Photo Stories 3          Everyday Wendnesday Jonny posts a new featured photo on facebook and writes a story about that photo. Here is a chronological order of the stories starting with the first featured photo that was posted on his facebook page on Jan 5, 2021. PHOTO STORIES PAGE 2 PHOTO STORIES PAGE 4 Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Aug 4, 2021 PATH TO WINTER Bruce Pit Oct 30, 2020 1:06pm "Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt." Photo 31: Path to Winter Number of Images Printed: 1 Title by: Rod Olsen Quote by: John Muir Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 9, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Aug 9, 2021 Memory Lane         I have certainly taken a lot of dirt paths in my life time. The most memorable dirt path was the path from my house in France that lead to a cliff overlooking the ocean, specifically, the English Channel. In the early 80's my family lived in the small town of Perros-Guirec which was along the Côte du Granite Rose (Pink Granite Coast) in Brittany. Our house was set back about 100 yards from the a cliff and we had a spectacular view. I loved walking that dirt trail with my best friend, Pierre-Yves and we spent many hours on the cliff ledge shouting hello at the pedestrians walking bellow on another dirt path, le Sentier des Douaniers. That dirt path followed the coast for miles and we spent many hours on that dirt path too, as it brought us to many giant pink granite boulders that we would climb.         These days I walk the dirt paths of Katimavik woods with my son and daughter, and on occasion I get to walk the dirt paths of Bruce Pit, where this photo was taken. I have two good friends that live in that neighbourhood so I especially enjoy spending time with them on those beautiful nature trails. The bank and the jam space for my band is on the other side of Katimavik woods, and while it would only take me two minutes to drive there, I take the 15 min walk on the dirt path through the forest as much as I can. It's very calming, and somehow I believe that the air in the forest is the healthiest air we can breath.         The most recent dirt path I took this week was not on a walk, but in a car. Yesterday I drove on a dirt road to get to the Hazardous Waste Pop-up Depot on Mer Bleu road in Orleans. There were lots of cars, so there was lots of dirt kicking up in the air. This vexed me a little as I had just washed the car. I was bringing 3 garbage bags in garbage cans worth of waste from my dad's recently sold house. I had been waiting for months to unload those chemicals, some of which spilled all over my trailer floor, my driveway and the sidewalk on the side of my house. Pop-up depots don't always come at a time when you are available and the other townships won't take your waste if you are not local. It's safe to say that getting rid of the chemicals was a huge weight lifted on my shoulders as it was the last stressful situation of all the house selling situations that I had to deal with. The workers at the depot saw my mess of chemicals and said they were going to have to keep the garbage cans as well. Garbage cans are $20 each, but at that point I didn't care. I was just happy to be rid of the mess, and the stress. "Take it all," I said happily.         Whatever path you follow in life, make sure some of them are dirt. The dirt sullies your shoes or your car, but it cleans your mind. And I am quite sure that many of those dirt paths will be memorable. Story title by: Angela Reimann Walsh Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Aug 11, 2021 "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." Photo 32: Heart of Montreal Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Sally Olsen Quote by: Hellen Keller Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 10, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Aug 16, 2021 Labour of Love         Yesterday, friend Marcus asked me if my photos were still predicting the future. I corrected him and said that they didn't predict the future, but that they did haphazardly/ coincidently offer up some relevant advice related to current events, in public or in my private life. However I had to admit, that for this week's Featured Photo 'Heart of Montreal', I was at a loss to find any pertinent meaning. Usually an interpretation of the photo jumps out at me whenever I look up each week's Featured Photo, but this week I was stumped. "It must be Trudeau and his calling of the election," said Marcus immediately. "Isn't he the heart of Montreal?" he added. "I suppose he is," I replied, somewhat bemused.         You might also have noticed that I like to add a runner up answer as the story title for each Featured Photo. This week I decided to use Angela's 'Labour of Love' for this picture of a blue heart containing all sorts of tools. Just in case you are not aware what a labour of love is, here is the definition-> noun: labour of love a task done for pleasure, not reward. "he spent eight years rebuilding the house—a labor of love." For my part, I have noticed that running for Prime Minister is truly Trudeau's Labour of Love, because this is his third go at trying to rebuild the House of Commons and I don't expect that being Prime Minister can be easy, especially in the middle of the pandemic. If it were me, I would have handed over the keys to the parliament buildings to Chrystia Freeland months ago. But for some reason, Trudeau wants to have another go at it.         My own labour of love is my job as an entertainer. I don't often get paid what I am valued, and any performer who knows me, knows that I bring way more equipment than is necessary. But it is because I always want to put on the best show possible. Don't get me wrong, I like to get properly compensated for my labour, but there is nothing more satisfying than a happy crowd that gets significantly larger as the show progresses. This week we had our biggest crowd yet at our OWL rafting shows, which my son and I have been doing every Friday in the summer since the pandemic began. Even my son noticed the size of the audience, and he too was satisfied with the good turn out. "That was our best crowd yet," he said. I had to agree.          