What Are The Odds?

Everyone has a few ‘small world’ stories. On our Jamaica trip last year, we met someone I’d gone to middle school with. When we moved to Brighton, we discovered that our next-door neighbour’s best friend, who lives in Toronto, knew Ray when he was a child. On our first day in Newfoundland, I ran into two former work colleagues. The list goes on, and I often wonder how many of those connections exist without us ever becoming aware of them. How many degrees of separation are there between us and the guy who cuts us off in traffic?

Last month, I was reading the WAGzone newsletter and recognized a guy I’d gone to grad school with at York University. Like Ray, he’d recently joined the Saint John Ambulance Therapy Dog program. He lives in Cobourg now so we got together at a coffee shop to catch up on the past few decades. We reminisced about drinking cheap beer at the Brunswick House (which has since closed and been replaced by a Value Village), watching the Jays play at Exhibition Stadium (which has since been demolished), and long afternoons spent in the grad student pub, philosophizing about life and solving the world’s problems.

We both have sons who are the age we were back then, out in the world living adventurous lives. It made me nostalgic to recall those days, but there are parallels between grad student life and retired life…freedom, lots of social time and a flexible schedule. There are significant differences too…slower metabolism, less energy, greater awareness of mortality, but also more self-awareness and confidence, fewer major life decisions to be made, and more disposable income. So, yes, those were the days, my friend…but so are these.

Speaking of Nick, he and Megan stopped in for a visit this week, in between seeing a Billie Eilish concert in Toronto and gathering at a cottage with friends. He also managed to fit in some outdoor climbing in Calabogie.

Lorrie and I attended an Alpaca Yoga session at Alpaca Lane Farms in Prince Edward County. You do yoga and there are alpacas. There was also a group of ducks that rushed past us, quacking chaotically, in the middle of our session, which I found equally entertaining.

Brighton celebrated its 50th Applefest. It’s the busiest day of the year in this town, with parked cars lining all the side streets. Ray and I made the rounds, hitting the pancake breakfast, the vendor stalls, the car show and later the drone and fireworks display.

We also went to the Roseneath Fall Fair where we watched dog and horse performances, caber tossing and tractor pulling. The only ride we went on was this carousel, originally built in 1906 and restored to its original condition, the only one of its kind in North America.

Ray took advantage of the gorgeous weather we’ve been having and got away for a couple days of kayaking with his friend Russ.