The Squamidian Report – Sept. 3 / 16
Issue #745
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Its a good thing that Greg has lots to talk about because I sure don't.
The last week or so has been rather uneventful. Its been cool and damp
again, just like June and July were, which hasn't been conducive to
doing much of anything. In fact, the news broadcasts have been
referring to summer on the west coast as the 'bummer summer', the
summer that wasn't. I think we had about 3 weeks of actual summer
weather. The rest of the time its been more like early spring or late
fall. In some ways I really don't mind. I hate hot, just don't like it
at all. And I don't like the harsh sunshine that comes with it. I'd
much rather bundle up in my leathers to go riding than have to shed my
protective biking gear in order to say cool. Kind of funny though, the
weather statistics for the west coast are taken out at YVR, the
Vancouver airport and they are not really indicative of what the rest
of the area is having. Those statistics don't match what the lower
south coast was having at all. YVR is on Lulu Island in the St of
Georgia where its very moderated and well away from where the clouds
pile up against the mountains.
And speaking of cloud piled up against the mountains, Whistler got a
dusting of snow on Thursday night. That cold rain falling heavily on
our skylights was solid stuff on the higher peaks of the coastal range.
*
Oh, here's something that gets under my collar big
time. And yes, I'm a grumpy old man but this is just ridiculous. The
Vancouver fire department, and other emergency first responders are
spending so much time responding to drug overdoses that they are
finding themselves running short on manpower for dealing with 'real'
emergencies such as fires, car crashes and so on. As well, the coastal
medical budget is being sucked up so fast from dealing with overdosed
idiots that they are using up their budget to the point where they
can't meet the needs for 'real' medical situations. Its just a stupid,
politically correct response to a bunch of mindless self indulging
morons. I know, some of you will be spitting mad at my attitude and
thats your right but I'm just as mad at the system for letting this
kind of thing evolve. And you will be even madder when you hear my
solution, and here it is.
If I were king of the world, or even just this little corner of it,
drug overdosers would not be treated at all. I'd put up signs warning
of the dangers of the drugs that are being used to 'get high' or
whatever the term these days is, and I'd post notices that anyone
taking those drugs is on their own, that the money and resources now
being waisted on treating them would be used to bury them. It would not
take long for the problem to take care of itself and go away. The
people using these 'street drugs' are from every walk of life and from
every class, be it lower, middle or high. And they are draining
society. Taking and overdosing on street and party drugs should be seen
as voluntarily removing one's self from the gene pool. Just that simple!
Wow, I can hear the hissing and gnashing of teeth from here. But like I said, thats my opinion.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
WOW! It’s September already! What the heck happened to our summer?
Oh well, guess after having the hottest and sunniest summer ever
recorded, we can’t complain that it’s winding down. I’m just hoping for
a nice long beautiful Fall season and a short and enjoyable winter that
doesn’t drag on and one like so many before it. I’m sure with the
memories of this past summer in mind, we’ll be able to get through this
coming winter with no discomfort at all and before we know it, we’ll be
back into another lovely spring and summer.
*
Well, with that said, I still
have a little bit of writing to do to finish up telling you all about
our trip to Nashville.
Like I said last week, we wasted no time
hitting the road to Nashville after completing the tour of Sun Studio
in Memphis. There is one main highway that connects the two cities and
I believe that highway is Interstate 42. If I’m off by a number or two,
please forgive me but it really doesn’t matter at this point. I plugged
“Nashville” into our GPS and off we went! After driving a two lane road
out of Memphis and seeming to be getting deeper and deeper into the
back country of Tennessee, I finally asked for directions at a tiny
country gas station. One of the other people at the pumps (all two of
them, pumps that is) was kind enough to point me in the right direction
to put us back on the Interstate. As it had turned out, we were heading
in the right direction but our outdated GPS was taking us across
Tennessee via all the scenic back roads that would have been the only
route to Nashville had we been making the trip back in the early 30’s
when there was no interstate system! LOL! I’m sure that instead of
taking us 4 to 5 hours to make the trip it would have taken us at least
twice that had we not finally found the interstate! Once on the new
fangled interstate, we made excellent time and finally arrived in
Nashville “Music City USA” before dark that day. We were totally
befuddled as to where to go or where to turn once we arrived in this
big city. I pictured a quaint town about the size of Waterloo with easy
to follow directing signs telling us how to find a row of cheap motels
like The Days Inn or Red Roof Inn etc, you know, the kind that are
prolific and easy to find at almost every intersection on every
Interstate Highway in the USA. Well, did we get a shock once we hit
Nashville proper! I for sure thought we’d made a wrong turn and wound
up in LA or New York City or some other multi million population
monstrous city! As we inched our way through the maze of highways and
byways that wrap and surround Music City we finally saw a sign that
read “Tourist Information Bureau” I made a left as instructed by the
arrow on the sign and DAMN, didn’t we wind up right smack dab in the
middle of the entertainment section of Nashville. We were on “Broadway”
which is the main street of Nashville were all the big clubs, concert
halls and country music attractions are heaped block after block with
huge neon signs touting the names of every pea pickin’ famous country
star alive and dead that you’ve ever heard of! Every star from Little
Jimmy Dickins to George Straight to Johnny Cash and more! We never did
find the information bureau! We finally made our way to the eastern end
of Broadway, which T’s into a street that follows the river through
Nashville. We had to go either left or right so I chose to turn right.
