The Squamidian Report – Sept. 29 / 18
Issue #853
Including:
From Lorne
From Karl
From Russ
The Ontarion
Hi All,
We've
been enjoying a week of rather nice late summer weather. About time too
because we sure had a lot of rain over the two or three weeks before
now. Anyway, its been almost perfect riding conditions, starting off
quite cool in the mornings, getting quite warm in the afternoons and
then cooling off quickly as the sun goes down. On Wednesday I decided
to not go to the gondola for my usual morning coffee but instead I'd
ride to Lillooet where there is supposed to be a nice bakery and coffee
shop. I knew enough to bundle up a bit in layers because while it was
supposed to hit 20 by mid afternoon, morning was still way down in the
single digit area. I didn't leave here until almost 9 in order to let
morning traffic let up and to let the sun warm the roads up. The ride
up through Whistler and on to Pemberton was enjoyable, as expected,
although that stretch from Whistler to Pemberton is so bumpy it just
about shakes your teeth loose, or in my case, your bladder meaning I
had to pull into the gas station there and use the facilities.
From
Pemberton you wind your way along the valley for a dozen or so clicks
before climbing up into the mountains and onto the Duffy. Inevitably,
you find yourself stuck behind a slow moving vehicle, usually an RV
type thing, which I did. By the time we started the climb there were
half a dozen vehicles stacked up behind me, all hating the idea of
being stuck for the next hundred K behind a driver that can't handle
the unique challenges of that road. Every once in a while a drive that
is holding up traffic will pull over and let them past. That doesn't
happen often but to my surprise the RV driver pulled over at the first
place wide enough and let the line of traffic go by. I had know there
was a car ahead of the RV but had hoped it would scoot along and not be
inching its way around the tight switch-backs. No such luck, I was down
in 1st gear, putting along, with a line of drivers behind me that were
getting ansi and that can lead to problems. So first time I could see
far enough ahead I cracked the throttle and blew on by. After that I
settle down into a nice fluid ride, enjoying the curves and the
scenery. That was the last time I saw anyone in my rear view mirrors
until I was all the way across the pas and because I was actually just
cruising along comfortably, I never caught up to anyone either so
except for on coming traffic, I had the road to myself.
The
morning had started out on the cool side but had warmed up a bit by the
time I got to Pemberton. However, as expected, it cooled off as I
climbed up onto the Duffy but stayed comfortable, until I got to Duffy
Lake. The road follows the lake for quite a while and it was down right
chilly along there and stayed chilly for a while because the road then
follows the river that drains the lake, Cayoos Cr, as it winds its way
through a canyon and we all know that cold air settles to the bottom,
where in this case its chilled even more by the almost icy mountain
stream water. Once past that area the highway starts to drop down
toward Lillooet and in Lillooet it was down right on the warm side.
I
found the little bakery / coffee shop that I had heard about and
relaxed with a nice cup. I was however a bit disappointed with the
cherry turnover I chose, should have gone with the cinnamon rolls I
guess.
Once
done with my morning coffee which took place at noon due to the fact
that its a pretty good ride to Lillooet from Squamish, I mounted back
up and headed back up onto the Duffy. Just as I was approaching
Lightfoot gas station at the base of climb, a car pulled out right in
front of me. If I'd stayed in my lane I would have had to brake very
hard but there was no one coming toward us so I just scooted over and
went around it. Part way up the climb is a scenic pull-off where an RV
was in the process of pulling out, right in my path again. I scooted
around it and it continued to pull out, right in front of the car. I
cracked the throttle and left the idiots in my dust, figuratively, as
the pavement was nice and clean and dust free. That was the last I saw
anyone in my rear view mirrors again and again had the road to myself
heading south. This being early fall for lower elevations, the
conditions are mid fall or later up on the pass and the scenery was
incredible. Duffy Lake was like a mirror, there is fresh snow high on
the mountains and the avalanche paths are bright yellow from the turned
leaves of the low shrubbery that can grow in those zones. The treed
slopes are all green and will stay that way, year round because those
trees are evergreens.
It
was not until I dropped down into the Pemberton Valley that I caught up
with traffic, a lumbering wallowing RV of course. By the time we had
plodded our way into Pemberton there was a line of vehicles behind us,
all waiting for a chance to get by the RV. You'd thing the RV drivers
would look in their mirrors once in a while and then pull over to let
the world go by but no, they seldom do. There are however lots of
passing zones as you head on south toward Whistler so riding was fine.
