“IT AIN’T OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS”

I sure would like to know what comes to mind when people use the above expression. What the heck does it mean? How many “nuances” can spurt out of a commonly used adage? Well folks, you’d be surprised. The same applies to the theme of this edition of Le Tour. Who comes up with these ideas anyway? Survey Says….

Rhonda Murray is unquestionably one the most pétillante women I have ever met. Caution to those you dare try to open her up. Read the instructions first: “DO NOT SHAKE BEFORE OPENING”.

The “nuance” being that Rhonda is a very sincere human being who will constantly (bless her soul) return tenfold whatever you offer her. I suggest the “HANDLE WITH CARE” approach then, sit back, and “let the good times roll”. Try it out yourself, at the Tintoretto Café in Sutton, where she caters to guests’ needs.

Rhonda states that “nuances” evoke a stream of thought that flows into the process of creating an atmosphere of warm feelings, candles, fine food, carefully selected music and wonderful company. She then describes how she herself felt when family and friends recently celebrated her 40th birthday. They organized a surprise party on her behalf at the ‘Horizon’, the traditional “ pig roast” destination in Sutton. The climax was a gift certificate from “BIRK’S” in Montreal. The “nuance” however, was an intimate evening out with hubby, as they went to pick up the afore-mentioned endowment. Good for you, girl!

Allow me to introduce my next guest, ‘princess’ Virginia Coutu Jenne. Still young and a newly wed (hasn’t been a year yet), one can sense the potential shine of this diamond in the rough. “Mine eyes shalt falter” when the true Virginia will eventually burst out. Hey! I actually sang at her wedding service. The priest had just finished explaining how a couple must continuously strive to reaffirm their mutual feelings and the song I had prepared (without consultation) was “Have I told you lately that I love you”. Talk about “nuances” - it happened to be the tune they first danced to on their first evening together.

For the past two years, Virginia has been working at the Bureau d’Accueil Touristique de Sutton. She finds that a good example of “nuance” is the approach she must take when addressing the full-time residents with respect to the part-time residents. Both assume that they have a good idea of the region’s offerings yet neither of them is aware of all the “nuances” that lie beneath their preconceptions. Virginia cites the autumn festivities as a prime time when full-timers and part timers meet and discover that the diversity between them is as rich as the spectrum of colors on the trees.

Ever been to the “Domaine Vincent”? It’s right here in town on Vincent Road. And where the *&## is Vincent Road? That’s my little secret unless you happen to meet Mr. Vincent Royea, the Pan of this “never-never land”. He conceived and built it all himself. It includes a long winding driveway, a trout-enhanced lake, a windmill, an authentic old-style sugar shack, the biggest and finest little girl’s playhouse I’ve ever seen, and much, much more. The ‘nuance” is in the name “Vincent” - his mother’s maiden name. The mountains and valleys viewed from his home seem so close as to feel unreal.

Vincent tells me that “nuance” conveys a feeling one gets from sensing something else. It is neither an attribute nor a qualifier. Rather, it is like that deep inner sensation you get as you observe the color chartreuse, or Pierre Elliot Trudeau, or different maple trees, or the evolution of the U.S. primaries. His charming wife, Cathy, adds that “nuances” refer to the “little twists” that cannot be categorized that we monitor daily on other people and things. It is like when we pick up on the different tones in someone’s voice or body language or like all those different moments that we go through during the course of a day. I am grateful to both of them for having shared this particular moment with me.

“ROXANNE! You can put that red dress on”. I vividly remember the Craft’s Meow, situated right there, on your left as you walked into the-then Mocador Café. That’s when I got to know Roxanne Statsny - but that was in the other century. The least I can say is that back then, as still today, Roxanne elicits that famous “double take” from most guys. “Nuance” everyone! Her family and mine have shared a lot of mileage together and it was fun talking to her again since our paths have taken different directions these past few years.

Roxanne convincingly and knowledgeably explains to me that “nuances” are a way of saying things to make the message purposely ambiguous so as not to offend or frighten the listener away. Hinting at something, for example, and I quote: “You don’t tell someone that they smell bad, you just offer him or her this lovely soap you have just purchased and suggest that they try it out themselves.” A more negative meaning to “nuance” would be if you deliberately explain something in a fashion that makes the subject matter hard to grasp in order to confuse and control. Thanks Rox, for being there when I needed you. “Yo! Peter, Margaux and Matthew.”

D-D-D-D-D-at’s all folks.

Hey, what happened to the fat lady who sings? Well, my editor is just about to cut me off so, anytime you see me around, just ask me and I shall gladly explain how that expression “ It ain’t over till the fat lady sings ” originated.