February 29, 2008

TAKE A LEAP

Leapin' Lizards but Liz's character sure started something. Back when Julius Caesar was courting Cleopatra, he discovered that the Egyptian calendar had an extra day in it every four years, in order to bring it into alignment with the sun and moon. Julius wasn't too good at choosing friends (the back stabbers) but when he saw a good idea or apparently, a good looking woman, he wasn't afraid to steal them. Thus starteth the extra day in February, in any year divisible by 4.



Cleo, or was that Elizabeth Taylor, was no slouch at seizing upon an opportunity either (didn't she ask 9 or 10 men to marry her?). Mixing up my history a bit (it's more convenient this way), we learn that, in England, February 29 was ignored and had no legal status and therefore they assumed that longstanding traditions had no status either, on that day. Ergo, ipso facto ( ? ), women decided that this would be the one day in which they could ask a man to marry them. Actually, the Irish, always a little ahead in those days, decided back in the fifth century when St. Bridget complained to St Patrick about the reluctance of men to ask certain women to marry them, that February 29 would allow them the opportunity to reverse roles. It took the Scottish a little longer to figure out a way to profit from this practice, but in 1288 they passed a law allowing any woman to propose marriage to a man on Feb. 29 and if the man declined, he would have to pay a fine.

Leaping forward to the 1930's, we find that a very popular comic strip named L'il Abner created a special day called Sadie Hawkins Day in November, but was often celebrated with dances and parties on February 29, thus giving the high school dateless a chance to co mingle as a result of a girl asking any boy in the vicinity to the school dance on that day. I don't know if there is a moral to this story, or even if there is a story to this moral, but gentlemen be very careful out there today. And, if you see Liz walking your way, try not to make eye contact.

February 26, 2008

SPRING SIGNS

Spring has sprung. The grass is ris'. I wonder where the birdies is. It's still February but it's beginning to look a lot like spring around here. Most of the snow is gone, the days are sunny and the temps are climbing. Pretty soon, the damn deer will be eating my tulips! Another sign of spring occurred yesterday when Ilsa, Queen of the nazi Fitness Camps and athletic therapist extraordinaire, invited me to a 2 hour golf preparation session. Apparently, this will be dedicated to physical readiness and will not actually assist in lowering my score - nothing else ever has either, so I might as well go.

Something else warms my dark little heart these days - you may know that I'm involved in an annual spring hockey tournament that offers education bursaries to players and consequently, we are always seeking help of various kinds. I sent a letter explaining this to the three major food store chains in our town last week and as of yesterday, all three have replied with offers of assistance. There are a lot more companies, from every industry, who do things to help others in the community than ever get credit for it. When I'm ranting and raving, it would be good to keep this idea in mind.

Another sign of spring are the envelopes appearing in the mailbox with income tax information, harbingers of several hours in front of the computer entering numbers and trying to decipher the government-speak that substitutes for a kiss, while getting screwed - oops, did I say that out loud? Nice Revenoors, easy boy let's not be talkin' audits now......I promise to pay...honest I do.

February 25, 2008

MOVEMENT

So, I guess if I label a blog SEX IN A PAN, I should expect to receive some similar offerings. This one comes from a faithful reader with the fabulous acronym MNUL. I haven't made it yet, but after reading through the recipe, I know I felt "movement." Read through it yourself and see what you feel.


Banana Toffee Delight

Makes 8-10 servings
1 1/3 cups(325 mL) graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, melted
1 can (300 mL) sweetened condensed milk
1½ lbs (0.65 kg) firm bananas
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
½ tsp (2 mL) powdered instant coffee
1 tsp (5 mL) icing sugar
chocolate shavings

Immerse can of sweetened condensed milk (unopened) in a deep pan of boiling water. Cover and boil for 1 hour. Be sure to top up with water frequently during cooking, so can stays completely under water. If the pan is allowed to boil dry the can will explode. Remove the tin from the water and allow to cool completely before opening. The sweetened condensed milk becomes soft toffee.
Combine melted butter and graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Press firmly onto bottom of 9” spring form pan. Spread the toffee over the graham crust. Peel and halve the bananas lengthways and lay them on the toffee. Whip cream, instant coffee and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spoon mixture on top of the bananas and lightly sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Serve immediately. Can be made and refrigerated a day in advance.

