Sunday, June 10, 2018

The Revenuer


One day I got a called at the water plant from a gentlemen who introduced himself from the Revenue Canada agency and when I heard the words my heart sank.  What now?  As it turned out it was about my dad’s interview talking about starting up a brewery and Blaine was in charge of Excise Tax.  While he was polite he was a little stern when he asked if we had applied for our permit.  Since Dad was a great one for going ahead without having all his ducks in a row the answer was a big fat NO.  Dad may not have heard of the phrase “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” but he certainly lived by that motto!
I explained to Blaine that we hadn’t actually started but we were just going through the first steps to see if it was a viable expansion.  Blaine very kindly offered to come down to Nanton and assist us with the application and when we met it was one of those things.  We just clicked as Blaine was a very nice, helpful guy.  As things progressed on the Appaloosa Beer project we got friendly and it wasn’t long before Blaine asked me to dinner.  While a romance did not take place we found we had lots in common with movies, books, people and just plain life.  Sadly we are on opposite ends of the political spectrum but Blaine is not aggressive on that score and he "allows" me to go on as nauseum and only smiles.  In the beginning I actually thought I was winning him over but alas, no.
Blaine and I have been through tough times, me with losing our business and he with losing his parents quite tragically a few months apart.  We are there for each other, talk regularly and go on lunch and movie dates often.  Two years ago we went on a day trip to Dickson, Alberta and had a wonderful time seeing a Danish village.  A year before we went on a trip to Drumheller and had another fantastic trip.  Now we are planning a bigger trip to Nova Scotia and hoping that my illness won’t hold me back.
It’s wonderful to have friends who help “stretch” one to other things because the truth is that if it wasn’t for Blaine I would probably never do a road trip.  Driving long distance in a vehicle is not really my cup of tea but Blaine makes it fun!
I am blessed once again.

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