Hellen Keller said "the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." I don't know how Trudeau feels about being Prime Minister, but I know that as an entertainer, I can definitely can feel the joy of people with my heart. But hey... if I can feel that joy with my wallet too, I won't be upset. Story title by: Angela Reimann Walsh Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Aug 18, 2021 "The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unklikely places." Photo 33: Our Secret Hideout Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Ben Piggot Quote by: Roald Dahl Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 12, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Aug 23, 2021 The Most Unlikely Places         This past weekend Junkyard Symphony had a show up in Perth for 'Weekends in Perth'. We were told that we were playing in the bandshell in Stewart park, which is behind the City Hall. Our contact had not yet arrived, but it was hot day and I wanted to get a head start on setting up so that we could have plenty of time to rest before the show began. I had been to Stewart Park many times for the Stewart Park Festival and I knew where the bandshell was so I immediately drove there. There was even a nice little indent in the road for unloading our gear where we were able to park the car and trailer. It was not far from the bandshell. The bandshell provided power and a nice flat stage and a wall around the back to shelter us from the wind. The only problem was that there was no roof to shelter us from the sun and it was almost 27 degrees and sunny. The bandshell faced a big field that also had no shade. But just behind the the bandshell was a shaded grassy area with a natural bowl shape that contoured a flat surface. It was like a mini amphitheatre. In my mind, it was the perfect spot for a small show of 50 people or so, which was no doubt was the extent of the audience we would get judging from the amount of people hanging about in the park. Just across the street from this grassy bowl were public washrooms and a children's playground, so in my mind this was definitely the best place to set up.         About half an hour had passed since our scheduled meet up time with our contact so I reached in my pocket to pull out my phone to give her a call. The phone was not in my pocket. I then remembered I had set it down on our gear. When I grabbed the phone, I noticed immediately a message from our contact asking us where we were. My phone had been mistakenly left on silent so I had unfortunately missed the call from our contact that had come in 30 minutes prior. The fact that she was wondering where we were immediately sent up alarm bells because we were pretty much set up at that point, and if she couldn't see us, we were somehow in the wrong spot. And it turned out, we were. There was another band shell directly behind the City Hall which I had not noticed. It was not techinicaly in the park but across the street from the park, so I had not thought to go over there to check it out. Regardless, it was where we were supposed to be. There had never been a show done in the location I had chosen so our contact was unsure that we would be successful in drawing a crowd. There was also no time now to move our gear, so naturally our conctact was a bit upset.         My assistant was awkwardly quiet. He knew that I had messed up, but thought better of saying so. For a long while I sat on one of our Costco benches that we had brought for the audience, and I sulked. I was exhausted. The day before I had worked two shows and 12 hours straight in the heat and didn't know if I had the energy to pull of some kind of a save. If we managed to pull in a decent crowd regardless, the client, the Town of Perth might not care, for the idea was simply to bring entertainment to Perth on the weekends, and while we were not in the spot we were supposed to be in, we were still in Perth. Of course if our chosen location failed, we would be blamed for setting up in the wrong spot and likely never get hired again. There weren't that many people in the park to begin with. It was a cottage weekend, so many people were just not in the city. The odds were against us, and in times like these, it would not be fortuitous to have a bad outcome.          But sure enough, people arrived at showtime and sat down and one by one the benches filled up. When the benches were full, people stood at the back or sat on the hill on the grass. Everyone was in the shade, and everyone was comfortable. All had a good time and the show was a success. Our second location was supposed to be at a restaurant in the parking lot but our client decided that the spot we were already set up in was perhaps a better choice, so they asked us not to move. We had no problem with that. The second show was also a success and the client admitted that this new performance spot that I had discovered would not be a bad option for future performances. The spot worked because sometimes things just work, and in a pandemic when a lot of things have gone wrong, it was a relief to have an unexpected win in an unlikely place. It also worked because I have done over 15 000 shows in my lifetime and have subsequently developed an eye for good performance spaces. So what's the secret to success? Trust your instincts...and keep your phone in your pocket. Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Aug 25, 2021 "Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." Photo 34: Sombody's Watching You Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Mainguy Hope Quote by: Robert Frost Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 13, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Aug 30, 2021 Forest Spirits         I am up a my brother's cottage this weekend and there is no shortage of trees or forest or spirits that are watching out for us. Yesterday we all went for a walk in the forest on our way to the local park that has a beach, a playground and a gazebo. We were about five minutes from the park when the sky started to rumble. My brother's wife, Irene suggested we turn back. My brother and my dad had already turned back ten minutes previously. While I was about to agree with Irene because this was her territory and she no doubt had better knowledge of the local weather, something in my head suggested that we get to the gazebo as soon as possible. "We need shelter, now" I called out with a bit of urgency. I didn't hesitate. I began to run and indicated for my kids to follow. They didn't quite understand the seriousness but they followed. My wife and Irene came too. Thankfully we all made the gazebo safely and about a minute later the sky absolutely dumped on us. The rain came down hard and had we not found shelter we would have all been soaked to the gills. The gazebo had a metal roof so the rain coming down echoed so loudly in our ears that we could barely hear each other. But we were nice and dry, and that was good. The forest spirits were looking out for us.         Earlier this weekend I was up at Owl Rafting doing my regular Friday show and we had about 4 benches watching us. There are 8 benches total in the pavilion so we were at about half capacity. The weekend earlier all benches had been full, and we had many shows this summer with a full audience, but not this Friday. It was a small crowd and not long after the start of the show, one bench full of people got up and left. Then about half way through another bench full got up and left. This happens occasionally as not every can stay for the whole show. Some people want to watch for a bit and then move on to the fire, or go to bed, but when there is a big crowd, most tend to stay, because the pavilion becomes where all the action is at. When there is a small crowd, they start to wonder where the others are, and they trail off. When half the crowd leaves, the bottom falls out of the show. It's hard to keep up your enthusiasm when that happens, but you have to press on.          I asked the remaining people if they wanted me to continue, and they did. So I finished the show with four people watching. They liked it and were very thankful that I continued. But performer ego's are fragile, especially when we get older, and we are always wondering when it is time to pack up the show for good. I must admit that it crossed my mind after that show. I was even thinking of suggesting to Owl management that we wrap up our contract even though there was one more weekend to go. While I have had a good summer, I am staring into the abyss of a dismal fall. Only two shows booked at the moment and all this week the thought of what I am going to do this fall has been on my mind.         As I began packing up a whole crowd of people came down to the pavilion hoping to see the show. I told them that I had just finished, but they were a bit tipsy, looking for some fun and weren't going to take no for an answer so I ended up doing a second show even though I wasn't being paid for it. My wallet wasn't happy, but my ego certainly was. As I was wrapping up the second show with my usual drum solo, two young girls that had been in the first show came into the pavilion and started pumping their fists, excited to see me again. The next morning I bumped into the owner, Hank and he said that the next weekend would be packed, because it's the long weekend and I should expect a good crowd. Needless to say, I didn't resign, and I didn't shut down Junkyard Symphony. I'll press on and find work somewhere.         Maybe it was the Forest Spirits that sent that second crowd down to the pavilion to me to cheer me up. Maybe it was just happenstance. Regardless, wherever you go there is always at least on person watching you, or watching out for you. That person is yourself. Make sure you put on a good show. Story title by: Ben Piggott Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Sept 1, 2021 "Dare to look inside." Photo 35: Kiss my Drawers Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: John Aughey Quote by: Nathalie LaPlante Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 14, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Sept 6, 2021 Clearly Something is Missing from my Man Cave         This past Wednesday we moved the Man Cave outside. It's now the called the Man Lawn. To be fair, we've had the Man Lawn going for over a year. But the it's not the place that's important, it's the group. About 8 fellas showed up from the North and the South side of the street to drink beers and get rowdy, and stay socially distanced. It was the biggest group we have had yet. We played a crazy new game called Balloon Blast that I put together last minute. It's a game in which you launch water balloons into the air by stepping on a 2x4, trying to get them into a bucket. There is also a larger target surrounding the bucket, marked with pool noodles. The big circle is 2 points, the smaller circle is 5 points and the bucket is 10. You get double points if the balloon breaks. The men were skeptical at first, but once a balloon broke in the inner circle and ten points were awarded, the cheers started coming.         I admit I was a little worried at first what the men would think of my crazy new game. Mostly this summer we have been doing just driveway drinks, which is easy and enjoyable, but when it became my turn to host, I decided it would be fun to get a game going. These are men that live on my street and will see me often and will no doubt discuss my wacky ideas. But sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind, tell those who think you are cuckoo to kiss your drawers, look inside, and just bring yourself out. We are what we are. For myself, anybody who knows me knows I have a ton of absurd ideas, some good, some just to far out in left field for anyone to grasp, but I have no doubt in mind that it's the crazy ideas that make the world go around. The first person to get on a horse and ride it was no doubt seen as nuts, and had sore nuts. But riding horses changed the world.         