Rotz’ waxes nostalgic…maybe it was so, maybe it wasn’t.
Readers Write….
….all about being Canadian (*see below). And, by and large, the points listed here make nothing but sense….check ’em out. 1/ Whoever said ”Do the job right the first tyme and you’ll never have to do it again” never shovelled a Canadian driveway. 2/ Fact: Every Canadian kid has almost died sledding. 3/ Funn fact: If it wasn’t for our ‘erratic’ weather, 9 out of 10 Canadians wouldn’t know how to start a conversation. (*think about that one for a minute) 4/ Then again, the best reminder of why you/we live in Canada is watching American politics.
On The Other Hand….
….things seem to be changing these days….or maybe it’s just that looking at things through 73-yr old eyes cast a different image on stuff than how someone perhaps between 25 and, say 40 or so, might interpret things. I’m talking about ‘snow days’ and how many/most/all area school boards are cancelling classes with what appears to be a greater regularity than in the past….from kindergarten to college, and everything in between. But maybe that’s just Rotzy’s take on things. For starters I don’t/can’t recall them happening at all during my school days here in Brantford….but there are a LOT of things I forget from that long ago. Anyway, I believe that Brant, Haldiman and (parts of the GTA have shut them down FOUR tymes in the new year thus far….two Snow Days, one Freezing Rain and one Too Cold. Well, as they put it….something about ”to err on the side of caution da da da da da”…..well yours truly is not gonna argue that point, tho I do wonder if some level of ‘paranoia’ is affecting the thinking process of those making ‘THE decision’??!! But the pace the school year has slowed down to may have the kids sitting at their desk in mid-July, you think? All I know is that my/our generation survived, and everybody’s heard stories of us tromping five miles to school through snow that was 5 ft deep, the temp was -35F, but we ‘toughed it out’ (*see above). OK, OK, OK….in truth it wasn’t five MILES from 59 Peel St to Major Ballachey PS, it’s five BLOCKS; the snow wasn’t five feet deep….maybe two?….and the thermometer was closer to -10 or -15F….tho sometymes it MIGHT have hit -35F since Global Warming wasn’t invented for another 40 or 50 years. Hey, you can draw your own conclusions to Snow Days….Rotzy can’t imagine sitting at my desk in Major Ballachey July 16/1953!
In My Jan 30th “F/N” Column….
….I had written about the efficient snow clearing of the parking lot here at 555 Harris Place, and the three-man team that went at the 2 inches (perhaps 2 1/2?) of overnite snow with a dogged determination I don’t think I’d ever seen….the Bobcat*tm with the big plow blade on it; the tractor pulling the scraper behind it ‘Zamboni-style’, and the plow truck that was also spreading several tonnes of salt. They had begun at about 5:30AM and were still going strong at 3:00PM tho Rotzy is not sure why, so I gave them a ‘thumbs up’ in that column. Well, last Tuesday (the 12th) a well-advertised storm arrived during the night….3-4 inches on the ground when I went out for coffee and a puff at 6:00AM which is when it switched to ‘snow pellets’, before it became ‘freezing rain’, then just ‘rain’ about 10:00. A real mess!! Alas, where was our cracker jack plowing team? you ask. I dunno, but they rolled in around 3:00PM dont’cha know, altho ‘they’ was actually Bobcat Man….who was obviously having problems with the mess, and in some areas he actually made things worse. And ‘the team’? The truck showed the next day….still no tractor. Where the hell is Rob The (Nakina) Plowman when we need him? He’d get it done!! Hey, it….the mess…. falls on Skyline Living, the kindly owners/keepers of the three buildings here, nobody else. But Miz. Jo wonders if they spent their entire snow budget for 2019 on January 27th!!….and methinks she just may be right at that. Sadly….VERY sadly indeed….with some 80% of these buildings being seniors, we see a LOT of walkers and wheel chairs, and many/most of those out walking their little dogs….on walkways that are STILL not cleared and more resembling a sheet of ice. (I heard there have been several falls) Also ‘sadly’….one of our key staffer/managers was quite sick pretty well all week. I’m sorry….really….but that just doesn’t wash….nor does it help if you’re crippled up and your miniature poodle has to ‘go pee’. We are all looking for a BIG improvement from Skyline next tyme it snows!
It’s That Tyme Again!!
And altho a ‘portion’ of Nakinaites will be tuned into NASCAR’S Daytona 500 today, the vast majority will be locked into The 2019 Scotties Tournament Of Hearts….because in Nakina, Curling Rules! Right after Bingo that is. Actually some of the Daytona watchers will flip back and forth to check on Rachel Homan, Jennifer Jones and suporting cast. Of course Miz. Jo is a BIG rock and broom fan, hence for the next week yours truly gets to hear women from the provinces, territories….including Nunavut for the first tyme….screaming (far too loudly) HARD, HARD, HARD…..YES, YES, YES….NO, NO, NO….NEVER…..LET IT CURL….LET IT CURL!!! I’ve seen/heard they say ”S–T” and even worse but the ‘8 second delay’ guy in the truck usually catches it and adds a ‘bleep’. Anyway, Jo Ann is a Homan fan and I’m for Jones. I was going with McCarville last nite but I don’t think Northern Ont is strong enough. I’d like to be wrong.
