Issue #945
Including:

From Wayne

From Nova Scotia Sus

From Russ

From Al

The Ontarion

Hi All,

Canada Day in BC….. Cold and wet. Some parts of the province set new cold and new wet records for the day, other parts were just cold and just wet. June was one of the coldest and wettest months on record for the whole province as well. Up-side is there is no forest fire smoke because you couldn’t get one lit if you had to. There are very few outdoor crowds because no one wants to go outside. Vegetation is growing so fast you can almost see it grow, but, nothing can ripen as there has been almost no sunshine. The snowline is still way down into the trees on the mountains around here. Everyone is trying to figure out how to keep warm while watching the eastern parts of the country swelter in heat. I guess we could somehow share, we help you cool down and you help us warm up. Sounds fair.

And now a followup on the gondola situation…. If you had been harboring any plans of coming out here to visit that place, don’t. Save your money, use your time going somewhere else. After being told a week ago by the GM that they could in fact see how their new direction and vision was possibly turning off locals and pass holders, and that they were working on ideas to fix things, there has been no change. In fact, if anything, it has gotten worse. Now they have raised the price of day tickets to the point where you’d swear they were actively trying to dissuade anyone from coming. How would you like to drive up from the city, only to find it will cost you, your spouse and your two kids over $150 just to purchase day tickets, then get up to the top and find you are not allowed on the main deck unless you are a restaurant customer, only to then find that a hamburger is going to cost you almost 25 bucks and that plate of fries for the kits will cost 15 and don’t even think about affording soft drinks etc. The coffee at $3 is undrinkable swill but you don’t know that until it’s too late. Oh, and the main deck and restaurant don’t even open until 10:30am. Needless to say, the locals are fed up. Needless to say, there is no problem finding parking so I guess they have solved the parking problem. Gotta give them credit for that. (That’s sarcasm by the way).

I had been told over a week ago by the GM that he would be getting back to me to address our concerns which by the way seem to be proving to be true, almost as if the customers could somehow see how badly they are screwing the place up. But, not surprisingly, I have not heard back from him or any other member of the management team. Sad, but not surprising. What is also sad but not surprising is the demeanor of the workers there. These had all been happy, smiling people who were eager to interact with everyone. Now they all look lost, uncomfortable and well, sad. It is incredible how management can turn a business around, too often in the worng direction. I’m almost hoping the gondola will go bankrupt so that new owners can come in and take over. Unfortunately they probably would be just as bad, although they couldn’t really be much worse. Boy, am I in a bummer mood these days! But face it, there have been changes made by some companies and the pandemic was the reason, and there have been changes made by other companies and the pandemic was the excuse.

Perhaps next week I’ll talk about playing at the BAG. Right now I won’t even tell you what the ‘BAG’ is, you’ll just have to wait. Besides, it won’t have even happened until then.

doug

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From Wayne

Just a note to say that I learned today that recent tests indicate that I am clear of cancer. The average marker value prostate cancer for males is 4.0. Mine is now 2.4 and I started out at more than 40.

I get another CTscan and blood test in December to check that the bowel cancer has not revived - then every 6 months after that. That's a price that I am willing to pay!

Wayne

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From Nova Scotia Sus

So sorry to hear of all the difficulties you are facing with the changes the gondola

has made. It's hard to believe they could do that to all their faithful regulars who have supported them for so long. Good for you to make your complaints known. They need to know how it affects you and others. Hopefully they listen and correct the problems they have created.

I have been back to work now since the 5th of June after having almost 3 months off work on mandatory shutdown. Its so hard to believe in all my working days I have never been told to close my shop and stay home. But that's the way it is with this new virus. The last thing I want is to contract or spread a virus so we have to obey. The hardest thing I had to do was to contact my clients and cancel all their bookings. Not everyone understands how important it is getting your hair cut or coloured but my clients sure do. Most said....but I feel very safe with you....and I said thanks but its mandatory and I could lose my liscence if I ignored the ruling. So now we are back and I have never felt so popular. Also lots and lots of hair to cut!

I actually enjoyed my time off and I am so thankful for where I live. It was quite easy to stay away from people since we live in the country. We have so many hobbies to keep us busy what with chickens and gardening. We are doing very well in Nova Scotia keeping the virus at bay....20 days now with no new cases and they were never very high when we had some. Our biggest outbreak was at a nursing home near Halifax. It was very hard on those living there and many passed away without friends and family to be with them. Hopefully we can keep the virus away now that many business have opened up with safe practices and distancing.

Take care everyone,

Sus

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From Russ

Guess what?

