Today was a good day. On one of the coldest days yet this winter, I
went to the first AGM for the Shelter Valley Folk Fest. Everyone was
in good spirits (for the most part!) and ideas and motions were carried
forward for this coming year. It's difficult to think about a late summer/
early fall festival when there is 15 cm of snow on the ground and a
lingering wintry coil that causes your car to curse at you in plain
English when you start it up.
Before and after this meeting, though, I had to chance to spend some
time with Cliff. I met him at his house and though he is somewhat
sick at the moment with a typical January head cold and raspy voice,
that didn't stop him from laughing. We laughed a lot. Most of the
time, it's about things that I wouldn't share with the general public
because humour is a touchy subject. Some people think that humour
should be all unicorns, rainbows and soft puppets and that it should
all be 3 year old friendly. I believe that humour is humour - what
makes you laugh reflects how you are wired up. And in laughing,
as endorphins are naturally released into your bloodstream, how can
there be anything wrong with that response?
Cliff and I drove our usual route from Cobourg to Grafton. Last year,
the dead heat of late summer, we drove that route multiple times a
week to set things up for the festival. Some people find Cliff to be
odd and a tad off-putting - but I think he is a well-journeyed man
with stories and humourous tales that ooze out of him in an
infectious manner. And to be honest, I really don't think that he
gives two shits about what people think of him. He is done playing
that game - and finished that facade a long time ago.
We drove and swapped stories about odd people we come across.
Cliff is virtually always in trouble - whether in the eyes of a Shelter
Valley committee member - or by his lovely wife, Deb. In one of
the serious moments of the meeting yesterday, he decided to flick
some pistachio shells across the table, only to have one bounce
back off of someone's coffee cup making a loud 'ting' sound.
We need more people like Cliff.
'If it makes you laugh, can it really be bad for you?'
