I never did this before ...

Was pleased to go out and spend time with friends at a house party this weekend. It was nice in the sense that it was a chance to have some really good conversation. At one point I remember thinking, how is it possible for so many people to be talking all at once? It was just a huge cacophony of voices. Anyway, around midnight, I figured it was time to go. After four hours, I had nursed only two drinks. I was hungry and had not had supper. I was ready to grab a cab, but didn't need to. So as I was driving home, I saw Chez Nous ... the most popular place for poutine in Timmins. It's also where Shania used to go when she was a teen. So I stopped, went in and placed an order. About seven minutes later the lady handed me the take out bag (I also ordered a burger) and I went home. Okay, now I know. Now I know why so many people go to this place. The poutine just tasted so so sooooo good. Yes, I have tasted it before ... but this was the first time I went in and bought the stuff. This was all mine. I could savour every french fry, ... every lump of cheese ... and every piece drenched in gravy! Yeah, it was that good.

We carry on ...

It’s Saturday morning after a nice week; well nice for the most part. Tea and cake for breakfast is a good thing. I was looking at the newspaper Thursday morning. It is the last newspaper that will be printed in Timmins. From now on the papers are going to be printed at a press plant down south, and the papers will be trucked north. Our parent company Quebecor made that decision. It means the six guys in the press plant here at our paper are being laid off. Not a happy time. Our press plant had printed the Timmins Press, The Timmins Times, as well as the newspapers in Kapuskasing, Hearst, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls and Kirkland Lake. It's a shame they're closing our plant. I wonder how much thought goes into that kind of decision. It may save a few dollars today, but if the price of fuel goes up, who knows. I enjoyed some television last night, by watching Netflix. I am pleased to report that The West Wing is being presented. So I am watching it again. It was a great show that began in the late 1990s and ran for a few seasons … one of the best television shows I can remember. I had a pleasant evening Wednesday, when I attended a local coffee house where an event called Timmins Voices is presented. In this case, the voice was Diane Armstrong, our main columnist at The Times. She did a reading from her latest book. That was nice. It was also nice to see so many young people there, as well as a few oldies, who did poetry readings. When is the last time you sat down and listened to poetry? Exactly! It was just excellent. Some folks at the microphone were getting really personal and pouring their hearts out. I plan to be at the next one. It is Mine Rescue time in the North. That’s when Mine Rescue teams from the various mines compete for bragging rights. Kidd Operations won this year, at an event held last weekend. Second year in a row. Congrats to them and my brother-in-law Moe the miner, who has been part of Kidd mine rescue for 20 years. Team Kidd are also the defending champs for Ontario. ( I am proud of this because I am a former Kidd mine rescue man.) So in June, all the winning mine rescue teams will be in Timmins to once again, compete for the title of best mine rescue team in the province. By the way, this is the May long weekend. Saturday morning and there are snow flurries outside. The river is rising, and the city has set up sand-bagging stations because flooding is expected any time now. Life in Timmins … it goes on. People just carry on.

Books, and the pretty sales girl.

So I read a lot. It’s my vice. I bought more than 35 books last year alone. I was shopping on the weekend when I dropped in to Coles just to see what might be new and interesting. I was really just browsing. A pretty sales girl walked up and asked if I was interested in anything specific. Not much, I told her, but I do like history. She picked up a nice looking hardcover and handed it to me. It looked interesting. I flipped it over. The comments on the back cover seemed enticing. Okay, so I bought it. I got home and a few hours later cracked open the new book. Damn! It wasn’t really history… it was more of a science fiction novel with a history twist to it. I don’t know why I bought it or what I was looking at or thinking of, when the pretty girl handed it to me. Thankfully, I have other books waiting to be read. I guess I will save the science fiction for the day when I am in a nursing home, sneaking out the back door to enjoy some cigars and whiskey…