Miramichi Blog

FYI for all you book lovers out there — David Adams Richards is in town. He’ll be at the Books Inn tonight signing copies of his latest novel from 7 – 9 pm.

What a beautiful day on the river!

The first words out of my nephew’s mouth when his eyes flutter open in the morning are, “It’s a beautiful day!”

And it doesn’t matter what the weather is like outside.

Earlier this summer the extended family went to Alma for the weekend and I roomed with my three-year-old twin nephew and niece.

(Here’s a tip: Two sets of parents looking to get away + one overworked Grammie + one naïve aunt + three 3-year-old toddlers + a one-year-old + an 8-week old infant + two tiny motel rooms + the highest tides in the world & dangerous rocky ledges = One friggin’ insane weekend!)

My nephew wakes up at the crack of dawn Sunday morning, jumps up in the bed throwing the covers off me and his sister, bursting with the news, “Kellie, Kellie, it’s a Boo-tee-fil Day!”

Through the slit of my one squinting eye I could see it was not a beautiful day, in fact it was questionable whether it was even day yet. The world outside the motel window was grey and damp and cold.

“Go back to sleep,” I sighed. “It’s not a beautiful day.”

This comment of course had the opposite result and only spurred him to leap from the bed and climb into the window for a better look.

“Oh yes it is,” he grinned. “It’s a Boo-ti-fil Day of raining!”

Well, what can you say to that? Really, he’s got the right idea, everyday is a beautiful day and we should look forward to enjoying each and every one.

Here are some pictures Stacy took on Saturday morning. Now, this was a boo-ti-fil day!

Warning: May Cause Homesickness.

Yesterday’s interviews went well. Yay!

I got a press release the other day. I thought I’d better post it here because the grand opening will have taken place before the next issue of Bread ‘n Molasses goes live.

A lot of people I talk to swear by pilates and yoga as the best way to keep fit and trim, so for all you people who may have been looking for an instructor this is great news.

Here's the press release:

Health and Fitness Studio Opening in Douglastown

ALEXercise Health Studio invites you to the grand opening on Tuesday, September 2, 2003. Special no tax rates and merchandise draws will be available throughout the month of September.

The fitness studio is located in Douglastown at 1 Allan Street in The Victory Sports building behind Northumberland Square Mall.

Owner and instructor, Alexandra Russell, has been involved in the field of health and wellness for over 15 years. She is an internationally certified Pilates Instructor, a nationally certified Personal Trainer, and a nationally certified Yoga Instructor.

In addition, Alexandra has traveled throughout Canada to attend a variety of instructor training sessions. Further areas of training have included: Stability Ball Work, Belly-Dancing, Kickboxing, Boot camp Training, Sports Nutrition, Exercise Modifications for Injuries/Illness, Senior-Based Exercises, Exercise for Children and Teens, Pre-Post Natal Instruction, and many more.

Alexandra is an active member of the New Brunswick Council For Fitness And Active Living (NBCFAL) and the Canadian Association of Fitness Professionals (Can-Fit-Pro).

She has provided personal training services within local gyms and to city residents for many years. Also, Alexandra has facilitated health and wellness sessions for a variety of community groups and organizations throughout New Brunswick.

The ALEXercise Health Studio slogan is Inner Peace/Outer Strength. The mandate is to provide balanced health and wellness programming which involves elements from each of the following fundamental health-based components: cardio-respiratory strength and endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and stretching, as well as, diet and nutrition.

September studio sessions will include: Pilates and Yoga Stretching, Body Sculpting with Weight Resistance, Abdominal/Butt/Thigh Toning, and Cardiovascular Mix classes.

45-60 minute classes will be offered at various times throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening. Pre-registration for sessions is recommended, as session times and levels will be scheduled to reflect member requests.

Sessions will be offered at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Opening specials are $5.00-$6.00. Also, multiple class passes will be available.

As a means of creating a client-focused studio, new exercise sessions will be added on a monthly basis. Future classes will include: stability ball instruction, flex band training, belly dancing, nutrition coaching, pre-post natal training, senior-based exercises, and other special interest sessions.