By the end of the night there were laughs galore and the wives started to drive by just to see what we were up to. No doubt they thought we were all crazy, but at the same time they looked envious of our lunacy. If I had scooped up that chest of drawers with the Kiss poster I would have found a way to incorporate that in the game, but I was on a walk with the family when I first saw the prize, and by the time I returned it was gone. I know my buddy Jeff would have been appreciative of the gift.         Regardless of what is in your man cave, or lawn, it doesn't matter. Just having a place for you and your friends to gather is good enough, especially in these days when we all need a little escape and comradery. If you have any kind of cave, and it is full of people, nothing will be missing. Story title by: Henk Kuchlein Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Sept 8, 2021 "Ontario. The place to be." Photo 36: Bridge over Peaceful Waters Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Heather Sesame Quote by: Sally Olsen Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 15, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Sept 13, 2021 Wetland Bridge View         Bruce Pit is a wonderful place to go take a walk, and there are fantastic views of the peaceful wetland waters. My high school was across the street from this wetland and ooccasionally when I was feeling down I would go over there during lunch hour by myself and go for a walk. After the walks I would immediately feel better. It's hard to feel bad about life when there are so many wonderful examples of other life all around you, the peaceful waters, the graceful grass blowing in the wind and the beautiful birds flying over head, not to mention the multitude of terrific trees that seem to be full of wisdom. While they did not talk, I could definitely hear them.         Ontario has over 34 million hectares of wetlands; that's about one-third of the province. These are beautiful places which we definitely need to visit more often. Wetlands are lands that are saturated with water long enough to cause the soil to become waterlogged, and the growth of water-loving or water-tolerant plants to occur. Wetlands are transitional habitats, often forming the connection between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They can occur where the water table is at or close to the surface, in low-lying locations, or along the edges of lakes and rivers. Many wetlands are permanently flooded, while others flood only periodically in the spring or fall. You can often walk through such areas in the summer without ever getting your feet wet! www.ontariowoodlot.com         Finding peace in one's wetland and mending bridges is as important as taking a walk through one. This past weekend I met up with friend who I had not visited in a long time. Several years ago we had a falling out and I would say that it was regretful that our bridge had burned. As usual, most disagreements are over trivial matters. But the bridge was not fallen completely and thankfully we were able to mend it, and that definitely brought peace to the waters beneath. I also visited an old band that I used to play in. While that particular bridge had not burned, it was a bit frosty so it was nice to get back out there and warm it up. If you ever get a chance to mend a bridge or two, I would say it is absolutely worth it. It's really just a matter of picking up the phone and getting your feet a little wet. Eventually there will be a nice rebuilt bridge to walk over and we can view a whole new wonderful world to explore. Story title by: Roderic Olsen Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Sept 15, 2021 "It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realized what's changed is you." Photo 37: Almost Home Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Tupahn Cerneiro Quote by: F. Scott Fitzgerald Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 16, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Sept 20, 2021 The Sky's Promise         The hardest thing about a making a promise is keeping it. If we make no promises then we break no promises. But at the same time, if we make no promises, then we have no direction. I believe that Sky's promise is that one day we will get back to our pre-pandemic river of dreams and happy little clouds. It's hard to know our destiny but I have a good feeling that we are almost home. But let's not kid ourselves, the happy home that we were once used to in not going to look at all the same in the least, and most importantly neither are we. We have changed, a lot. We no longer take for granted that comfortable life we once had. We appreciate everything we undervalued and better understand that the things that are truly important. We've learned about the multitudes of mistakes we've made in the past and hopefully have a better idea of the direction we need to go in to make a better future. Robin Williams once said that "a hungry stomach, an empty wallet and a broken heart can teach you the best lessons in life."         Today is voting day in Canada, which means that we will soon see the formation of a new government. Surely this new government will have the capacity to tackle the pandemic and bring health and economic stability to our country. We have had a rocky go of it, there's no doubt. The pandemic started in December of 2019 in China, so it's almost been two full years now. The Spanish flu lasted from February 1918 to April 1920, which is 26 months. A present we are on month 20 of the Covid-19 pandemic and it's possible we have six more months to go before we reach hear immunity and the virus disappears. While we are almost home, we are not home yet.         