SIGHT LINES

Sometimes individuals, communities, or organizations are gifted by nature, fate, or whatever. Some of us embrace and enhance it, others diminish it.

Such seems to be the case of the Minnewasta Golf & Country Club’s current foray into replacing its Club House facilities. Its most appealing feature, an uninhibited panoramic view of the course and town beyond, has been lost. That view has now been reduced to the scale of a camera viewfinder.

It was always a pleasure to take friends or guests to the old Club house, to lunch, and bask in its beauteous surroundings. Their Web site says, …..”You can marvel at the panoramic view from the restaurant surrounded by windows or from out in the fresh air on the deck.” This is only from the seven tables beside the windows to the east and south. Even here the sight lines are interrupted, both by a retaining wall and circular drive. In previous years, one would see walkers, joggers, bikers, and strollers, heading up to the lake, as well as being able to watch the action on holes #9 and #18.

It’s like the carbon emitters trucks and SUV’s hitting on environmental crowd. I believe that a somewhat raised Club House and a lower circular drive and retaining wall, would have kept most of the old sight lines. An elevated floor under the cathedral ceiling portion of the Timbers restaurant could provide for a better visual view.

Without the log siding, the former 'rustic Pembina Crossing look' of the building is lost and disappointing. On one's approach to the Clubhouse, the first visual impression that hits you right in the eye, is the bank of huge mechanical devices that surround the rear portion of the building.

Reminds me of the old Joni Mitchell song,

Don’t it always seem to go.
That you don’t know what you’ve got.

Till its gone.

They paved paradise

And put up a parking lot.

K & D MUSIC FEST

This year the K & D Music Fest is celebrating it's 10th Anniversary. It all started out 10 years ago as a little party in the garage organized by Ken and Delores Schellenberg and has become an international event. Seven years ago they moved it into their big shed on the farm where they can accommodate the large crowds that come and enjoy a camping weekend in the Pembina Valley. It's a festival of music that promotes and preserves your favourite country classics and old time music from the past. You can dance or just listen to the many performers that grace the stage during the four day event. I personally been associated with the event for the past seven years, only because of a chance meeting with Ken one day in the town of Morden, when I happened to comment that I had a sound system. The rest is history, and over the years I have met hundreds of performers that have graced the stage at the K & D Music Fest. Both the attendees and the performers are wonderful down to earth type people who enjoy the same old time values and old time music. If you're into rap or heavy metal this isn't the place for you! Enjoy the relaxing casual slow paced life of the Pembina Hills, you can rejoin the rat race after this refreshing weekend.
This year features as usual the best in Canadian and U.S. bands. Check out the poster for details on performers and times. Also it's a great affordable camping weekend. Your hosts Ken and Delores and their Family are all waiting to see you and greet you at the site.

Pick a Winner Steve!

Sitting there alone at the Kopper Kettle restaurant stuffing my face with sumptuous raspberry bread pudding, my mind slipped over to the current political fray around Ottawa. Now I think I could actually help our Prime Minister out , even though I’m not prone to helping any Prime Ministers, especially right wing ones.
Seems like the bottom has fallen out of this so called New Government and it has become old over night. It also seems like Bernier and Couillard (Julie) have made it look like old home week, just like in the good old Tory days. Reminds me of the old saying “ What goes around, comes around”. Well maybe not quite as amusing as the old verbal exchanges between Sheila Copps and John Cosby, but none the less, interesting. You Mr. Haper have in your caucus a competent, seasoned and well spoken individual, her name is Diane Ablonczy and she is currently being wasted. As the new minister of External Affairs she would raise the profile of Canada and would be a worthy minister on the world stage, no more bumbling here. Yes I realize your both from Calgary, so what? yes I realize she was a leadership candidate, so what? She is far and away better than air-bag John Braid or Ms. “sweets” Rona Ambrose, get with the program Stephan, pick a proven winner eh!

Barbara Walters!

Barbarwaaah! Barbarwaaah! How could you have devastated me so, - having an affair? An affair? You, an American “pop” icon. You, ABC’s original million dollar “babe” - how could you? How dare you dump your dark secret passions of the past on an unsuspecting public. If I was ABC, I’d be asking for a refund, or at the very least, hire Kenneth Starr to impeach you. Are you unaware of the 7th commandment “thou shall not commit adultery”? Well perhaps you didn’t commit adultery, after all, he was a Republican senator. But surely you must have lusted a little, even President Jimmy Carter admitted to lusting in Playboy. "I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I committed adultery in my heart many times," he has said. Please say it isn’t so, Barb.

And you ran right into the arms of the highest rated T.V. talk show, "Oprah", to deliver that knock-out punch to those very young media hogs like Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus), and to ward off the Britney Spears, Jessica Simpsons, and Paris Hiltons. Not since “Who shot J.R?” has such media pandemonium broken out in our midst. I can’t wait for the encore!

