When Will the Fat Lady Sing?

During the 1973 baseball season when the Mets were in last place, Yogi Berra reportedly made that famous remark,”It ain’t over till it’s over.” His team was down but not out. As it turned out, it wasn’t over for the Mets. They went on to win the division title.

Someone else said, “The opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”This may have referred to Brunnhilde in Richard Wagner’s extremely long opera Götterdämmerung.

Well, the fat lady (me) will sing her swan song on Sunday night, so that makes it official — my time in West Head is almost over for now.

Only four days remain of my time at my family home in West Head, Nova Scotia. This is my last weekend here. I am, however, going out with a bang. On Sunday night I have a final storytelling event at an event to honour Lockeport’s First Responders and Firefighters.

What am I going to miss when I leave my little seaside paradise? Many things, as a matter of fact.

8I I will miss my morning visits to the Bayman in East Green Harbour. Molly, Rita, Sheila, Kathleen and I have enjoyed much laughter. (It is hard to believe that Rita used to be my Sunday School teacher when I was five. Now it seems we are the same age.) I will miss the assortment of men, who meet around the Liars’ Table every morning. They tell big fibs   I will miss Connie and Karen who cook a perfect seven-minute egg.

I will miss my visits with Andrew, Nan and Sarah at Lockeport Landing Bed and Breakfast and Café. Andrew’s cappuccino always hits the spot and Sarah’s chocolate truffle cake is “to die for,” as they say. Nan and I are kindred spirits. We never run out of things to gab about. I purposely wait until the lunch rush is over so I don’t feel guilty hogging Nan’s attention.

I will miss seeing my brothers and their families. We shared some yummy meals around our kitchen table. The after dinner entertainment was almost as good as the food. We are a funny bunch. We have been stretching, I mean telling, the same funny stories for decades. Nevertheless, I always want to hear them one more time. It warms my heart that the storytelling and impersonating genes have been passed on to the next generation.

I will miss bumping into people I have not seen for many years.  I find it interesting that we seem to pick up where we left off in high school, forty years ago! Granted, we may look a little different on the outside with pour gray hair, a wrinkle here and there, an extra pound or fifty, but we have not changed that much on the inside.

I will miss all the friendly faces who ask, “I suppose you’re some mglad to be back home for a while. How long are you staying? Do you think you might ever move back? Are you going to write another book?

I will miss the extra creamy Farmers coffee and orange pineapple ice cream from the newly opened Lock, Stock and Barrel General Store. The owners also brought gasoline back to Lockeport.  Yaaaaaaaay!I will miss the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, the smell of the salty air, the feel of the cool breezes on my face and the squawk of a screech owl at night.

And that is just the beginning.

During my time here, I was able to hawk my wares at Lobster Expo in Barrington, at July 1st  Celebrations in Lockeport and July 23, 24th at Harmony Bazaar, a festival for women of song.

Some storytelling opportunities came my way as well. I had wonderful audiences at the Clark’s Harbour Library and the Lockeport Library (How to Catch a Husband). My final event will be on July 31st (How I Got My Drivers’ Licence).

My brother Edsel and I sang together at the Lockeport Baptist Church, the Sable River Baptist Church, and the Ragged Island Baptist Church.

It was an honour to share my Mental Health Journey with the newly formed Lockeport Mental Health Society.

Can you see why I will miss West Head?

Isn’t life funny?  I spent the first eighteen years of my life trying to get away from here. Now I have an unquenchable thirst to return to the place of my birth.

It isn’t as simple as selling our house in Ontario and relocating here. Our children and grandchildren are in Ontario. Right now, our grandkiddies think we are cool (and we’re not telling them any different). The day will come when they will be too busy with their own lives to hang out with Nanny and Grampy.

As well, we want to be near Glenn’s ninety-year-old mother. (She neither looks nor acts ninety.) She poured herself selflessly into the lives of her children and now it is our turn to  do the same for her. Annie lives in a retirement home in Peterborough and is managing very well, but things can change in a heartbeat.

But this  very special man is the biggest reason I am eager to return to our home in Ontario. I can’t wait to grab my luggage off the carousel at Pearson Airport in Toronto, exit the opaque doors and scan the crowd for my sweetheart, Glenn.  I know he will be waiting for me. I can always count on him.

We love each other’s company. We are perfectly happy sitting in our recliners. We do not even have to speak a word. I usually have a story on the go on my computer and Glenn is watching Law and Order, NCIS, Deadliest Catch, Mayday and the Curse of Oak Island. (How I detest that show. An hour’s worth of nothing!) We watch the old shows — MASH, Newhart, Wings and The Odd Couple. We wait patiently for Murdoch Mysteries on Monday night. Are you yawning yet?

I am also looking forward to reconnecting with my good friends, Wendy, Joanne, Frances and Lorna. I have to catch up on May, June and July. We will have so much to talk about.

The weeds have flourished in my flower beds during my absence. I hope the former owner doesn’t see them. It may take the rest of the summer to  get them in shape — just in time for winter.

We hope to return to West Head in November, but there are no guarantees. A lot could happen between now and then. Instead of moping around pining to return, I plan to savour each second and live in the moment. After all, that is all we truly have.

To purchase a copy of my book
“LIFE MATTERS: 20 Mostly True Stories to Put a Smile on Your Face”
bookmarks, note cards and postcards, please visit my store:
Memories of Nova Scotia  

To inquire about or to book a storytelling event, please send an email to meldaclark@hotmail.com or call 705.928.2992.

To inquire about or to book a Mental Health Presentation in which I share my long journey with depression, please send an email to meldaclark@hotmail.com or call 705.928.2992.