Yeah and I took kind of a roundabout way getting here, too. The tldr is that I have family here, though I grew up and spent my early adult years in Nova Scotia. Fodder for a future story, maybe. I live in the town, which isn't quite what you see in news stories (there's a nice library), although also all of the criticisms of this place are definitely true. Definitely worth checking out Kate Beaton's graphic novel Ducks if you haven't already.
I have not read that, but is that about the ducks that the ginormous shotguns blast away from the tar sands tailing ponds? (I've been as far north in Alberta as the southern part of Jasper in the Banff complex, and have it on my list to return to all four of the parks, then hopefully west to Vancouver on the next time up there.)
But an unpleasant surprise to me to find out Pepys was also married this whole time. Hopefully he gets his comeuppance and apologizes to her. I'll stay tuned for the next episode.
Thanks Ivy! Pepys is married and has a very complicated relationship with his wife. They have multiple fallings out and reconciliations. He cheats on her constantly (with tavern girls, his own maids, the wives of his subordinates, pretty much anyone). But he also doted on her and they shared a love of music and French literature, not that that makes up for it. Claire Tomalin writes that she had a problem that they both thought was the result of an STI that Pepys passed to her on their wedding night, though Tomalin writes it was actually a problem that she would've had from birth (?) and was only revealed later in life. Again, not that that justifies anything. A spoiler alert for the end of the diary, which I hope to get to here in eight or nine years: Mrs Pepys realizes Sam is cheating with one of the maids (Deb Willet, the favourite of his mistresses) and tries to cut off his genitals in bed with red hot fireplace tongs, but he manages to talk her down. I believe the entry is in January 1668 if you want to look it up.
Keep your head up! I've been submitting to the contest on and off for years, and one of the few things I really regret is that I gave up for a little while.
Kudos! Curious, too. How did you get in Fort Mac? That's pretty much a one-industry town, right?
Yeah and I took kind of a roundabout way getting here, too. The tldr is that I have family here, though I grew up and spent my early adult years in Nova Scotia. Fodder for a future story, maybe. I live in the town, which isn't quite what you see in news stories (there's a nice library), although also all of the criticisms of this place are definitely true. Definitely worth checking out Kate Beaton's graphic novel Ducks if you haven't already.
I have not read that, but is that about the ducks that the ginormous shotguns blast away from the tar sands tailing ponds? (I've been as far north in Alberta as the southern part of Jasper in the Banff complex, and have it on my list to return to all four of the parks, then hopefully west to Vancouver on the next time up there.)
That's where the title comes from, but the book goes off in all kinds of directions.
Congratulations, Adam!! Great news!
But an unpleasant surprise to me to find out Pepys was also married this whole time. Hopefully he gets his comeuppance and apologizes to her. I'll stay tuned for the next episode.
Thanks Ivy! Pepys is married and has a very complicated relationship with his wife. They have multiple fallings out and reconciliations. He cheats on her constantly (with tavern girls, his own maids, the wives of his subordinates, pretty much anyone). But he also doted on her and they shared a love of music and French literature, not that that makes up for it. Claire Tomalin writes that she had a problem that they both thought was the result of an STI that Pepys passed to her on their wedding night, though Tomalin writes it was actually a problem that she would've had from birth (?) and was only revealed later in life. Again, not that that justifies anything. A spoiler alert for the end of the diary, which I hope to get to here in eight or nine years: Mrs Pepys realizes Sam is cheating with one of the maids (Deb Willet, the favourite of his mistresses) and tries to cut off his genitals in bed with red hot fireplace tongs, but he manages to talk her down. I believe the entry is in January 1668 if you want to look it up.
WOW
All sorts of congratulations, Adam! I still remember that story, too, and I'd be curious to see how it developed from early drafting onward.
Yeah man!
Thanks Emmet!
Congratulations on the shortlisting, Adam. That's a goal as a fellow Canadian I'm working towards.
Keep your head up! I've been submitting to the contest on and off for years, and one of the few things I really regret is that I gave up for a little while.