A new Book is being written by this ‘going-on-92-youngster’. I’m having so much fun, I hate to leave the computer! Today, I missed lunch, hadn’t eaten since 8AM – and wasn’t even hungry! Got the inspiration from a good neighbour who’d given me a copy of a story she wrote about Point Clark. It’s a compilation of little stories about the history of this area. Lots of stuff I already knew because I’ve been coming to Point Clark for 70 years! So, I must be a part of Point Clark history.

As we speak, there’s an empty plot waiting for me to fill, where my earthly remains will be here for another 70 years at least. Where my ‘soul’ will be for eternity is another question. If humans actually have a soul. I’m an “evolutionist”. I believe science. The story of Adam & Eve is just that, a story, a myth. Question; when did us “apes” become officially “human”? Do present-day apes have a soul? If not – why not? If we human animals have a soul, when was it “installed”?

I know this is going to upset some of you, but in my defence during this pandemic I’ve been questioning my “blind faith” and reading a whole lot about the Bible. I’ve been brought up to believe the Bible is “the word of God”, and therefore every story is true, and beyond questioning. But, if my “faith” may appear to be wearing thin, fear not. I believe there is a God, even though nobody has ever seen Him. Long ago God talked to his “chosen people”. Has He stopped talking? Why? Is there actually a “Heaven where the streets are ‘paved with gold’”? Gold is valuable only because we humans value it. God places no value on earthly riches. It makes a nice story, but I bet you $100 dollars Heaven doesn’t even have ‘streets’, let alone streets paved with gold. Try this on for size: I believe both heaven and hell are here on planet Earth as we speak. That if we look hard enough, and be kind, honest, welcoming, forgiving, etc., we’ll find our heaven. But if we only look for hell on earth – we’ll surely find it too.

Hasn’t this weather been “heavenly”?

Don’t the birds make heavenly songs?

Doesn’t chocolate layer cake taste heavenly?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Who in hell is making all that noise?

If you come home drunk again, there’ll be hell to pay!

Living with that man is like hell on earth!

All thanks be to God.

Your faithful servant,

Uncle Russ.

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From Al

Hope everyone is safe and well! Our first day in Wiarton Carol and I walked down to the bay and couldn’t believe the water height. The town dock is almost completely submerged (last year it was about 8 feet above water). One of the photos looks like an island between the shore and the dock but that is actually where the shore used to be. You can see benches on it. The geese used it as a nesting ground in the spring. Another photo shows 3 young visitors we had one evening. At first I thought there was only one but then 2 more showed up. No sign of mama raccoon. Not quite the same as having bears running around but a nice interaction with nature. We were sitting on the deck one day when a black blur appeared out of nowhere. It was a black dog (corgi?) trailing a leash. So we set off to find the owner and it was the very first house on the crescent. A man carrying a music device blasting tunes came out and said (bad dog) then wandered off. No thanks or how are you. This is the first time I actually met this neighbour and he is definitely eccentric. He lives alone with 2 dogs in this beautiful water front home. He has all kinds of toys including a huge Harley, a boat 4 sea-doos and countless cars. I have included a photo of some of those toys.

Take care everybody, Al

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THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone:

Well, it’s one of those nights when I can’t sleep so I’m up early the morning before it’s usually composed on time for the Saturday distribution by Doug. I’m thinking of everything from sealing driveways to mowing the lawn. We’ve had our new roof now for more than a week and surprise, it still looks new! LOL! With all this dry hot weather the lawn is looking a tad brown in colour. I was going to fertilize it this evening and water it after, but when Adam took a look on line to check the upcoming weather report it’s not supposed to rain until next Monday so I’m putting off the fertilizing until Sunday evening to give the rain a chance to soak it into the lawn on Monday. I’m sure it’ll pop the lawn back to it’s usual dark green rich colour and moist texture! I really don’t like to have a dry/ brown lawn! After being noted and awarded by the city for having the best lawn in the neighbourhood the past four years running I hate to let the city down this year! The secret to having a great lawn is to fertilize it three times a year to keep the roots healthy so when the sun does shine it doesn’t dry out the grass. We make sure to use Spring, Summer and Fall/Winter fertilizer every year as they each have their individual strengths when it comes to the time of year. You have to make sure you use a good brand of product and that they are designed for the specific time of year. Another secret is to use a good mower and to make sure it’s a “Mulching Mower” so that the clippings are cut over and over and left on the lawn in a fine mulch to feed the lawn every time you mow it. This is one of the most important and healthy things you can do for a nice lawn! Another important upkeep move you can do and should do for a healthy lawn Is to make sure you Edge your lawn properly! If you don’t do this on a regular basis, weeds tend to grow along the perimeter of your lawn and they will quickly invade the body of your lawn if not kept in check! You don’t have to use week killer to control these weeds, simply eliminating them with a regular string line trimmer once a week will keep them at bay! The last method for keeping your lawn in good shape is to water it during at least one evening per week, especially during hot dry summer spells! Finally when you do fertilize your lawn, make sure the brand you use has a high nitrogen content! This will green up your lawn quite quickly and keep it that way for months! Your neighbours will envy your beautiful lawn and some may even compliment you on your efforts!