Also available are individualized private sessions, specific group/organization classes, non-studio-based sessions/presentations, and French language instruction.

Visit ALEXercise Health Studio or the company website for a September class schedule and complete listing of studio rates.

Contact ALEXercise Health Studio today for your health and wellness needs. alex@spyderweb.ca Telephone (506) 624-4241, (506) 773-3551

Check the archives for the entries from last week.

Today is an interview day and the final week before Bread ‘n Molasses September goes live. So far, everything seems to be right on schedule. I’m feeling pretty good about articles I’ve written and the overall content of the new issue.

When I say today is an interview day what I mean is I have interviews scheduled for stories I plan to write.

I tend to get a little worked up before an interview. I think it’s because you never know beforehand how it’s going to turn out. Nine times out of ten everything goes very well and I leave the interview energised and looking forward to writing the article.

But then there’s that tenth time and the whole thing turns into a complete disaster.

Some people just aren’t good interview subjects. They tend to be very closemouthed and typically don’t volunteer any information. They’ll answer your questions but that’s all. They also tend to be very short in their replies, so no matter what questions you ask, no matter how many different ways you phrase a question in order to get a response, they don’t give you much to work with in their response.

It’s not intentional, they’re not trying to withhold information on purpose, different people communicate differently and that’s just the way they do it. But it’s a lot of mental work to interview someone like that, because you really have to pull the information out of them.

Normally, I prepare a list of about seven questions for the person I’m going to interview. Based on that amount of questions a typical interview will last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour depending on what sorts of other thoughts or questions come up during the conversation. They’re usually pretty broad questions to give the person I’m interviewing a lot of room to tell me anything they want.

The prepared questions help me to maintain control over the interview so when the conversation veers way off into territory I didn’t even know existed, I just have to ask the next question on my list to put it back on track. It’s like my road map for the interview. I’m the navigator and I have to get us back on track when the person I’m interviewing drives down all these roads that aren’t even on the map.

So, preparing the questions requires some thought to make sure I’ve got all the bases covered and the questions are ordered so our conversation will flow and won’t seem choppy. To do that I role-play in my mind, asking my questions and anticipating what the person I’m about to interview will answer. This not only helps me to get the best order for the questions, but also it better prepares me to deal with any surprise twists and turns that might come out in the conversation.

A trick to get people to elaborate more is to be silent. For example, if I ask a narrow question like, "How long have you been in business?"

The person I’m interviewing might answer simply, "Ten years."

But if I don’t jump right in with the next question, if I let the silence go almost to the point of being uncomfortable, most people will add to their answer to fill the silence.

"Yeah, when I first started everybody said I was crazy, that sort of thing would never fly around here, but I took my time and . . ." And that’s when you’ll get all the best stuff and the good quotes for the article.

But the closemouthed interviewee won’t say anything else no matter how long you let the silence grow. I’ve timed silences before. A full minute or minute and a half of complete silence is a very uncomfortable feeling, even when I’m totally aware of why I’m doing it.

I know I’m in that kind of an interview when I’ve asked my seven questions, they’ve answered, and we’ve been talking for just a few minutes and all I’ve got is a half dozen words scribbled on a sheet of paper to show for it. That’s when I know I’m in trouble.

You’ve really got to do some fast thinking in that sort of a situation to come up with another dozen or so questions that might pull some kind of substantial response from the interviewee. You’ve got to get the information somehow because if you’ve reached the interview stage, you’re committed to writing an article, if for no other reason than the person you’re interviewing will be looking for it in your publication.

Thankfully, those types of interviews don’t happen very often. Usually, I end up having enough information for two stories, let alone one. Still, I get a little nervous before an interview, wondering which way it will go and if I’m well enough prepared to rebound should it go quick and quietly.

I bet you didn’t know interviewing required so much work.

TGIF!

I got a great suggestion the other day from one of our readers. She wanted me to write a novel online, here in the blog, so you guys could follow the progress.

