Monday's Inspiration

In a previous life ((pre-pickleball some 15 years ago), I took on a side hustle as a photographer for a local newspaper. One of my first assignments was to cover the Riverside Jam outdoor country music festival held over the August long weekend in Carleton Place.
It was here that I first met and got photos of Arlene Quinn, the Queen of Lanark County country music.

Arlene became a friend over the years, often showing up wherever my camera and I happened to be. My father became one of her biggest fans, as Arlene was a regular at the retirement home where he lived. She was famous for "giving back" to the community and she made life just a little bit better for thousands of people who would never be able to get out to see her. And she caused more than a few tears to flow when she played some of Dad's favorite songs at his celebration of life when he passed in 2018.

So you can imagine my excitement when I learned that Arlene and her band were playing this past weekend at an old church just an hour down the highway, almost exactly 15 years to the day since I first met her. It was great to catch up and, needless to say, my camera was busy.

Thanks for being you Arlene! You inspire all of us to be better people!

​Michael Gauthier