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Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Hey…Hey…Hey…it’s Fat Albert; a lucky fellow; and being great!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Have to start off this week talking about the Capitol Theatre…..and its big announcement on Friday of last week. The Theatre has booked a week of activities to officially open its doors to the public. Yes, folks, it’s going to open. Just like I’ve been telling all the naysayers for the last few years. It is going to open…..and that’s that. Now, here’s a word of advice to everyone who lives in Chatham-Kent and wants to see the community really get going. Please support the Capitol Theatre….as a community, we need to make this thing go. Whether you’ve been a supporter in the past, or one of the naysayers, it’s time for everyone to pull together and try to make the Capitol a big success. Why? Because it would benefit each and every one of us in ways that you can’t even imagine. It could become the economic engine that drives this community…..a beacon to lead us from the wilderness. It could help us establish an identity beyond the manufacturing centre we’ve been in the past. We are ideally poised for a major arts and cultural awakening….and we need the Capitol Theatre to lead that renaissance. I was at an event last Wednesday evening that ties into the opening of the Capitol…..the business meets the arts networking event organized by the Cultural Action Team working out of Chatham. A highly successful arts event and I’ve seen the CATs in the southern portion of Chatham-Kent and up around Wallaceburg also making big things happen. And it will take all of us working toward a common goal to really put us on the map culturally. And the Capitol needs to lead the way and it needs the support of every resident of Chatham-Kent. Did you know that there are 350 bed and breakfasts within 20 minutes of Stratford? Why not here? Why not indeed? The entire area around Stratford, from St. Mary’s to New Hamburg, benefits from the tourism draw of the Stratford Festival. It can be done here. I know there are plenty of people out there who’d love to see the Theatre fail, who will be tempted to cheer on the demise of the project. And exactly where will that get us. The years have passed and the money is spent – we can’t get either one back. So, let’s soldier on into the future and work together to make it happen. Let’s add the Capitol to the list of treasures already here…..Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Buxton National Historic Site, Wallaceburg’s Glass Gallery, RM Classic Cars, Rondeau Provincial Park, Two Creeks Conservation Area in Wheatley, Smith and Wilson Estate Wines in Cedar Springs….it’s a lengthy list which is why we can make this arts, culture and recreation thing work. Good things are happening in Chatham-Kent! You can either get on the bandwagon and help them happen……or you can be negative and bitter about the way things are going. I hope most of you will get onboard. Hey…Hey…Hey…Fat Albert is coming to town….What’s an Ark, Lord? I still smile when I think about sitting around when we were kids listening to Bill Cosby records…..Hey…Hey…Hey….we can make this happen….

You know, I’ve had my share of problems in life…..deaths, divorces and some other pretty bad stuff….but this past Sunday morning, as I sat on the backyard patio, sipping tea with my wife, I was heard to offer the following comment: “I might just be the luckiest man in the world.” And I meant it. I have been enormously blessed to have been born where I am and who I am and what I am. I would not change much about my life if there was a chance to do so. There are many reasons I feel this way….many, many reasons. Children, grandchildren, family, friends, a soft bed, a full belly, a chance to try to do good things for others, my intellect (such as it is), my ability to see the world as I do…..my ability to write and move others with my writing…the fact that I’ve never grown up and still think I can save the world. I remain the eternal optimist…the guy who believes that humanity is fundamentally good and will eventually get it together. With each passing generation, we move ever so slowly toward peace and harmony and the ability to be as one for the good of all. Strange, but true…..

I am sort of out of time for this morning and really thank everyone for reading along. The paper remains a labour of love – a chance to shine a bit of a light on my adopted community of Chatham-Kent….We can’t all be great people, but we can all strive to be great at what we do….and remember…”Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may.”



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.