DOUBLE TAKES - TAKE ONE

  

Yesterday (October 20, 2016) Ron and I left home in our trusty Toyota and headed down island to Victoria where Ron was scheduled to tape two interviews for CBC Radio. The planets and the traffic lights seemed aligned as we breezed through Lantzville, Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Chemainus, and Mill Bay, stopping only in Duncan and the outskirts of Victoria for red lights. The weather was perfect and the natural beauty of the island stood out in all its autumn splendour­—dazzling skies, purple thunder heads, sunlight streaming through misty clouds, verdant fields, deep green forests and blue mountains “backdropping” red and golden maples. Granted, I was wearing a pair of polarized sunglasses which do heighten contrasts and deepen colours, but no, I had not put anything special in my morning coffee.

Our passage through the secure entrance to CBC was made simple by Bob McDonald, the host of “Quirks and Quarks,” who swiped a card over the electronic door lock and ushered us in. “Thanks, Bob McDonald,” said Ron, while I did a double take, and thought “So that’s who that is. I thought he looked familiar. But, wow! He looks so much taller, slimmer and more handsome in person than he does on our TV.”

We were promptly met by Gregor Craigie, the host of “On the Island” CBC’s Vancouver Island’s morning show. Ron and Gregor were scheduled to tape a segment for the program. Gregor showed us into a bright conference room where he invited us to make ourselves comfortable so that Ron could recover from the journey before they did the interview.

(Point of clarification: Ron needs to regain his land legs and reorient his senses after driving in a car. He does not need to recover from any terrors or white knuckles instilled in him by my driving. In fact, now, when we drive together, Ron and I have become a team: Pilot and Co-pilot. I’ll leave it up to you to decide who is which or which is whom.)

Before prepping Ron for their upcoming interview Gregor said “I started reading your book and couldn’t put it down. Having a stroke is not something I usually let myself think about, but I found your book fascinating.” After outlining the format for the taping Gregor led us into the larger of the two studios available on the premises for broadcasts. Although there was a window looking out into the entrance and the main office, being in the studio felt like being in a warm, dark cave. The walls and ceiling were covered in a black, foamy material, obviously designed to dampen any background noise. After showing Ron the proper distance to keep his mouth from the mike, Gregor asked his first question and the show was instantly underway.

After the interview, Gregor announced that a ten minute segment was going to be aired at 7:10 AM the very next day. So, by the time you read this post, the program has already gone out into the ether. However, if you are not a regular On the Island listener, you can hear the interview by going to CBC.ca/On The Island. Ron’s interview is posted under Friday, October 21, 2016.

After looking up names on CBC’s website to make certain I had gotten my spellings right, I came across a number of photos of Gregor Craigie, and I did another double take. “Wow!” I thought. “He looks so much taller, slimmer and more handsome in person than he does in the pictures on my computer screen.”

(To be con’t.)