“Hold on a minute! Let’s not go crazy!” I said. “I mean I wrote about how insane I get when I’m writing non-fiction, multiply that by a thousand and you still wouldn’t be close to how crazy I get when I’m writing fiction. It would take forever!”

So, we came up with a different plan. What if we all wrote a story together?

Just for fun. No pressure.

I’ve participated in writing exercises like that before. They can result in some really interesting stories and they’re a lot of fun to follow and participate in.

I can set the scene and write the beginning, then it’ll be up to you guys to chip in and make it funny, scary, exciting, mysterious, or whatever direction you decide togo. If nothing else, it should certainly be interesting.

Drop me an email and let me know if that interests you at all, either as a participant or an observer.

I think I can safely say I am the quietest person around our office.

Because I don’t say much some people think I’m shy, others think I’m stuck-up, and some might even think I’m not too bright.

Of course, none of it is true — I’m just part of that really rare breed of people known as listeners. Perhaps, you’ve heard of us?

But seriously, given the right topic in the right setting, rest assured I can talk your ear off.

A typical day finds me squinting at the computer screen, fingers flying over the keyboard, making faces as if I am engaged in a very expressive conversation with someone (You probably), but not actually saying a word.

So, imagine everyone’s reaction when I suddenly raise my head, stop typing, and blurt out a totally abstract question like —

“What’s the best advice you ever got?”

The initial shock (She talks!) doesn’t last long — we’re a flexible bunch here at Mighty Miramichi. I suspect they may be more surprised to read their answers here in the blog.

An e-newsletter I get asked a group of successful businesswomen this question and they’ve been publishing a different answer in each new issue.

The answers I read gave me a lot to think about, so I thought I would poll the office and see what our crew could offer.

Our fearless leader, Terry, says the best advice he ever got was, “Don’t give advice unless asked.”

That’s probably wise. I wonder if my sister would be talking to me now, if I had taken that advice? I think so.

But if everyone took the best advice offered in yesterday’s e-newsletter, giving unsolicited advice might become the thing to do.

That advice was, “Listen to other’s advice.”

That advice comes from Aileen Reid, president of A.P. Reid Insurance, a Dartmouth-based insurance brokerage and franchisor.

She says, “Listen to other’s advice. Absorb it like a sponge and take from it. In it is the collected wisdom and experiences of all the people who have come before you and paved the way for you, and in it there will be something for you. You just don't know from where snippets of wisdom, your manna from heaven, is going to fall."

Of course, listening doesn’t mean following everything you hear. In order for this advice to be helpful, you need to listen with a critical ear.

But that’s the great advice in the e-newsletter that got me thinking about this topic to begin with.

When asked, Stacy offered this piece of advice — “Only boring people get bored.”

This pearl of wisdom comes from Stacy’s mom originally. She told her this when she complained about boredom as a small child and it’s stuck with her ever since.

Think about it. Who wants to be boring? How can you be bored when you’re busy being interesting. Great advice!

The only advice I remember my mom telling me is — “Trust no one.”

A little clarification is needed on that one I think. You need to understand my mom and the way she words things. By giving me this advice she didn’t intend to turn me into a paranoid conspiracy theorist.

When she said, “Trust no one.” She meant, “Believe in yourself.”

It’s a little twisted, I know, but I got the message. I have a very strong belief in myself and my ability to achieve any goal I set for myself.

So tell me, what’s the best advice you ever got?

An interesting thing happened yesterday that really got me thinking about what it means to live here in the Miramichi Region -- about what it means to be a Miramichier.

In the newspaper sometimes you see letters from tourists overwhelmed by gratitude toward Miramichiers who have gone above and beyond to help them through a crises.

I think it's easy to dismiss those letters as something to do with strangers and not to do with us. It's sometimes easy to forget about the Miramichiers who go above and beyond to help other Miramichiers.

Yesterday, I had an encounter with a woman on a mission. As best as I can recall, it went something like this:

Ring. Ring. Ring.

