The
Squamidian Report – Oct. 22 / 22
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Issue
#1065
Including:
From
Nova
Scotia Sus
From
The
Shores Of Lake Huron
From
Russ
The
Ontarion
Hey
There,
We
accidentally
got our flue shots. Well, sort of accidentally. What
happened was we had both received our official
government invitations
to book our shots on line, just like Covid shots were
done over the
past couple of years. Before Covid, getting a flue shot
was easy, you just walked into a drug store and asked
for one. They either gave
you the shot right there on the spot or made an
appointment for you.
It was all so easy back then in the good old days. With
Covid, the
provincial government couldn't keep its fingers out of a
system that
was working just fine and had to come up with a
convoluted web based
system that for the most part doesn’t
work at
all. Everyone would simply
give up and try to
call the help line number, meaning, everyone would end
up on hold for
untold amounts of time. So, for both Covid and flue
shots, it became
a bit of a government created nightmare.
Both
of
us received out email ‘invitations’ to book our current
flue
shots on line. Yes, that same ‘on line’ that we’ve all
grown to
hate so much. My email
included a second invitation, that one being for my
next, 5th,
Covid shot, that being my 3rd booster. Cool.
Only problem
was, as expected, the government web site didn’t work
and the help
number was so backed up that it wasn’t worth trying. So,
we figured
we should try walking in to our local drug store and see
if we could
book an appointment for the flue shots the old fashion
way. I’d
deal with the Covid booster later. Well, much to our
surprise they
would be able to do the shots right there and then,
‘then’ being
Monday afternoon. She explained that we had timed it
just right as
she could possibly find herself booked up for the next
few weeks once
she received
‘bookings’ from the afore said government web site. As
for now,
she could do ‘walk-in’ customers as long as they
qualified, which
we did as we had those invitations to get those shots.
When
she
pulled up my records she saw that I also qualified for
that 3rd
booster and asked if I wanted it now as she had the
vaccine serum
right there. Of course I said YES, PLEASE. And so, I’m
now up to
date with my shots. Not very often things go better than
expected but
somehow, it did for us.
*
Last
week
I posted the link to my
audio version of that old Hank Williams song, ‘Your
Cheating
Heart’. I was quite surprised at how many of you liked
the song
because while I think those old songs were pretty
good, many people these days
look down their
noses at anything that isn’t rap crap or syrupy pop or
some other
faddish assault on one’s ears. Anyway, for this week
I’ve posted
my video version, you know, just me and my guitar, as
bare bones and
raw as it gets. So, give it a look-see. Worst case
scenario is you
waste 4 minutes of your life. Oh, by the way, at the end
of the video
I remark that I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel. By
that I
don’t mean music wise. The barrel I’m referring to is
the
collection of songs and tunes stored in the nooks and
crannies of my
head.
Your
Cheating
Heart
(the
video)
doug
****
From
Nova
Scotia Sus
Thank
you
everyone for your concern over our recent experience. We
are
gradually getting through the mess of trees starting
with the ones
closest to our homes. We have piles of spruce boughs
everywhere
ready to be picked up by the tractor for when we start
burning. It's
been too dry to burn even though Nova Scotia Burn
restrictions say no problem. We had another crew of guys
come in with chainsaws and
only managed to cut up 17 trees all day. Since they are
so tangled
everything takes much longer. We have noticed now that
we can see
the windmills up on Fitzpatrick Mountain, also cars on
Millsville
Road. We were so secluded and now so open. The good news
is more
sun, moon and stars.
Sus
****
FROM
THE
SHORES OF LAKE HURON
Greetings
everyone
well I and Kitty survived our vacation trip to the east
coast of Canada. We left on Sept 15 the and got back on
Oct 14 the
It was an amazing trip and a life time of memories. We
got to
Edmunsten NB on the first day and stayed there
overnight. Our plan
was to get to Newfoundland from there in a few days to
catch the
short ferry from North Sydney, then come back on the
long one from
the east side of the island. Well as things never work
in your favour
we were booking the ferry over and were told that the
long ferry back
was ending on the 23 of September therefore we changed
plans and
booked the long one over on the 22 of Sept. It was a
long night for
sure 17 hour trip. but got there no problem. In the mean
time we
toured NB, NS, PEI and Cape Breton ending in North
Sydney the
evening of the 21. We were so happy to have got that all
in before
the bad weather. I feel that mother nature is not kind
to everyone at
times, our hearts went out to all the residents that
were impacted
with Fiona in any way at all.
In
NL
we toured around St. Johns a little the first day there,
got a
motel in a little town called Harbour Grace for 2
nights, toured
around the area checked out a lot of little towns. From
there went
to Clairenville for a few nights toured around and moved
on to
Gander. A lot of tourist places were closed after labour
day as we
were told by locals in different communities, but that
didn’t
bother us one bit got to see a lot on how the locals
live and so
forth. Moved on to Corner Brook and Stephenville and
finally ended up
in Port aux Basque to catch the ferry back on the Oct.
9.
Just
outside
of Corner Brook was a zip lining place which we went and
did.
What and awesome experience that was. There were 9 lines
on the
course starting with around a 100 meter ride ending with
the last on
around 1800 meters long. They told us that last run you
would be
doing about 65 to 70 KMP and after the ride I fully
believe it. I
even finished with the clean underwear I had on. When
Fiona hit we
had 22 degrees and sunshine on the east coast with a
stiff breeze,
but we took a little tour around Port aux Basque they
had a lot
cleaned up but on the southern coast the houses that
were damaged
badly were still there. How does one get over that is
beyond me, We
had talked to the mayor there he said the people have
been fantastic
and are helping in every way they can. Some are still
without a place
they can call there own. I can’t imagine the devastation
in Nova
Scotia and PEI. we saw some in NS and NB on the way back
mostly tree damage along the highway. We were almost 2
1/2 weeks on the
island seen a lot but didn’t get to the northern tip
where the
Vikings had landed but that might be a reason for a
shorter trip
back. Well have a great week and stay safe.
