Group Hug!

If you're anywhere near Timmins, one of the things you get to see a lot of are claim posts.  These posts were put up by prospectors on what is obviously a good claim ...  because there are so many posts.  To me it kind of looks like a group hug of claim posts!  It's kind of interesting, because anyone can stake a claim, but it is the first one who gets back to the Mining Recorders office who becomes the owner of the claim.  That's all going to change in the next year or so.  The Ontario government, based in that awful far away place called Toronto, has deemed that claims can now be staked on computers! It sounds modern but it is not. This means that whoever has the fastest computer, or biggest bank of computers (meaning the large corporates) now get the edge over the lowly hardworking prospector who spends his days on the land looking for gold, silver and diamonds. It will be a sad day to see prospectors leaving the land.

More forest fires ...

A bit of excitement Sunday. Another major forest fire broke out south of Timmins. This one caused a massive smoke plume in the sky… was like an eclipse. It just blotted out the sun. I had some explaining to do when a Natural Resources helicopter crew wondered what I was doing in an area they said was too close to the fire. I snapped a photo of them checking out my vehicle. I was on a nearby hilltop getting shots of the fire zone.

Busy week in the bush!

Two things to report on this week. One ... the black flies are out! Oh Yeah, the little buggers were everywhere this week as I had a couple of assignments in the bush. Second item - I saw Don and Denise this week, but I sure didn't expect to see them. They were evacuees from Timmins Forest Fire No.7, which broke out Monday. All the people of Westree were ordered to leave their homes Monday night as the fire appeared to be getting too close. As it turned out, the 200 hectare fire began to move away from the Westree and Morin Village areas on Tuesday. So I drove down Tuesday to snap a few photos. I was able to get past the roadblock and into a remote bush area where I could get a few extra photos. But the wind was carrying embers on the fire and before we knew it, there were little fires popping up all around us, and the whole area began to get very smokey ... so we scooted out of there very quickly. We also dropped by the relief camp where the evacuees were staying. It was nice to say hello and to have a quick chat with Denise and Don and some of their neighbours.

Once there was a real hero ...

This week was interesting in that I spent part of Thursday and then Friday covering the annual competition of the Ontario Mine Rescue teams in Timmins. A lot of people don’t know that Ontario’s own mine rescue program began in Timmins after a terrible fire at the Hollinger Mine back in 1928. Thirty-nine miners died. I wrote a history piece on it for this week’s paper and posted in online as well. One of the most interesting parts came from the testimony at the official Royal Commission inquiry into the disaster. During the inquiry, the story came out about a miner named George Zolob who was trapped with several other men below the 600 level. Poisonous smoke was creeping through the tunnels, but Zolob decided he couldn’t sit there and die. He tore his coveralls into strips of cloth to make primitive face masks for himself and the other six men. Zolob then crawled on his hands and knees through the smoke and darkness to find the shaft leading to surface. Once there he was able to get to the cage (elevator) and get himself and the other miners rescued. Incredible! So here’s the good part. I took a phone call this morning and discovered that Zolob’s daughter is alive, living at the Golden Manor senior’s home. She was pleased with the story and I get to meet her and her son, Zolob’s grandson, on Monday. By the way, the story was told before. It was in the New York Times on February 11th, 1928 … front page! (Click on the image for a larger version.)

Yup, did it again. Silly me!

So I had to do some catch up on my laundry last night... close to midnight. Without thinking, I grabbed the hamper and threw it all in the washer. Only when I pulled my jeans out did I notice the black spot... a big yucky black spot where my pen leaked out. Yep, I left a pen in my jeans pocket. Then I remembered I might have left phone in the pocket too. Yup! Of course, it wasn't working at all so I pulled the battery out and put the phone on a table to dry out. Luckily I had a phone from two years ago sitting in my desk. So I changed the SIM cards and everything is fine. The old phone is working perfectly. I just have to get used to all the buttons again! And I will have to buy some new jeans. Threw the other ones out last night.

Silly photo.

Somedays I shoot a silly photograph at a serious situation. There was a small fire at the Mac's corner store Monday night... the sign out front was a bit funny. So I snapped the photo.

Un - photos. Huh?

So I met a news photographer in Vancouver a couple of years ago who showed me his collection of Un-photographs. Un-photographs are those photos that show up on your digital camera card and you have no idea where they came from. I knew exactly what he meant. My cams are sensitive and sometimes will shoot off a frame or two before I get set up for a news photo. I have seen one or two shots of my shoes that were taken as I had the cams hanging from my shoulder. So this week, I was at a fire scene at about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday when these Un-photos "happened". Maybe I should start a collection eh?

Global warming ... is over?

