Organs and sleeves

"See that chap across the room?" B said to me last night at a dinner in Airdrie.  "Yes, who is he?" I asked.  "That's Mickey Casavant, of the famous Casavant organ brothers."  I was dumbfounded.  

Casavant Frères is a prominent Canadian company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building fine pipe organs since 1879.  As of 2008, they had produced more than 3,800.  Their reputation as organ builders of international status was cemented in 1891 with the construction of their organ for Notre-Dame de Montreal Basilica, a four-manual organ of eighty-two stops.  This famous organ features adjustable combinations and speaking pipes of thirty-two foot length in the façade. 

Our little, old local parish in Ottawa's Lowertown, St. Brigid's, actually had a Casavant organ.  It was magnificent.  Naturally, I had to go over and speak to the man.  He was so handsome, I re-applied my lipstick before venturing across the room.  "Excuse me," I said.  He immediately rose to his feet, a perfect gentleman.  He put out his hand.  "I understand you are a Casavant," I said.  "Yes," he replied.  I then proceeded to talk about his family's company, the documentary I had seen recently and our Casavant in St. Brigid's.  It was a heady moment for me -- and not many are. 

Turns out, he was born in Manitoba, but a francophone to the core.  So, we spoke French, which clearly delighted him, in Alberta as we were.  You never know who will pop up out here.  

Sleeves?  This refers to the charming lady I was seated beside at our table.  Stylishly turned out, she and I were the only ones who had taken the "semi-formal" dress code literally.  Most of the other wives were in "Matronly Calgary drab".    "I love to dress up," she said, "now that I have lost 164 pounds."  Whaaaaat?!  Yep, turns out this beautiful lady used to weigh 324 pounds.  324!  How did she do it?  She had a sleeve put into to her stomach..........whatever that is.  She now eats a cup of food three times a day.  I was so impressed, but ashamed at the same time.  "You know, if you still weighed 324 pounds, I wouldn't have even talked to you," I admitted.  That's how stigmatized large people are.  We had a lot in common and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  

The things you run into in Airdrie!