Breaking news. Really?

I am getting old. Maybe I am getting cranky. I heard a local news story this week described as “Breaking News!”  It wasn’t. Yeah it was local news, but breaking? Nahhhh. I remember when the term breaking news was something HUGE.  Everywhere you go now, everyone is talking breaking news.

We are only a few days away from November 22. That’s the anniversary of President Kennedy being shot to death. THAT was breaking news.

Last month we had the anniversary of the Yom Kippur war. I remember being in J-school and seeing the BULLETIN come across the wire. October 6, 1973. Back then the wire machine was a big Telex contraption. Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Holy crap. Five bells! It was the first time I had seen a bulletin coming in. OMG that was a word that gave goosebumps to news junkies. You knew some heavy shite was happening. Turns out that Israeli was inches away from being defeated by the Arab states. Israeli needed more jets and bombs to fight Egypt and Syria. They appealed to the U.S. for help. Nixon and Kissinger refused to help. Israel’s Prime Minister Golda Meir was tougher than both of them. She positioned an Israeli air force pilot into the cockpit of a jet fighter that sat on a runway ready to roll at a second’s notice. It was loaded with a nuclear bomb. Meir told the U.S. that if Israel came any closer to being defeated, she would destroy Egypt. The U.S. sent new jets.

THAT was breaking news. 

A nice tradition...

I was pleased to see a tradition continue this year in Timmins at the Cenotaph.  People who attended the Remembrance Day ceremony were placing their poppy on the steps of the cenotaph once the ceremony has ended. It’s a nice personal tribute I think. I am not sure how or when the tradition started. I first noticed it a few years ago and I am pleased that people do this. It was just as pleasing to see so many young people showing up at the ceremony, although it was cool with winds gusting up to 40 kilometres. Well done.

Tea is good eh

Okay, I am calm now. I can write about things without flipping out over the U.S. election results.

It was a good day. We’ve have had a couple of nice mild days in Timmins, a bit overcast, but the temps were warm, around 10 Celsius.

We have a few nice new coffee bars in the downtown area, which I think adds a pretty nice local flavour to our city. Yes, I still enjoy McDonald’s coffee and a Timmies dark roast, but today I got a nice cup of Red Rose for only 75-cents. That’s all they charge at the Coffee Warehouse, because you serve yourself. You can also pick and choose from a huge selection of Keurig coffee pods, and other tea-like infusions. 

They also have amazing muffins, cookies, sandwiches and other foods. I drive myself crazy walking by their pasta bar, it smells so incredibly good. The new shop is located in a former clothing shop, so the decor is pretty rich and upbeat. They kept a lot of the expensive wood paneling. Looks nice. 

So I think I have had only ten cups of coffee in the past month. I am definitely on the tea thing now. I don’t know if that is better for me or what, … but I don’t pee as much LOL. 

Fish and potatoes...

So we had a really nice supper Saturday of cod fish and potatoes, with some carrots and broccoli. I say nice because I was comfortable with eating the fish. In recent years, I have discovered that some of the traditional Canadian brands for fish are no longer Canadian. We were looking at buying some sole or haddock and there was that familiar picture of Captain Highliner on the label. But after reading the fine print, it revealed this fish was Product of China. So no, I will not eat fish from China. I do not trust their food industry at all. And why the hell is Highliner selling Chinese fish? We are being told, as older people, to eat more healthy foods. So I try, given that I usually like a healthy glass of whisky now and then.  After searching a bit more, we came across a European label that features fish caught wild in the North Atlantic near Norway. At least, that’s where the cod was caught. It is call Findus.

Well, let me tell you it tasted just like the nice Cod I used to eat when I was a kid. By the way, the potatoes were excellent. We mashed ‘em by using an electric mixer, the same kind you use when making cakes or muffins. Just add a bit of Philadelphia cream cheese and they taste fabulous. Just sayin’.

Could it really happen?

I think I am like a lot of folks these days, living in dread of whether Donald Trump will actually be elected to office. I don’t believe he is a stupid as he has been portrayed, but he is certainly not as smart as he might be. Certainly, he is not presidential in the sense that George Bush Sr. or JFK presented themselves. Mr. Trump is a disappointment, as is the Republican Party. 

What is truly disheartening is reading the stories in the U.S. media of how ordinary people seem so ready to accept this person and the things he stands for. I don’t see how people can overlook his obvious sins and be ready to vote for him. I think also there is an underlying current of people being against the idea of a woman being president. Come on. This is 2016. I also think there is a backlash against Obama. I think a lot of American citizens are still so upset at having had a black president, they will thumb their nose at the establishment by voting in Trump. And that’s fine. But I am still having a hard time accepting the level of popularity that Trump seems to be enjoying. I hope I am wrong.

Oh well, we will know by Tuesday night.

By the way, Tuesday is Ronald’s 60^th birthday. What a milestone for my little brother. No more war zones for that guy. Not unless somebody talks down about the Toronto Maple Leafs or Miller Genuine Draft.

And yes we are all getting older. Big brother Gary will be 65 in December.

Speaking of sports favourites, I can truly say I was more than pleased to see the Chicago Cubs win the World Series. I was never a rabid Cubs fan, ever. But when Cleveland beat the the Blue Jays, I could not cheer for Cleveland so I figured I would have to cheer for Chicago. Ask Claudette. We sat in her living room on more than one occasion with the TV blaring and me shouting at the plays.