Squamidian Report
Mar. 14 / 15
issue: 668
Including the Ontarion
Hi Again,
As most of you know, I'm not home right now. I'm in good old
Ontariariario and in some ways actually enjoying it. My nose has
stopped running and my eyes have stopped itching. Hopefully by the time
I get home later next week the much needed rain that the west coast has
finally been getting will have washed some of the pollen out of the air.
Flight to here was generally the pits. Only good part was that it was
on time for a change. What made it miserable was the way they continue
to cram everyone in so tightly, and their luggage policy. Because they
now charge $25 per bag, most passengers try to bring everything along
as carry-on. That means all those jerks are squeezing over-size bags
down the impossibly narrow isle and then trying to jam said bags into
the overhead compartments. That creates a huge time wasting shmozzel at
boarding time and an even more frustrating time when they scramble to
find their bags at the end of the flight. I refuse to be included in
that mindless stupidity and choose to pay the 'luggage toll' and have
my bag stowed where it belongs. However, although I only need a small
suitcase to hold the few clothing items I brought, I decided to get my
moneys worth and used the biggest suitcase I could find. Its not even
half full but its my way of 'getting my money's worth'.
When I arrived at the homestead I found that Carol had taken Mom to the
hospital. It took hours of waiting before she was even looked at and
once treated she was sent home, at 2 in the morning. Great healthcare
system we have!!
I spent some time with Greg, as I always do. We seem to have evolved a
traditional 'day out' over the years and always have a great time. It
was my intention to rent a good guitar again while here and so we fit
that in to our outing. We went in to L&M in Waterloo again but were
disappointed to find that they only had cheap, low-end guitars
available at this time. Their better units were all rented out. The
manager is a good friend of Ryan's but he wasn't in. Had he been there
he would have simply told me to pick any unit I wanted from the wall
and rented it to me. That's what he did last year. The guy in the store
could not make that kind of call but checked the computer and told us
the the Cambridge store had a few higher end guitars available so we
went all the way back down there. We had been just a few blocks away
from there earlier in the day. We got there only to find that their
better guitars were all out on rental as well. I told them that I've
become a bit of a guitar snob and had no interest in renting a cheap or
low-end unit. After some discussion they decided that they could use
another 'better' guitar in their rental fleet and told me to check out
the new Gibson and Taylor units hanging on the wall. The one I choose
would become a rental and I'd be the first to rent it. I tried several
guitars and settled on a nice Gibson J-45. Not as nice as my own guitar
back home but certainly more than good enough for the weekend.
Unfortunately and understandably, they could not and would not put any
of the Martins out for rent. The Gibson could use a setup but its
certainly very playable as it is. When I got back to the homestead I
played a few tunes on it for Mom and she tapped her foot along to the
music before she nodded off. That’s good enough for me.
Aside from that it's been pretty quiet. Neither of the parents are
feeling too well so I haven't wandered too far afield. The Homestead
never changes very much and Kitchener traffic continues to get worse,
or more worse. The local streets and roads are in incredibly bad
condition but it is nice to see some snow and 'eastern' type trees,
that kind of thing. Anyway, as long as there are no big surprises,
good, bad, or otherwise, I will be back home and everything will be
back to normal for next week. In the mean time I'm looking forward to
seeing many of you out at the homestead on Sunday.
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Well hello there! My but it’s been a long long time!
It’s been so long now but it seems like it was only yesterday and ain’t it funny how time slips away!