February 24, 2008

FOR THE LOVE OF EUCHRE

I grew up in a house full of gamers. I live in a house full of gamers, yet I very seldom find myself interested in participating. I have my immediate family intimidated when they want to play Scrabble because they think that I have a large vocabulary and would dominate the game. I do enjoy popping in to give someone a hand to create a word with some hard to use letters, occasionally. This always helps to further the myth and I can then escape to the computer or watch a hockey game instead. Over the years, I have been subjected to learning bridge, playing Trivial Pursuit (some degree of intimidation involved here, too), Cranium, charades, poker and most recently, Wizard and Kaiser. I get dragged kicking and screaming, so as to provide a "fourth," but in most cases, I'm marking time until game's end. My mother in law was visiting recently, and she and the rest of the family played, mostly board games, constantly for a week. The shrieks of laughter could not entice me to join.

In a few weeks, we are going to Hawaii with friends who are committed (and perhaps should be) card game players and so there seems to be this excitement about long nights on the lanai, libations in bulk and games into the wee hours. I haven't shared this dream as I would prefer all of the above, except the games, and with the addition of some star gazing and world problem solving, made easier by an extra dram or two of grape juice. Our friends came over last night for some practice runs of Wizard and as always, great hilarity ensued with appropriate amounts of wine, Baileys, Glayva, bragging and complaints about questionable dealing. By midnight, a Wizard had been crowned and it seemed we should continue on to something else - discussions of sailing, snorkeling and surfing would have been my preference, until someone mentioned "euchre." Oh, thought I, that might be alright, as I recalled countless nights around the dining room table as a child, watching my parents and aunts and uncles playing this same game until dawn. Much rowdiness, thumping of table and loud friendly banter, along with suggestions of "table talk" danced through my mind. A quick review of the rules and a few practice rounds soon resulted in the boys against the girls and a thorough routing of the female contestants for several games running. OK, two in a row.

There seems to be general agreement about the appeal of euchre with its speed and built in competitiveness contributing to the merriment, the battle of the sexes and the ever increasing need to make the game best of three and then five and then seven and by 2 AM, the women had had enough and wouldn't allow us boys to try and reclaim our natural and rightful place at the top of the food chain by trying to increase it to, best of 11. We'll get them in Hawaii, after all we're only down a couple of games.

February 21, 2008

A FRESH BREEZE

It feels like a change coming. I know that most of the planet seems to be in turmoil and that problems seem to surround us at every turn. We can provide a long list of ills such as illiteracy, hunger, disease, environmental disaster, war, abuse, poverty and on and on. While it's easy to slip into the mindset of finding everything that's wrong with the world and then finding someone to blame it on, I have this little part of my mind that thinks this could be an illusion. Perhaps, it feels to me, this is a little like the storm before the calm. We need this big blow off of negativity before humanity finds the path that leads to peace and abundance. There are signs everywhere of a new order, of a willingness to consider alternatives, of an acceptance of the possibility that we can create a better world. The push to explore these possibilities may come when the human race experiences some sort of cataclysmic event that takes us to the edge of extinction. The source could be external, like a comet or could already exist, like an environmental or genocidal horror that finally galvanizes us to seek solutions that we can't currently see.



I don't see leadership coming from governments as they continue to protect their own territories and economies to the exclusion of the big picture. Religion continues to promote their philosophy of salvation only to the true believers and while they have the opportunity to literally save the world, most continue to exclude more people than they include through their myopic insistence on rules and dogma and have forgotten what spirituality is. There are corners of the world however, where great strides are being made. It is in these areas where we may find a clue for the future. The clues have a commonality in their insistence on personal responsibility and seeking the truth and power from within. The so-called fringes of medicine, or rather healing, is a good example. Conventional healthcare facilities are overcrowded, unresponsive and mired in beauracracy and so there is a movement to seek alternatives and they do exist. Rather than accept indifferent service from glorified pharmaceutical reps with a couple of initials behind their name, many of us are finding help from practitioners who use our own internal healing powers to direct us towards health and well being. Chiropractors, naturopaths, acupuncture, meditation, reiki, yoga, APR



In another area, there is a rapidly growing segment of the population unconvinced by the top-down, fear-mongering power preached from most pulpits and now seek an alternative that practices a spirituality based in understanding and acceptance rather than guilt. This has opened us up to the power of possibility and intention, as we reveal the truth from within our souls that can attract all that we require to fulfill our life's purpose. This same power is starting to be directed toward planetary solutions that will ultimately recreate humanity through the harmonic convergence of thought, directed at empowering people of all races, geography, practices and cultures. This empowerment is the solution for society's inequities and the ever-expanding snowball it is creating, keeps rolling in the works of Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Esther Hicks, The Secret, Kerry Parsons, Mike Dooley, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Gottfried and the dozens of other thinkers who offer the fresh breeze that opens our minds and inspires the thoughts that will become reality.

