Freedom in a Can: Adventures with Hamlet

Lost Between Two "Fins" The boat slowly pulls out of the marina and blasts a quick toot of the horn, as much for the tourists and tradition as to alert other boats.  We motor past the breakwater and slowly pick up speed, cutting a clean V line through the calm morning sea.  Within seconds we're cruising, taking in the tree covered isles of the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve , from our seats in the stern.   Suddenly, the boat slows and everyone, even the children, jump up, fingers pointing, and scream, " FOCK! FOCK ! FOCK!"    “Did they just say…?” The boat isn't sinking, we haven’t hit a submerged ledge, no, all the excitement comes from the small group of harbor seals, “phoque,” which now surround the boat.  The French word for seal sounds exactly like the word that escapes my mouth when I bash my head into a low hanging branch... happens more than it should, really.   Now why didn’t my five years of French study cover s...

Escapade -- A Wicked Good Time! As I walked up to the microphone, I was sweating through my toes and wondering if I would remember any of the lyrics. I've played my guitar and sang for lots of folks, but it had been a LONG time in front of a crowd like this.  I looked out across a packed house, from a real stage with a huge sound system and blinked into those bright lights. I was the first act to go, and other than the hasty cram sessions, I hadn't picked up my guitar in months.  What was I doing?  I leaned into the mic, blabbed some nonsense until I could hear my guitar from the monitor and I struck the first chord.  No going back... It's a curious thing for two people who chose to live in a tiny rolling home, happiest when they're on a deserted road, parked in a quiet place next to a bubbling brook for the night, to suddenly find themselves in a very large crowd of people who all love to do similar things.  Wait, we like to be alone, but we also like to be tog...