“Hello.”

“Hi, may I please speak with Kellie?”

“Speaking.”

“Hi Kellie. I’m over here in Red Bank and I just found a bankcard in the parking lot with your name on it. I was wondering if you lost yours.”

“Hmmm. No, it’s definitely not mine.”

“Oh. Well, do you by chance know of any other people with your name?”

“There is another one. We get the wrong mail sometimes. She’s married to —“

“I was already talking to her. She was the one who told me to call you. It’s not hers either.”

“Oh. Well, I can’t think of anyone else. Sorry.”

“I’ll call the bank then. Thanks. I just thought I might be able to track down the owner. I figure she might be pretty upset about losing her card.”

“Yes, you’re probably right.”

“Okay then, thanks, bye.”

“Bye.”

Isn’t it great that we live in the sort of community where some people still care enough to go out of their way like that for someone they’ve never met before? It’s just a couple of telephone calls, right? No big deal. But consider the alternatives.

She could have left the card on the ground and walked away without getting involved at all. “Let somebody else do something about that, I don’t have time.”

Or she could have picked it up, taken it inside and passed it onto a clerk. “Hey, I found this in your parking lot. Somebody must have lost it and might come looking for it.”

Or she could have gone straight to the bank and turned it in. “I found this card in a parking lot in Red Bank. Somebody’s probably looking for it.”

But her first instinct was to make a few phone calls and find the card-owner on her own because she knew how upset she would feel if she lost her card and she didn’t want anyone else to feel like that.

I think it’s that kind of thinking and genuine concern for others that helps to make the Miramichi Region such a great area to live.

Earlier today I updated the archives, so if you missed anything look for it there.

A little bird whispered in my ear today. He told me some new voices might show up around these pages pretty soon. Hmmm. Wonder who’s dropping by? Remember to check back often and see.

Preparation on the next issue of Bread ‘n Molasses shifted into high-gear last week. I’ve been so preoccupied with editing submissions and writing my articles that you might think I’ve been ignoring the blog. This is not so. I’ve been doing some research to see about adding some cool new features. I may have news on that soon.

But as I said, Bread ‘n Molasses production has kicked into overdrive. I’ve been concentrating mostly on the articles I can write on my own without interviewing people, like the Editor’s Note, the Write On! writing tip and general information stories that require research but not interviews.

I usually start these types of articles first because I play around with them a lot more than the ones that come from interviews. When you interview someone about their art or their business or whatever, there’s really not much you can do with it — just relay what they’ve told you to the best of your ability.

Most of the article will be direct quotes from the people you’ve interviewed or paraphrasing of what they’ve said. They are more like puzzles than writing; you look for the best way to string their words together so the story flows. It’s not much of a writing challenge though because really you’re just looking for a few good sentences to connect one quote to the next one.

This is not to say those stories aren’t difficult to write. They can be really difficult, especially when the interview doesn’t go well. There’s a lot of preparation involved too.

First, you have to get the interview often involving days of telephone tag and unanswered email.

Then, you need to be prepared with good questions so the people tell you a lot of interesting stuff rather than just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

When you finally connect you’ve got to listen really well so you don’t miss something important, be ready to follow the conversation through twists and turns into areas you know nothing about, and then construct a story from the pages of hen scratch that make up your notes.

It’s not easy. It’s certainly not glamorous. But for people like me, it’s sort of exciting sometimes.

But as difficult as that may or may not sound, the bigger challenge for me comes from the articles that don't involve any interviews. The simple reason for this is because there are no quotes — every word in every sentence is up to me.

And I agonise over them!

I write. I edit. I write more. I edit. I write some more. Then I delete those three sentences and start at the beginning, repeating the process until one day I have a couple hundred words that I think are okay to show the rest of the world.

It’s common for my Editor’s Note or other articles I’m working on to kick around my desk for a good three or four months before I publish them. I like to believe this makes a difference in the end, that they get better after every rewrite, but I don’t know if it really makes that much of a difference.

