The Squamidian Report – Mar. 17 / 18
Issue #825
Including:
Russ's Ear Worm
From Wayne
The Ontarion
Hi All,
First off, it would seem that today is Lorne's birthday. So, a very big happy birthday to you.
*
Common
to the west coast are dark rainy nights that make for pretty poor
driving conditions because vision becomes a problem. For the last while
we had been having a lot of trouble seeing out thought the front
windshield of the car. Making it worse was when those vehicles with the
painfully bright harsh white lights would be coming toward you, leaving
you momentarily blinded. Not good, not much fun. Of late we then
noticed a film or smear on the outside of the front window that nothing
seemed to be able to remove. It finally dawned on me that the film was
just water that the wipers were not removing. They were just smearing
it around. So, we broke the budget and bought a new set of windshield
wipers. Those thing are very easy to replace once you figure out how,
which always takes a little fiddling to do, but once you figure it out
they just pop off and the new ones pop on. Now the wipers are wiping
the windshield nice and clear. Doesn't help much with those garish
bright LED lights coming at us on other vehicles but sure beats not
seeing at all.
*
You
know how when you do something you probably shouldn't have and it ends
up snowballing into something you hadn't intended doing? Well, I made
the mistake of pulling the cover off the bike this week. Shouldn't have
done that, because then I sat on the bike. Then I checked it over just
to be sure everything was all right. Then, like a real idiot, I started
her up. She fired up instantly and purred like a very big kitten. I
should have walked away at that point but instead I checked the air
pressure in the tires and then went looking for my riding gear, just to
make sure it was all there of course.
That was Wednesday. Wednesday evening I dug out the insurance renewal
papers etc, just to make sure I knew where they were. Here in BC our
insurance and registration are tied together and purchased from the
infamous ICBC. I stewed about the bike for the rest of the evening,
checking the long range weather forecast several times. When we buy our
insurance, we have the option of purchasing a full year, or a shorter
amount of time but that time must be in full month intervals. Here it
is mid March so that meant if I were to break down and get my insurance
now, I'd have to insure till either mid October or mid November. Mid
October would be too short as I could very well miss out on some nice
riding weather during those last couple of week of that month before
the November rains moved in. Mid November would mean I'd end up putting
the bike away while there was still insurance on it, a waist of money
to my rather penny pinching way of thinking. But, if I were to wait
until the end of the month I'd end up with the insurance running out at
the end of October. However, that would mean postponing putting the
bike back on the road for another two weeks. Long range forecast for
those two weeks is not great but how often are they right and right now
its nice, warm and sunny out there.
So, like the silly action of pulling off the cover in the first place,
I headed down to the insurance place on Thursday after we got home from
having our morning coffee up at the gondola. Once home I checked a few
last items on the bike, dawned my riding gear and went out for a nice
little toot. Sure felt good. Friday was just as nice as Thursday so at
noon I geared up and did a nice little toot out to Horseshoe Bay where
I knew some of my riding friends would be, and they were. Nice to see
my bike parked along the curb with the other bikes again after being
absent for the last 4 months. Many of my riding friends in the city
ride all year round when weather permits. This was not a great winter
for them either as both December and January were colder and wetter
than normal. So, the riding season has started back up, the bike is
liking it, I'm liking it, my poor old truck isn't liking it so much as
it will end up being parked out at the end of the driveway for long
periods of time instead of sitting comfortably in the garage beside the
car as I use the truck's bay for the bike when the bike isn't tucked up
against the back wall. Oh well, can't please everything.
doug
****
Russ's Ear Worm
Hey Doug, last week’s Squamidian “turned an earworm”, and a song has
been going through my mind for the past, going on three days/nights;
It’s from the 70’s, and it’s called “Knock Three Times”, by Tony
Orlando & Dawn. The music is very ‘catchy’, but I couldn’t
remember all the words, so I did a little research, and for those of
you who liked this popular song from ‘back then’, here are the Lyrics:
Hey girl, what ya doin’ down there?
Dancin’ alone every night
While I live above you
I can hear your music playin’
I can feel your body swayin’
One floor below me
You don’t even know me,
I love you
(knock, knock, knock)
Oh, my darling, knock three times
On the ceiling if you want me
Twice on the pipe
(knock, knock)
If the answer is no.
