Issue #906
Including:

From Lorne
From Russ
The Ontarion

Hi All,

I think I wrote way too much over the last several weeks for this letter because I really don’t have anything left to say this time. Well, almost nothing. I did notice a rather gigantic pile of bear poop on our street the other morning as well as a not quite so large one further down the other street. This is the time of year the bears are out eating anything and everything they can find. They are into any garbage bin that it left out, any organics bin they can find, any fruit tree with fruit on it and so on. There seems to be several bears in the area currently and one is about the size of a good size bull. The others look about normal, for a bear, if there is such a thing. And you know, those critters have a sense of humor, they don’t poop in the forest or out of sight somewhere. No. They like to lay their load right in the middle of the road, making a pretty good statement regarding what they think of us as they do it. I had thought of taking a picture of the scat pile but changed my mind as that might have come across as a bit gross. So I didn’t.

*

Here’s something different….. the house sort of behind us and up one on Thunderbird is undergoing some major renovations. No kidding! We were told they were doing just that, a major renovation. First the entire interior was removed, right down to the bare studs. We thought wow, must be some major mold problems to require it being gutted like that. Then, the whole roof was removed. Completely, trusses and all. Then, the walls started to come down, one board at a time. That put them down to the sub floor which was removed. All that is left is the foundation. THAT is one major renovation. I guess its easier to get an open interpretation renovation permit than it is to get a demolition permit. The house will end up being basically brand new, from the ground up.

*

Now, I’d like to apologize for the song I posted last week. Some of you may have noticed the song, some not. Anyway, for whatever reason I recorded it in a key that was way too high for my voice and the result is that it sounds forced and as if I’m struggling. I think my intension at the time was to leave some foot room for some lower harmony but that didn’t work out. I’ll probably redo it at some point when I’m bored and looking for something to do. But not right now, I’ll sit on it for a while until I’ve mustered enough motivation to try again. In the mean time, if you haven’t listened to it, don’t bother. However, to make up for this small transgression, I’ve recorded an old Buddy Holly song that was written by Paul Anka. Its a 50’s rock number but true to my unintended style, its now a soft, laid-back easy listening tune, and called “Guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”. Oh, those funny noises you might hear are my fingers sliding around on the base guitar strings and I’ve never figured out how to not do that or how to filter that noise out.

Just click this link… Guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.

doug

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From Lorne

during every evening meal. That's right. A needle into the stomach. Generally around 1AM a nurse would wake me for more blood samples. The IV implanted in the right arm was deemed not appropriate so during the night 2 young trainees attempted to insert the IV in the left arm. After 4 savage futile attempts they gave up and said the specialist may be around to-morrow to try. She did and with one professional jab , the job is done. On Friday Sept . whatever, an exploratory invasion from the lower right arm through to the heart was performed then the following Monday, a pace maker was implanted, both procedures with only freezing allowing full awareness of what the staff that wears white gowns and practices black art were doing and to whom. Oh, I forgot. The computers broke down during the ritual and all came to a halt for about an hour allowing a lot of visiting among those gentle souls.

A bundle of papers came with the release the next day that among others instructions stated 'don't drive for 7 days' and no sex for 5. OH BOY, I CAN STILL DRIVE' !

Didn't seem there was a month of September. If interested, tune in next week for

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From Russ

Thanksgiving Day

With this ‘special day’ coming on quickly (Monday October 14th), I thought I’d make a list of all that I’m thankful for (or, ‘for all of which I’m thankful’ – if you’re going to be fussy)

I’m thankful I live in Canada.

I’m thankful we are blest with plenty.

I’m thankful for the freedoms we enjoy.

I’m thankful I live near the church of my choice.

I’m thankful I still have three means of getting there.

I’m thankful for the friendships made in my church.

I’m thankful for the kindness of my neighbours.

I’m thankful for the ‘reserved seat’ I occupy in church(near furnace/john)

I’m thankful I’ve always made it to the john in time (so far).

I’m thankful I was so lucky to have made the right choices in life.

I’m thankful, yes – but I can’t take all the credit, I had ‘Guidance’.

I’m thankful to have been born into a Christian family.

I’m thankful for the good parenting I received.

I’m thankful for the schooling (though limited) I had, and enjoyed.

I’m thankful that you are ‘still’ reading this.

I’m thankful that some of you don’t know my ‘bad’ side!

I’m thankful that most women between 50 and 90 no longer fear me.

I’m thankful that the younger ones know I’m useless/safe and “ “ “ “.

I’m thankful I can still get around (with my canes and rollator).

I’m thankful I don’t pass gas EVERY time I strain to rise from sitting.

I’m thankful for IMODIUM; DULCOLAX; CAVILON; AVEENO, and DEPENDS

But, MOST OF ALL, I’m thankful for my family and friends who make this lonely old man feel loved.