But it’s not uncommon for writers to work like that. It’s probably more normal than not because we tend to view our writing like offspring. Everything I write, whether it’s my Editor’s Note for Bread ‘n Molasses or an entry in this blog, every paragraph I write is almost like a child of mine. It‘s hard to give up control, release it into the world to stand on its own and accept that I won’t be able to help it anymore.

Anyway, that’s a little insight into how the articles and essays I write for Bread ‘n Molasses come into existence. Regardless of how tortuous I might make the writing process sound, it’s the only thing I really want to do with my life. That’s always been the only thing I know for sure.

What do you know for sure?

My apologies for not blogging more often this week. I’m still waiting for the rest of the crew to jump in and share some of their thoughts. Interesting people with great ideas and lots of insight surround me, but slowing them down long enough to blog is a challenge.

And speaking of challenges, here’s one for you: drop me an email (put BLOG in the subject line) and give me some ideas of what sorts of topics you’d like me to blog about.

Whether you invite me to supper; beg me to play harmless practical jokes on unsuspecting people in the park and publish the results (with photos!); send me on a crazy scavenger hunt or just to find the most interesting tourist in the local campgrounds — I’m ready.

Maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit around here, kick back and have some fun. The Suggestion Box is officially open!

It’s been a long day.

I lost two hours while I downloaded critical Windows updates from Microsoft in an effort to protect my computer from another destructive worm. I’m exaggerating just a little but it did take quite a long time, especially for the high-speed connection we have here in the Miratech Building. The speed problem was on the Microsoft side of things — there were just too many people trying to download the update at the same time.

This Internet worm is really bad because it’s not like the email viruses we’ve become used to fending off. Just surfing the web can infect you.

I’ve been hearing about a lot of local people who have been infected by this worm, so if you run Windows I suggest you make sure you’ve got all your updates.

If your computer has been shutting down all by itself when you haven’t told it to, you might already be infected. Get all the details about WORM_MSBLAST.A by visiting the Trend Antivirus website.

I spent the rest of the day preparing the Bread ‘n Molasses site for the September issue. I started on the home page or Current Issue page. First, I deleted all the story teasers, photos, buttons and headlines from the home page or cover.

Then, I went into each section (Giv’er, The Very Best, Local Interest, etc.) and added an August 2003 heading under Articles from Past Issues . . . Then I listed the headlines and links to the stories under the August 2003 heading .

I had to make room for the new September headlines and story descriptions at the top of every section page, so I deleted the ones from August. But if you look around the site you won’t see any of that — everything looks the same as yesterday. That’s because I made a copy of the website after we published the August issue. So I’m free to add and delete without worrying that there will be a website here when you come to visit.

Not everyone works from a copy but with a website as large as Bread ‘n Molasses and with all the new material that gets added every month, it’s the best way for us. When the time comes to let you see the new issue, it’s just a simple matter of taking down the current site and replacing it with the copy I’m working on now.

The other thing I did today was to make a Submissions Form for the Submit Page. That’s pretty exciting! It’s just a simple form you fill out to send us your submissions. That includes letters for Your Say, Sticky Notes, Grammie or Tech Talk; links for Hello Fer Stuff; essays; poems; short stories; jokes or anything you’d like us to consider including in an upcoming issue.

Just fill out the form and click submit — it doesn’t get much easier than that! I’m hoping that by making it easier for people to do, more people will send us things. You can’t check the form out yet because it’s in the copy site I’m working on, but you’ll be able to access it as soon as September rolls around.

One last thing before I close the blog for today and go home — I stumbled across some pictures we took a few months ago at Robbie Tucker’s CD launch party in Northumberland Square.

I had originally intended to put them with the story I wrote about him. I’m not sure what happened to that idea. More than likely I just didn’t write it down anywhere and it got lost in the shuffle.

Anyway, I found them today and thought I’d share them.

On the weekend I took some time to set up an Archives page and put all the back entries there.