Oh, my sweetness
Knock three times means
You’ll meet me in the hallway
Twice on the pipe
If you ain’t gonna show.
Now, if I have not put this “contagious” old love song back into your mind, I’ve failed, and you have no romance left.
Uncle Russ (old, but still knocking’)
****
From Wayne
I want to preface this review by thanking brother Lorne for lending me
and encouraging me to read this book. Although it is myopic at times,
(it is, of course, an autobiography), there are important lessons to be
learned and perhaps a better understanding of the financial and
political situation in which we find ourselves today can be attained!
Wayne Brubacher, March 16, 2018.
Book Review: IACOCCA, an autobiography by Lee Iacocca.
Many will remember Lee Iacocca as the man who rescued Ford in the early
‘70’s and Chrysler in the ‘80’s. But it was not well known that he was
encouraged to run for the office of President of the United States.
One can only marvel at the prescience that is evident in this book,
written in 1984 as one reads Chapter 28, entitled; “Making America
Great again”.
I have lifted a section from pages 332 & 333 and shortened them
into textual sound bites. Maybe some of you will borrow the book, too
and fully read the Chapter.
“Here's my six-point program that could form the basis for a new industrial policy.
First, we should provide for energy independence by
1990 by taxing foreign energy, both at the port and at the pump, in
order to restore the conservation ethic and rekindle investments in
alternate sources of energy.
Second, we should provide for specific limits
to Japan's market share for certain critical industries. We should
declare a state of economic emergency for those industries and
unilaterally set aside the restrictive GATT provisions during this
period.
Third, as a nation, we've got to face reality
on the costs and funding mechanisms for federal entitlement programs.
Fourth, America needs more engineers,
scientists, and technicians. On a per-capita basis, Japan
graduates about four times as many engineers as we do. (But we graduate
fifteen times as many lawyers!)
Fifth, we need new incentives to increase
research and development efforts in the private sector and to
accelerate factory modernization and productivity in critical
industries.
Finally we need to establish a long-term
program for rebuilding America's arteries of commerce - our roadways,
bridges, railroads, and water systems. Our infrastructure, which
is vital to any strengthening and expansion of our industrial power, is
deteriorating at an alarming rate. Something must be done.”
Today read “China” instead of “Japan” –Ed.
Where have we heard those words lately? And who has been decrying the
present state of affairs? When ever would a business man be encouraged
to fix the country and “make America great again”? Why were those goals
so lofty then? Why are they so loathed now?
As much as Lee Iacocca lamented the conditions in 1984, they have become almost unimaginably worse today!
Wayne
*****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Well, I’ve gotten my first full week completed at home and it
seems that I’m feeling a little better each day. It’s already been 6
months since my heart operation and it’s hard to believe so much time
has passed since that day! I gotta say though, it’s not been the heart
operation that’s been the problem it’s been all the other crap that’s
cropped up since. First the and foremost was the accumulation of body
fluids that caused my congestive heart failure and the medication
needed to clear out the fluid has ruined my kidneys. I’ve only got
about 28% function in the kidneys now but hopefully they won’t
deteriorate any further for a long time to come. Guess I’ll just have
to wait and see. It’s up to me to stick to my strict diet and hope the
meds keep me going for along time to come. Fingers crossed!
*
Well,
now to get on with the business of my Ontarion. I’m not sure each time
I sit down at the keyboard just what to write about and quite often I
just wing it. Today happens to be another chapter in the book of
winging it! I’m sitting here thinking of smells that have triggered
memories as Russ wrote about as well as songs that were mentioned last
week that bring back so many past experiences. Well, it came to mind
that over the years I’ve heard and used many a saying that both had a
lot of meaning but also made not much sense. Like the one that my dad
used to say when we were out hunting and I missed another target such
as a duck or a cottontail. He’d turn and say to me “You couldn’t hit a
cows ass with a banjo!” and of course every time I heard that saying
I’d laugh. It’s one of his quirky sayings that have always stuck with
me and of course I have picked up using that saying at every
opportunity since my youth. When I think of it, it makes perfect sense.