Uncle Russ.

PS I wish you all a Happy, Healthy, Family Thanksgiving.

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THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone!

It’s amazing how this year has gone by so quickly isn’t it? It won’t be long and Halloween will be here and gone and we’ll be looking at Christmas! I was in Costco the other day and they’ve got all their Christmas stuff up already. I guess they’re like any other retailer and want to make hay while the sun shines or should I say money? LOL!

Days and months aren’t the only things that fly by in a hurry. A friend of mine who is also my mechanic and former crewmember on my shift at WFD was in need of a knee replacement. He’s been waiting for about 15 years to have this operation done and finally was able to convince his Dr to book him in to Grand River for the procedure this past week. I knew that he was going in last Friday to prepare for the surgery and figured he’d be in for a week or more to start his recovery. I was planning on going up to the hospital to visit him this Friday after giving him a week to settle down. I was sitting on the couch after supper tonight (Thursday) when the phone rang and it was he on the phone. He said he just thought he’d give me a call and say hello. I asked him when he’d be coming home from Grand River and he said he’s been home for almost a week now. I was shocked and asked when he had the surgery done. He told me that they did the surgery last Friday and sent him home the same day! WOW! I couldn’t believe they’d send him home the same day and neither could he! He told me that it was only a matter of hours after the surgery that the Doctor told him he could go home if he promised to take it easy on the new knee! He said he used a walker for a few days and that today was his first day to be walking around with the use of only one crutch.

It’s amazing how soon they tend to shuffle people out of the hospital these days. I guess they are in need of vacating beds as soon as possible so they can make room for the next patient. Hopefully things will improve with the election of the new federal “Conservative” government when they put more money into health care! Fingers crossed, the situation will improve here in Ontario once Andrew Scheer is the new PM! With the news that Trudeau intends to increase the deficit by 4 billion dollars a year for the next four years if he becomes PM for another term I’m afraid this country of ours is in for a rough ride should the damned fool voters see fit to put him back into office! Let’s hope this doesn’t happen for the sake of our tax bills! Oh well, all we can do is hope for the best and I’m happy to say the best isn’t another term with Trudeau running our government! OK, enough political stuff for this week folks!

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Here’s some more bad news created by a mistake made by me earlier in the week. I was mowing the lawn and accidentally ran Adam’s good lawn mower over a big rock on the front lawn. It was one of the many rocks we have covering part of the front lawn as a landscaping feature. I have run the mower over the same route while cutting the grass at least a hundred times before but this time I accidentally went over the edge of the lawn onto a rather large rock. It was picked up by the blade and jammed enough to cause the blade to stop dead and consequently also stop the motor dead in its tracks. What a shocker that was indeed! I immediately turned the mower up onto its side to check the damage. I found that the blade was badly bent as well as having badly damaged the cutting edge. I thought “well, maybe I could just finish the lawn cutting since the mower would still run. I started the motor once again and managed to make about 4 more passes along the boulevard before the mower suddenly stopped dead in its tracks. It was still running motor-wise but I couldn’t push it any further. It was like it was caught on something from beneath. Once again I turned it up on its side and found that part of the plastic shroud that makes it a mulching mower was broken and hanging down below the body of the mower. This plastic was catching on any high spot of the lawn and stopping me from advancing any further.

I decided to can the lawn mowing and take the mower in to have it fixed. Earlier before continuing the mowing I had gone to the Toro dealer on Victoria St to pick up a new blade. The guy there assured me that I likely hadn’t done any other damage to the mower. When I discovered the broken plastic part it was time to take it back into the shop for a proper repair job. I took it into the same shop I’d bought the blade at and asked him to fix the problem properly. He asked for an $80.00 deposit before even looking at the problem. I gave him the money and left the mower with him. He said it would likely be about 10 days before I’d get the mower back. This would mean that my lawn would be a foot high before I could mow it again. LOL! That was on Monday and thankfully he called Wednesday to say the mower would be ready for pickup tomorrow (Friday). I’ll be happy to have it back and totally repaired. I felt very bad that I had damaged Adam’s good mower and wanted to make it right quickly. That’s why I don’t like to use someone else’s equipment for anything. If something happens that the equipment gets damaged while in my care it really bothers me. Although Adam willingly let me use his mower I still don’t like the thought of something happening to damage it while I’m using it. Oh well, like he said, “Stuff happens!” and it was unfortunate but as long as I take care of the repairs I guess things will be ok again. I’ll just have to make sure not to run over any more rocks once the mower is back in my possession. I’ll find out tomorrow if these guys fixed it properly and I’ll just have to pay the piper and the bill! Lesson learned for sure!

That’s about all I have for this week folks!

Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talkint to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!

Bye for now … Greg

PS: Something To Think About>

You borrow my tools by my rules! If you break it, you replace it!