Brian
****
From
Russ
Up the spout
Nothing
to
eat or drink after midnight. On the road by 7:00 AM -
rain, off
and on both there and back. Temperature hovering between
2 and 3C all
day. At times, rain so hard unable to see through the
windshield. Out
of Huron and into Bruce arriving just on time! She is
one Hell of a
good driver!! Picked up prescription at hospital
pharmacy (Botox),
then on to Day Surgery.
"Take
off
all your clothes, including your underwear, wear
your
mask, and put everything into this large plastic bag"
she said,
with a kind, cultured, voice which I couldn't ignore.
She was so
nice, I stripped in a heart-beat, and stuffed my stuff.
"Now,
put
on this gown which ties at the back, then this robe over
top -
then, these little, blue, booties" Being obedient by
nature, I
did as she bid, and looking like the rest of the victims,
took
a seat on death row. A pretty, young nurse
placed a hot sheet
over my knees, and before I could give it another
thought, someone
announced my name. Now, I'm on my way to another little,
curtained-off space, where a nurse asked me the same
questions I had
given to other nurses three time already! I don't mind -
they're so
polite, and also very proficient.
"They
are
ready for you in the OR" announced someone - we're are
off
at 'high speed'. I'm invited to climb up onto an
operating slab,
"Lie
with
your head at this end - flat on your back" a nurse
explained - then, a masked man in a cloak -and-gown said
dryly,
"We
are
going to put you to sleep so you won't feel a thing, and
it will
all be over in a few minutes". (All over?? Now I
know
what a "death penalty by lethal injection" must
feel
like to the prisoner!) But ....it was all over in
less than a
heartbeat! The procedure had been done without any
passage of
time!
"How
do
you feel ?" asked a pleasant nurse, who really seemed to
care.
I
feel OK - no pain - no nausea - no problems.
"We
will
have to keep you here for a little while" she said (as
she
took my 'vitals') Then, someone covered me with a heated
sheet which
I deeply appreciated, as the OR was cold as a morgue.
"Could
you
eat some cookies and have something to drink?" she
asked.
That would be much appreciated, as I hadn't eaten since
4:00PM the
previous day, and it was now 1:30PM
Upon
my
'release' we headed for the nearest Tim's which was not
far from
the hospital or the high school kids - the store was
'packed', no
place to sit, so we proceeded to the next Tim's, it was
also
'closed'! On to the next town, only to find Tim's was
closed there
also!
"Can
you
believe it?!" shouted my driver, care-giver,
Daughter-in-law, Bettie. Only the "Drive-through' was
open in
all three Tim's we checked - the doors were locked!
Couldn't get in
even to use the washrooms! (We both had to pee badly!)
We finally had
to settle for that 'fast-food' store that "makes
hamburgers a
'beautiful thing" (Harvey's) What to do first?
Order food,
or relieve ourselves? We ordered food (one will die
without it, and I
was now 'fasting' for 22 hours! Much too long for a Type
Two
Diabetic!)
By
the
way, the 'procedure' I had done in the hospital in Owen
Sound is
officially called a "Cystoscopy" ( I
unofficially
call it "Up the spout - into the gutter") which, I
seriously recommend for anyone suffering incontinence.
Your
old,
and getting older, Uncle Russ.
****
The
Ontarion
Hello
everyone!
It’s
amazing
how quickly the leaves turned colour this year! It
seemed
that they did so much faster than they have most other
years! I was
watching the weather channel and they had an expert on
that said the
quicker the cold weather sets in the faster the
chlorophyll in the
leaves disappears and that facilitates the changing of
the colour of
the leaves! It also makes the colour a darker red and
once the final
chlorophyll has been subjected to the cold more than a
few days, the
colour tends to become lighter in shade! Thus, the trees
tend to look
a lot more yellow than red this time of year. I guess
that’s Mother
Nature’s way of painting the forests whatever colour she
wants!
This years colour scheme was changed in a hurry for sure
so I guess
Mother Nature just wanted to experiment a little more
than she did
other years. The trees on the boulevard across the
street from our
front porch were green for the longest time as others on
the street
had turned colour much earlier than them but I had
commented about
the ones across the street staying green longer than
most when not
more than two days after, they were a bright red and
orange mixture!
It’s amazing like I said that they can change so quickly
indeed!
This years colours have been and are an incredibly
beautiful mixture
of colours! They are a photographer’s dream if you’re
into taking
pictures of Mother Nature’s handy work! On the news the
other
night, there were dozens of people taking photos of the
forests up in
Algonquin Park from a viewing platform provided by the
park authority
of Ontario.
I
guess if you like to take pictures of such beauty, the
drive to
Algonquin Park would be worthwhile! However in reality,
one can stay
right here in the region, since we’ve got tons of
beautiful trees
in our own neighbourhoods! I’d like to apologize for the
shortness
of this week’s Ontarion but the beauty of Mother
Nature’s work
this year is about all that’s been on my mind lately and
the
Weather Channel brought that even further to mind when I
watched it
this week!
Thanks
for
tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all
again
next time in The Ontarion Report!
Bye
for
now … Greg!
****
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Care
The
Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property
of the persons writing them and should be respected as
such.
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