You know, that old Harley of mine sure likes a little day trip, she
just purrs along, and she still gets the same great milage she got when
she was a shiny young bike. Gotto go to Lillooet for coffee more often
I guess.
*
Oh,
the bears are still around, knocking over garbage bins, stripping fruit
from trees and so on. I watched one of them wandering up and down the
street on Thursday afternoon, checking out any possible food sources.
That is not good. This poor creature is probably going to be trapped
and disposed of because it is looking for food where people live.
People don't like that and the bear ends up paying. Bummer.
doug
****
From Lorne
Russ,
as he calls himself, has been relating back to his time as a cop and
his experience with firearms. I wrote a while back about laying
down my arms after killing a defenseless doe. That slaughter took place
when I was quite young, by my present standards. But at even a much
younger age, during the 2nd WW, I was trained to fire brenn guns, anti
air craft guns, anti tank guns, machine guns, combat Lee Enfield rifles
with bayonets and hand pistils. Therefore, at a young age, firing a 12
gauge shot gun was no big deal. My battalion, Scots Fusiliers of
Canada, although twice having orders to board the train for
eventual shipment overseas, was at the last minute cancelled. Both
times the train was there for us. We stood in parade order but the
command to board was not given. We never were told why. I was so
sorry at the time, but later realized how lucky I was.
PS... The reason for writing such an unusual account is because I couldn't think of anything else.
Lorne
****
From Karl
I
had the pleasure to be at the annual Brubacher BOCCE game while
visiting Canada here are some photos from the get-together ,what a
great day we had ,I have many more but will post these for now
,gee the 2 months went by sooo fast great to catch up with family and
friends that all for now.
Karl
Editor's Note: I
have uploaded Karl's pictures to my web site in order to keep the size
of this letter manageable. His pics can be seen at this link...
****
From Russ
It
was called the “snake-pit” area of Toronto; at the foot of Jarvis
Street in the “red light district” of that fair city. Here was where
the OPP had located their first police college. How delightful. It was
an “estate-type” private residence which had been altered to
accommodate a classroom, reception/visitor’s area, and on the second
floor, a large open room which contained 12 “Army-type” cots. At the
head of each cot was a small night table with one small drawer over a
storage space (we called the “boot”) This was where we were supposed to
keep, out-of-sight, all our private stuff; shaving-gear, change of
socks and underwear, girlie magazines, etc. NOTHING was to be in sight
except this boot (like an over-stuffed suitcase, we had to force the
door closed). There was a daily inspection of our sleeping area, and
each cot (which displayed our #) had to be made in Army fashion; sheets
so tight you could “bounce a coin on them”.
The
discipline was rigid (and it HAD to be when dealing with young men,
away from home, in a big city with lots of action). This is hard to
believe, but the main door of the college was locked at 11PM, with an
all-night guard on duty, and no one was “granted leave” without some
very serious personal issue, like maybe a death in the family. Anyone
leaving had to ‘sign out’, and upon return, sign back in.
Now,
it’s bed-time (10:30PM, lights out at 11PM; penlights out when they
caught you) Can you imagine a room full of young men, with no privacy,
and very full of life, quietly going to sleep...at all? I was always a
‘light sleeper’, and ‘any’ noise would awaken me, and I’d have a hard
time getting back to sleep...if at all! The sounds coming from this
‘cavernous, communal bed room’ you wouldn’t believe! Farts, naturally,
but the SNORING!! One guy next to me; ‘Size EX-Large’, Peterboro
PD, name O’Grodnick, had a snore on par with a chainsaw!
“SNORT! GRUNT! GRIND!”
I don’t know how ANYBODY could sleep through that! When we confronted him the next morning, he was very hurt, and indignant,
“I DON’T SNORE!
After
a few nights of restlessness, we had to “make a break” from this second
story prison. Aha! Fire Regulations required there be a Fire Escape,
and it led to the ‘safety’ of an alley below.
Picture
this; it’s about midnight, there are 5 or 6 of us in our ‘civvies’,
walking up to the “street of life”, Yonge Street! And we’re “ready for
action”. But, we didn’t get any. Why not? Well, just look at us;
Military-style haircuts, clean-shaven, ‘new-looking’, clean duds, and
most of all, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, innocent, but ‘looking for
action’! Nobody would touch us.....We were COPS!
We
ended up going to an all-night restaurant for a midnight snack, then
limped back to the college with our ‘bushy tails’ between our still
innocent legs. We crept silently back up the fire escape into our cots.
Next week we’ll take into our classroom, and to an Armory for firearms training.
