The
Squamidian Report – June 1 / 13
Issue #575
Including:
Wayne & Sylvia’s 40th
A Note From Rochelle
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Poor Willow. I assume you remember ‘The Wife’s’ dog Willow. Well, a few weeks ago she hurt her left rear leg. We think she probably caught it in the webbing of our deck couch while trying to discreetly climb on or off when no one was looking. Anyway, all of a sudden she was limping badly as she favored what has all along been her good leg. She has had a bad leg and foot since before we got her, an injury from her previous life that was never dealt with and can never be properly healed up. Because she hurt her good leg, she was forced to use her bad one for walking. The foot on her bad leg is very distorted and flattened and tender so walking on it is not a good option. However, she didn’t have much choice as her good let was obviously hurting. She slowly got better, to the point where she was barely limping at all, but that created a problem. She forgot she had a sore leg. Combine that with the fact that she is hard-wired to go after any kind of rodent or small, similar type critters, or imaginary versions for that matter, she did it again. She was on our front lawn sniffing around in a flower bed when she saw or thought she saw a delectable morsel run for the protection of the neighbour’s yard. She took off in pursuit. Nothing new there except for the fact that there is a 5ft rock retaining wall between our lawn and the neighbour’s. She just ran right off our lawn and out into mid air. When she came back around and out to the front, she was not just limping, she was unable to use her leg at all.
We took her to the vet. The vet figures she blew her knee or at least pulled the ligaments although it could actually be a hip problem. There really isn’t much that can be done except try to keep her from using her back legs too much until the knee heals up. That should take about 3 weeks. In the mean time she is on some sort of homeopath kind of healing med, and she is on pain killers. Those create a new problem. As soon as the pain killers kick in, she forgets that she can’t use her left leg again and is ready to go, full tilt and full throttle. Go figure!
*
My little pickup truck does not get much use during motorcycle season. Basically, from about mid March on it just sits there sad and dejected. It’s a 2004 and has just now hit the 80 thousand k mark. It does get used once in a while if its too cold and wet to ride to a coffee meet or some such thing and that’s when I noticed something weird. I drove it to my weekly meet on Tuesday evening and I could hear a strange splashing or swishing sound, but only once in a while and it always seemed to be when pulling away from a light or stop sign. I had thought I’d heard it before then but had dismissed it as something sliding around in the truck bed.
I used the truck the other day to slip down into town for something and I could hear the sound again. As I listened, it sounded like it was right beside me, perhaps under the seat but not out in the bed. When I got home I looked under the seat thinking I’d find a half full water bottle but there was nothing there. As I swung the door shut, I heard the swishing again. A bit of experimenting verified that the noise was coming from inside the driver’s side door. There are little vents on the bottom of the door that have a tiny plastic screen over them to keep bugs or whatever out but I guess the vents were plugged with dirt because when I pulled one off, a gallon of water came pouring out. Mystery solved.
doug
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Wayne & Sylvia’s 40th
Wayne and
Sylvia Brubacher are celebrating their 40th Wedding Anniversary this Saturday,
June 1.
We are
having an open house at the Concordia Club at 429 Ottawa Street South, in
Kitchener from 2:00pm until 4:00pm in the Shenke and
the Hunter's room at the rear.
Please
join us if you can and bring only your best wishes.
Coffee,
tea, sandwich platters and desert will be served. Bar is available.
Thanks.
Wayne
****
A Note From Rochelle Brubacher
Doug has
always encouraged input from others. I am a new “other” who dares to try my
hand. I am Doug’s cousin Warren’s new wife. As a new family member I want to
say I am happy to know Doug and Sue. They are a quality couple. I have the
privilege of enjoying Sue’s cooking and playing music with Doug often. I have
been struck by a number of things during these supper and jam nights, which are
not material objects by the way, so no harm done, and so feel qualified to
contribute to the Squamidian which Warren and I read weekly. I play and sing
and have some musical training, as well as a pretty good “ear” so I feel
comfortable when I say that these two fellows whom I sing with, are talented
guys. Warren and Doug can create harmonies to any song! Doug has proven this in
his recent recordings, creating multiple harmonies after singing the melody to
his songs. He is a dedicated and prolific recording artist. I gave my parents a
few CD’s and they thoroughly enjoyed them. The songs are easy to listen to and
most of them familiar to their age group. (When you are their age you have
heard a lot of music and Doug seems to like the same type.) Anyway, back to
Doug….
