The
Squamidian Report – May 11 / 13
Issue #572
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
My Canadian Motorcycle Cruisers chapter just got smaller by several members, with more to follow. And, that’s a good thing. The Vancouver chapter covers a very large area of the Lower Mainland, too large. When riders join the club that live out in Burnaby or Richmond or Delta etc they soon discover that they are too far away to get involved in any meaningful manner. Distance is not actually the problem, city traffic, bridge congestion and route logistics make coming up through the city pretty well impossible. We ran into this same issue a year ago when we spun off the 091 Maple Ridge chapter. People out the valley were joining, then becoming disillusioned by the fact that they couldn’t get to any meets or rides. When we tried to be inclusive, we started loosing members from the north end who didn’t want to ride out to the Valley through traffic and construction. The same started to happen when we picked up a bunch of new members in the Richmond, and South Vancouver areas. Even the ones who wanted very much to be involved in the chapter simply couldn’t get to us except for the occasional, quiet Sunday morning. And, likewise, we couldn’t get to them.
So, as of this week, we have spun off our second new chapter, the 009 Richmond. If you are wondering why it’s designation is 009, that number had become vacant when the original chapter to hold it was dissolved. Incidentally, there are now just short of 100 CMC chapters across Canada. Anyway, just like with spinning off Maple Ridge, it is better for the chapter and the members to form a new, free standing chapter than to try to include members that live an hour and a half away through heavy dangerous traffic. One of the Richmond area members showed all the qualities necessary to lead and grow the new chapter and he is now their 1st officer. Many of our members who live closer to Richmond than to the North Shore will transfer over, and our 056 membership will drop but both chapters will be better off and stronger in the long run. And its not a clean, cut-all-ties split. Members for both chapters will take part in events put on by both chapters. It’s a good thing.
*
The other evening I had the back door open so Willow could wander in and out at will. It was a warm pleasant evening and we often have doors open to let the night air cool the house. At some point I became aware of a large flying creature buzzing around. At first I thought it was a humming bird but then realized it was a very big bumble bee. Like all bees, bumble bees are good beneficial critters and I did not want to hurt it. I wanted to encourage it to fly back out through an open door or window. Unfortunately, bumble bees don’t herd all that well. They don’t seem to understand the concept of going where you want them to go. It kept heading for the overhead lights and the lamps. When I turned off the lights, it would land somewhere out of sight and that didn’t help either. At some point Willow got involved. She was not at all happy with the idea of some unknown creature buzzing around in the house. Her eyes were wide and shiny as she hunted madly for it. If it wasn’t for the fact that her hip is still bothering her she would have climbed right up the walls after it. As badly as I didn’t want to hurt the bee, Willow didn’t have any such reservations. She some how managed to jump up and snap it right out of the air as it did a fly-by. That injured the poor thing and it fell to the floor. I really had no choice but to dispatch of it and finish the job she had started. Didn’t want her swallowing it and it was pretty well finished. So, I squashed it and unceremoniously disposed of it in the garbage. I felt bad, Willow was all excited and ready to take on the next one. I shut the doors.
*
Oh hey, I’ve been having some nice quiet evenings lately and that gives me time and opportunity to muck around on the guitar. I’ve inadvertently come up with my next original music composition. Lots of harmonies, not much of anything else, give it a listen if you want.
http://www.thedougsite.net/Songs/Wish%20You%20Were%20Here.mp3
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Well, a short drive
to the local Wal-Mart produced a little excitement this evening! I turned from
our subdivision onto Fischer-Hallman Rd just as a police cruiser came along
beside me from my left. He slowed down and started to tap on his computer while
driving. I thought to myself, “Now that’s not a safe thing to be doing while in
the midst of traffic!” He dropped in behind me and put his roof lights on. I
figured, it couldn’t possibly be me he was after but then, he waved me over! I
buzzed my window down as he walked up to my door and I said very calmly “Good
evening!” he said good evening, might I see your license please? As I opened my
wallet he said “The reason I stopped you sir is because your validation sticker
on your license plate is 5 months over due for replacement! To which I
answered, you must be kidding! He said, “No, I’m not kidding!” as he smiled. I
must have looked like I’d seen a ghost because I sure as heck felt like I had
when he said that! I said to him that I am usually very vigilant about such
things and maybe I just hadn’t stuck the new one on back in January. He
chuckled and said no sir, I checked with the Ministry system and you haven’t
purchased a current sticker as of yet! As I apologized for the oversight he
asked me what the badge was that he’d seen in my wallet. I told him that it was
my badge from the Waterloo Fire Dept. He asked what station I worked out of and
I told him I was retired 11 years this coming August. He said to sit tight and
he’d be right back with my license. It took him all of two minutes to return my
license and he told me that he didn’t usually give a warning when the sticker
was so obviously overdue but since we were in kindred services, he’d let me go
this time as long as I promised to have a new one on the plate first thing
tomorrow! I assured him that I would do that and thanked him for his kind
gesture! I got to say that shiny gold badge has come in handy a couple of
times! I’ll be heading to the license bureau first thing tomorrow! LOL!
I don’t know how the
heck I forgot to get the sticker back in January but I’m sure I won’t let that
happen again! Lucky for me I got a good cop this time around.
*
This morning I tried
to pick up our dog as usual to lift him from the patio in to the house. I
always tell him I’m picking him up before I do it so it’s not a surprise to him
since he’s blind and can’t see me reaching for him. He lifted his front paw as
he usually does when someone is going to lift him up and as soon as I got him
about a foot off the patio, he turned and sunk his teeth into my left hand! He
took a nice chunk out of my left index finger as well as gave me four other
good deep puncture wounds! Needless to say, I let out a yelp of my own and
gingerly tossed him onto the mat inside the patio doorway! I scolded the heck
out of him as I tried to stem the flow of blood from the different orifices now
showing in my hand and fingers! OUCH! Damn that hurt! I made it to the kitchen
and found the peroxide bottle and doused the wounds as I groped for a couple of
paper towels. I wrapped the towels around my hand and put pressure on the spots
to stop the bleeding. After a few minutes, I was able to put an anti biotic
cream on the punctures and bandage each one. My hand looked like it had been
squished between two boards with finishing nails protruding from both! The
second comment out of my mouth after the first curse words subsided was “That’s
it, he’s getting the needle as soon as I can get him to the Vet!” Of course
then I calmed down when I saw that “puppy dog” look in his eyes again and I
said to him in a stern voice “You’re lucky we just invested all that money in
you last month or you WOULD be residing under the rose bushes out back!” After
a few hours of being ticked off at him I settled down and so did he and we’re
buddies once again! I guess I’ll just have to be more cautious about how I pick
him up from now on! I don’t like anyone grabbing me around the mid rift from
behind either! Of course, I wouldn’t bite the person grabbing me either but
then I can voice my disapproval verbally and Bailey can’t so I guess that’s why
he uses his teeth to make his point!
I just wish he’d
learn to speak English in stead! LOL!
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>
PMS Jokes aren’t funny, period!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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