From now on, I'll archive the blog every week and start a fresh page. But nothing will be deleted, just check the archives for anything you may have missed.

I remember reading this poem years ago, but I had forgotten about it until I stumbled on it again today. Everyone needs to be reminded of this every once in awhile I think, so here it is:

ANYWAY

People are often unreasonable, illogical
And self-centered;
Forgive them anyway

If you are kind, people may accuse you
Of selfish, ulterior motives,
Be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will win some
False friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway

If you are honest and frank,
People may cheat you:
Be honest and frank anyway

What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight:
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
People may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
People will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
And it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
It is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

-- Mother Theresa

Because of the Mighty Miramichi web cam, last month I had the opportunity to attend some of the Irish Festival events.

I’ve never been to an Irish Festival before. I guess it’s one of those things I’ve never done because it’s so easy to do that I never made it a priority.

I’m part Irish — the Coughlans on my mother’s side came to North America during the famine — and I like to party as much as anyone else . . . some might even argue that I like to party a bit more than anyone else.

But I didn’t really think I’d enjoy the Irish Festival. I mean I get excited over Bono, Sam Roberts and Kid Rock. My musical tastes run the gamut including everything from classical and jazz to rock and hip-hop, but I’ve never really cared for the Lawrence Welk / Irish Rover polka sound.

And that’s what I expected the Irish Festival to be all about.

Was I ever wrong! Nothing prepared me for the reality of the event.

The festival started for me on Friday morning with breakfast at St. Michael’s. We were late for work. I was particularly stressed from trying to get the July issue of Bread ‘n Molasses finished before the weekend. So, we thought we’d just grab some take-out and eat at the office.

First lesson of the weekend — take-out breakfasts don’t exist at the Irish Festival.

And thank goodness for that!

While the breakfast itself was very good (ham, eggs, potato patty, rolls, juice, coffee and tea) if we had been able to get take-out, we would have missed out because the atmosphere was the best part.

For starters, the tables were set with real tablecloths, china and cutlery — no plastic. There was nothing throwaway about this breakfast; it was a keeper.

Within seconds we had a breakfast hot off the grill in our hands and we set off to find the coffee. Having never really been to a breakfast before, it never occurred to either of us that we would be waited upon.

Someone soon noticed our confusion and told us to go find a seat; they’d take care of the rest. So we did.

I’ve eaten at a lot of restaurants, many wedding receptions, several business banquets and even a few community suppers — but I have rarely experienced service like we had at that breakfast. It was almost magical the way a wave of servers washed over the table leaving juice, coffee, tea, a basket of fresh rolls, more jams and jellies.

The four ladies flitted in and around us like graceful hummingbirds, never once disturbing our conversation or eating, seeming to know exactly what we needed before we even knew ourselves.

Onstage someone played a slow lament on a fiddle. And the music, like the servers, was very much a part of the background and atmosphere, not at all intrusive.

It was the most delicious pampered and spoiled feeling to begin the day.

Maybe I just don’t go to enough breakfasts in the community and they’re all like that, I don’t know. But I got to tell you, we were very impressed.

We could really understand how tourists feel. Everything and everybody was so warm and inviting, you couldn’t help but want to be a part of it. If I could have, I would have blown off work and spent the rest of the day at the Festival.

Saturday morning found us in the parking lot outside the Lord Beaverbrook Arena as Irish clans paraded past. There’s something very strong and honourable about that parade; you stand taller in its presence. I wished I had a clan to march with.

By the time we went inside, the Nelson Doyle Dancers had already taken the stage. I worked in a ballet theatre and I love ballet, jazz and modern dance. I have a passion for great choreography.

I had heard the Nelson Doyle Dancers were good, but I was expecting them to be good in an accordion/ bagpipe kind of way that I probably wouldn’t enjoy. I expected they wouldn’t use much of the stage — they would dance in one spot and their repetitive high steps and kicks would soon bore me.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was nothing like I had expected.

