Favourite Christmas Memories

It's true what they say about Christmas; as you get older, it seems to lose some of it's special qualities. There's nothing like living through the holiday season as a child and taking in the wonders of this time. That's not to say I've turned into a Scrooge and ghosts will soon show up beside my bed. It's just that the whole Christmas experience has become more of an effort. Perhaps if you have kids you can relive the old feelings through them and that helps to preserve the memories.

Of course I have great memories of Christmas' past. I remember helping to trim the tree or perhaps I was just getting in the way. Playing with the tinsel was fun. Spending time with my family was always special. One family tradition that continues to this day is breakfast at my mom and dad's house. Several of my aunt's and my uncle on dad's side of the family always show up around 9am for breakfast. It is a huge meal that holds us until supper later in the day. Some year's we have more people and some we have less but it keeps taking place.

In my younger days dad, mom, my brother Scott and I would hop in the car and head to Colborne to Grandpa and Grandma Williams' homestead. This was usually a large family gathering with aunt's, uncle's and cousin's. It was always fun but with the passing of my grandparent's, those days happen no more.

As an adult I can now truly appreciate what my parent's did for my brother and I. With only dad working and putting in as much overtime as he could, he and mom made sure we had some wonderful memories. They sacrificed so we could have a ping pong table, board games, skates, new clothes or my Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. I also couldn't figure out why dad seemed a little grumpy when we jumped on his bed at 4:30 in the morning to start opening the presents. Of course now I realize he and mom were probably up until 1:00 wrapping and placing gifts under the tree. But once they were up, they were more than happy to sit and watch us destroy the wrapping paper and play games with us throughout the day.

You might not believe this, but even at my advanced age, there's one thing that helps to transport me back to my childhood. I still love to watch the old Christmas television specials. My favourite's include the "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" (with the island of misfit toys), "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (I always liked Max the dog), "Charlie Brown Christmas" (that poor little tree), "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town" (Kris Kringle bringing toys to the children of Sombertown), "Year Without A Santa Clause" (Heat Miser and Snow Miser working their magic) and "Frosty The Snowman" (why would he go in a greenhouse). How many of those do you remember?

The one new holiday special I have started to enjoy is the Victoria's Secret Holiday Fashion Show on CBS. Holy Jingle Bells!!!

So as the holiday season creeps up on us, I'll be scanning the TV Guide to find some of my favourite holiday friends to help put me in the mood.

17 Days of Bliss!

Well, I've finally found a few moments to tell you about my trip to Florida which I just returned from.

It was 17 days of fantastic weather but more importantly it allowed me to spend some time with my brother Scott prior to his big wedding on November 5th. We hadn't seen each other in over a year and it was great to be able to hang out like brothers are supposed to do. Of couse we didn't get to spend too much time with each other as he was busy preparing for the big day and then spent the honeymoon in Hawaii but the time we spent together was super.

I flew down with mom and dad and we stayed at Scott and Erin's place. I have to say, that first week I ate more awesome food then I have in awhile. I think we ate out almost every night and Steak and Prime Rib was my choice almost every meal. I love cow!

The rehearsal party was held at Michael's on East in the Wine Cellar (beautiful setting) with the wedding party (I was Best Man) and family from both sides. Yes, I ate more cow at this party. After the party, the girls went their way and the boys went to Hooters for a couple pitchers of watered down American beer.

The wedding day itself went very smoothly, although it was damn hot...about 85F. Needless to say I may have lost a few pounds while wearing my monkey suit. The reception was lovely. Did I just use the word "lovely"? Everything looked great but once again it was a tad on the warm side and my hankie's got a work out.

I ate more bovine at this gathering also. Judging by the amount of laughter during my speech, everyone either loved it or my fly was undone. I danced with the bridesmaid's and several of my aunts during the evening. I hadn't danced in quite a while and I think it showed. Overall it was a fantastic and emotional day. The saddest part of the day was knowing that the reception was being held at an amazing golf course and I wasn't allowed to play it.