Doug is
not only a good musician in vocals but he can play a variety of instruments. He
picks up the base when it is obvious a song needs a beat, and then easily
switches to the mandolin when a piece needs a little jazzing up. His guitar
playing varies from strumming to picking. “Versatile musician” is what he can
be categorized as. When we play together it is almost magical. Warren and Doug
mesh their talents beautifully, melodies honed over the years. I add my female
vocals and a bit of picking and we have some kinda’
sound! I understand Doug’s father is quite the musical artist. It is reflected
in his son for sure!
So not
only can he sing but he can write too. I have never known a person to write
about the most mundane subjects in a more interesting way. He manages to
faithfully come up with something to write week after week for how many years?
Is it over 10 years!!!? I commend Doug in his faithfulness and tenacity to dig
up a subject weekly for all of us readers to enjoy. He is faithful in other
areas also. He is an avid motorbike rider and chapter member. He is a dedicated
father and Grandfather to Kyra. You should see his eyes light up when he
watches her walk backwards or respond to his music. Yes “Grumpy ol’ Doug” as he likes to portray, is a real push over when
it comes to this little grand daughter.
I say
“Kudos to you Doug” whatever that means, but I hope it means “Good for you! Way
to go! Super job!!!” etc…. oh and…. Thanks for being you!
Rochelle
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Once again it’s time
to come up with something interesting to talk about! Let’s hope you find
whatever it is I have to say interesting. The longer Doug and I write these
columns the more difficult it is to come up with a topic each week! I don’t
know how most newspaper columnists manage to do this week after week and year
after year but I guess they have the whole world of events each week to give
them inspiration. Come to think of it, that’s kind of what I do when I’m stuck,
look around and pick something I’ve found interesting during the week to write
about. I’m sure I’ve bored the hell out of you a couple of times over the past
10 or 12 years but then again, if that were true, my “complaint” file folder
would be full by now wouldn’t it! So, even if you were bored a time or two
thanks for not beating me up over it! I have always enjoyed reading what others
have to say and that’s why I’ve encouraged you guys to write in whenever you
take a notion to! It’s good to hear from different people and read about
happenings in their lives for a change. For instance, with Karin and Karl
living in Australia, I’m sure they could come up with stories of interest that
pertain to their beautiful and much different country. Like the one about the
Kangaroo that found a baby human abandoned in the outback and raised it as one
of it’s own kind! Even if that has never happened, I’d be willing to bet that
the Australian gossip magazines could easily come up with a believable version
to help them sell more copies at the local grocery store check out stands!
Stories of such things as two headed snakes, five legged cows and Siamese twin whatchamacallits are always good for circulation!
It’s amazing how
gullible people can be. After all, we’ve all heard the one about Hitler, John
Lennon and Elvis sharing a hilltop mansion in Buenos Aries for the past 30
years but every time it’s written up the headline garners a load of attention
one more time! People are still wondering if those Apollo 11 moon-landing shots
were actually taken by a Hollywood Film Crew on the back lot of Universal
Studios. This world is full of people who will believe anything the news media
tells them. Strange stuff such as the extra terrestrial goings on at “Area 51”
still stir the imaginations of hundreds of UFOlogists
every year and cause them to make the trek to Nevada to see if they can catch
photo evidence of a UFO entering a huge tunnel in the side of the mountain that
houses that top secret government installation! It’s a bunch of crap for sure,
or is it? Guess I really don’t know the truth about that story but I choose not
to believe it simply because if it were real, I’m sure someone would have come
up with absolute proof by now. Still, it makes for interesting stories and
movies when Hollywood gets low on material to make movies about. Spaceships,
monsters and disasters always make for good film fodder and people will always
pay to see what all the hype is about even if they’ve seen it all before. The
writers are masters at adding even the slightest twist to make the mystery just
a little bit more intriguing for those who enjoy a good and possibly true
story! Heck, I don’t know how many Superman Movies I’ve seen over the past 50
years or more but when a new one comes out, I’m a sucker to head for the
theatre or the TV to see if there’s a new twist to the Man Of Steel!
Oh well, I’m sure
we’re all interested in a good story that takes us away from reality for a
couple of hours and Hollywood is famous for being the kingdom of fantasy.
If it weren’t for
the imaginations of the movie writers, we’d be stuck in the Middle Ages still
reading those old things called books! At least a movie takes less effort to
enjoy and you can always press “rewind” if you think you’ve missed something.
You don’t have to reread the whole chapter of a book to get the point!
That’s it 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>
Does “Area 51” really exist?
****
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.