Best wishes for you all on the new tour! Lets hope it gets off on the right foot and you have many new tales to share with us all, here waiting with bated breath!

Isn't the Fort Mac Express the 7:25 am flight? Hah - that's a "sleeping in" run for those of us who usually wind up the (understandably) cheaper 5 am westward flight instead. Always a bit depressing to leave even before Tim's has opened. That's the "just stay the hell up from the night before" option.

I'd think that with the little ones now present in all households, getting up godawful early might be a bit less taxing on you musician-daddy types than it used to be. And I'm wondering what the heck is going on in the back seats of those too-late-called cabs. Whatus interruptus? The ever-interesting lives of St. John's cabbies.

You all work hard too, just like the other nomads do. Damn hard, and you too get the job done. If you ever need testimony to that fact, you've got it. And I suspect you miss your homes just as much while doing so.

Safe travels.

Great pictures you paint with words there, Tosh. There's a song in there somewhere too, I bet. Safe travels!

So, Tosh ... in case you see Sean and share stories ...here's one for you both. The nearly 3-year-old who lives with me loves the Cat in the Hat and the song where they sing about the chat in chapeau or el gato in a sombrero ... it reminds me of a song from my childhood about a cat sitting on a roof reading a love letter from his girlfriend and he falls off the roof and dies of his injuries, only to be resurrected by the smells of the fish market on the way to the graveyard. Senor Don Gato, it's called. I sang two or three verses for my little imp and she listened intently. "That's a good song," she said. "You should tell Sean about it." I asked: "Sean who?" "From Great Big Sea," she said. "He likes to sing songs that tell stories like that."

Perhaps she's been listening to Pat Murphy or General Taylor or Charlie Horse or Excursion Around the Bay too much? I say it's a vote from a wee fan who would love to hear those lullabyes... See the lyrics at http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/

Pets and ear scratches,

It is unfortunate that so many Newfoundlander's need to go away to make a living/survive.  Unfortunately (from my knowledge, which may be way off, and if so I apologize) a certain amount of Newfoundlander's have had to be away from home to make a living (fishing industry, lumber industry, oil industry, entertainment industry.)  Though I feel that a few of the persons in these jobs may enjoy them and would do them no matter what, I am sure some feel a responsibility to do this 'migrant work' to provide for their families, keep them safe at home, and hope for a better situation for their families.  I've heard a few lyrics in similar to the challenges/fears/options of the transient workers, for workers who have lost their livelihood and now have hard decisions.

"We were far from the shores of England, far from our children and wives..."

"I was just the age of sixteen when i First went on the drive..."

"My heart it is aching, so much I could die, I've known only the ocean since I was a boy.  And I spent my whole life out there on the sea.  It's not just the fish they've taken my pride, I feel so ashamed that I just want to hide."

"If you sign your X in favour it's three job for every man, you can burn your boats that's what they said, It seemed they had it planned."

"Set off for America far across the raging sea, from the frozen coves of my Island home..."

"Jenny said goodbye this afternoon, as far as I can tell, she can't bear the goodbye evenings or the morning after the farewell.  Here you are another one to whose back I'm saying cheers, it's like a death in the family and its been going on for years..."

"My ship is set for sailing
Like so many others should
To stay behind would be unfair
To my wife and family
For reckless, unrealistic dreams
Will never set us free"

These words tell a point of view on deciding where in truth someone belongs.

It is fortunate you all are in an industry where you can communicate these hard decisions with others.  Fortunate that you can feel an empathy to these people who have a worse 'away from home time' than you, and can share your own experience to educate others, while providing them with the knowledge that these heroes and their families are not alone in their situation.

I'm hopeful, (yes, shocking I know) that at some point, some renewable industries, can enter/return to Newfoundland, allowing these transient workers a similar income at home.  Where they return to seeing their families daily, watching, educating and staying connected with their children.  

Sorry for the rant,

Good Journey,

Michael.