Welcome to my blog.
This is my creative outlet that could include my thoughts on anything from current affairs, my weight loss quest and things that just make me need to voice an opinion.
Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by extreme weather events such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and so forth.
When I was just a young lad, I recall my parents driving my brother and I to our grandparents house in Colborne. It was a weekly occurrence which sometimes involved spending the night there.
On this particular trip in 1973, I can distinctly remember us driving through the town of Brighton as we always did on this trip. As we were just heading out of town, I remember dad having a tough time keeping the car on the road as the winds picked up considerably and we moved from one side of road to the other. Dad regained control of the car and we continued on our way not thinking much of it at the time.
Later that evening we were on our way back home and as we came into Brighton the destruction was immediately apparent. We were detoured around the downtown as a tornado had destroyed the city hall and done major damage to other structures. Trees had been toppled. We drove by my Uncle's house and the huge tree in his front yard had been uprooted and fell into the roof of the house next door.
When we found out the time the tornado had struck, we realized it had gone through the town just moments after we had passed through and the strong winds that were moving the car were caused by the funnel cloud. Had we turned around and looked out the back window of the car, we would have seen the tornado going through the town. It was a close call indeed. To the best of my memory, nobody was killed, however I can't say for sure since I was just about 5 years old at the time.
The power of nature is nothing to take lightly and must be respected. My brother and sister-in-law and her family all live in Florida so hurricanes and the possibility of the next one making landfall near them is always a concern during this time of year. They've been fortunate so far with a few near misses but I can't help but think it's only a matter of time.
When most people think of tornadoes, they think of "Tornado Alley" in the United States as the likely place where these "fingers of God" will strike. However, we Canadians know all too well that the threat exists here as well. Just last week, two days of severe weather spawned several violent tornadoes near Winnipeg, Manitoba. Here is some footage of one of those giant twisters caught on tape by storm chasers.
I don't get any tips at my job so why do I have to tip others for doing their jobs?
Now that I have half of you agreeing with me and the other half calling me nasty names, let me delve into the practice of tipping for service and my thoughts on the subject.
For the record there have been very few occasions when I haven't provided a tip where it is customary. The one time happened at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto when the valet brought my car around for me and I just grabbed my keys and left. To be honest, I just wasn't thinking and I probably would have given him a couple bucks had I remembered to do so.
But there are times when I wonder why am I having to tip this person or that person when all they are doing is their job. As I stated above, I have never received any gratuities for the work I've done over the years but of course, those jobs were never classed as a "hospitality or service" position. Most of the people who receive tips are probably making less than minimum wage and the tips help to offset that. My argument to that of course is, find another job that pays better so you don't have to rely on tips to survive.
When I started to look into it, I couldn't believe the number of different professions where you are required or expected to provide a tip for them doing their job. Now I realize many professions such as servers, delivery drivers, airport shuttle drivers, valets, hairdressers and bartenders are supposed to be given tips for the job they do. Heck I'll even give a little something to the girls dancing at the gentleman's club if they do good work but that is the key right there for me. They must provide good service.
I've been on a couple of cruises and I can remember someone telling me to make sure I tip the dock workers when I give them my luggage or they might lose my bags on purpose. How is that allowed to happen? Of course I did hand them some cash because I didn't really feel like wearing the same clothes for a week.
Now lets go with the most common example: a waitress. Typically a waitress will get 15% of the bill from me. Here in Canada that is usually easy to figure out because the total of the taxes is around the same amount. So if the taxes from my meal equals $2.50 then she or he will get that amount of a tip.
That's the amount I'll start with and depending on the service I'll either add or subtract from that total. If the service is exceptional, prompt, friendly, available when needed and above average, she might get a bit more.
Reasons I will start reducing the amount of the tip will include poor manners, slow service, rudeness and anything else that pops up. One thing I absolutely detest is when a server begins the experience by asking, "How are you's tonight?". I don't claim to be Mr. Grammar or the King of the English language but if you use the word "YOU'S" instead of asking "How are you" or "How is everyone" you can expect a less than impressive tip off the bat. I haven't done it yet but I've been tempted to reply, "We's fine".
Only once can I recall not leaving a tip on purpose. I was at a Swiss Chalet in Port Hope, Ontario with my dad and two friends from Pennsylvania. We were on our way home from a Toronto Blue Jays game and decided to stop for supper. If you've ever eaten with me at the Chalet, you know I always order the Half Chicken with Fries and an Extra Roll. Well this fellow must have been having a bad day because he brought out our meals and left but my extra roll was missing. He came back and I politely asked him for my extra roll. His response to me was, "I only have two hands!". To which I replied, "and you'll also be getting no tip." He tried to apologize but the damage had been done and he received no gratuity from our table that night.
The best service I ever had was at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Toronto below the Hilton Hotel, but we certainly paid for it. I think my steak alone cost me $40 and then I had to pay for my potatoes and vegetables separately. I was there with a group of guys and I think our bill came close to $800 so the tip was around $160 but we had a couple of waiters keeping us happy the entire time and never had to wait for them to show up. It was also worth every penny because Roger Clemens and his family were eating at a table near us and several of the Boston Red Sox players were also there. For a group of guys who are baseball fans, that made for a memorable evening.