Yeah so this was the weather Timmins woke up to this morning. It was only a few weeks ago that we were enjoying sunshine and warm weather, but now this ... yeah, I know, I know... climate change. Well climate is what you're supposed to expect. Weather is what you get.

Books, books and Bo Duke!

So I have been reading like a fiend in the past few weeks, and even though I feel guilty spending so much time reading, it has been worth it. First of all the nice weather changed into yukky rainy weather for a while, so it was good to grab a cup of Red Rose and bury my nose in the pages. Since March 30th I have gone through six books and I am about two thirds the way through the seventh book!

The latest book is a Ken Follett novel called World Without End, which is a sequel to Pillars of the Earth, one of my all time favourite books. The woman at Coles told me I should go back and re-read Pillars, but I didn't take her advice. Now that I am so deep into World Without End, (about 1000 pages with SMALL print) I think I will take the advice and go back an re-read Pillars. This stuff is like chocolate. Some of these books are so excellent. So I am making a new list of authors I haven't read for awhile and I will be visiting the book store soon. If you haven't read Follett's stuff lately, treat yourself. Pillars and World Without End is all about life in small villages in feudal England from the tenth century to the 13th century. Amazing stuff. You won't be able to put the books down... real page turners. I did break away from the books for awhile yesterday ... I went out Saturday night with friends. We all ended up at a house party playing a game of Rock and Roll trivia. I feared that I wouldn't know a thing about it ... because I don't much attention to the "new" music. Well it turned out to be about rock performers from 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Luckily I knew my answers. Neil (the music expert in the family) would have been proud.

Planning some fun with Tyler and Nathan

Spent a bit of time on the Internet last night planning a trip to the big city with the boys. It's going to happen in June. Haven't worked out all the details yet, but I know we will be staying in a very nice hotel. That's my travel rule... always get a nice hotel room and you will have a good trip!

ATV Adventure

Easter Weekend was a bit more fun than I imagined it would be. I was pleased to be able to get down to Westree to the Alexander camp to spend time with Jennifer, Scott and her boys Tyler and Nathan, Don and Denise Alexander, along with Christine, Dimitrios and Victoria. I got into relaxation mode right away. As soon as I arrived, Denise was serving appetizers. We had all wonderful seafood dinner, and there was a fabulous full moon Friday night. We sat around the big fire and enjoyed drinks and conversation.

Saturday proved to be a big adventure. It was decided we’d go on an ATV ride and have a picnic at a nearby lake. So we head out on what was supposed to be a two hour trip. But the trails were a bit mucky in places and that slowed us down quite a bit.
The real fun began we came to a part of the road that was washed out. The washout was old and was not supposed to be much of a challenge. But the beavers had been at work creating dams, so there was too much water to cross the washout. There was a bit upper dam with the big pond behind it and a lower dam with a small pond about a metre deep.
I took a minute to enjoy the fact that we could see a couple of the beavers working on their little house in the middle of the pond. Look right in the centre of the second photo.





After a bit of discussion, Scott and Don determined the washout could be crossed if they could figure a way to lower the water level in the lower dam. I thought, No Way! But Scott and the boys set to work tearing out sticks and mud from the lower dam with their bare hands. Well, what do ya know? After several minutes the water began receding. Don was able to cross the washout with the bigger ATV, but a couple of the smaller bikes had to be “walked” across the upper dam. Sure enough, those fellas did the job and got everyone across. Who would’ve believed that?

After awhile we all stopped by a perfect Northern Ontario lake and had pop and sandwiches. No wonder Westree people smile a lot. After that nice little break, we made our way home. The two hour trip took more than four hours, but it sure was fun.

Happy April

I got a real kick out of the fact that the boys called Saturday morning with BDay withes for old Papa Lenny. It was fun to chat with them. They're still kids, but they talk about lots of interesting things... they're pretty thoughtful. So yes Saturday was a good day to buy myself a gift. Sure enough, I found myself browsing the shelves at Coles where I picked up two news book by two of my favourite authors, Ted Bell and Ken Follett. So that will keep me occupied for a week or two. I also bought an apple pie! Got home, put the tea on, cut a slice of pie and began reading. Before long it was nine oclock. I forgot all about the Earth Hour thing about shutting off lights for one hour. I sure wasn't going to read in the dark. So I poured a Jameson and drank a toast to all the environmentalists out there.
So today is April and that means it is Tyler's Birthday. No foolin! He is twelve years old. I will get to see him on Friday. That will be fun.Here's a pic of Ty and Princess Curly Mom in Timmins last summer.
April will also have Earth Day. I know that the local school kids head out on the local highways every year on Earth Day to pick up litter. It makes them feel good. So I am going to do my part. I will take my Tim Horton's paper coffee cup and toss it out the window that day, so the kids will have something to pick up and they will feel so good about themselves.