Your old Uncle Russ, Cst. #20 KPD
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Well,
it had to happen sooner or later! Earlier this week Carole and I had
some shopping and errands to run so we took a look outside at the
weather and decided to do our running in the MG. Of course we had the
top down as usual and headed out on a bright sunny afternoon. We had
some articles of clothing to return to a store in the St Jacobs’ Outlet
Mall up the north end / south end of Waterloo/St Jacobs. We took our
returns in their original packaging into the mall to the store that
they came from and were inside for about a half hour. We were not in a
hurry so we took our sweet time nosing around the store. When we exited
the store Carole mentioned that it felt like rain but of course the sky
didn’t look threatening at all. I said “No, it’s not going to rain, all
the clouds are blowing away from our location!” We got into the MG and
decided to visit the local antique store just west of the St Jacobs’
Farmer’s Market on King St N. We parked in front of the Antique Market
and went inside to look at the interesting items they have for sale. Of
course there are hundreds of cool old things on display.
We
were inside for about a half hour and were just about to walk up to the
front and pay for a couple of small items Carole had picked up when
there was an announcement over the store’s PA system. “To the owner of
a green convertible parked in front of the store, it’s raining and your
roof is down!” I didn’t quite hear what the woman had said but did hear
the words “green convertible” so I turned to Carole and asked, “What
did she say?” Carole said that the announcer said “It’s raining out and
would the owner of a green convertible like to check on their car?” I
immediately bolted to the front of the store and out the door into the
rain. When I got out to the MG I found that the rain had slowed down
quite a bit but was still drizzling steadily. I sprang into action and
started to put the roof up on the car.
Of
course the British car manufacturers never made anything resembling the
word “easy” with regards to such an action. It’s a pain in the butt at
the best of times to put the convertible top up on the MG and in the
rain it’s even more frustrating! It took me about 10 minutes to get the
roof fastened to the domes at the rear end of the seating compartment
and once I did, the fact that the weather was also quite cool made
stretching the vinyl roof into place to fasten the front clips to the
top of the windshield quite a challenge! I struggled with them for
about 10 minutes and finally managed to clamp them tightly into place.
WHEW! Finally had the roof in place and was sitting in a drier
atmosphere! Of course the inside of the car was a little wet but
thankfully was not totally soaked. I had a small towel in the glove box
and wiped the water off the dash etc as best I could. I went back
inside the store to tell Carole that all was well with the car. It
never fails that when you least expect it, it rains on your parade in
one form or another! LOL! Oh well, with the roof in place and the rain
almost stopped we headed for home. It was a good thing we decided to
visit a nearby antique store rather than take the drive to the one in
Stratford like we had originally planned. We would have been trapped on
Hwy 7/8 somewhere between Kitchener and Stratford trying to put the
roof up on the side of the highway. Trust me, the next time Carole says
it feels like rain, I’ll refrain from contradicting her and just put
the roof up there and then if we’re out in the MG. LOL! Sometimes the
wife is right! Hahahahaha…. !
*
It’s
too bad that summer is over and fall has taken its place! I didn’t want
summer to end quite yet but I guess it had to happen sooner or later.
I’m hoping that we’ll have a nice mild sunny fall this year so we can
get some more cruising in before having to put the MG away. I’ve taken
quite a few personal photographs with my new Canon camera but would
like to get out and do some fall scenes before the winter sets in. I’m
sure I’ll find loads of interesting scenes to shoot when we do some
country driving before winter.
The
grass is still growing like crazy so I’ve had lots of practice mowing
it this year. I was certain I’d never be able to push a lawn mower
again when I was laid up in the hospital. Luckily, the doctors told me
to get back into my normal routine around the house once I felt a
little stronger. They told me it would take a good ten months to a year
to feel back to normal and they weren’t kidding! I’ve been mowing the
lawn for most of the summer but each time it still takes me about twice
the time it should to finish the job. Our lot is not very large at all
but it still takes about two hours to complete the job each time. What
with having to take several breaks during the mowing to recover from
the strain of following the mower up and down the rows? The mower
belongs to Adam and is a very good model TORO. It has a drive system
that propels the mower along at whatever speed I make it pace at. The
further down I push the accelerator bar the faster the mower drives! I
usually have it at a moderate walking pace so I can get a fair amount
of cutting in before having to stop and rest. As long as I don’t leave
the task until too late in the day I can manage to finish the job while
it’s still warm and sunny out.
