Quite the year eh?

I think the most dismaying part of the past year has been running into people who say, well Donald Trump is not so bad. Leaves me wondering. There were probably people back in my parents' day who were not worried about Hitler too. When people are complacent or choose to ignore stupidity, then bad things can happen. Oh I am sure I will hear about that comment.
Oh well, that being said, I can say that the past month has been nice in many ways. Claudette and I traveled to Sudbury to spend a couple of days with Jennifer and her family last week. That was relaxing and enjoyable. It was nice to see the boys, to see Scott and to see Denise and Don.  We missed meeting Victoria and her boyfriend who were on their way to Timmins. Likely, we passed by each other on the highway Christmas morning.
While it was great to visit Jenn and Scott, I have to say I still miss their dog Buddy. He was always there to greet me when I arrived in their driveway. More than once this Christmas I glanced out of Jenn's kitchen window expecting to see Buddy running through the snow or patrolling the yard.
Jenn had to work Christmas Day at the hospital, but we were pleased to wait until evening to have our gift exchange. Jennifer's FitBit showed she had done more than 15,000 steps that day! Regardless, I am proud that Jennifer is working to help other cancer patients.
It was nice to see Jenn and family earlier in the month when the boys had a hockey tournament in Timmins. This is the last time Tyler and Nathan will be playing on the same team. Nathan turned 16 in November and Tyler will be 18 in April. But it was nice just the same to see the boys enjoying the game. The team won the gold medal, again, in Timmins. Both boys did well, scoring often. In one game, Tyler scored a hat-trick, getting three goals!

I have been super busy at work as expected. Postmedia has not been the corporate savior many people were hoping for. They closed several newspapers in Southern Ontario in the fall. While we were spared layoffs here in Timmins, they have not hired anyone new to replace people who moved on to other newspapers. The effect is the same. Oh well, we struggle forward.

I think the worst part is that our news work is coming under increased scrutiny from the social media know-it-all keyboard warriors who like to think they know better. When they see a story they "disagree" with they label it fake news. If only they knew how much research goes into fact-checking and other steps to ensure our information is accurate. I have been saving screen captures of their comments to hold them accountable if they try to backpedal. They're just as bad as Donald Trump and his tweets.  2018 will be an election year in Timmins, and I think some of them might try to run for office. God help us.