The Original Giggle Sisters

The year was 1995. Was it really that long ago? Our group was now called the Gonzo Adventure Club. No use pretending that we were really runners anymore. The occasion was the 3rd Annual Gonzo bike trip. This was to be Claudia's first bike trip with the group.

We were 10 people but the whole group was together only 3 days. Bruce Murphy came on Thursday. He was off to a wedding in New York after the bike trip. Robert drove down from Montreal on his motorcycle on Monday. Larry and Carolyn dropped their kids off in Fredericton. Larry had to fly out to San Francisco before the end of the trip. Bruce Duffy, Gordon and Ross worked a basketball game in Halifax on Saturday night, then drove down overnight to meet us in Conway during the first day's bike. Claudia, Betty and Chris just drove down on Friday. How pedestrian!

The night prior to the first bike ride, we were all ensconced at Robert Sherburn's farmhouse in Franconia, New Hampshire. We had rented Pie Alley, which gave us a common room/kitchenette, bathroom and 3 bedrooms with various bed configurations. Nice to be a schmooshed together like that. Very social. Everyone has to give and take a little. There was a little beer and wine flowing, as compared to these days, where there seems to be an open tap running.

People were packing up and Claudia was having a hard time defending all the junk she wanted to cram into her bike saddle-bags. Gonzos LOVE to root thru your stuff and embarrass you about the garbage you have decided is necessary for the trip.

Claudia was learning a lot. She was also drinking wine with Betty Boop, a Gonzo whose total lack of sense of direction provides ongoing material. There came a point where Claudia's packing had to be abandoned. There is just too much frivolity that surrounds Betty whenever she cracks a bottle of wine. Serious gear packing, Betty and wine tippling do not go together. The 2 ladies got so silly, that someone named them "The Giggle Sisters", a tag that has stuck thru the years.

Now, whenever there is a Gonzo trip, and there are women involved, and they get into the wine and some silliness, someone will certainly start calling them the Giggle Sisters.

When I remember Claudia, it's that night at "The Farm". She was one of the Original Giggle Sisters.

WARNING: Habits may be habit-forming

Walking to work affords a lot of time and space to have things rattle about in your head. Every so often, a little gem pops up. If the idea starts worming its way into my waking hours, I examine it in more detail, and maybe come here to express my distilled thoughts on the subject.

I am a very habitual person. I get attached to clothes, dishes, movement patterns, you name it. I hate being late. I absolutely hate losing things. I wouldn't call it OCD, but I would call it anal. This is not new information, certainly not to the people around me. What is new is my way of looking at these habits.

In simple terms, my habits are habits.

For example, I am attached to my current coffee mug. Had it for years, will miss it when it's gone. Reality is, it broke a few weeks ago, and I am now OCDing on it's replacement. I'm not so much attached to the specific article, I just get attached to whatever I have. What I actually have is not that important. Who knew!

As I prepare to retire from Dal and go on hopefully an extended trip about the planet, I have been concerned about my habits and the long-term effect of wresting myself away from my home space. No biggie. I'll just fixate on the replacements that pop into my life.

It has been quite interesting naval-gazing on this topic.

Arrogance

Every so often, I end up discussing religion, usually with people who have a strong faith of some sorts. These days many people seem a little gun-shy when discussing opinions about things other than the weather and the reality show on TV last night. Us Canadians don't want to offend each other. We don't even want to disagree with people around us. Not polite, you know. Personally, I love discussing topics with people who disagree with me. The best way to clarify your own thoughts is to try and present them intelligibly, especially to a mildly hostile audience.

When it comes to trying to cipher whether I believe in a higher Deity or not, I get stuck at the same place. However we got here, the answer is too fantastic. I chose to spend my time trying to figure why we are here and what can we learn from being here.

I have no trouble with people who have very definite thoughts on this subject. I love the whole concept of evolution, and I enjoy reading about it wherever I can. I read Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle" and it blew me away. Evolution doesn't preclude intelligent design in my mind.

From my experience, there are two main elements of a person's religious beliefs when they profess to be a strong Catholic, Muslim or whatever. One, that you believe in a single, overarching creator and two, that your path is the only right one. You know, your typical

“No one approaches the Father but through me.” (John 14:6)

That's where I get really hung up. Does your average Christian really believe that there will be no Muslims in their Heaven? How can this be? Surely there are many paths to this one God.

By stating that your chosen path is the only one, you are effectively dooming millions and millions of people to some lesser after-life (if there is such a thing). I know people, very good people, from various religions. Do you expect me to believe that the Christian goes to Heaven, and the Jew somewhere else? How can this be true?

Is God so petty? Surely, we are all on the same path headed towards the same goal.

As nice as my friends are, the only word I can come up with to describe this attitude is arrogance.