February 18, 2008

ROOM TO READ

Please imagine the following scenario. You have been invited to give the after dinner speech to a large convention in Mexico City. The topic is one you know well and are considered an expert in. The organizing committee has paid all of your expenses, including the five star accommodations and luxury rental car, for an extra day. You give the speech to a standing ovation and are thanked effusively by many well wishers at the podium. Nothing left to do but jump into the sparkling convertible in the underground garage and head to your hotel and plan the sightseeing trips for tomorrow, before flying back to the snow and ice of home.

You exit the convention center into the oncoming darkness, turn left and drive two blocks into a neighbourhood that you know is not on the itinerary. Abandoned streets, lights flickering, garbage swirling in the wind and all of a sudden you feel and hear at the same time, the thump, thump, thump of the front tire going flat. Your stomach jumps into your throat as you ease the car to the curb and realize that your cellphone is back at the hotel - do they even have a 911 system, you wonder. You look around the darkened street, open the door and realize that the brightest thing for 100 yards is your interior light. You step out to survey the flat tire and open the trunk to try and find a jack when you hear more thump, thump, thumping. Looking up the street to the corner with the broken traffic light, you see a group of youths, walking four abreast, boombox on a shoulder and coming toward you past the boarded up store fronts. You can sense the predatory grins cross their mouths as they spy the car and then you. The fear etched on your brow drawing them closer, like blood draws sharks. The statistics of poverty and illiteracy have no meaning now as you realize that no one knows you are here - no one is coming to save you.

The United Nations estimates that 850,000,000 people lack basic literacy skills. One out of every 7 human beings cannot read or write. Two-thirds of this number are women and the effect on their families is devastating as they are typically responsible for raising the children of the next generation. Who showed you your first picture book and read to you. Over 100 million children of primary-school age are not registered in school. Here's how this affects you and me. The first thing the Taliban did as they filled the vacuum left when the Russians abandoned Afganistan, was to close the schools and kill 90% of the teachers. If someone wore glasses and even looked like an academic, it was enough to get them killed. What the Taliban knew, like every conquering totalitarian force in history knew, is that education is the single biggest threat to their survival. Stopping access to information and offering their own religion/philosophy of hatred has spawned terrorism, jihad and a mindless march to martyrdom that shows increasing evidence on our own shores.

The one guaranteed solution to poverty, hatred, drug abuse, sexual abuse, unemployment, starvation, disease, terrorism and economic disparity, is education. The basic skills of reading, writing, adding and subtracting, combined with access to books, libraries and the computer will change their world and ours, if not in this generation, then in the next, or the next. Yes, you and I, by the very nature of our existence, have a responsibilty to help this effort. I also know that no one reading this, is unable to do something that will make a difference. The "Room to Read" program offers an opportunity to change our world. The cost of reading this blog, is to take five minutes to link to Room to Read (found on the upper right of this page) and then do something today. You might consider buying the book "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World" by the program's founder, John Wood and passing it to someone you know, as a starter. Do it now, you owe it to the world for your own good fortune.

Now, back to the Mexico City scenario from paragraph 2. Suppose this same incident occurred to you on the campus of the University of Mexico and along with the boombox, the four youths were carrying some textbooks down a well lit sidewalk and laughing and talking about a class they had just left. Would your world change.

February 17, 2008

PILLOW TALK

Pillows have sure become complicated over the years. At one time, we just bought a pillow and moved it, folded it, fluffed it, lost it or did whatever was necessary to get comfortable with it. Then, we began to discover that there were different qualities and materials being offered, so we had to decide among various downfills and foams. We began making choices about loft, size, hypoallergenic and hard, medium and soft. Now, in addition to all of these choices plus a myriad of new materials that they are being filled with, there are also new covering materials and we have to know before choosing, whether we sleep on our side, back or front. How about all four - left side, right side, back and front? Some people, who shall remain nameless, have several pillows stacked beside the bed and change them throughout the night, I guess.