There are many people that are upset that Trudeau called the election, but I believe this election has been good for us. It has put all the issues forefront and forced us to deal with them head on. Lucius Annaes Seneca said "if one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable." Perhaps this election will steer us in a better direction and let's hope the new government keeps all their promises and brings into a safe port. And let's hope that port is home. Story title by: Nancy Peters Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Sept 22, 2021 "Don't forget the hand sanitizer." Photo 38: As Strong as Brick, We Got This Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Tupahn Carneiro and Don Virgoe Quote by: Dave Olsen Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 20, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Sept 27, 2021 Inclusion         At first glance, one might be a little curious as to why one of the hands in this mural is purple. In fact, the purple hand is the most prominent hand in this picture. It was not until today that I understood. While we can segregate people into groups according to the colour of their skin, we can also do the same to people pursuant to the colour of their political beliefs. Typically a political party is represented by a certain colour. In Canada the Liberals are red, the Conservatives are blue, the NDP are orange, The Greens are green and the People's Party of Canada are purple. And while it is a challenge to get people of all races to get along and be fairly included into society, it's just as hard to get people of all political beliefs to get along and be included.         The biggest divide that exists today is between those who are vaccinated for Covid-19 and those who are not. Most people in Canada today are double vaccinated, while about one third of the population has not gone for the jab. The party that took the biggest stance on freedom to choose was the People's Party of Canada, represented by the colour purple. So one might say that the purple hand in the mural represents the unvaccinated, or in general terms, the marginalized. And now that vaccine passports are coming into effect, these people will not only be marginalized but they will be excluded from many parts of society.         The biggest question now is how are the two groups going to work together to eradicate this disease? How is the general population going to get along with the marginalized? While it would be much easier if everyone just voluntarily got vaccinated, people want to have the right to choose what goes into their body. I think few of us would feel morally confident in forcing people to get the jab. But the real question is, do we feel morally confident in excluding people from society who are not vaccinated? It's a tough question, one that will not be easily answered. But what I do know is that whatever the answer is, we need to find it together...and let's not forget the hand sanitizer. Story title by: Jill White Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Sept 29, 2021 "Peek a boo. I see you." Photo 39: Up Periscope Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Chris Pilsworth Quote by: Don Virgoe Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 21, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Oct 4, 2021 Never Ending         It seems like the pandemic is never ending. There are still lots of unvaccinated people and provinces like Alberta are overrun with Covid cases. But on a good note, it's been reported that the vaccine will soon be ready for children 5 to 11, which means my son Jake will hopefully soon get his inoculation. This weekend I raised my own periscope to see how the world is fairing and I attended a 50th Birthday party at a bar with a group of friends from school. My wife was not to keen that I go, preferring that our submarine stay submerged until the storm has completely passed, but since all attending the party were double vaccinated and the bar was large, I thought I might just give it a go. It was nice to be with a group a friends again, seeing their smiles and hearing all their news. I also plan to attend a Senators game tonight with a good friend that I have not seen is many months. We have scored some free tickets, so it's hard not to go. But I must admit I am going to wear my mask the whole time, and after tonight, I will likely submerge again for a time and let the storm move on.         What I like most about this picture 'Up Periscope' is not the pipes, which one might assume is the focal point of the photo, but the bricks and their various colours. Most often a brick wall would have 2 or three shades of colours, but this was seems to have 5 or 6. I also liked the prevalance of the colour orange, rather than the more common red bricks. This past Thursday was the first official Truth and Reconciliation Day represented by the colour orange. We are meant to think of all the Indigenous children that have passed away as a result of the Residential schools. It was good to have such a holiday and hopefully it will bring some kind peace to all those who have been in pain, and prompt the rest of us to show respect for the wrongs that have been committed.          Unfortunately our prime minister took the time to show respect to the waves of Tofino rather than the suffering of the Indigenous people as he used the holiday for a surfing vacation in Tofino, his favourite getaway. While his office stated that he was in meetings all day, he was no doubt hoping no one would notice his transgression. But he's the prime minister, and many eyes are watching at all times. So yes Mr. Trudeau "Peek a boo. We see you!" It's disappointing that he did not stop in to meet with any of the multitudes of Indigenous people's that were holding ceremonies across the country. It seems his periscope was broken. No doubt he'll stay submerged for a while until the anger dies down. It seems the rridiculousness of this pandemic is never ending. Story title by: Don Virgoe Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Oct 6, 2021 "Life is not all Black & White." Photo 40: Lego Houses of Old Montreal Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Stefan Fuchs Quote by: Hannah Acuarela Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 22, 2020 Hue Adjustment: -36 Featured Photo Story, Monday Oct 11, 2021 Marvellous Mansions         This past sunny and warm Friday afternoon I went to the