Anne Murray

Seems I've been spending time lately going to concerts. We travelled to Winnipeg on Tues night April 29th to hear what I can only describe as a most memorable event, Anne Murray's performance at the Centennial Concert Hall. We walked from the parking lot at the back of the Centennial Hall and noticed a big semi rig backed up to the loading dock. In addition, a modest but huge tour bus (roadies bus) was parked on the side street. Directly behind the hall were parked two highly polished maroon colored tour buses. Obviously buses for the headliners and road musicians.
Billed as her last tour, the 2300 tickets for this event were sold almost immediately after they went on sale last December and now I see another concert is booked at the MTS center for May 17th, no doubt prompted by the huge demand for tickets. For the first 1/2 hour of the concert, the audience was treated to the great piano stylings of Michael Kaeshammer. His piano technique was amazing ending up his set with a medley of familiar old audience sing-a-long songs and setting up the perfect atmosphere for the appearance of what everyone anticipated....Anne Murray.
Anne's portion began with a video segment, which was a video montage of pictures of people with which Anne had met or performed backed by musical clips of her songs. It was a who's who of world class performers and leaders and left one feeling proud of that old Canadian identity.
With the stage set in darkness and only the silhouettes of musicians on stage, the introduction began. My eyes strained to view a glimpse of Anne on stage. I said to my wife sitting next to me " there she is!" which to my dismay wasn't her at all, as the stage lights rose to reveal it was her back up singer. A flash of light and ball of smoke and out came Anne Murray from behind a rising curtain at the back of the stage. I had fallen for the decoy.
In addition to six regular musicians that accompany her on tour, she was also accompanied, for this performance by a dozen Winnipeg Chamber Orchestra members playing violins, violas and cellos.
Her orchestra leader, who played a grand piano on stage, coordinated all the music and very competently led the entire musical team. Later in the show, she introduced her band members and revealed that the bass player, drummer and piano player were the most recent additions, they'd only been with her 25 years.
Her guitar players, of which there were two had been with her 30 and 38 years respectively and her female back up singer had been with her 30 years.
This long loyalty of musicians was most evident when in the middle of her show she did an unplugged segment with her two guitarists and back up singer, took requests from the audience and flawlessly performed songs at random. This truly demonstrates the confidence she has in her musical team and herself.
In addition in a more casual moment she read humorous emails she'd received from her fans.
The sound was exquisite. I've been in recording studios many times and there's nothing that can compare with the sound quality in a studio. The sound at this performance however was as near to studio quality as I've ever heard. We all know and appreciate that Anne Murray has a one of a kind voice. The richness, the range, and the distinctive Anne Murray sound were all present in her renditions of all her well known songs. So familiar were the songs that she asked the audience to sing-a-long if they knew them and hardly anyone in the crowd refused the chance. From what I read, she's the one who picks the songs she'll perform and would suggest that she maintains that position as she seems to possess the ability to know what the audience wants to hear, and when they want to hear it.
There was no awkwardness in her delivery of humour and she appeared fit and at home on stage.
It was a joy both for her and her audience to have her daughter Dawn Langstroth join her on stage. Besides her outstanding performance Anne is clever enough to do the songs people want to hear. Her new album Duets, aren't new songs. It's old songs. She never went into the "here's a new song off my new album" line. That's usually when my ears shut down at a concert. I want the hits and she didn't disappoint. It was a night of parents and grandparents to journey to Winnipeg for a visit with each other and Anne. The couple sitting next to me had travelled from Melita, to Brandon, to Portage to Winnipeg picking up people along the way for a night out.
Just a note of interest ...the merchandise counter at the Hall was about 25 feet long. It had available everything from programs, to mugs, to tote bags, to jewelery and there were lines four or five deep just to get to the table. I noted that people who had arrived with walkers and wheelchairs miraculously left them to stand in line to buy merchandise. She's on a 27 concert tour , and it's billed as her last ...say it ain't so Anne!

Yard Sales!

Friends,......As you have heard, most of us will be getting a tax rebate cheque to stimulate the economy. If we spend the money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If we spend it on gasoline, it will go to the Arabs. If we purchase a computer, it will go to India. If we purchase fruits & vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras, & Guatemala. If we purchase a good car, it will go to Japan. If we purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan. None of which will help the Canadian Economy. We need to keep that money here in Canada. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it at Yard Sales since those are the only businesses still in Canada. (Best of the e-mails)

Wireless Review

For those of you who didn't attend the Royal Canadian Legion's entertainment on Friday, it should be noted you missed a very good solid performance and it was free! The Bar Manager at the Legion, Bruce Salmonson has a buddy Paul, who sings with the barbershop quartet named Wireless. Bruce was able to talk the group into stopping over in Morden on Friday night on their way to a barbershop convention in Dauphin and performing at the Legion.
Prior to their performance at the Legion I visited their website and realized this was a group of talented individuals, and I decided to enlist the help of my friend David Destoop of "The Source Electronics" to help set up a sound and light system that befitted their talent.
The group Wireless has been together since 2005 and hale from Grand Forks and Fargo Area.
Unfortunately through poor marketing, advertising or member support, which are all common features for our local legion, the attendance was small.
The short program of 45 minutes with a further encore of 15 minutes was well received by those few who did attend what one could consider a professional and polished group..
Some local singers in attendance remarked on how exceptionally talented and versatile they performed.
Songs ranged from religious, to Broadway classics, to long forgotten ballads. There were also plenty of comedic performances within the repertoire. In general Wireless seemed to have fun while entertaining and that fun was infectious with the audience. The harmonies were clearly done to near perfection and the performance at the Legion became more of a concert than the usual bar band loud and riotous exercise. They were able to offer a mix of songs, some maybe not as memorable as others, but the shear delight of listening to their melodic and seemingly effortless harmonies overcame any lack of familiarity with the song.
In general Morden, you missed a great one of a kind performance. Check out their website by clicking on >>>http://wirelessqt.com/ .
Thanks Bruce!