Still the frozen white north…but inching toward spring at a snail’s pace…
“From Nakina”…
Nakina Legion Branch #116….
…is hosting a St Patrick’s Day Supper Sat March 17th! On the menu…Irish Stew, Salads, Homemade Biscuits and Desserts Galore!! Supper is served at 5: 30 PM….Adults ONLY $12….Children under 12 ONLY $6….and Kids under 4 Eat Free/Gratis!!! So….SO….we don’t have a bank here anymore; we don’t have a restaurant here anymore, and now we don’t have a grocery store here anymore (*see below). BUT….we DO have a Legion! So come on out and support them Saturday night! Everyone’s Welcome!!!
Northern Store Update
Actually, by the tyme this week’s Times-Star hits the stores Wednesday, the Nakina Northern will be history. March 14th is the date given for the actual closing…yet I know not if it’s locking up at the end of the business day Wed, or at the start of it? Also, the Northern is one of two locations where the T-Star is sold here, the other being PTS, aka Pennocks. By the bye, I noticed last week Rob and Sharon have ‘added to their inventory’ somewhat….’everyday items’ that folks might have picked up at The Northern in the past (*see above). Yours truly came upon an interesting Facebook*tm item by EJ Lavoie last week, which, in part, dealt with the ‘history’ (*see below) of the Nakina Northern as well as previous store owners at that same location….an interesting read. As to the future of the property….Rotzy hasn’t seen/heard signs of any person/group wanting to take the reigns from The Northwest Company, but you never know. I DO know that I’m gonna ‘have some tyme on my hands’ because as of Wednesday, my once or twice daily ‘stop and shops’ there will also be history (*see above). Best of luck to all Northern employees from Jo Ann and me!
Some Tyme On My Hands….
….might take the olde guy to a place I haven’t been since 1962….in school. Rotzy’s formal education came to an abrupt end part way through my second attempt at Grade 10 at Pauline Johnson CVS in Brantford Ontario. I was actually doing WORSE than my first try, hence it clearly was tyme to move on. Besides, who could resist making .70 cents an hour for stocking shelves and bagging groceries in a supermarket??!! So….SO….”why would you want to do this NOW”?? you ask. Well, it’s a ‘thing’ I’ve long thought about….I even tried a government-assisted course back in the 1980’s, but my job ate up too much tyme, so it got back-burnered. Anyway, I made contact with Contact North here in town, and in spite of turning 73 next month, Rotzy could be ‘hitting the books’ again(!)….tho apparently they don’t use books anymore? Well, if….IF….I can do this by sitting in front of a PC for one or two hours a day, three or four tymes a week, just MAYBE I can have a Grade 12 Diploma on the wall here at “F/N” HQ??!! Which in turn would/could open job opportunities galore….you think? So….SO…. I said (to myself) “Well Toad….you RETIRED in April 2000….what are you thinking”?! Then I replied….”Perhaps to fulfill a lifelong dream”? Adding “That’s a crock if ever I heard one!……but it would be kinda nice.” Well, the next day a local friend says to me ”Hey Rotzy….it WOULD ‘make you more hireable”! Anyway, I decided to check into it….but it seems it isn’t gonna be easy….I’ve called Contact North’s 1-800 number twice….spent quite a while ‘On Hold’ but haven’t spoken ro a real/ive person as of yet, still I remain hopeful/optimistic. By the bye, C/N has REALLY lousy ‘elevator music’ in the background!
Markham Convention Hall….
….was the chosen venue for the Ontario PC’s Leadership Vote last Saturday. Sorry, Ont Conservatives, but that whole enchilada was/is like a gathering of people trying out for Yuk-Yuks. I take the liberty of using ‘past and present tense’, because it wasn’t/isn’t over. Doug Ford won, and that calls for some laughter for viewers, ‘canned or real’…but wait a minute, maybe he didn’t win! Runner-up Christine Elliott did not ‘concede’ the victory to Ford due to numerous ‘irregularities’….and tho The Dougster won ONE vote counting method, she grabbed THREE other vote counts, which calls for MORE laughs! One of my favourite ‘moments’ was when they sat Tim Hudak in front of the camera for his expert advice. Of course, Timmy was one of the Liberals best friends in Queens Park for years. Hey, I’m sure they’ll pick one eventually, so stay tuned.
Curling And Stuff
As always, it’s Sunday AM as I write this “F/N” column ….the wrap-up day for the Men’s Brier and Rotzy is really getting tired of guys yelling “Hard, Hard, Hard ” and other shouts of encouragement for the past ten days. Not too long after hearing the Ladies screaming the same stuff a week or two back during the Ladies Scotties bonspiel. It don’t seem to bother Miz. Jo as she locks in three tymes daily. So….SO….I wondered why I appeared to be ‘drifting away’ from a game I had become quite a fan of after we moved up here…maybe even before that! Well folks, the more I think about it, the more convinced I become that it’s ‘bitterness”. Yes sir/m’am
and it’s directed at the Curling Gods, who stripped me of a promising career some four years ago at the age of about 68 when I took The Big Fall. Othwise yours truly could be there for Northern Ontario. Or, do they allow ‘sticks’ in The Brier?
*Thought Of The Day…Diid you know that “Dammit I’m Mad” spelled backwards is ”Dammit I’m Mad”?
“From Nakina…until next tyme.