Byward Market to busk with Junkyard Symphony's newest marvelous mansion 'Boogie Ball Building'. Boogie Ball Building is an awesome game of imagination, inspiration, artistry and fantastic bright colours, just like the Lego buildings of old Montreal! How it would be nice to have some of those colourful buildings here in Ottawa to spice up our game! Anyway, in this colourful game 'Boogie Ball Building', marbles are dropped down the beautiful building where they pass through a fantastic system of marble tracks, eventually finding their way to numbered spots at the bottom. The player must guess where the marbles will land in order to help move a marker around a game board which contains various action squares, such as roll a die or knock over some mini bowling pins. The facilitator explains the rules as the game goes since most are playing the game for the first time. At the end of the game the player either wins another game, or they get an inspirational quote.         It took over a month to get the busking permit for the game because busking is not black and white. While the game is entertaining, the market managers didn't see it as a performance and were inclined to categorize myself and the game as a vendor. They wanted to charge me $50 every time I showed up. I explained that I would never even come close to making that money from busking and that the game is mostly for promotional purposes. They still didn't want to give me a permit. It wasn't until I said that I had been busking on the market for 30 years that they eventually relented and gave me a permit. And I was right, I didn't make much money, but people were certainly interested in the game. Perhaps, somewhere down the road someone will hire it for an event.         Nothing has been black or white lately, especially when it comes to the debate of vaccination. I have discovered a few more friends that are anti-vax and it surprises me as they are intelligent and wealthy. Over the weekend I went to see a movie and I struck up a conversation with an theatre employee about the theatre's rules to have only vaccinated people inside. He didn't think it was a big deal because he suggested that most people these days are vaccinated. While it's true many are, there are still many who are not. Neither of us could understand why, but let's face it, life is not all black and white and there is no doubt that even the world's mansions are filled with divided opinions. And I have a feeling there are going to be many colourful opinions on the subject for many months to come. Just like Lego houses, I think we are going to have to build back our world and our trust in the government one brick at a time. Let's hope that someday our opinions all live in one marvelous mansion together. Story title by: Sally Olsen Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Oct 13, 2021 "Everybody always talks about the kitchen sink. But nobody talks about the middle child bathroom sink." Photo 41: I Sink I am Alone Now Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Graham Ketcheson Quote by: Anthony Galveias Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 24, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Oct 18, 2021 Rest Area         Washing our hands properly certainly has become important of late, so we have to make sure we take good care of our rest areas. That includes the sink and the toilet too. My wife and I recently replaced the toilet in our upstairs bathroom. It was old, leaky and was using too much water to flush, so consequently we had a new toilet installed. Oddly enough, the day we put the toilet out to the curb was the same day that the photo of the sink being put out to the curb became the featured photo. The title is "I Sink I am Alone Now' by Graham Ketcheson, and I had a chuckle because now the sink would no longer be alone. The toilet would soon join the sink and maybe the two would find each other in the vastness of the Ottawa Landfill and become friends. Of course, the greater likelihood is that they will both be buried beneath a hill of garbage.         I would have to say that over the past two years there have been many times where I felt alone and buried under a hill of garbage, but we have to remember to pull ourselves up out of that stink, not just because we need to go on, but because others need our help to be pulled out too. We've been struggling under an ever increasing mound of refuse and it's time crawl out and have a rest. Call up a friend that you haven't seen in a long while, or if you get an invite, don't shy away. Accept the invite. You may just be the difference that pulls them someone out of their lonely trash heap.         This past weekend I accepted two invites. The first was to play poker with a handful of buddies that I haven't seen much since the beginning of the pandemic. The game was indoors so everyone was vaccinated and it was lots of fun despite the fact that I lost. The second event was a morning of golf in the lovely area of Braeside. Some of us were vaxxed but some were not, which was fine as were were outdoors and it's important not to let the new laws divide us too much. It's also important not to let anyone fall through the cracks. The reals ones who are struggling may not be so obvious to us. As Anthony Gelveias said, "everybody always talks about the kitchen sink, nobody talks about the middle child bathroom sink." So let's keep our eyes, ears and our minds open as those that are struggling are not always so obvious. If we can, let's reach out and help someone and have a good rest and a hearty laugh. And hopefully soon enough we will be able to wash our hands completely of all this stinky garbage. Story title by: Tim Connors Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Oct 20, 2021 "Insert Tab A into Log B." Photo 42: Circle of Life Number of Images Printed: 1 Title by: Angela Reimann Walsh Quote by: Steve Springer Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 25, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Oct 25, 2021 A Roll in the Leaves Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin' And you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'         Those are lyrics from Bob Dylan's famous song 'The Times They Are A Changin', and that song has been stuck in my head for days. It was a song featured at the beginning of the movie 'The Watchmen' which I watched this weekend and I have found myself singing the song in the car every morning. I first learned the song in my early twenties when I was learning to play guitar, so the words are coming back easily. The song is about inevitable change that we must accept and accommodate in order to adapt and survive. In others words, life rolls in a circle and we have to roll with it.         