The final week of my vacation was spent relaxing and shopping. I didn't buy much though...just three pairs of shoes, several shirts and some new shorts I won't get to wear again for another six months. I spent most of the time swimming in the pool, sitting in the spa or laying out by the pool catching some rays and working on the tan.

Overall it was another great trip. If you'd like to see photos of my trip, go to this website http://photobucket.com/albums/b244/Bundy68/ and click on the appropriate page.

Tee Off For Terry Fox

The 5th Annual Tee-Off for Terry Fox Golf Tournament was held at the Murray Hills Golf Course on Saturday October 15th. This fun day of golf is put on by the Student Government from ENSS in Brighton each year and has been a major contributor of funds in their efforts to raise money to fight Cancer.

I have golfed in all of the tournaments over the 5 years and along with my team-mates, we've had a fair bit of success.

Once again this year, about 39 teams of four hit the links on one of the nicest days for the tourney ever. We had a mix of sun and cloud with only about 5 minutes of light rain to dampen our grips. The winds were quite gusty which made playing that much more challenging.

To make a long story short, my team of Andy Koetstra, Fred VanLingen, Lyle Williams and myself won the tourney by 3 strokes as we finished minus six on the day. We had made it as low as minus 8, however bogies on the last two holes dropped us a bit.

With so many groups participating, our foursome had to play with two other foursomes. The fact that the other two groups were all members of the golf course like us made for a fun day of joking and good competition.

My gloating wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the fact that this was the second win in a row for us and third overall in the five years in this event. We've done well to say the least.

But the bottom line is the money raised and I'm pleased to report that almost 9-thousand dollars was raised for the Terry Fox Cancer Foundation and a lot of fun was had by all. I congratulate the organizing committee on another well run tournament and I look forward to next October.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of you who visit my Blog and all my family and friends a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

I figured I'd better post this now before I have my big meal on Sunday night. I have a feeling I'll be eating so much that my fingers might get too fat to punch the letters on my keyboard.

It's this time of year when we start to think about what we are truly thankful for and with my life going through some difficult times the last year I thought it would be hard to find anything to be thankful about.

The truth is, I'm very thankful for the love of my family who mean everything to me. Although I knew it all along they've proven that they really are there for me when I need them.

And I'm thankful for the friends I've had through the years and today. They've made life much more interesting and worth living.

And considering the hell I've put my body through for the last 37 years, I'm very thankful for my health. You'd never no it by looking at me but I'm not doing too bad for a guy like me. It's amazing how the right amount of medication will take away the pain.

I hope you all have as much to be thankful for as I do.

Sting Invitational Match-Play Golf Championship

Saturday July 23rd was a hot and sticky day but that only helped to heat up the competition at the inaugural Trenton Sting Invitational Match-Play Golf Championship in Wooler.

The team of Bundy and Scott Ilton were quiet yet confident heading to the first hole while their opponents Stuart Bisset and Alex Armstrong were feeling cocky and confident.

After taking a quick two hole lead, team B/I stumbled and allowed team B/A to square the match after four holes. That would be the last time team B/A would see victory within their grasp. Armstrong's game fell apart on the final three holes and his scores were so high, he lost count and therefore was unable to post a final score. Team B/I then won 12 of the final 14 holes and cruised to the first Sting Invitational Title.

In the individual stroke play competition, Both Bundy and Ilton struggled at times as they battled for the title. After nine holes and a rain delay, Ilton clung to a 2 stroke lead. Ilton's lead would grow to three after 12 holes before Bundy began his comeback and eventually tied the score on the 16th hole. An errant tee shot by Bundy on the 17th would drop him back one heading to the final hole and Ilton needed only to stay safe to ensure himself a win. However, after two good tee shots, both players struggled around the green with Ilton taking one more stroke to put his ball in the hole, thus allowing Bundy to tie the score once more. With no playoff, the stroke play title would be shared by Bundy and Ilton.

A fun day was had by all as they relaxed one more time before the work begins on another hockey season. The Trenton Sting rookie camp runs July 29th to 31st at the RCAF Flyers Arena.