Welcome to another Ontarion everyone! After a beautiful sunny Spring
day here in the Region I can’t help but be smilin’ as I write this
weeks edition. I met with Doug this morning at 9am and we started the
day off with a healthy breakfast at The Country Boy Restaurant. I say
healthy because it was a platter filled with healthy (huge) portions of
mouth watering greasy breakfast goodies, as opposed to healthy in the
“good for you” sense. My choice of the day was scrambled eggs,
breakfast sausages and their delectable home fries. Also included were
two slices of brown toast and a large thermos of orange pekoe tea! Just
what I needed to start my day off right! Doug watched with envy as I
downed each fork full of those lovely fried potatoes and then he picked
away at the lonely slice of tomato on his platter that came in place of
the famous Country Boy home fries. He’s not into the home fries as he’s
told me in the past so I won’t make fun of his choice of side order of
the morning. I guess to each his own is the best way to put it. Anyway,
we both enjoyed what we had ordered as we spent the next hour or more
jawing about what was happening in both ends of the country. I was
brought up to date on the latest from the west and I filled him in on
the latest Ontario happenings. Seems like when we get together like
this once a year there is always loads of news on either end of this
great land. I always enjoy it very much when Doug visits and we get to
catch up on things. Although we write our columns each week we really
don’t get to talk much directly to each other. We do have common likes
and dislikes and that makes for interesting exchanges of information.
There’s always the political side of things that takes up a good part
of the hour. Then we move on to our schedule for the day and of course
we never really have anything planned except to maybe stop in at a
couple of bike shops just to have a look at the latest models. This
time we only managed to hit one motorcycle shop on the top of Shantz
Hill overlooking Preston. We discovered this store about three years
ago and found it interesting because they carry a real variety of makes
of motorcycles. Most shops only sell one or two makes of bikes but
these guys have at least a half dozen different makes on hand at all
times. They have everything from Italian Bultaco racing machines to
Harleys and 4x4 off road beasts that would put a smile on Doug’s face
if he had one to use on those old logging roads in BC. It’s a good
thing maybe that we never did win that Lottery we tried so hard to win
or we’d both have one of every make on that showroom floor on order! Oh
well, like they say, you can only ride one machine at a time anyway!
I’m sure that Doug will need something to talk about so I’d better lay off the adventures of today and move on.
Yesterday I was out in the driveway cleaning the windows on the Jeep
and I heard someone behind me say “Hello there, nice day to be cleaning
your windows!” I glanced over my shoulder and there was a neighbour
lady walking by with her two little boys. They were both aged about 3
or 4 years and looked like twins. They very well could be twins but I
really don’t know. I just answered her by saying “Hello, yes it is a
lovely day for cleaning windows!” and then I noticed that the two
little boys were both wearing yellow glow in the dark jackets with
orange stripes on them exactly like the jacket on the crossing guard at
the corner. They were both also carrying small versions of his hand
held STOP sign. You know, the one that he uses to stop the traffic when
he helps the children across the street? I then heard their mother say
“C’mon boys lets cross the street to see John and show him your STOP
signs that you made!” “See, they are exactly like his!” I laughed out
loud as I watched John the crossing guard meet them in the middle of
the cross walk and compliment the boys on their great STOP signs!
Carole emerged from the garage just at that moment and she was smiling
as well and came out to see if I had seen these two cute future
Crossing Guards and their outfits. We both watched as the little guys
helped John escort some other kids across the street. It’s too bad we
didn’t have a camera with us to take a picture of the boys with John.
It would have made a great submission to send to the CTV Kitchener
station as a sign of Spring With Kids as CTV is asking for on the 6
o’clock NEWS these days. I’m sure it would have made those little guys
happy to see their picture on the NEWS. If I see John out again this
week, maybe I’ll suggest he take their picture and send it in to CTV.
It was a very bright spot in an already bright sunny day for a change!
After months of snow upon snow upon snow this sudden warm (0c to +4c)
spell is sure a welcome sight! At least the snow held on long enough
for Doug to see a little of what we’ve been putting up with for the
past 8 weeks. I hope he takes a picture of himself in the snow to take
home to show his little granddaughter Kyra!
Well, that’s about it for this week! I hope Lorne enjoys his birthday
this weekend and that all who attend his celebration make it a Happy
occasion. Don’t eat too much cake Lorne!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something For LORNE To Think About>
It was a whole lot easier to get older than it was to get wiser!
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