1 | My grandfather’s pipes
He died in 1982, when I was 12. I can’t picture him not smoking a pipe. You can still smell the tobacco in them—people always think I smoke them, because I keep them on my desk. I don’t, but I like knowing that Granddad did.
2 | My ducks
Newfoundlanders don’t traditionally use decoys much for hunting, so you don’t see them very often.
But I think they’re cool. They’re the only things I look to buy when I’m back home. I have about six of them now, and I keep them on windowsills.
3 | My mic flags
I don’t have a lot of paraphernalia from my TV career, so I like to keep these when they get too beaten up to use on air. It’s fun to look back and remember waving them in front of George W.
or whoever.
4 | My smoking girl
Her name is Madeleine the Acadian. She stands at attention by the fire. She’s by the Naughler brothers, who are great Nova Scotian folk artists. They’re the kind of guys who say they live right next door to the art supply store—which is Canadian Tire. I just love that.
5 | My lanyards Read the rest of this entry »
I figure when I’m old these will help me map out my life. Some of them actually mean a lot to me, especially the one from the first time I got a temporary membership in the press gallery in Ottawa 19 years ago—I could wander around Parliament as a journalist, even though I’m not one.