I bought a new pillow last summer that is supposed to be the ultimate in scientific sleep technology with space proven foams and memory something or other. I'm not sure what it's supposed to remember - my dreams, my name - since it's "space-age" maybe just the planet I sleep on. My memory recalls being significantly wealthier prior to its purchase. But alas, that was three pillows ago, as I have tried several other side-sleeper models and still wake up with a stiff neck. I can doze off in a movie theatre, in front of the TV and definitely, on a sandy beach, without a pillow in sight, but in my own bed, I feel like a trained seal as I flop and roll from side to side. Maybe I should take the dollar bills I've spent on pillows and stuff them in a sack and try that, or perhaps I should start taking a bowl of sardines with me, or someone has commented about something called, snoring....I don't understand, what is this snoring????

February 14, 2008

DIVING IN

Frankly, I'm a bit confused. A few months ago, I discovered the existence of some sort of online group of people who had either hiked The Westcoast Trail previously, or were planning to, and I decided to peruse some of the information and conversations. In order to do so, I needed to create a name and password to be able to enter. This turned out to be a Facebook site and so without much forethought, I filled in the required information and left a couple of comments, including a link to my own WCT book. Last night, my daughter informed me that she and a friend had been on my Facebook profile and commented on how inadequate my efforts had been, as evidenced by the fact that there were no comments or something. I didn't really understand most of her commentary, being a technophobe, as you know. Another example of my leaping in, without doing the due diligence. Some people need to have all the facts before going into action - I apparently, am not one of them. Until today at lunch, I thought this might be a negative thing, but I'm currently reading a book by John Wood called, "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World." Let me offer a direct quote from his book,

" Stop Talking, Start Acting

If you are thinking about making some adjustments in your life to allow you to help change the world, my hearfelt recommendation is not to spend too much time thinking about it. Just dive in.......

The biggest risk is that a lot of people will try to talk you out of pursuing your dream. The world has too many people who are happy to discuss why something might not work, and too few who will cheer you on and say, "I'm there for you." The more time you spend navel-gazing, the longer you give those negative gravitational forces to keep you in their tether."

Entering a Facebook chat may not be earth shattering, but let's not stop from trying to change the world in front of us, just because we need someone else's opinion. Leaders are those who take the leap and accept the consequences. And to my daughter, I may not know what I'm doing, but I am doing, how about you?

February 12, 2008

SEX IN A PAN

OK gentlemen, I have it on the best authority that Valentine's Day occurs on February 14 again this year, just two days from now. Like her birthday and your anniversary, you have an opportunity here that you should not squander and Mind Gass is going to help you. After taking her out to dinner on Thursday evening, suggest returning home for dessert and coffee (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and then shock her with this guaranted-results dessert that even you can make. No cooking, other than popping the base in the oven for a few minutes (don't forget to turn the oven off!) you can make this on Wednesday night and pull it out of the refrigerator the next evening.

Once again, I guarantee satisfactory results, or your money cheerfully refunded (details below). It will take about a half hour and impress her right into the position you have been hoping for, guaranteed!

SEX IN A PAN
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
Mix these 3 ingredients in a bowl and then spread on the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan, pat down lightly with a fork and place in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes (set the timer)
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese room temperature
1 cup icing sugar
1 cup Cool Whip thawed (buy the tub in the freezer section)
Whip these 3 ingredients together (with an electric mixer) until they look like softened butter and spread over the cooled base from the first section
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
3 cups whole or 2% milk
Mix these 3 ingredients thoroughly in a bowl so that the pudding mix sets and then spread this mixture over the other two in the pan
Top with the balance of the Cool Whip and cover with clear wrap and refrigerate until about 15 minutes before serving
A cup of decaf (regular if you're brave), perhaps a cream liquer and a slice of Sex In A Pan and then watch the fireworks, better still, participate in the fireworks. Now, if after you have taken all of these steps there is a failure to launch, then send all of the disappointing details to this blog, along with your name and address and then watch your mailbox for a full refund.