It's Official...I Must Love Golf

As the 2005 U.S. Open gets under way today I've come to the conclusion that I love the game of golf.

I'm not the type of golf fan that sits in front of the TV for four straight days glued to the coverage hoping that the golfers I have in my Major's Pool do well. It's more personal than that.

Sure I'll be tuning in from time to time to see who's doing what and especially how our Canadian boys are doing but mostly I'll watch Sportscentre in the evening to get the highlights of the days events.

Last night at my usual Wednesday night Men's League round in Wooler, I had an epiphany and came to the realization that I MUST love golf. We were about 10 holes into our round of 18 when the rain started. I'm not talking about a shower or drizzle or a sprinkle. No, I'm talking about a Monsoon or torrential downpour.

In all my years as a golfer (about 7 years), I've never golfed in anything like this before. Usually if it's raining so hard that the umbrella does nothing but give me something to hold in my right hand, I can be found heading for cover. Not last night. We were on the 17th hole in Wooler on the forward white tees and I couldn't even find the flag on the green, less than 100 yards away. We were blinded by the onslaught of precipitation yet we went ahead and made our shots.

Somehow, mine did find the green but was a mile away from the hole. We finished the hole and moved to the 18th tee.

By this time I was beyond wet. My shirt had become like a second skin, sticking to my body with a suction effect. Despite the talk of quitting, we went ahead and played the hole. The rain hadn't let up at all and everything was soaked from my head to my toes. Once again, somehow with a drenched golf glove I managed to make it on to the green with my tee shot and pared the hole.

Luckily by the time we moved from there to the clubhouse the rain came to a sudden halt and the sun came through the clouds. I stopped by my car, changed shirts and put on a new golf glove and we continued to finish the round just as it was getting too dark to see the ball.

After persevering through that monsoon, I realized that I must love the game as any man in his right mind would have called it quits. I was reminded of the Minister in the Caddyshack movie having the round of his life and didn't quit until the bolt of lightning struck him down on the last hole. Like him, I was having a good round and had to continue. Of course, if I was having a bad round instead of a good one, I probably would have been the first one to find shelter.

I AM The Best Man

So here's the situation...my brother Scott is getting married in November to a lovely gal named Erin and the wedding is being held in Florida where they both reside.

Scott gave me the great honour of being his Best Man at the wedding and I couldn't be more thrilled. As a big man I can't think of anything more enjoyable than dressing up in a tuxedo under the blistering Florida sun. I just hope its machine washable.

I'm kidding of course. I look good all the time but I'm even better looking when I'm dressed up. Plus, it has always been my understanding that weddings are a great place to meet single women. It's the perfect atmosphere. Here they are watching someone they know, in love, having their big day. It'll be like single women at a male strip show and I'm the last dancer for them to grab on to.

Of course this plan goes right out the window if there are no single women. I know the invitations have already gone out. I wonder if it's too late for me to send out a few. I'll send a couple to those girls at the local bar who sell beer in their bikinis. I'll walk up and down the beaches of Siesta Key and Longboat Key handing them out to young hotties in thongs. Or I could head over to the Magic Kingdom in Orlando and pass out invites for a ride on the new "Bundy Mountain Love Experience".

No, I'm sure I'll just be too darn busy making sure things go as smoothly as possible. I'll be looking after my brother, the minister, the toasts, dancing with my aunts who don't have dates and at the end of the night I'll have to hook up with one of the ladies on the kitchen staff. I just hope she shaves.

The Greatest Game?

What is golf? Some define it as “a game played with a small ball and a bat or club crooked at the lower end. He who drives the ball into each of a series of small holes in the ground and brings it into the last hole with the fewest strokes is the winner.” Hmmm…sounds simple enough. Then why do I love to hate it…and hate to love it?

Golf is a game that I have come to love over the past 5 years or so. Sure I’d played it as an adolescent; but back in the day it was just once or twice a year. Since I became a member of the Murray Hills Golf Course in Wooler, I’ve taken my love of the game to a whole new level.