One would have to be a pretty poor shot to miss the cow’s ass when
swinging a banjo! LOL! Another one that comes to mind is “Wherever you
go, there you are!” and my reply to that is “No shit eh!” Doesn’t take
a Stephen Hawking to figure that one out! One of my favourites is “Wow,
is the snow ever coming down!” Well, just think about that one, have
you ever seen it go UP? Just where did the saying “It’s raining cats
and dogs!” come from? It’s hard to even imagine what first stimulated
the person that coined that silly fraise. Must have been an unfortunate
fellow that had a cat being chased by a dog jump down off a rooftop
onto his umbrella during a heavy rainstorm or some such nonsense. LOL!
Don’t know why but that makes me think of “The woman who backed into a
fan, it disaster!” LOL! Not that I make a habit of laughing at my own
jokes but sometime’s one has to when nobody else thinks it’s funny. I’m
sure you’ve all heard silly such statements in your lives and quite
likely they come from an older person that’s picked the habit up from
another older relative. I just know that my dad who would have been 105
years of age this October had likely spouted these colloquialisms since
his teen years and I always thought that I’d never say such dopy and
hokey things. Of course I was wrong to think that because here I am
still repeating them and now I’m an “old” man! What the heck, I’d be
willing to bet even my son will one day find himself blurting out the
same few of his grandpa’s quaint comments. And so the perpetuation of
these sayings goes on and on! If these “sayings” do nothing more than
bring back good memories of the times I spent with my dad then, I’ll
gladly suffer the criticism from whomever I use them on. Life’s too
short to sit in judgment and most likely anyone that hears such remarks
will undoubtedly repeat them at sometime in their future. C’mon, tell
me that most of you won’t be using the “banjo” comment when the
opportunity arises! And when you do, I’ll bet you’ll tell the story of
where and when you first heard it and you’ll think of me just as I
think of my dad each time I use one of his saying. Thanks for the
memories Dad and RIP.
Speaking of my dad, I was just thinking back on the jobs and stories he
told me of his working experience. He Started work in his late teens
and early twenties as a bulldozer operator building roads etc up in
camp Borden. I still have a heavy artillery shell that he brought home
to his mother to be used as a doorstop. He picked it up on the tank
range in Borden while clearing an area for the construction of
barracks. It was a dummy shell that they fired without any charge in it
and usually the army reclaimed them all for further use. This one
however I guess they missed. It wound up in my grandparent’s home in
Hespeler where dad grew up. He inherited it when they both passed away
in the early 60’s and I claimed it when my dad died. It’s the one
significant item I have to remember him by. While working in Camp
Borden his friend urged him to apply for the RCMP. He said they were
hiring and dad figured he might as well since his bulldozing days were
numbered. He applied and got accepted to the Mounties. At the time, he
was madly in love with my mum, Irene Matilda Hoy. They were talking
about getting married and figured that they would and she’d move to
Regina with him for his basic training.
Well, that all came to a halt when the letter of acceptance from the
RCMP came through stipulating that when he reported for duty he’d have
to remain “unmarried” for the first five years on the force. He and mum
decided that they just couldn’t wait that long to be husband and wife
so he turned down the job in the Mounties. From there they married and
dad took a job as a police officer for the CNR railroad. They moved to
Tecumseh and spent several years establishing their new life. Their
first child (my sister Lynda) was born and traveling on the railroad
system for sometimes weeks at a time was getting to be too much strain
on the marriage and family life. So, dad was offered a position on the
Stratford Police Dept and jumped at the chance. They then moved to
Stratford and he was only there for a year or two when he became
friends with the deputy chief of the Kitchener Police Dept. The deputy
offered to hire dad on in KPD if he’d be willing to relocate to
Kitchener. With my mother’s family living here in Kitchener and mum
wanting to be closer to her folks, they gladly accepted the offer and
dad became a Kitchener Cop.