February 11, 2008

I SEE THE LITE

According to this morning's newspaper, researchers have now discovered that feeding rats a sugar free, sugar subsitute diet, results in them gaining more weight than they would by eating sugar. Finally, vindication! The world is beginning to return to normal as balance is being achieved in the universe. A certain, media-darling, Canadian environmentalist is being shown up for his contradictory climate stands, based on very suspect science. Coffee no longer kills us. Red wine should be consumed for its health benefits. French people eat huge quantities of butter, without immediate death as a result. I heard some Eastern Canadian political pundits on CBC, say that a federal election would result in very little change in the House of Commons standings, due to Harper's reasonably good governance.
It's like I'm living in a dream. What has happened to all of the politically correct, Birkenstock-wearing, fat-free, pass the tofu people who have been making my life miserable?
Before you know it, professional wrestling will be exposed as a fake - oh, really - it already has?

February 9, 2008

HEARTWARMING

THIS STORY WAS SENT TO ME BY A WONDERFUL FRIEND AND I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IT WITH EACH OF YOU:

HER FIRST PAY CHECK

Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between Jenny -- a little 5-year-old girl, and some construction workers that makes you believe
that we CAN make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house next door to a vacant lot. One day a construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty lot.

The young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in all the activity going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.

Eventually the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more or less adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her, let her sit
with them while they had coffee and lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her feel important.

At the end of the first week they even presented her with a pay envelope containing a couple of dollars. Jenny took this home to her mother who said
all the appropriate words of admiration and suggested that they take the two dollar 'pay' she had received to the bank the next day to start a savings account.

When they got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own pay check at such a young age.
The 5-year-old replied, 'I worked last week with the crew building the house next door to us.'

My goodness gracious,' said the teller, 'and will you be working on the house again this week, too?'
Jenny replied, 'I will if those ass-holes at Home Depot ever deliver the ****ing sheet rock...'

Stories like this just bring a tear to your eye.

February 7, 2008

WHAT PRICE DEMOCRACY?

Democracy has a price, I know that, but is it starting to get excessive or is it already way out of hand? We all know that the U.S. primaries are in full swing and we also know that many other elections in North Amercia are iminent. The U.S. general election follows the primaries, this November, at further enormous cost. I went to the New York Times website to try and find out how much money is being spent on the primaries. All I have found so far, is the amount of money raised by each of the candidates, so this does not include the cost of actually staging the primaries, the amount of money spent by the media chasing candidates for 10 second sound bites, the amount of money each of the major parties is spending on meetings, etc. Just the amount of money raised by all the candidates to date, exceeds $600,000,000.00.

The top money-raiser, Hillary Clinton, has had to raise over $120,000,000.00 and Obama is not far behind. Democracy is supposed to create equality and allow anyone the opportunity to run for elected office. Could you raise 100 million dollars for a serious campaign? For the "winner" of the primaries, who becomes the party's presidential candidate, after a multi million dollar extravaganza called a convention, they will need to have a war chest, once again in the 10's of millions, to carry the party flag into the general election. Do the Americans elect the best candidate, or just the one who can raise the most money - tough question - take a guess at the answer.

Now, I'm just a poor country boy who is technologically challenged on the best of days, but can't we figure out a better way to do this? In an age of instant communications, television, the internet, satellites and blogs, is there not a way to redesign the process to eliminate the obscene amounts of money required to be a serious contender. For those of us who are not U.S. citizens, we should not be too smug, because the very same issue confronts us. The number of zeroes may be less, but the problem is identical. Voter turnout is dropping in most jurisdictions as a new generation continues to feel distanced from the election process and fails to see the connection between politicians and the rights and freedoms that a democracy guarantees. Surely there must be a way of harnessing the power of the household computer to the election process in a way that provides information, interaction, voting and common sense to an event that has gone completely out of control with its own excess.

February 6, 2008

LOVE HURTS

Today I am reminded that it is easiest to hurt the ones we love the most. Somehow, we are most susceptible to the slings and arrows of those that we hold nearest. The familiarity with and the exchange of deep seated feelings, creates the basis of vulnerability that allows us to hurt, or be hurt, in a way that could never happen with casual friends or acquaintances. Sometimes we are desperate to help our loved ones by pointing out an area of weakness or concern, and in so doing, create a defensiveness in them that leads to harsh words or thoughtless responses. If we didn't love them, we would never mention the concern in the first place. If they didn't love us back, they would never lash out in the hopes of hurting us. It's hard to take the sting out of a passionate rebuke, but a hug, an "I'm sorry" and an "I love you" will usually heal a broken heart. Of course, sometimes we just have to stand by and let those who are the most important to us, live and learn and grow and change in their own time. It takes courage and real love to stand witness to other's faults and mistakes, without trying to help or make it better. This may be the toughest love of all.