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So much for this weeks yard work lesson!

The next memory on my mind goes way back to the early 60’s when I was a 15 year old kid working for a Supertest Gas Station on the corner of Guelph St and Margaret Ave in Kitchener. It was owned by John W Kanter, a dutch fellow and the father of a good friend of mine. Bob Kanter was my friend and got me a job working after school with him pumping gas and performing other deeds around his dad’s station. I remember gas to be priced at only 29 cents per gallon in those days. We had to run out to the pumps whenever the bell rang after a car or truck ran over the air hose that lay across the pump pad. We’d take turns and sometimes when things got busy Bob and I would both be out working the pumps. Your first duty was to ask the customer how much gas they wanted, some only wanted a gallon or two pumped into their tank. Others would say “Fill ‘er up!” While the pump was filling their tank, we’d have to lift the hood and check their oil and fill up their windshield washer reservoir. In those days the oil was sealed in tin or sometimes cardboard cans and we’d have to stab a sharp metal nozzle into the top edge of the can to allow the oil to flow out when the can was tipped. We also had an “Oil Rack” that had prefilled glass bottles of oil that had a screw on lid and funnel! It was my duty to fill these bottles each day with oil from a bulk barrel in the service bay of the garage. I was reminded the other night of a tool we used to use to drain the old oil from vehicles when doing an oil change. We would have to position the vehicle over the arms of the hoist in the garage and lift the car about 6 feet into the air. Then this tool which was a 5 gallon can on wheels with an extendible pipe in the middle of it that also had a funnel on the top of the pipe. We would wheel this can under the vehicle and pull the neck and funnel up to the oil drain plug on the oil pan of the car and then remove the drain plug. There was a screen over the hole in the funnel to prevent us from dropping the drain plug into the oil receiver. Once the oil was drained, we had to lower the neck of the oil receiver and roll it out of the way. Of course the drain plug was replaced and then fresh oil could be poured into the engine from above. This was done by pouring one quart of oil at a time into the engine until the full mark was reached on the dipstick. This was of course a much more time consuming job than it is today. Nowadays it only takes a technician about 10 minutes to complete an oil change from start to finish! All this with the aid of modern devices! Today you drive onto a platform that raises the vehicle into the air and the platform has an oil receiver built into it’s frame. The oil is drained by removing the plug on the pan and within a couple of minutes the engine is drained and ready for a dose of new oil from the hose of a bulk oil container mounted on the wall at the back of the shop. This container has a power pump that pushes the oil through a hose to your engine and there is a metered nozzle on the hose that measures the number of litres of oil pumped into your engine. This automation makes for a much faster time to complete the oil change so they can service several cars per hour. The oil change today at one of these quick change facilities is indeed a money maker for the speedy oil change centres! If you shop around a bit you’ll find that you can have your oil changed for a paltry $19.95 + Tax! I can’t remember how much an oil change was back in the early 60’s but I’m sure it was about 80% less than the cheapest change today! The excitement of all the work we had to do for customers back then was interesting and made for a very quick passing of the day at work! Oops! I almost forgot one of the most important services we performed on every vehicle at the pumps and that was of course (Cleaning the windshield of every car that stopped at the pumps) If you’re old enough to remember “Hockey Night In Canada” you may remember the adds for ESSO gas stations and a fellow by the name of Murray Westgate who starred in these adds. He always stressed the cleaning of the windshield of every customer at ESSO stations and at Mr Kanter’s Supertest Station things were no different! He always stressed how important “Service” was to keeping the customers returning to his station! He was also one of the first business people that went by the mantra “The Customer Is Always Right!”

Mr Kanter had a good business at that time and that station is still in the same location to this very day. However, it’s no longer a “Supertest” station but has been an independent gas bar for many years. I think it’s now just purely a mechanical repair shop and no longer pumps gas! However, I still can see myself or Bob Kanter pumping gas whenever I drive past that old station. Just seeing it still there stirs up a load of memories for me every time!

As Bob Hope used to sing, “Thanks For The Memories!” La la la la la la …………and so on!

That’s all there is for this week folks! I hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane with me again this time!

Bye for now … Greg

PS: Something To Think About>

Maybe you can sit and write a note to Doug and the rest of us about one of your first jobs as a young person! I’m sure Al could dredge up a memory or two for us to read about!

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