Friday, another summer Friday : )

The sun was shining in Timmins today, but only briefly. I was out in the bush for a bit and saw a very nice blue flower. I don't know why, but I like BLUE flowers. So i snapped a nice close up. Hmmm... maybe i should make it into a nice framed print. It's a nice close-up if you click on the photo.
Today was also interesting because there's a bunch of people over at the college tearing apart old cars. It's an auto-extrication competition for small town fire departments. It's interesting because small town firefighters are usually the first ones called out when there is a bad auto crash on nearby highways. These guys have to know their stuff and how to rescue people who get trapped in car crashes.Also had a nice chat with Jenn this morning and it was good. But I feel guilty because I haven't seen the boys in awhile. I will have to do something about that soon eh.

In other news that day...

On Thursday I posted a photo from the front page of the Toronto Daily Star showing news about Apollo 11. If you noticed at the very bottom of that page, there was another interesting news story that happened at the same time. Yeppers,... That's when U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashed his car, drove off a bridge and left the scene of an accident and a woman in his car (wait a minute, he was a married man!) was left to die. Her name was Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy did not report the accident until her body was discovered the following day. It was a HUGE scandal back then.

End of an era

Walter Cronkite’s death on Friday indeed signifies the end of an era in journalism. He sure was admired, mainly because he was a straight shooter… no B.S. about Uncle Walter. I have read his book “A reporter’s life”. Interesting that Cronkite noted that TV journalism is losing its edge with soundbites being as short as eight-seconds. He also noted there is too much “entertainment” in TV news. “There is a powerful lot of junk on our airwaves.” Well said, Walter.

Hard to believe it was 40 years ago this day that the Apollo 11 rocket lifted off on the moon mission. I know my friends and I were amazed. Some of us wondered if it was really possible. I remember watching TV and seeing Walter Cronkite on, hour after hour, explaining how even though the rocket was travelling three times faster than a bullet, it would still take three days to reach the moon! I kept a copy of The Toronto Daily Star newspaper from back then. I took it out last night to read through it. Amazing times back then. The real funny part is there are still people who believe that it was all fake, that Apollo never actually reached the moon. Check it out here: http://www.newuniverse.co.uk/Apollo_Moon_Landing_hoax_accusations.html

Timmins rocks!

Construction in Timmins usually means there has to be some blasting. There is just so much rock all over the place. When somebody says Timmins rocks, they usually mean it literally. I was waiting in traffic on Ross Avenue today when the road crew had to blast the big rock on Texasgulf Road... That rock actually used to be an island because at one time this whole area was underwater as part of the original Gillies Lake. (Click on the pics to see 'em full size!) Here are a couple of shots; one taken just before the blast and then another taken seconds afterwards... ....BOOOMMMM!

Crazy times eh

Well it sure has been a crazy week since I was here last. Aline and I made the trip north to James Bay, but it was overcast and raining. The train was more than two hours late arriving on the coast and then it was late leaving, and then it was more than three hours late arriving back in Cochrane. Thank goodness for the trip to the liquor store where we grabbed some Bacardi Breezers and drank them on the sly! We did meet an actress, author and opera singer on the trip. All the same person! Quite an interesting lady she was. Also met a fellow from Washington DC… he gave me his business card and he was from the US State Department -- and get this -- he was the Director for Political Affairs in Iraq. Okay, I have read too many spy novels. This guy is not from Foggy Bottom. He had Company written all over him! But he was nice to talk to.
Anyway, the train trip was 20 hours of less-than-great travelling. But I did manage to beat Aline at Crazy Eights somewhere around Otter Rapids. She will deny it of course.
Work has been good this week, but today I had to write an obit for an old friend. That sort of ruined the day. Jim Prince died of a heart attack Wednesday. That just sucks. Jim was just a damned good reporter and broadcaster. I’m sorry I didn’t make the time to check in with him more often.
Had dinner at Aline’s place with her Mom and Dad. She made barbecue pork chops and mashed potatoes. I like meat and potatoes. With all the fancy foods we can pick from these days, it’s nice to have meat and potatoes.

The Flag March

Timmins has a nice tradition which has been on for nearly 15 years.Every Canada Day, rain or shine, a group of local citizens takes part in a flag march, and they walk a couple of miles to a local park where they sing O Canada. And sure enough, even though it was raining steadily this morning in Timmins, the people were out with the flags and smiles. It's a nice thing. So Happy Canada Day.