February 5, 2008

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

There is some evidence coming to light suggesting that our planet has been populated by life several times and that each time most traces have disappeared. Whether that turns out to be the case or not, gets me wondering about our own time on the planet. Will anyone know we have been here? What happens to those favourite stories about our misspent youth, funny family events from childhood, those special moments when we first dated, drove our first car, received a special award, laughed, cried, loved, fell down, got up, kept going, lived and died. Will our children, grandchildren, neices and nephews know who we were. Not likely, since they have their own memories to create, just like we did.
During a course that I took several years ago, I made a commitment to write my own life history, which I just started recently. Whether my own children read it or not, is not the point of writing it. The point, I am just learning, is that it allows me to view past decisions, failures, successes, joys and sorrows with a certain detachment, knowing that I survived all of it. There is a cathartic effect in remembering the various forks in the road, that contrasts quite nicely with the mystery of not knowing what might have happened, had I chosen the other route. The passage of time brings the realization that all we really have is the present, but the process of writing your own life history, is one I highly recommend. If you, like me, have a few regrets, then you will also become familiar with the concept of revisionism. Why not, every historical source since the beginning of time, utilized the same process. And when we get right down to it, if all of this simply disappears, at least you have had your day in history.

February 2, 2008

TRUTH BE TOLD

When a man of a "certain" age, procures the services of a much younger woman and after the service has been rendered, she insists on being quite efusive in her praise of his efforts, should he believe her? When this same jeune fils tells him that she has another client, only 32 years of age, who can't do what he just did, can he accept her word, or should he be his usual cynical self and wonder if the ego boost is perhaps, commercially motivated?
This line of thinking naturally turns my head to thoughts about other situations in which we may not be hearing the unvarnished truth from people who look to us for their own livlihood. The people who are at the greatest risk of hearing only the "good stuff" are politicians, rock stars and actors who depend on syncophants and hangers-on to feed their egos and propel them ever higher, so that they can dispense more manna to their groupies. I'm also concerned about today's students who must never be told anything negative, they are only able to move upward to the next grade, regardless of knowledge or ability and their little self confidence receptors would be irrepairably damaged should they be told they didn't work hard enough, weren't smart enough or just simply failed at something.
Speaking of truth, a woman in Edmonton is suing a list of people including hospital staff, doctors, social workers, etc. because she had been lied to about her own birth circumstances. To the uninitiated, this may sound preposterous but unfortunately, this particular set of lies is only too real to hundreds of thousands of North Americans who are involved in the adoption process. Birth details were routinely changed following the second world war, as children born to unwed mothers were hidden, bartered and yes, sold in some cases, to couples who ignored the niceties of truth. Birth dates and places were changed so that no one could trace their parentage. Birth mothers were often told that their baby was stillborn. This information has been known for many years, but some of the details are only now coming out because several people have chosen to go to court. These travesties were not the result of some nefarious banana republic or totalitarian, third world government - these things actually occurred, until well into the seventies, right here in Canada and the United States. I am not quoting from a questionable conspiracy website either - there are volumes available and I am about to add my own to the chorus. This spring, I will release To My Secret Mother, my own, true life account of being a post second world war adoptee. If you are interested, there is a little bit of information on my website and I will be providing more in the next few months.
So, what to do about the complimentary young lady, who obviously recognizes my cougar-like reflexes and athletic prowess, as she guides my physical training to new heights - I'm going to see if she can talk my digital scale into being a little more complimentary, too. I wouldn't mind altering the truth occasionally myself.

February 1, 2008

FEBRUARY 1

Five years ago today, seven American astronauts died in a space shuttle accident and the world mourned. That same day, February 1, 2003, seven teenaged students from Calgary, Canada lost their lives in an avalanche while cross country skiing in the mountains and a city went into shock. Today, I salute the seven young people of our community and offer my thoughts and prayers to the rescue personnel and survivors of this tragedy. If you wish to read a little more about this event from a more personal perspective, then click on the link at the right to Legacy Hockey and go to "Background."

Thank you Ben, Jeff and Scott for making a difference in the world. We will always be grateful to Carol, Jerry, Chris, Bill, Donna and Dave for showing us what courage is.