One of dad’s regular duties as a police officer was to escort the
cashier from Burns’ Meats on Guelph St to the bank with the weekly cash
bag. He of course was introduced to the General Manager of Burns and
eventually was offered a job as Head of Security for the company and
gladly accepted that job. He then worked for the next 20 years for
Burns Meats and when they were winding down their operations in
Kitchener in the late 60’s he decided to take early retirement from
there and move on. At this point he wasn’t interested in more police
work so he looked elsewhere. Lester Zehr who was a friend of my mothers
and owner of Zehr’s Markets here in KW offered dad a job as a
shipper/receiver at their Bridgeport Rd store and he gladly accepted
the job. This meant that he’d work in the same store as my mother and
they could conveniently commute to work together as she worked in the
meat department at that store. Dad worked at Zehr’s for the next 5 or
so years and then finally moved on to being a shipper for Ellis and
Howard Ltd a small appliance dealer here in Kitchener. When he turned
65 he decided he’d had enough of full time work and Retired from the
appliance business. He worked part time as a parking lot attendant for
a group of Doctors on King St near KCI after my mother passed away in
1979. He stopped working altogether shortly after she passed and
remained retired until his death in a car crash at the age of 74 years.
He was always proud of the fact that he was never out of work and was
able to raise and provide a home for his wife and three kids. He never
made a fortune in the jobs he performed but did always make an honest
buck! Once again I’m sure with all that experience under his belt, he
picked up a different saying during each phase of his life. I’ll think
of him every time I spout one of his “sayings” and quietly say “Thanks
dad, for the memories!”
That’s about all 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: “Was your father a mailman? Well, have you ever heard of a female man?” One last one! LOL!
PPS: HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY EVERYONE!
“MAY THE LUCK OF THE IRISH BE WITH YA TODAY!”
*
Co-founder of Zehrs Markets remembered as ‘kind, generous and genuine’
Lester Zehr in 1970.
WATERLOO REGION — Lester Zehr, the co-founder of Zehrs Markets, is
being remembered as a humble and generous friend and businessperson.
"What you saw is what you got. There was no falseness about him, he was
just him," said Pat Herzog, a family friend whose late husband Bill
Herzog worked as vice-president of finance at Zehrs.
"The three words that kind of say it best are kind, generous and genuine."
Zehr, who lived in Waterloo, died on Tuesday at the age of 91. He is
survived by Elva, his wife of 67 years, his three children, Brenda
Eudoxie, Don Zehr and Gregory Zehr, seven grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
Zehr, who helped build a number of companies, is best known for
starting the Zehrs Markets grocery store chain with his father and
brother. The first store opened on Highland Road in Kitchener in 1950.
There are now more than 40 Zehrs across southwestern Ontario.
Loblaw Companies Ltd. purchased Zehrs in 1963, but Lester continued on with the chain.
"We are saddened by the news of Lester's passing and wish to express
our condolences to the entire Zehr family," said the company in a email
to The Record.
Lester's son Don said his father was known as "the humble entrepreneur," who cared for the people he worked with.
"He was generous, good and fair to everyone," said Don, CEO of Zehr Group, a development and construction company in Kitchener.
And that's how Betty Anne Keller remembers him. As a teen, she was a
cashier at the Belmont Zehrs grocery store from 1966 to 1969.
She said Lester and Elva would come into the store weekly to purchase groceries.
"I did not really think they knew me," Keller wrote in a letter to The Record.
In summer of 1967, Keller and her friends travelled to Montreal for the
Expo. At one point during her trip she took a seat under a tree in
Mount Royal park only to notice Lester and Elva travelling in a
horse-drawn carriage on the path in front of her.
"Les and Elva registered just after they had passed, that one of his
cashiers from Belmont was sitting under a tree in the park, and much to
my delight, Les stood up, turned around and waved furiously as the
carriage moved away," said Keller.
"Of course I waved and smiled back. His grin and mine lit up the park.
"Les was the kind of wealthy businessman who recognized a 19-year-old
summer student cashier from one of his many stores. A class act."
Don said his father was always quick to credit the people he worked
with for the company's success. And those who worked for him and with
him in the community took notice.
"He ran an excellent organization and that certainly proved itself
through the people he had (working for him) and the way they conducted
their business," said Waterloo resident Murray Haase, who at one time
ran a chain of Kwikie Minit Market convenience stores.
"I just enjoyed knowing him and dealing with him; it was a pleasure. He will be missed by many."
lbooth@therecord.com, Twitter: @BoothRecord
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
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