So as much as I detest tipping to some extent, I will continue to follow the trend of paying someone extra for doing their job but I won't be happy doing it. I just wish someone would offer me some extra cash from time to time for showing up and doing my job.
The Trailer Park Boys are hilarious. That's only my opinion but I know I'm not alone.
While many (my mother and aunts included) think it's the biggest piece of $h!t on TV today there are millions of others who call it the best truly Canadian television series since SCTV and The Beachcombers.
Not since Nick Adonidas and Relic were combing the coastline North of Vancouver for logs and swapping stories at Molly's Reach has a Canadian television show been so embraced and loved for being Canadian.
For those of you who have yet to experience the foul-mouthed main characters of Julian, Bubbles (with his coke bottle glasses) and Ricky, the show is a mocumentary focusing on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts living in fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park, located near Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.
The show has been a great success for the cable network Showcase, where it's the networks highest rated Canadian show. You might be surprised to find the Boys are being watched all around the world. Of course in the United States they were airing a censored version of the show but it was eventually pulled. I guess they couldn't follow it or the beeps were too much to handle.
The boys are always up to no good and usually end up in jail while trying to come up with new ways to make money. From running an illegal nightclub, stealing groceries, reselling stolen gasoline or stealing gumball machines, the boys just can't catch a break and hilarity ensues.
The boys have also been featured in The Trailer Park Boys movie with another being planned.
Aside from the three main characters there is a wacky supporting cast that includes Jim Lahey the deranged trailer park supervisor, his assistant Randy whose beer gut is always exposed, J-Roc the parks white rapper/gangsta and Corey and Trevor who are two young and stupid guys who get things screwed up all the time.
This show is in its seventh season and its popularity seems to be growing as it moves from cult status to the mainstream. The boys are here to stay and I couldn't be happier.
Just as short example, here's a video of Bubbles acting as a reporter on another Canadian Comedy Show called 22 Minutes. Note there is some foul language in this but certainly not as much as the actual show.
Earlier today I attended a funeral for the first time in many years. Not since my Grandmother passed away a number of years back have I gone to an actual funeral. I've been to several visitations to pay my respects in the evening or afternoon but for one reason or another I was unable to attend the actual funerals.
I don't think anyone can say they enjoy funerals but I had my eyes opened to two distinct things as I attended the funeral of a relative today. One was positive and the other very negative.
The first is that funerals bring family together. That isn't a real eye-opener but it was more than just my immediate family. I met and was reacquainted with family members I didn't know I had or hadn't seen in years. I met second cousins who remember me but I was too young the last time we met to know them. Either that or my memory is really slipping. I also met second and third cousins. One cousin I've been golfing with for years and we never knew we were related.
While it was a sad occasion that brought us all together, it was nice to talk with them and hear the old stories from days gone by.
The other item that occurred today that has me quite upset is the lack of respect shown by strangers and motorists as we made our way from the funeral home to the grave site.
Perhaps it was the way I was raised but it has always been my understanding that as you approach an oncoming funeral procession, you should pull your vehicle over to the right and allow at least the first 7 to 10 vehicles pass. These usually include the hearse, pallbearers and the immediate family of course and it's just the right thing to do.
Today we had to travel a fair distance to the graveyard and our car was located right behind the Cadillac carrying the pallbearers, about the fifth vehicle. I was genuinely saddened by the number of vehicles that simply chose to drive right by without even slowing down at the very least. Heaven forbid you don't make it to the Beer Store or Walmart as quickly as possible.
There were those that did the right thing and pulled over and I was happy to see that but those who showed the proper respect were outnumbered greatly by those who just kept on truckin'. Speaking of truckers, they were probably the best ones to pull over. These are men who are on a schedule for work and even they took the time to stop and in some cases block the traffic behind them from getting by. Oh and that was another thing. While some people did pull over, those behind them used the opportunity to pass them.
Now I can understand a few slipping by because they just didn't notice the procession coming because they were too busy talking on their cell phones, playing with the radio or lighting a smoke but the numbers were just too high to not rule out sheer rudeness and disrespect by the majority of them.
The other shocking statistic from this abomination was the ages of the offenders. While you might expect this from the more youthful drivers the fact remains that most of the offenders were easily old enough to know better. A good portion of these individuals were over 40.
It wasn't all bad. One man was cutting his lawn with a riding lawnmower and he stopped cutting his lawn and waited for us to go by. Another man driving a transport stopped his truck at the entrance to the cemetery and blocked the oncoming traffic to allow the procession to enter. I've been hard on the "Knight's of the Highway" on many occasions for their actions on the highway in the past but they gained a few marks back today.
It has become apparent that in these ever changing times the thing that many parents aren't teaching their children and what a lot of adults have forgotten is manners and respecting our fellow man has become less important in this fast paced world.
