Da Count - School With Dad

Last night in the midst of starting the lawn cutting activities for the day, I remembered an important errand I was supposed to have taken care of at work. Given that the day had been filled with tons of distractions, I didn't remember until close to 7 PM.

But when I did, Alexander and I jumped in the truck and headed down to McMaster to take care of things.

Our store is open this time of year until 9 PM to ensure that students have ample time to get their course materials and other needs. When Alexander got there we skirted on and off the sales floor and through several areas that are off limits to most people who visit the bookstore on campus.

During our visit, I was impressed at how much Alexander remembered about his many previous visits, and how animated he gets when he talks about going to dad's work.

And I was delightfully reminded of the times I spent going to the school with my own dad when I was a young lad. My father was the chief custodian at Levack District High School, and often when the school was closed (particularly during the Christmas to New Years break), he would visit, do a quick tour, check the furnace to ensure it was running properly, and just do some basic rounds.

I loved visiting the school with him -- it was a great treat. Though I wasn't in high school yet, I had visited most of the high school and seen rooms that most other students attending LDHS would never seen in all their years there.

Some times, when my dad's work would take more than fifteen minutes or so, I'd get to go into the gym and shot basketballs while waiting for him to finish. It was fun, but also a bit early to be inside this large building and huge empty room with no other sounds than the echo of my footfalls and the bouncing ball. (The stuff of a good horror story, methinks)

In any case, this week I'm counting the multi-generational concept of heading to the school with dad. Also, given that today is also Hamilton boy Neil Peart's birthday (drummer and lyricist for Rush), I should end this post with an appropriate quote used in the song Circumstances from the Hemispheres album: "Plus ca chance, plus c'est la meme chose." (The more that things change, the more they stay the same)