As we watched dozens of cops directing traffic and people by the
thousands on foot into a humongous amphitheatre on the rivers edge we
could see big barges of garbage and other cargo being moved along the
river by big tugboats. It was a mixture of a modern day “Woodstock” and
a scene right out of “Tom Sawyer” and it was difficult to keep my
attention on finding a place to book in for accommodations for the
night! We finally spotted a huge “Hilton” hotel down a side street and
decided to pull in and see if we were anywhere near where we wanted to
be. I parked in the Valet row on a side street and walked a block back
and into the main lobby of the Hilton. I approached the two women at
the front desk and asked if they might have a room for two for a few
nights. They were very kind and helpful and asked what I was going to
be doing while in Nashville. I explained that we were attending the
Grand Ol’ Opry the following night and already had tickets to see
Carrie Underwood. At that point the lady quoted me a price of
approximately $300.00 per night and as we approached the weekend the
cost per night went up from there! I almost choked on my chewing gum at
that point! I then thought I should ask if we were located anywhere
near the Grand Ol’ Opry building! She smiled and said “No but you can
drive there from here in about 20 to 25 minutes!” I then asked if she
would be kind enough to give me directions to the Opry and also if
there were any motels closer to it! She said, “Of course I can and
there are several good motels situated right around the “Opryland”
complex! Of course I had once again pictured a quaint old building
sitting on a side street somewhere in the middle of this little
“Country Music” town. Well, I was way off base on that count too! We
had to drive a few blocks up the street in front of the Hilton and get
back on the Interstate 42. Then heading east once again we had to drive
to exit 12-A and get off at Opryland Dr. She said “You can’t miss it,
it’s a huge complex called Opryland and it contains a giant indoor mall
with a monster of a Hotel called, what else, “Opryland Hotel”. There
would be acres and acres of parking as well as the huge mall building
and about two dozen other surrounding Motels and restaurants on side
streets. They all lead to the main mall and you’ll have no problem
locating the Grand Ol’ Opry Theatre! So off we went on another mission
to find accommodations and of course to get an advance peak at the
Grand Ol’ Opry itself so we’d know where we had to go the following
evening. We found Opryland alright and took a quick drive through the
ring road surrounding the Mall. It was huge alright but once we were
there, it was easy to see that there were loads of motels close by. We
drove off the mall lot and up a side street. We checked three motels
before finding one that had an open room. The cost was less than half
that of the Hilton and the room was beautiful! We booked it for three
nights figuring we’d attend our show the second night and then take the
third day to tour around the sights of Nashville. The second day we
slept in a bit after our exhausting previous days adventure! In the
afternoon, we went over to the main Mall and walked around looking at
all the different stores they have that we don’t see here in Canada. It
was interesting and we had timed it just right so we could grab a bite
to eat and then simply walk across the parking lot to the Opry for the
show. We arrived an hour before the show was supposed to start and our
tickets were for the early show. The first of which was at 7pm and the
second at 9pm. Of course the Opry shows are broadcast live on WSM 680 I
believe it is which is Radio Nashville. It’s been broadcasting the Opry
shows for 75 years or there abouts. We of course shopped the souvenir
store right at the Opry theatre so all we had to do was step out of the
store and walk 50 feet to where the lineup for the show was! We had
judged it just right, as we were only about 10 couples from the front
of the line when it was time to open the doors. They say that there is
no such thing as a bad seat at the Grand Ol’ Opry and they are right.