To those who took the time to pull over and be respectful, my family thanks you.
Well slap my fanny and call me Horace, would you look at that Canadian dollar!
What is going on?
Who would have thought we'd see the Loonie approaching par with the American dollar when it was as recent as January 2002 when the Canuck Buck reached an all-time low of US$0.6192. How many of you, like myself, were left muttering and cursing under our breath as we went to the bank to get some US cash for a trip south?
When I think of how much money I lost just so I could enjoy some time away from the winter cold and snow in Canada, I almost shed tears.
The last time the Canadian loonie was actually worth more than the dollar of our southern neighbours was 1976 and the highest it reached was US$1.0614 in 1957. The Canadian dollar fell considerably after 1960, and this contributed to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's defeat in the 1963 election.
The question now is will we actually get back to even par or better? Depending on who you talk or listen to, the answer is "yes" and it could happen as early as late summer. I guess we'll just have to wait to see.
Of course this is happy news for those of us who vacation south of the border but for certain industries and business folks I'm sure it could pose a problem. And lets not forget tourism. I'm sure there will be fewer Americans making the trip north this summer to holiday.
Now my brother, although born Canadian, is now a U.S. Citizen and after several conversations with him regarding his impending trip back home this summer is none too pleased with this turn of events. He can't...no wait..., he refuses to see my logic and the upside from my point. He would love to still be getting 40-cents on every U.S. dollar when he comes north but he doesn't like the idea of it working the other way for me for a change.
As of the time that I'm writing this, instead of 40 cents he'll be getting 4 cents on every dollar and I don't think that makes him happy. All I can say is wait until the dollar really takes off and he starts losing money. I can't wait to tell him about that!
Yesterday all over the Canadian news was the story about the release of the study into the death of Native Canadian Dudley George at Ipperwash, Ontario in 1995.
As I understand it, the blame for the death has been squarely placed on the government of former Ontario premier Mike Harris, Ottawa and the OPP. Commissioner Sidney Linden found Harris did not order provincial police into Ipperwash Provincial Park to remove unarmed aboriginal protesters, but he could have "urged patience, rather than speed" at resolving the dispute.
"The federal government, the provincial government and the OPP must all assume some responsibility for decisions or failures that increased the risk of violence and make a tragic confrontation more likely," Linden said.
Ok, I can agree with that. Nobody ever likes to see people die needlessly and I am sure those involved in the shooting wish it had never happened. George, 38, was killed by a police sniper's bullet as Ontario Provincial Police moved in on the occupation by unarmed protesters at the park on the shores of Lake Huron on Sept. 6, 1995.
So if I understand the report correctly, the natives themselves are completely innocent. This balanced report puts 100% of the blame on the government and not one bit of responsibility on the natives. Ya, that sounds about as balanced as I expected. Just blame the government because they have big shoulders and this will keep the natives happy...until they decide to do something else.
Now before you start calling me a "racist" or "anti-native rights", I will be honest and admit I get upset when I see natives in Tyendinaga, Oka or Caledoina blocking roads, railroad tracks or bridges to prove a point and be noticed. But it's not the people who are doing it but the manner in which they are protesting.
I have nothing against the native people and have had several Mohawk friends. I also have nothing against public protests and am glad that we, as Canadians, have the right to protest any injustice in an organized and peaceful manner. However the problem is, most people will take their protests to the Ontario Legislature, Parliament Buildings, government office or a public building and picket on the lawn or sidewalk. They get their point across without disturbing the peace or others. We don't build large fires in the middle of a road and move big steel hydro towers or buses across the streets to inconvenience others in our own community.
If the natives, or anyone for that matter, feel they are being wronged, then by all means let your voices be heard. However, don't pull the stunts you have been by being a public nuisance, wasting taxpayers money and hurting industry. If you really want the support from those of us who might have a sympathetic ear, then don't go out of your way to piss us off.
When the natives throw up a blockade and go into "stand-off mode" it angers me. I think what angers me most is that they're allowed to get away with it. If that was me and a group of my neighbours erecting a roadblock of some kind, the cops would swoop in and arrest us immediately. But they can't do that with the natives because it would look bad politically and the natives would cry foul. Watching television coverage of past standoffs I was able to see many laws being broken by protesters yet I can say with all certainty that charges were never laid against them.
Going back to the Ipperwash situation, I am sorry that someone died but had the natives not put themselves in that situation in the first place and used diplomatic measures to try and achieve results, Mr. George never would have been shot. As long as situations like these are allowed to continue there will always be bad blood between natives and non- natives and there will remain the potential for more bloodshed when tensions rise and people feel threatened. They can release all of the studies they want but until both sides learn to use their heads instead of beating their chests, nothing will change.
On this particular trip in 1973, I can distinctly remember us driving through the town of Brighton as we always did on this trip. As we were just heading out of town, I remember dad having a tough time keeping the car on the road as the winds picked up considerably and we moved from one side of road to the other. Dad regained control of the car and we continued on our way not thinking much of it at the time.
