Julia is a most fascinating person. Born in England, she lived for a while in Oakville, Ontario, then Portugal, back to England, returned to Oakville, and now she resides in Sutton. Her captivating persona exudes mystery and intrigue. Her key-man in life is Mike Hynes, the piano maestro at the Café International in Sutton. Together, they came to our region to raise their son Laurent, now six. And this child is quite the Indigo type.
Julia said, and I quote: “For me, FELICITY is the ability to experience joy in the small things (…in life).” Though she was not referring to me, one could sense that she was very serious in a profound way. I respect her keenness for the proper use of words in our daily lives. “FELICITY is a transient state of being,” she insisted. No qualifier to her definition is needed: FELICITY is neither a goal to attain nor an approach to life nor anything else for that matter. It just IS. Thank you, Julia.
My next guest is Maître Peter Turner from Dunham. Everything I’d wish to say about this man would just sound redundant; it’s all been said before. He has been voted Monseigneur Congeniality for 40 years in a row. Even makes me feel jealous. Lately, Peter and his irresistible wife Gussy have been commuting to China. Master Turner has been mandated to introduce Occidental Law to the Orient. Finally the tide is changing as the West heads Est. And Peter is our Man for All seasons.
Actually, Mister T. is the person who came closest to giving me the actual Oxford Encyclopedic Dictionary definition of FELICITY. But being a lawyer, he kinda overstated his facts and added <fortuitous> to his description. Sorry sir, but no luck on that one. Peter had this to say: “FELICITY is like being at the doctor’s office and finding out that there’s a 2-hour wait. I turn to glance at the person sitting next to me and there she is… SOFIA LOREN, in all her Italian pastry flesh. What flashes through my mind is probably the closest to FELICITY that I can think of.” Watch out folks, Peter and Gussy are moving to Sutton.
If lately you have sensed a breeze of aqua-freshness in the air, it’s probably because you’ve had an encounter with Geneviève (jeune-fièvre) Hébert. She comes from Varennes and conveys images and scents of that Old Man River… the St-Lawrence. Last year she was appointed to the high office of Commissioner of Cultural Affairs in Sutton. This past fall, she drafted and presented the project of a policy for La Politique Culturelle de Sutton.
When I interviewed her, Geneviève was already aware of this edition’s theme for LE TOUR. As we spoke of FELICITY, a feeling of “pleasant surprise” kept flowing forth as she described what this word spawned in the depths of her soul. Then a little trinklet of an idea spurted out and became a beautiful stream of thought. This is what she had to say: “Somehow, the word FELICITY must have an affinity with the French word FÉLICITER which has the almost identical pronunciation and means <to congratulate>. Maybe FELICITY is life’s way of congratulating us now and then for our efforts at being human”… Wow! And she’s still the new girl in town.
Now what about Chris Payne from Glenn Sutton? He had been officially anointed the Book-Boy by the Book-Man himself, our beloved Don Bell. No matter that Chris was in his fifties at the time, the honour was and still is well treasured to this day. Talk about treasures, no one can state that they have truly lived around here unless they have passed through CHRIS’ CORNER at Le Livre d’Or in Sutton. You might not find what you need, but you will surely need what you find.
Tricky Chris, as I choose to call him, has his own way of getting his message across. When we first introduced ourselves, we both agreed that FELICITY would be the topic of our conversation. After having acknowledged, as most people do around here, that our paths had previously crossed, we then spent a good part of the afternoon strolling through Sutton. We reminisced on the travails of life in general and the great benefits, in particular, of living in this region. Having been a professional photographer, Chris has a knack for precise detail. As closure became inevitable, I urged that we get back to our topic. At this point, he surprisingly retorted that FELICITY was what this whole afternoon had been all about…He got me on that one!And then came Laurie from Abercorn. How was I to know that I had just stumbled into the amazing saga of the HASTINGS family? This covers a lot of territory. Maybe all of Brome County. Ever heard of The Hastings Wall on Iron Hill? My editor would positively appreciate a story on this one (hint). Laurie has to be considered as one of the beautiful people in this area. I’m not just referring to looks (though they are included). She is the mother of two angels, Kristin (16 years) and Bethanie (6 years). Her spouse is Paul Boivin: <The legend himself>. Together, they run a successful maple syrup operation. So how sweet can I get?
Laurie brewed a fervent and authentically felt recipe for FELICITY . Every ingredient seemed to relate to Family; it was like: “Could there be anything else in life?” Her most cherished moment of FELICITYwas when, after a long period of anguish and grief, she found out that her father had recovered from leukemia. It was difficult for her to put it into words…enough said?
Last, but far from least, was Stephen Cunnane, a Bishop’s University graduate. “He is a leading nutrition and brain metabolism specialist, recently returned to the Eastern Townships…and holds the Canada Research Chair on Brain Metabolism and Aging.” (Rita Legault, Innovation, 2004). Stephen is a totally charming human being.
Fortuitous encounter would best describe our hooking-up together. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon in January. The song by THE DOORS <When you’re Strange> and the words “Strangers come out of the rain” were humming in my head as I was walking down La rue Principale. Lo and behold, who do I see through the window at CAMIL’s? T’was Stephen and friends playing pool. Basically, three couples having a good time as they waited for suppertime to arrive. We spoke in between his shots. The couples played as teams and one could instantly scrutinize the essence of the relationships between partners and teams. Then Monique, Stephen’s better half, cannoned and sank the eight ball. “What a moment!!” he exclaimed. “Do you want my definition forFELICITY?Well that lastshot and this gathering of friends are it.”
So I guess this is why they say: “Life is like a game of pool!”
Rolland Potvin