I don’t care who you are or what sort of entertainment you’re into — if you have the opportunity to see the Nelson Doyle Dancers, you will enjoy them. Those girls are the coolest act I have seen in a long time and they rocked the joint!

Their mauve, white, fuchsia and black dresses made a dramatic statement and were well worth every penny spent on them.

The drumbeat in the music was almost tribal. It called to you at the very core of your being.

The high energy amazed and mesmerized. The girls dipped, bobbed and twirled together like beautiful butterflies. In perfect unison they floated through captivating choreography on and off the stage from one end to the other.

Words, pictures, video — nothing can accurately show the haunting nature of their performance. You would have to see it in order to really understand. And I highly recommend you do see it if you ever have the opportunity.

I could go on about the different performances I saw at the LBA and all the interesting things I took in at NBCC-Miramichi but I won’t. Suffice it to say, my first Irish Festival exceeded all my expectations.

In fact it didn’t even remotely resemble any of my expectations. While there were some accordions, bagpipes and Irish Rover type polkas and other tunes, I even enjoyed them much more than I would have expected.

I’m looking forward to next year, when I plan to attend everything just as a participant and not as part of my work.

Until then —

There were green alligators
And long-necked geese
Some humpy-backed camels
And some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants
But sure as you're born
The loveliest of all was the Unicorn

Is it humid enough for you? And how about this gloomy rainy weather! It’s not a great beginning to the end of summer, but I’m hoping things will brighten up soon.

I read an interesting article on CBC today about the Sobey Award. $50, 000 is a big chunk of change for anyone, let alone an artist. Here is the link for any artists out there who might be interested in applying.

Every month there are stories I want to include in Bread ‘n Molasses that don’t make the deadline. At the beginning of the month, the plan starts out pretty simple with a few story ideas on a list, but as the month progresses the list grows and I run out of time before everything gets done.

Whenever I can, I keep the articles to include in the next issue. But sometimes that’s not possible because next month is too late. So, one great thing about keeping a blog is that those stories won’t slip through the cracks anymore. I can tell you all about them here.

One story I planned to write for the August issue was about a young guy named James Hicks.

A couple of weeks ago James emailed us with a sponsorship request. He had been picked for the NB Selects baseball team and needed money in order to be able to go to Windsor and compete for the National Championship.

James will enter the eleventh grade at James M. Hill high school in the fall and has been playing ball since he was seven years old. At a recent game in Moncton, the University of Maine Head Coach approached him about playing ball for them after he graduates high school.

I thought, “What a great story! And maybe it will drum up some sponsors for him when people read about it.”

I called his house a few days later and spoke to his mother. She told me James already had all the funding he needed but he would like the opportunity to thank those sponsors in Bread ‘n Molasses.

Apparently as soon as his hockey team heard he needed funding they got together and helped him find sponsors. I wasn’t surprised — that’s one of the great things about being a Miramichier — we’re really good at banding together to help one another out.

I called back the next day to speak with James and learned that he wasn’t the only local guy chosen for the NB Selects. Jeremy Leggett, Adam Aubie and Craig Russell are also on the provincial team.

In order to do a balanced story I knew I had to track down all these guys for an interview and I only had a couple of days left before Bread ‘n Molasses was due to hit the web.

Needless to say, time ran out, the story didn’t happen and by next issue the tournament will be history.

That’s how good stories slip through the cracks. But those days are behind us now, nothing falls through the cracks anymore, it will all find a home in our blog.

James sent me another email after we spoke on the telephone. Here’s what he had to say:

I want to thank my Sponsors:

R & B Walsh Transport

Andrew's Fish & Chips

Discount Taxi

Hebert's Bottle Exchange

Billy Flieger

I would like to thank some people that helped me to get my sponsors.

These people are:

Brian MacDonald & Family (Hockey Coach)

Barry Jeans & Family (Hockey coach)

George Martin

Roy & Peggy Walsh

And my Hockey team The Miramichi Panthers

(These people are great and are always there for me. They have helped me throughout the years, both on and off the ice.)