We were on the main floor level and in the back row, row “Z”. This
meant we had nobody behind us so we could stand up to take pictures
etc. I guess we hadn’t realized the style of show that they put on but
once it got going it was a fun and very entertaining spectacle for
sure! The show opened with the announcer talking to the audience for
about ten minutes, telling some of the history of the Opry. The first
act of the evening was Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers band. I had
purchased one of their albums back in the early 70’s when their biggest
hit “All The Gold In California” was on the airwaves and I was
surprised to hear that that was the first song they did in their
segment of the show! We found the acts on stage very talented and
extremely friendly with the audience. It was like attending a family
gathering and everyone felt free to talk to the performers while they
were on stage. They answered questions from the fans and even came down
off the stage so the fans could take pictures of themselves with the
“Stars”! What an amazing friendly atmosphere! We could see how easy it
would be to get hooked on Country music with this ease of availability
to “big” stars right in your own hometown! Anyway, as the evening
progressed, we enjoyed the professional acts that were in the lineup
but were looking forward to hearing Carrie Underwood perform. She is
one of Carole’s favourite performers and was billed as the “Headliner”
of the show! She was the reason for our trip to Tennessee in the first
place! Well, each act had about 15 or 20 minutes and all but one was a
musical act. There was a Korean comedian who told very funny stories
and kept his jokes clean and classy. I can’t remember his name but he
was incredibly funny and a big part of the value of the ticket price
for sure! Then, it was time for Carrie Underwood! The BIG act of the
evening! Well, her band assembled on stage and began playing an
instrumental introduction. Carrie walked out to center stage and all
went quiet. She stepped up to the microphone and very politely said
“Thank you for that warm welcome! It’s a true honour to be here at the
Grand Ol’ Opry and here in Nashville with my husband and our little
boy! I hope you’re enjoying the show!” She then began to sing her first
song, then her second and finally her third song! She had spoken the
last word of her third, hesitated for about a second and said, “Thank
You!” and turned and walked straight back to the back of the stage and
the curtain dropped! She was on stage for all of 15 minutes, MAYBE!
Once the curtain dropped the announcer said, “Would everyone please
exit the theatre as quickly as possible, we have another show to get
under way!” In other words, don’t bother cheering for an encore because
there won’t be one! Now get the Hell out! G’night!
We enjoyed the show but were indeed disappointed that Carrie “The
Headliner” was on for less time than any of the other 8 acts and did
not even return for an encore! I guess when the show is broadcast live
on Radio, they have to keep on schedule but I would have thought the
main act would have been allotted a bit more time than 12 minutes or so
for her performance!
Oh well, at least the songs she did were very good and we did get to
see her in person and in such a famous spot as “The Grand Ol’ Opry” in
Nashville!
The following day, we had our breakfast and did a little bit of touring
just to see the city. We have been fans of a show called “American
Pickers” for about five years since it’s debut and Nashville is home to
a store called “Antique Archeology” which is one of the two stores
where the stars of “American Pickers” places and sells the antique
articles the two guys from the show pick each week as they “Pick”
Antiques! The address of the store was right in the middle of the old
part of Nashville about three blocks from the famous “Broadway” strip
of the country music stars and attractions. It was easy to find and we
took our time looking around in the store. I asked the lady behind the
counter that sold us a couple of tee shirts if “Mike or Frank” were at
the store so we could meet them but only Mike was in town but not at
the store at the time. Shucks! It would have been cool to meet him and
take our pictures with him! Oh well, maybe next time we’re in town! I’m
sure the girl behind the counter will tell Mike that “Greg, composer of
The Ontarion Report” was in the store and asking about him! I expect at
least an e-mail from Mike any day now or maybe he and Frank will be
“picking” in Ontario sometime and will take the time to drop in for a
visit! Anyway, it was fun to visit their store and see some of the
Antiques we’ve seen them pick on their TV show for sale right there in
Nashville! At least we know that the show is for real and that they
really do go out “Picking”!
We went back to our motel after going out for
dinner and decided that we’d head for home the following day. I’m sure
there were other sites to see and things to do in Nashville but we had
accomplished our goal of visiting “The Grand Ol’ Opry” not to mention
the other tourist spots mentioned earlier in our trip so it’d been a
full two weeks! Time to head for home and remember our trip via the
many pictures we took as we went along!
As you no doubt remember, we had an uneventful drive over the next
couple of days as we made our way home to Kitchener. We had covered
more than 3200 km during our drive and once we neared the border in
Detroit, we decided just to keep on keepin’ on and be happy to be home
to Canada once again!
You never know when we may head out again so
please keep on reading The Ontarion in the weeks and months to come for
more adventures!
That’s all for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to ya’ll again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
If tomatoes are technically a fruit, is Ketchup actually a Smoothie?
****
Have a good one..
the doug
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