*Thought Of The Day…I’m not perfect but I am Canadian and that’s close enough.
Readers Write….
….all about being Canadian (*see below). And, by and large, the points listed here make nothing but sense….check ’em out. 1/ Whoever said ”Do the job right the first tyme and you’ll never have to do it again” never shovelled a Canadian driveway. 2/ Fact: Every Canadian kid has almost died sledding. 3/ Funn fact: If it wasn’t for our ‘erratic’ weather, 9 out of 10 Canadians wouldn’t know how to start a conversation. (*think about that one for a minute) 4/ Then again, the best reminder of why you/we live in Canada is watching American politics.
On The Other Hand….
….things seem to be changing these days….or maybe it’s just that looking at things through 73-yr old eyes cast a different image on stuff than how someone perhaps between 25 and, say 40 or so, might interpret things. I’m talking about ‘snow days’ and how many/most/all area school boards are cancelling classes with what appears to be a greater regularity than in the past….from kindergarten to college, and everything in between. But maybe that’s just Rotzy’s take on things. For starters I don’t/can’t recall them happening at all during my school days here in Brantford….but there are a LOT of things I forget from that long ago. Anyway, I believe that Brant, Haldiman and (parts of the GTA have shut them down FOUR tymes in the new year thus far….two Snow Days, one Freezing Rain and one Too Cold. Well, as they put it….something about ”to err on the side of caution da da da da da”…..well yours truly is not gonna argue that point, tho I do wonder if some level of ‘paranoia’ is affecting the thinking process of those making ‘THE decision’??!! But the pace the school year has slowed down to may have the kids sitting at their desk in mid-July, you think? All I know is that my/our generation survived, and everybody’s heard stories of us tromping five miles to school through snow that was 5 ft deep, the temp was -35F, but we ‘toughed it out’ (*see above). OK, OK, OK….in truth it wasn’t five MILES from 59 Peel St to Major Ballachey PS, it’s five BLOCKS; the snow wasn’t five feet deep….maybe two?….and the thermometer was closer to -10 or -15F….tho sometymes it MIGHT have hit -35F since Global Warming wasn’t invented for another 40 or 50 years. Hey, you can draw your own conclusions to Snow Days….Rotzy can’t imagine sitting at my desk in Major Ballachey July 16/1953!
In My Jan 30th “F/N” Column….
….I had written about the efficient snow clearing of the parking lot here at 555 Harris Place, and the three-man team that went at the 2 inches (perhaps 2 1/2?) of overnite snow with a dogged determination I don’t think I’d ever seen….the Bobcat*tm with the big plow blade on it; the tractor pulling the scraper behind it ‘Zamboni-style’, and the plow truck that was also spreading several tonnes of salt. They had begun at about 5:30AM and were still going strong at 3:00PM tho Rotzy is not sure why, so I gave them a ‘thumbs up’ in that column. Well, last Tuesday (the 12th) a well-advertised storm arrived during the night….3-4 inches on the ground when I went out for coffee and a puff at 6:00AM which is when it switched to ‘snow pellets’, before it became ‘freezing rain’, then just ‘rain’ about 10:00. A real mess!! Alas, where was our cracker jack plowing team? you ask. I dunno, but they rolled in around 3:00PM dont’cha know, altho ‘they’ was actually Bobcat Man….who was obviously having problems with the mess, and in some areas he actually made things worse. And ‘the team’? The truck showed the next day….still no tractor. Where the hell is Rob The (Nakina) Plowman when we need him? He’d get it done!! Hey, it….the mess…. falls on Skyline Living, the kindly owners/keepers of the three buildings here, nobody else. But Miz. Jo wonders if they spent their entire snow budget for 2019 on January 27th!!….and methinks she just may be right at that. Sadly….VERY sadly indeed….with some 80% of these buildings being seniors, we see a LOT of walkers and wheel chairs, and many/most of those out walking their little dogs….on walkways that are STILL not cleared and more resembling a sheet of ice. (I heard there have been several falls) Also ‘sadly’….one of our key staffer/managers was quite sick pretty well all week. I’m sorry….really….but that just doesn’t wash….nor does it help if you’re crippled up and your miniature poodle has to ‘go pee’. We are all looking for a BIG improvement from Skyline next tyme it snows!
It’s That Tyme Again!!
And altho a ‘portion’ of Nakinaites will be tuned into NASCAR’S Daytona 500 today, the vast majority will be locked into The 2019 Scotties Tournament Of Hearts….because in Nakina, Curling Rules! Right after Bingo that is. Actually some of the Daytona watchers will flip back and forth to check on Rachel Homan, Jennifer Jones and suporting cast. Of course Miz. Jo is a BIG rock and broom fan, hence for the next week yours truly gets to hear women from the provinces, territories….including Nunavut for the first tyme….screaming (far too loudly) HARD, HARD, HARD…..YES, YES, YES….NO, NO, NO….NEVER…..LET IT CURL….LET IT CURL!!! I’ve seen/heard they say ”S–T” and even worse but the ‘8 second delay’ guy in the truck usually catches it and adds a ‘bleep’. Anyway, Jo Ann is a Homan fan and I’m for Jones. I was going with McCarville last nite but I don’t think Northern Ont is strong enough. I’d like to be wrong.
*Thought Of The Day…I’m not perfect but I am Canadian and that’s close enough.
