Ok let me explain -
The Commander (oh I am sure he has some fancy title other than Commander - but what do I know from titles??) of the 78th Frasier Highlanders retired a year ago (I think) The men (questionable use of the term - trust me) bought him a remote controlled model ship to build (a German PT boat at that - go figure - like I said only a man!!) to celebrate his retiring from an (wait for it !!) infantry garrison!
Well the building of this German PT boat was completed and the Commander decided to hold a "boat launching" on Sunday August 28th at 2:00 p.m. (the invitation was quite formal)
By Saturday - I was pretty damn sure this boat launching would be cancelled.. By Sunday I was positive ! You only had to look out the window to figure out no one in their right mind would go out - never mind go down to the lake and launch a damn model boat!!!
But being a woman - of course I was wrong. At 10 W sent me an email saying the event was still a go and did I still want to attend....... W even offered to take me out to my favourite restaurant for lunch ( a bribe I suspect) .......... Oh what the hell - I had worked hard all weekend on the damn bookkeeping program (more on that another day) I figured I deserved a break - and why not get wet and pummeled by winds to brighten up my weekend and add a little excitement to it.
So I grabbed my camera and off we went - batten down the hatches had a whole new meaning for me while I tried to hold on to the hood to my raincoat - my purse and my camera bag on the run to the car. (God what HAD I been thinking!!)
W and I had a nice dry lunch then off we went to the sailing club. It was interesting to me that I had been affiliated with this Canadian Armed forces sailing club through marriage some 30 years ago........ and it was fun to go back to the place of my early naughty days.
Stupid me - ok ok I can be a "woman" some times - wore heels for god's sakes!! to maneuver through puddles and mud slides and fallen tree branches!! to get to the safety of the club house.
The model PT boat was proudly displayed by the door.
People were gathered around drinking wine - eating hagis - and sausage rolls and cheese and ............ talking and socializing. If it wasn't for Irene blowing and blustering outside the walls of the club house - it might have been a really enjoyable afternoon.
Not being the world's most social person I went and stood looking out the windows at the poor lonely sail boats being knocked about by Irene's winds. I kept watching one lil fore lone sailboat that honestly looked like it wasn't going to weather the storm.
I asked the retired commander if he was REALLY going to launch the model in the lake??!! No no.. he had a Plan B in place. On the deck - under an awning (that was barely hanging on) was a rubber dinghy filled with water. The model boat was going to be launched in the dinghy!!!
I am here to report that the launching was a HUGE success - the model boat didn't sink - the Commander even used the controls and got the thing to go back and forth in the dinghy....... BUT the champagne was not cracked across it's bow - rather it was uncorked and shared by one and all - safely inside the club house.
I was just starting to wonder when one could gracefully slip away from this festive little group - when there was an horrendous cracking sound - and then a crash and a thud that shook the whole club house. A massive tree branch had broken and crashed into the side of the building right where I was sitting. Excuse me!!! but I had seen enough news casts about trees crashing into buildings and killing / maiming or otherwise injuring the occupants. It was time to go!!
As I climbed into bed last night - I hummed a few bars of "good night Irene good night Irene" and prayed that she would have moved on by morning......... I had survived her.. W had survived her.. hell even the little model PT boat had survived her!!
Glad you did not get killed by a tree. Also glad that it is not just our household where people are old enough to be humming "Good Night, Irene..."
ReplyDeletehugs, swan