%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 A blog of no uncertain musings. What goes on in my mind is often a source of wonder to me. |
|
My mind and my life are wonderous things ... as are yours, I'm sure. I have more slips of paper and pages of notebooks with musings and thoughts than I really know what to do with. Someone, actually several someones, have suggested I start a blog ... or a journal as a means of focusing some of this mental energy. To be honest, I don't even know what the difference between a 'journal' and 'blog' is--or if there even is a difference. Read on, my friends, and you can judge for yourself whether it even matters. And so....  I'm JACE. Yep ... that's me! And somewhere in all my writings my last name may be posted. But I'll just leave it at Jace for right now. I'm 70 years old and heading full tilt to 71. It's strange that while I'm going through some rather serious medical issues, I still consider myself to be in the prime of my life--pretty good shape physically AND mentally, though I don't run for competition anymore  . I love to ... dang, if I put this stuff here, I won't have anything for my blog.Guess you just have to be patient until such stuff leaks out.  Perhaps 2025, having embraced my retirement, will see more participation in my journaling efforts. Well, one can hope.... |
| We woke up on morning three in the picturesque community of Baie-Comeau. Officially named for Napoleon-Alexandre Comeau (1848-1923), who was a self-taught naturalist and government official, Baie Comeau itself was founded in 1936 by Col. Robert McCormick, who owned the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News. Before McCormick arrived, this area was a camp for the Hudson’s Bay Company primarily for furs and some logging. McCormick established logging camps, and built paper mills, a hydro-electric power station and housing in order to provide newsprint for his newspaper companies. The paper mill would close down after the turn of the 21st century when the demand for newsprint decreased dramatically. The power station continues to supply power to several communities in the area. During those early years, many men in the town would work six months of the year in the logging industry and the remaining six months at various jobs in the town including the mill. One of the excursions we went on was to a typical lumberjack village. I decided there and then I would not have survived the conditions under which those men worked. Many used axes as the early chainsaws were very large and cumbersome to use. Lots of accidents. The daily requirement was for each man to cut three cords of wood. Figure four-foot long logs of various thicknesses stacked on a wood cradle eight-foot long by four-foot high. That included limbing the logs after cutting the trees down. They ate meals of 3-4000 calories (mainly salt pork beans and flour), and lived in drafty log buildings with one 55-gal drum heater kept going all night by one of the younger loggers. As you might imagine, hygiene was particularly poor. It was a rough existence. And this was in the early to mid-20th century. Baie-Comeau is also home to a very large Aluminum mill that employs a significant segment of the population today. There were two Catholic churches in the area, one attended by those working in the paper mills; the other by those working in the Aluminum mill. When the paper mills closed, the Saint-Amelie Church eventually closed due to dwindling attendance and tremendous expense to heat. It was later purchased by a non-profit organization to preserve the breath-taking fresco paintings on the ceilings and walls, and 30 stained-glass windows. They were breath-taking. After walking around the community and the beaches, we returned to the ship where various activities kept use entertained until dinner. Dinners always consisted of your choice of two or three appetizers; the same with choice of soup. The main course was a choice of a fresh fish catch of the day, a meat dish (lamb, beef or chicken), and a pasta dish. If one of the main courses didn’t meet your approval, the menu provided for five other items every day. And then it was time for dessert. Two or three choices changed each day, along with four items that were offered every day. One did not go hungry on this ship. You could have seconds of your main course, or several deserts if your waistline (or your mind) allowed. That included the meals where lobster and prime rib were served. Honestly, there was no need for a buffet. If, by chance you were hungry between meals, they set out pastries, fresh-baked cookies, chips, granola bars, sodas and water in the lounges. Heavy Hors d’Ouevres were set out at 3 pm upon return to the ship along with an Open Cocktail Bar. Each cruise carries a Guest Speaker who would tell us each about some special aspect of the next stop the afternoon prior. Mike was a real font of knowledge about each leg of our trip. He offered tips about sights to see while we were in Port. Again, meeting in the lounge for his talk was a great opportunity to meet some new friends, some of whom might be on our next excursion. And the entertainment was first rate—a husband-wife duo well versed in the major musical genres, including country, the 50’s through the 80’s, British Invasion segment and a wildly popular evening of Celtic music. Jeff played guitar and piano, while Jacinthe (pronounced Ja-saint) played fiddle with a classical crossover. The weather at Baie-Comeau was perfect—about 65 degrees. In fact, our next stop would be almost 15 degrees warmer. Ah, but later we would not be so lucky. But that’s for another day. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
We save a few pesos, get free delivery, and use it once a week for snack food for Thursday Night Football. Given the driving habits around here, it's more like Health Insurance. 