The
big chore comes when I do the whipper snipping about every second or
third time I mow the grass. The trimming takes about an hour and a half
to complete and then I have to cut the grass after that. So of course
those times take a lot more effort to complete the job! Oh well, I’m
not complaining, just explaining how it feels to be back into the swing
of things since being though what has happened to me this past year
(almost). It’s hard to believe that come October 13th it’ll be a year
since the heart surgery. It’s amazing to think of all that we’ve been
through this past year and that I’m still here and doing as well as I
am! I’m so thankful for the incredible health system we have right here
in Kitchener and that we have such talented doctors at our disposal.
I’m also very grateful for the wonderful support that I’ve been given
by both Carole and Adam over this past year. Without them I would most
certainly not be here I’m sure! I’m still in the recovery stage I can
tell but each day brings better and better results when I try to do
something. I know that I’ll never be back in my youthful shape of
yesteryear but I most certainly am better off physically than I would
have been without all the experiences of this past year! While I’m on
the subject, I’d want to thank everyone that sent their well wishes to
me either on the Internet or in person these past 11 months for their
kind thoughts and wishes! You have all made my journey much more
bearable and I’m thankful to each and every one of you!
I
don’t know why but I’ve been thinking lately of things we used to do as
kids in the North Ward. The one thing that pops into my mind constantly
seems to centre around the activities of summer vacation time. One of
the most prominent activities was venturing out on our bicycles for new
and interesting trips on sunny days. One of the most fun things we used
to do was ride our bikes down to a woodworking place that used to be a
few blocks north of Lancaster St. I forget the name of the street, I
think it might be “Ash St” but they used to manufacture some
interesting items. My favourite item was the Yoyo. This company made
them out of wood not like the plastic crap ones of today! They had a
large bin out behind the shop that contained all the “seconds” produced
that could not be sold due to a mark or a chip in the wood. We’d dig
through the large dumpster and come home with bags of Yoyos. We were
very popular with the other neighbourhood kids on days following these
trips of course! The yoyos came in all different sizes but were
unpainted. We had a lot of fun painting and decorating them and then of
course using them to learn to do all kinds of tricks! Walking the dog
and rocking the cradle were two of my best tricks! Some of the other
kids were much more talented at working their yoyos than I but I still
had fun with our free toys!
I’m
not sure they even sell yoyos anymore? I’ll have to take a look for
them the next time I’m in Wal-Mart! Other toys of the past that were a
big hit back then were Hula Hoops and roller skates not to mention the
“Rock O La”! I’d be willing to bet that most of you don’t even remember
this particular item! The “Rock O La” was a wooden item that consisted
of a flat board about the size of a modern skateboard but was cut out
to look like two disc shapes joined in the middle. They were flat with
two half moon pieces of wood, criss-crossed and fastened to the bottom
of each disc. You would stand with one foot on each disc and try to
balance without falling off. Then you would do your best to rock either
from side to side or end to end on the rounded supports beneath the
discs and rock to whatever music you had on your transistor radio!
Hence the name “Rock O La”! I had mine worn to a frazzle in one summer
after listening to music on my 9-transistor pocket radio and “rocking”
on the cement sidewalk out in front of our house! Most of the kids gave
up on getting any good on one of these contraptions after a few minutes
of trying. But I liked the challenge almost as much as I liked the
music on my transistor! It’s amazing how little it takes to keep a kids
attention at times!
Over
the years there have been so many gimmicks and fad items sold as “the
latest thing” that would or should have been here and gone in a short
period that have amazed me at how they caught on with the kids. One of
the strangest items was the “Pet Rock”! Remember those? What a joke but
someone got very rich by selling these by the millions! The latest fad
item that I can think of has been, I think they call them “Spinners”!
They are either straight or X shaped metal items with a bearing mounted
in the center. You hold them between your finger and thumb and give
them a spin and watch them rotate for long periods of time. They are of
no earthly use other than to keep a kid occupied for hours on end just
watching them go round and round! What will they come up with next?
These items were not cheap, considering what they were! I think when
they first hit the market they were around $10.00 each! Now I think
they can be had for a dollar or two in any “Dollar Store”. I guess when
the popularity wears off the price goes down! Still, someone once again
made a fortune by selling them while they were hot!
If
only I could come up with an idea like one of these items I’d be
retired in a hurry! Wait a minute, I already am retired!!!! Oh well,
too late to retire but not too late to think of a multi-million dollar
idea for the future! I’ll have to get right on that! LOL!
So much 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>
Let me know if you can think of the next fad item that will make someone a million! LOL!
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
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