. I mean do they really need a guard dog as a deterrent to theft?? If a burglar managed to make his way through the maze of characters and silk flowers and actually make it inside the house and grab one of maybe 60 TVs inside (assuming the more is more rule applies indoors too) wouldn't he be worried about making his way back through the maze with his arms now full of stolen goods and maybe limited vision!! Surely the risk of tripping and being impaled by Woody Woodpecker trumps getting a TV....I say, skip the risk and head to Best Buy - much safer!!!

Fun With Strangers!

Some people absolutely love a fair, I can't say I've ever been one of those people. Though as an observer and a photographer, well you can't find much better of a location to watch and capture people at their finest.
I've never been one of those kids that loved going on rides - for the most part they give me a massive headache. However, I've always been intrigued by fairs/carnivals. There always seems to be something underlying all of that happiness - I don't know, I think it goes back to when I was about 7 and the circus was in town, me and my brother had free tickets for the show from our school... it was kind of standard issue to come with your report card back in the day. Of course my brother is never happy with just the nice circus show, oh no, he wants us to try and sneak into the 'freak show' which you needed to pay an additional fee to witness. While my brother tried to test the slack between the tent stakes to see if one of the panels had enough give to crawl under, I stood back with great concern running through my mind. I was relieved when some dude kinda shooed us away. I mean, God only knows what was lurking in 'that' tent. No siree, I did not need to see that, I was cool with ye olde trapeze! I like to think that I came through that Ray Bradbury moment unscathed - though it did leave a lasting impression on me.
So while the rest of you hit the fairs in the summer to get your thrills, know that I'll be there too....wandering and wondering what's behind 'that' curtain or 'that' trailer..yup, it's just how I am. I must say though, as a gal who is always inspired by colour, I am in Heaven at the fair. While I do my best to block out the crowds (it's an introvert thing) I am soaking in the sights and sounds and find that side of things pretty thrilling!
Here are a few of my recent people watching photos - the PNE edition. For your best viewing pleasure, click on each image to enlarge to get a better look - especially the first image!!


Here's a classic example of how people's enjoyment levels vary - check out the expression on the kids faces in the front of the car....and then check out the dude behind them - clearly he's not diggin' this ride!


Foam fingers - not just for sporting events!! C'mon, how can you not smile when you see a big foam hand like that! He was enjoying himself - her, not so much.


This lady watches her daughter preparing to go down the slide...then she actually tries to go back the way that she came from so she didn't have to take her turn, but there were too many people so she had to go down.


She makes sure her sari gets tucked in before she launches....


...as she speeds down she slide grabbing on for dear life, her daughter is almost doubled over in fits of laughter.....


...and she makes a safe landing!! To be fair, I went down this slide last year and it does go surprisingly fast!!

Even monsters get scared!! Here we see mini Hulk in line for the ferris wheel, it soon becomes clear that 'Hulk no wanna go on ferris wheel!' Click on that first photo and check out this kid's eyes....super Hulk like!!



Hulk sleepy.

I'm thinking this man likes red....adult garanimals - a perfect match every time!! Only natural he choose the red dragon...and yes, there were other colour choices.


Who doesn't need one of these around the house?? The rasta banana - all your friends will be so jealous!!

Talk about a fish story!! 'He was how big?' This poor woman, not only had this mega fish flung over her back but she also had an armful of other equally fab stuffies. We couldn't take our eyes off of that fish though....I mean, it was crazy BIG. We chuckled as she walked past and she turned to us and said,'what are the chances my kid would get this with one shot'....she looked less than thrilled to be cruising around on one of the hottest days of the summer with her new friends. Heat and plush - nasty!
So there you have it, more fun with strangers....and when the PNE rolls around again you can bet I'll be there...enjoying you, enjoying yourself!!

Now That's a Nutcracker!!

At 85 years old, my nan gave up her apartment and spent the rest of her days living between my mum's house and my uncle's house. One day I headed up to her apartment with my mum, to help her sort through her things and start the packing process. My nan asked me to let her know if there was anything I wanted. Over the course of the day, I found a few items that I asked her if I could have for keepsakes, 2 of the items belonged to my grandfather, known as pampy to the family...he had passed away about 4 years earlier.
I had such vivid memories of these items from way back, when they lived in a house in Surrey. I'd often see pampy sitting outside playing a game of dominoes with some old crony from work, so I asked for the set of dominoes, still in the original box and I also asked for his nutcracker. For as long as I can remember my grandparents had 'his and her' chairs, very much in the way that Archie and Edith Bunker did. Sitting beside pampy's chair was always a bowl of nuts with this nutcracker resting on top. Now granted, thinking about it as an adult, it may have been considered a bit rude to some, but having a sense of humour runs in the family so I don't know anyone who ever took any offense to it. As a little kid I thought it was the coolest thing and my opinion hasn't changed, it has great lines and it's quite a heavy object. I didn't even like nuts back then, but me and my brother would ask if we'd could crack some nuts just so we could use it. So my grandfather would sit in his Archie Bunker chair while we took turns choosing nuts from the seemingly vast assortment in the bowl, all the while giggling at the 'lady's legs bustin' up nuts!
Aaah the simple pleasures in life - nut bustin'! I'm not sure if they brought it with them from Wales or how long they had it, but my memory of it goes back almost 40 years! This little beauty now sits on my desk, and word to the wise, if I ever need to bust some nuts, I'm well prepared!!