The Squamidian Report – April 11 / 15
Issue #672
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Have you ever been attacked by a hummingbird? Thats actually a fairly
common occurrence around here. They tend to be very territorial and
will try to drive anything and everything away from what they figures
belongs to them. Its usually a flowering bush or patch of flowers, that
kind of thing and it usually happens when in or near the back yard or
the flower beds. We were walking the dog one nice mild sunny morning
and out of nowhere came this tiny little bullet, trumpeting at the top
of its tiny little lungs. We were simply walking along the sidewalk,
minding our own business. It came out of nowhere, determined to chase
us away. It would shoot straight up for about 40 ft or so then dive
right at my head, all the while sounding like a nano-sized bugle
blower. He would hover about a foot out from my face, staring me down,
then go through the whole routine again. Kind of cool but I'm glad they
aren't the size of the local eagles or ravens. We'd all have to wear
helmets.
Then a day or so later there was one in our back yard. He was trying to
persuade me that I had no business being on the deck. Silly creatures.
But, what can you do. There are so many flowers and blossoms around
that they have it so good that they are getting greedy. They certainly
have nothing to worry about. We are not interested in their food
sources. We might like to look at them, but not really interested in
eating them.
And speaking of eagles, there are 8 or 9 young ones, assumably last
years production, that hang out in a tree beside the highway down by
the river. The whole bunch will sit there sunning themselves like so
many gangly teen-agers. And just like people type teen-agers, they are
unkept and rowdy. They barely look like the creatures they will grow up
to become. Eagle don't get that signature white head and tail until
they are a couple of years or so old. Until then they are a grey brown,
looking more like a turnkey vulture than anything else. They hang out
there, watching the traffic go by and watching the day go by. Just
thought I'd let you know.
Every April I pop in to the local Lordco outlet. Thats an automotive
supply type of place similar to a Napa Auto or perhaps sort of like a
Princes Auto. Lordco's shelf prices are ridiculously high, even for BC
which seems to hold the record for things being priced high. The reason
I go there once a year is to purchase engine oil for my motorcycle. I
like to run the Redline, 20w50 full synthetic that is specifically for
the air cooled V-twin engines and I like to have my supplies sitting on
my shelf. You'd have to be off you stick to buy anything there at 'full
price', and their shelf price for that oil is so high its embarrassing.
However, for some reason, they seem willing to sell at what they call
'trade-show' prices during April, hence, thats when I buy my oil. I
pick up a case of 12 at lower than half price which makes the oil
almost affordable. So, I've got enough oil on hand for both my and
Ryan's bike for another year or so. If I manage lots of riding this
year I'll end up doing several oil changes, if not, I'll end up with
oil left over for next year.
I've been out on the bike almost every day since early February with
the exception of rainy days and when I was back east so I'm off to a
good start. Believe it or not, that bike is now 6 years old, it being a
2009 model. Wow, where has the time gone? Mind you, I bought it new in
the spring of 2010 so in some ways its only 5 years old. Its also
getting pretty close to the 100,000 kilometer mark but most casual
observer think its new or at least fairly new. I still think of it as
my 'new' bike. So, the riding season here has been under way for a
couple of months now and it will be nice when, or if, it warms up to
the point where the cold weather riding gear is not needed in the early
mornings and late evenings. I'd like to be well on my way toward the
200k mark before parking the bike next November.
Anyway, I guess I'll be seeing many of you again this coming week. Until then.....
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Just sitting here trying to think of something to write about in this
weeks Ontarion has inspired me to think back on my life. It’s amazing
when one looks at just a tiny fraction of their life experiences. One
suddenly realizes just how busy and filled with educational material
their years on this earth have been. Just looking at the jobs I’ve had
since my first employment in this life is quite an education in itself.
My first experience at working for a few pennies a week was called
“doing the household chores” and payment for that was called “an
allowance”! I can honestly say I learned what would become my first
“life experience” and I actually got pretty good at shoveling the snow,
mowing the lawn, doing dishes and putting out the garbage cans and
retrieving them again once they had been emptied. I gotta say, I became
so good at these chores that I’m still performing them to perfection to
this very day! I’m sure there were other tasks such as making my bed
and helping my mother vacuum the house that were also life lessons.
Other tasks that have stood me well in my many years on this earth are
items such as doing my homework for school properly and on time that
became nothing more than good work habits and they in turn helped me to
perform well for the many employers I worked for over the past 55
years. Sluffing off such responsibilities as school homework when in
your youth tends to lead to being an irresponsible individual later in
life. They don’t tell you this when you’re in school but they really
should impress such lessons upon young students to help them understand
the outcome of developing good habits early in life!
One of my earliest employers by the name of Ed Trendell impressed upon
me the importance of getting a good nights sleep. He said that when you
are paid to do a job by an employer that’s counting on you to do a good
days work for the money, you owe it to your employer to get a good
nights rest so you can perform the job you’re paid to do with
efficiency and competence each day! I worked for Ed at a company called
Jiffi-Pak Ice that he owned. He and I were the only two employees of
the company so it was important that both of us were well rested and
alert each working day. I worked for Jiffy Pak Ice from the age of
16years until I was 19. Early in my time with Ed I showed up a few days
for work not only late but also hung over and half asleep for most of
the workday. I was literally useless to him when I didn’t or couldn’t
perform my job worth a damn because of the late hours I had kept the
night before, not to mention being still half in the bag! He was right
at that point to impress upon me how important my quality of work was
rather than just firing me on the spot. I never forgot how important
that lesson was and how much I appreciated Ed giving me another chance
as well as explaining to me why he was willing to do so! From that day
on I made sure that I never let him down again. That life lesson has
stayed with me throughout my entire working life and stood me in good
stead with all of my employers! Ed is gone now but I’m sure he’ll hear
me when I say “Thanks Ed for having faith in me so many years ago”!
Whenever I’d tend to get a little lazy at work I’d think back on those
important words “You owe it to your employer to get a full eight hours
sleep every night!”
The other jobs I had throughout my working life go something like this:
Clothing delivery for Morris Custom Tailors (1961 – 1964) – Cleaning
meat counters on Saturday nights from 6pm until 2am for Zehr’s Market
on Bridgeport Rd Waterloo. (1964 – 1965) – Working inside huge steel
tanks at Clemmer Industries Waterloo, welding slag pockets in the seams
that were missed by the welder on the main shift. (1965 summer) –
Bagging and delivering Ice Cubes for Jiffi-Pak Ice (1965 – 1968) –
Apprenticeship in refrigeration for Zehr’s Markets (Thanks to Ed
Trendell’s friendship with Lester Zehr) (1968 – 1972) – partnership in
Martin Refrigeration of Kitchener Ltd (1972 – 1973) – Prachar Equipment
Refrigeration (1973 – 1973 /6 months) – Waterloo Fire Dept (July 1973 –
August 2002) Retired August 2002). I also ran my own domestic air
conditioning business while on Waterloo Fire Dept.
With all of the work experience in my history I must say that I have
learned many many life lessons. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few but when
I needed to draw from the lessons I learned they were always there!
Funny how the one that stands out most to this very day is the one
about sleep! ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………!
That’s all for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
We never really grow up we only learn how to act in public! - Sir Winston Churchill.
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Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.
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