I’m happy to say that this new level no longer involves wrapping my putter around a tree or trying to set the record for 5 iron tossing. I’ve comfortably settled into the level where my game still stinks on a regular basis but is good enough to keep me thinking that there’s hope of improvement. I’m sure I’m not the only one at this stage in their game. That’s not to say I don’t unintentionally break the odd club from time to time. That’s just normal wear and tear. Ok, I broke the head off a putter while hitting a ball like a baseball after playing a particularly stinky round...but that was a rarity.

One area of my game where I have truly improved over the past couple of years is my vocabulary. I’ve come up with several interesting and never heard combinations of curse words on the links. Now with golf being a gentleman’s sport, I certainly do my best to mutter those profanities under my breath during most occasions. Nevertheless there are times when I don’t quite catch myself soon enough and the odd F-Bomb will slip beyond my lips.

Despite the fact the game can leave me frustrated, fuming, weeping, perplexed and minus a few clubs, all of the bad feelings drift away as I sit with my buddies at the clubhouse drinking a few cold pints while making plans for our next assault on the course.

Presqu'ile Park...My How You've Changed

Every summer of my life for the past 36 years has been spent, at one point or another, at Presqu'ile Park in Brighton.

I was born in July of ’68 and that very summer my parents hauled all 9 pounds 10 ounces of me off to my first camping experience. Some of the happiest days of my childhood were spent swimming, biking, singing around campfires and making friends at my favourite Provincial Park.

While I smile at the thought of all those good times, I can’t help but be depressed as I walk through the park in present day and see how time and the “power’s that be” have allowed this one time jewel of Northumberland County to slip into it’s present state.

Gone are the days when the children would be gathered up in the morning by park staff to congregate at the circus tent by the amphitheatre to make crafts and play games. I suppose that would just cost too much today.

I hark back to hot summer days spent lying on the beautiful beach where you had to wear shoes or risk burning your feet on the blistering sand. Standing on the waters edge you could see people its entire length enjoying the pristine surroundings. Not so much anymore. Why don’t they clean and drag it every day like they used to? How come beach four no longer exists? You’d need a weedeater to clear away the bush and an umbrella to shield yourself from the onslaught of seagulls. Do you remember when you could actually drive your cars on the beach?

If hunger struck and you were lacking any sustenance you could make your way to the snack bar at beach two. I can only imagine it was dismantled to make way for more tall grass. I also recall the white lifeguard stands spread along the beach. Now you just roll the dice and hope you don’t drown or get an infection from the e-coli bacteria.

Take a trip to other Provincial Parks and see just how much money has been spent on repairing roads. They don’t just bring in some dirt or try to patch and re-patch holes constantly with a little asphalt. The road leading in and out of the Park gives your shocks a real workout. And don’t even think of taking your eyes off the roads in the campground. Perhaps all those potholes are there to keep people from speeding around the campers…but some how I doubt that’s it at all.

I can summon up days in my youth when my camping friends and I would manage to persuade our parents to give us 5 bucks to go to the Park Store and have a burger, fries and a milkshake. Sure the store is still there but if you want to eat, you better bring your own meat and BBQ. Can you believe that restaurant owners in Brighton complained that they were losing business? What a joke! I never wanted a hot dog so bad that I’d be willing to drive or ride my bike into town.

Two words that have really infuriated me regarding Presqu’ile over the last ten years or so would be “Natural Park”. That’s how those in charge and the “birders” choose to classify this setting. I’m sorry but there’s a difference between a natural park and a rundown park. I recall playing baseball in the field near the park store as a teenager. If you did that today, you’d need your rubber boots and a bathing suit. I can also recollect playing baseball at the park ball diamond. Do you know where that was? If you said right next to the Beach 2 entrance you are correct. Next time you drive by there, see if you can place where it might have been. The forest is filled with fallen and rotting trees. What would be the harm to clean up some of that?

I could go on but I’ll leave my remaining thoughts until another time.

Presqu'ile will always hold a special place in my heart and memories. I'm just thankful that I have my memories to call upon when the current state of affairs anger or sadden me.