This morning my son mentioned that there has been a pandemic every 100 years and he wanted to know if that pattern is on purpose. From the Plague, to Smallpox, to the Spansh Flu to COVID- 19 and others, humans consistently find themselves in various health crises. The earliest of the pandemics came in the year 541. It was the Plague of Justinian, or the Bubonic plague and it lasted until 549, killing between 15-100 million people. The worst of the pandemics was The Black Death, which was also the Bubonic Plague, from 1346 to 1353 and that killed upwards of 200 million people and 60% of Europe. I said to my son that his pandemic pattern was likely not random. In order for things to grow, things must die. It's the circle of life, and I suggested to him that just as we have a shower everyday to wash off dirt and the germs, perhaps these pandemics are Mother Nature's shower.         With the warm sunny weather we had this past weekend, my wife, my mom and I were out in the yard cleaning up all the leaves and pine needles, and we cut off all the dead leaves on the plants that will regrow in the spring. The 'Fall' as it is called, no doubt because dead leaves 'fall' on the ground is a necessary cycle of life. As a log rolls down the hill, in order for one side to spring forward and rise, the other side must turn over and fall. And so as we progress through life with an uneding circle of change, and those that survive are the ones that can best adapt to those changes. So hang on tight and roll with the punches. Life is a wild circular ride! Story title by: Nathalie LaPlante Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Oct 27, 2021 "Live up every metre of your carefree days of youth, because inevitably the meter will run out." Photo 43: Flip the Bird Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Doug Bonfield Quote by: Jonny Olsen and John Carroll Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 26, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Nov 1, 2021 Rebel Parker          It's been interesting writing these stories, mostly because the title of the Featured Photo, the quote, and especially the story title have nicely fit into events that happen in my life or in the world during the week that each photo is featured. Obviously they are multitudes of things that happen in my life and and the world each week, so finding something to link up to the Featured Photo isn't too hard, but this week it was particularly easy. The title 'Flip the Bird' and the story title 'Rebel Parker' hit their mark. Let's just say that a series of unfortunate events in Toronto on my birthday, Friday, lead me to be completely frustrated, so much so that I rebeliously parked my car in front of man in his car so that he could not move anywhere. Then I got out of my car, walked over to his window and gave him the finger. It wasn't until a day after the incident that I made myself aware of that week's Featured Photo and noticed it had a lot of similarities to what had just happened.          Now don't get me wrong, the course of action that I took was not something I would recommend to anyone. Flipping the bird is not something I ever do, but boy, it sure felt good to do that once, especially to someone who I believed really deserved it. I won't get into the particulars of the incident, but it's important to note that it was not the first negative experience of the day, so needless to say, I was in a crappy mood. Toronto is an intense city and COVID has made it even worse. Everyone is stuck in a vice and they are grumpy and impatient. Let's hope that we all find some piece of mind sooner rather than later.          In another rebel parking incident this weekend, my buddy drove into Tim Horton's with his moving van and parked in a handicap's spot. "It's okay, I put the blinkers on," he said to me as he ran into to get us coffee donuts. I sat awkwardly in the passenger seat worried that some upset person would give me a mouthful of their opinions on the matter. I didn't think a handicap person would care much if the illegally parked vehicle in their way had the blinkers on or not. But speaking up against such things does have an affect on one's 'coolness' and can cause bumps in a friendship, so for a time I sat doing nothing at all. My coolness didn't last long however and I soon called up my buddy to see if he wouldn't mind if I moved his van to another spot. Thankfully he was 'cool' with that, and agreed that I might save him a ticket. He later returned with coffee and yummy donuts that we enjoyed in our new proper parking space..         