Also my Ironmen Midget Coach, Mark Noel and manager, Ken MacDonald and Midget team mates for sharing their knowledge of the sport, advice and transportation with me over our years together.

Thanks again, Kellie for your interest.

You’re very welcome, James.

And I think I speak for everyone when I say, Good luck to the NB Selects team at the National Championship in Windsor, Ontario, from August 13th-18th!

By the way . . . Happy New Brunswick Day!

If you want peace of mind,
Leave your worries far behind,
Won’t you come back with me,
To that land down by the sea,
Where the tall timbers grow,
In the valleys green below,
Reaching up to the hills
Of New Brunswick.

With the sweet breath of springtime,
The smell of new mown hay,
Leaves that turn to red and gold,
And snow on Christmas Day,
There is no kindness to spare,
You’ll be welcome to share,
Of the love and the land
Of New Brunswick.

-- The Land of New Brunswick
by Donald A. McLeod

Here’s the link for the official New Brunswick Day website

Find out about all the symbols for the province here.

About Bread ‘n Molasses . . .

I slept a little late on Saturday so I didn’t get started on it until after noon. But I worked the rest of the day and all evening until about 11pm, mostly on the Tall Ships story, so I could put the issue to bed and send out the email to all our subscribers.

I got the article and all the pictures up, but I didn’t get the email out. I planned to send it first thing Sunday morning. But in its typical way, life decided it had other plans for me on Sunday, so I couldn’t get to work on the email until late afternoon. And it was after supper before it got sent.

Today is a busy day for me because it’s the first day after Bread ‘n Molasses goes live. I have about 30 returned email messages from the Postmaster in my inbox that I need to deal with. Whenever I send an email to our subscriber list, some always bounce back — like Return to Sender in the good old days.

Some of these messages come back because the subscribers email box is full. I usually keep a record of these and send the email again next week, hoping that they will check their email and delete some messages before then. Most of the time that works, but there are some people who never get the email — it always bounces back because their email is always full.

I should probably just delete their email address from the list and be done with it. Actually, I did that before when I noticed the same email address bouncing every month. But the odd thing is these people want to be on the list. They ask to be put on the list every time anyone from the office meets up with them.

So, what am I to do? I can’t check their email for them. They want to be on the list. They bounce every time. I throw up my hands and shrug — let it be!

A lot of the bounced messages tell me the subscribers email address is invalid or unknown, and these are the ones I need to really deal with. I have to find them on the master list and delete them. That’s what I’m doing right now.

Because I’m home, working on dial-up, there’s a lot of time between look-ups and deletions to blog and tell you all about the exciting world of list administration! Aren’t you lucky? J

What I’m noticing about these unknown and invalid email addresses is that nearly all of them are Hotmail accounts. Hmmm. What does this mean?

Recently, I heard something about Hotmail and email newsletters, I can’t remember what exactly. It seems like they were considering only allowing email through that was flagged on the recipient’s Friends list. Did anyone else hear anything like that?

That would explain why nearly all the returned email is coming from Hotmail. Or it could just be that people have forgotten about their Hotmail accounts so they were shut down. That happens a lot.

Anyway, my list administration is complete for another month. The next step is to contact all the regular contributors and touch base as we start down the long twisted road to the September Bread ‘n Molasses.

Thanks for dropping by the Bread 'n Molasses blog. I'm Kellie, the editor.

If everyone else isn't too busy, I’m hoping they will drop by from time to time to blog here too so you won't get really bored of my ranting about the insane schedule I keep in order to get Bread ‘n Molasses up every month.

And speaking of Bread ‘n Molasses — Today is Deadline Day — the day we picked to have the August issue go live.

And some of it is live . . . almost all of it . . .

Okay, okay, I admit it — the entire August issue won’t be available until tomorrow.

There, I’ve said it. What a relief! Now, I can get to work and start to finish this thing.

So, thanks for popping by. I just wanted to put a brief Hello here so you’d know we’re up and blogging! Now, I’m off to finish your current issue of Bread ‘n Molasses. Check back later.