The quote by John Carroll and myself is "live up every metre of your carefree days of youth, because inevitably the meter will run out." Sometimes it's good to be carefree, but eventually we find ourselves standing tall for our principles. And that's okay too. Story title by: Chris Pilsworth Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Nov 3, 2021 THE RIVER OF DREAMS AND HAPPY LITTLE CLOUDS Morris Island Oct 17, 2020 2:16pm "Glory's reflection is a river with no ending." Photo 44: The River of Dreams and Happy Little Clouds Number of Images Printed: 1 Title by: Nancy Peters and David Wyatt Quote by: Jonny Olsen, Chris Pilsworth and Tristan Dupuis Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 27, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Nov 8, 2021 Reflections of Heaven          This past Thursday we drove up to Montebello to perform Junkyard Symphony's 4 person show, Recycled Circus. It's my favourite show that we do, as having 4 people is the most fun and the most profitable. The 50 goes all the way to Montebello but I decided to get off about half way there and take the highway that runs by the river. We weren't in a rush and I love the scenery along that route. Driving in the country to a fun gig is pretty much my idea of Heaven, and it had been a long time since we had done a show, let alone a Recycled Circus show, so I was in a good mood. Suffice it to say there were lots of happy little clouds in the sky and I was dreaming of better days when shows were so much more frequent. he show was a little rusty of course but was well received by the client and it was good to catch up with some some of the guys that I hadn't seen in a while. There was a free dinner for all of us and all in all we had a great time! If Heaven is anything like that, I'll be happy.         Another reflection of Heaven is the photos I have been taking. There are so much and have really focused my attention on all the wonderful scenery surrounding me every day. I have just created an Instagram account to post all the pictures and one might say that a new River of Dreams and Happy Little Clouds has just begun. It is jonnyolsen_photography if you are interested in following me. It will take some time to post all the photos that I have, but there are 10 up there at the moment so it's a good enough start. I will try to post one new photo every day until I catch up to my present photos, an then I will post one a week as I have been doing on Facebook.          I am not quite sure exactly what the quote means that Chris, Tristan and myself came up with. "Glory's reflection is a river with no ending." I think it means that the world has endless goals for us to accomplish and it's never too late to learn a new skill, language or take on a new challenge or hobby. My son has been playing a lot of soccer and I have been helping him. And that has helped me too, especially when it comes to getting back in shape. I once played goalie with him and all his friends. I booted the ball so hard that it landed in the other net. They called me 'The Ultimate Goalie' after that. On that day I was certainly paddling down a river of dreams and happy little clouds. Whatever new thing you choose to do in the coming months, may it help you to find your own reflections of Heaven. Story title by: Angela Reimann Walsh Jonny Olsen Featured Photo, Wednesday Nov 10, 2021 NEW LIFE OTTAWA Oct 22, 2020 10:19 AM "New life springs from old and brings forth beauty!" Photo 45: New Life Number of Images Printed: 0 Title by: Bodil Scharfe Pegg Quote by: Bodil Scharfe Pegg Posted and Named on Facebook: Nov 28, 2020 Featured Photo Story, Monday Nov 8, 2021 Bring Forth the Beauty         This morning I woke up to a blanket of white. While it's not the first snow of the season, it's the first time the snow has stuck, and it covered the ground with it's bright white beauty. The past week has been quite dark. The winter is approaching and day light savings time doesn't help as we bring the clocks back an hour making the sun set one hour earlier than usual. Sure, the sun rises one hour earlier but many people aren't awake for the sunrise. Most are awake for the sunset. Seeing as we need as much sunlight we can get in the winter to soak in that valuable vitamin D, wouldn't it make more sense to move the time forward in the fall, not back? In any case it was nice to have the bright light of the snow today to bring life back into our weary souls. And thankfully on Saturday I had a reservation with a local mechanic to put my snow tires on.         On Thursday we had some new life in new trees that arrived courtesy of the City of Ottawa. My mom got a Kasturi tree for her front yard and we got a Sugar Maple. I posted a pick on Facebook of our tree and got lots of likes and questions about whether we are going to start up at maple syrup production. I will definitely look into it because I love maple syrup. Who doesn't? But I'm not sure if one tree will suffice to go into production. Some other new life that arrived this week was some offers for gigs, one is for a festival in Charlottetown in February and another is for an online show later this month. I was quite thankful, as the phones have been quiet as of late, the CRB has ended and I've been contemplating packing it in as a full time performer. But we did three full-house shows at the National Arts Centre yesterday and the blue and green lights on the black curtain background were so beautiful and the fans were so enthusiastic that it certainly breathed new life into my resolve to keep going as a full time performer. To top it all off, I got an email from my friend Mary who says that one of the volunteers that I chose was the grand daughter of her aunt. Needless to say, they were quite excited that Brienne got to be part of the Junkyard Symphony show and win a free Junkyard Symphony CD..         This photo 'New Life' is of a wheelbarrow in the garden of my late friend' Tim School's parents house. Tim lived there with his mother, father and dog until a terrible April morning in 2020 when the house caught fire and all inside perished. I was devastated. Not only was Tim my best friend, but he was the singer in my Rock Band. I am certainly going to miss Tim, but I know that he would be proud of how the band has carried. We are soon to release and album of 8 songs featuring Tim's haunting voice, and we have added in his place as lead singer, his good friend Dave Maclachlan of whom Tim used to be house mates in the 90's, when our band first begun. A song that we recorded recently with Dave singing is quite beautiful and we know that Tim would be proud of the new life that has been injected into our band. So if you are ever feeling down and depressed, the best advice I can give is to shake it off and wait it out. Good things will inevitably come. As Bodil said, "new life springs from old and brings forth beauty." Story title by: Bodil Scharfe Pegg