Just Kidding!!!

Feeding my addictions...

So March is almost gone, but I have been feeding my addiction. Books. It was one night about two weeks ago, I getting ready for bed when I suddenly realized I had read all my recent books. I had nothing new to read. I panicked. I ran to the bookcase and searched for something to read. Next morning I was up and off to the book store where I bought four new novels. So I have read two and began reading the third one last night. I am heading out to buy more books this weekend. I am also thinking of buying an e-reader, one of those little tablets. But I am still not sure if I will use it or like it as much as holding a book.
Anyway, super, crazy, busy news month. You may have heard about the big tractor trailer crash near Timmins this week… a truck hauling coins from the Mint hit a rock cut on Highway 11 and spilled several million dollars worth of loonies and twoonies all over the roadway. Bizarre. The unfortunate part is that the two Brinks employees suffered serious injuries and they will be getting medical attention for weeks, if not months.
I have another addiction. Grapefruit. I used to think they were bitter tasting, but not anymore. I actually had one for supper this week. I find them so juicy and slurpy good.
March in Timmins has had some unusual weather. We had temperatures last week in the mid-twenties! How crazy is that? Things seem to be back to normal now. It’s minus 11 right now and I can accept that. There is very little snow left in the bush and the rivers are running high. I am going to predict this will be a rough season for forest fires. Come May and June, it’s gonna be pretty smoky around here.
I was talking to Jennifer this past week and she and her family are all well. We will all be heading to camp for the Easter weekend so that will be nice.

Quite the change eh?

So if you check out the photo and the note I posted here last Monday, you will note the temperature was MINUS 30! Well it's Sunday afternoon in Timmins and the temperature is now PLUS 20! What's with that?

Sad news, good news ...

It was upsetting today to learn that a dog near Sudbury has died after valiant efforts by veterinarians and ordinary people. The dog was discovered last week wandering along a bush road after it had been shot in the face, twice, by shotgun blasts. Remarkably the dog was alive long enough that people driving by were able to pick him up and bring him to a vet for surgery. The dog was nicknamed Buddy and although he seemed to be recovering, his heart failed Friday. It is so sad that somebody would try to kill the animal and just leave him. I can’t imagine how that dog suffered. If somebody doesn’t want their dog anymore there are ways to look after that by having the animal adopted out by the local pound or the Humane Society. It is frustrating that this happens.
Jennifer and Scott and their boys have a dog. He too is named Buddy. He’s pretty special. Every time I arrive at Jenn’s place, he wanders over to the truck and waits for me to get out of the vehicle. This is a photo of Buddy and Neil at Christmas, with Buddy sucking up to get a treat. My best memories of Buddy were when Jennifer was in the hospital and I would visit her. When I came back to the house, it’s like Buddy knew where I had been and he would circle around me several times, nosing and sniffing knowing that I had been visiting Jennifer.
Okay I have some “apartment guy” news to share. I finally have a “door thingy”. In my building, most tenants have some sort of a Welcome ornament on their front doors. I never had one, but thought it would be nice to get one. I just never saw anything I liked whenever I went out shopping. To be honest I never gave it a lot of thought. I was snooping through my bookcase this week when I noticed the eagle head carving. Neil gave it to me at Christmas. It’s a piece of street art carved by a Nootka aboriginal guy in Vancouver. Neil said he always gives the guy a few bucks in return for a piece of unique street art. Suddenly I knew what this was… It’s a door thingy! It's on my door right below the little peep hole. So now, on those evenings when I have sipped an extra whisky and I am tip-toeing home from the pub, I will know for certain what door is mine.

March mornings ...

Today was one of those typical deep-of-winter mornings in Timmins when the smoke from the chimney's just hangs in the air. And yup, like the thermometer shows, it was cold. Minus 30. I didn't plug the vehicle in, but it started just fine. I am really liking that Jeep engine. Sunday morning was a windy March morning, with gusts up to 45 Kilometres per hour. In one Timmins neighbourhood it was enough to send a portable car shelter up into the air like a kite, where in got tangled in the wires at a neighbour's house.

As usual, click on the pics to see them in a larger size.

Schumacher celebrates

There’s a little part of Timmins known as the community of Schumacher. It’s a tight-knit little mining town left over from the glory days of the McIntyre gold mine. Schumacher is not a pretty place; it’s a rough little reminder of the hard working who lived there for so many years. But it’s the people that make it special. March 1st is the 100th anniversary of the town. It is named after a fellow known as Frederick Schumacher, a mine financier who made his fortune in the early days of Timmins. So the next few days will be a lot of fun in Schumacher as they celebrate their centennial. I know I am going to have fun. I like Schumacher and that's probably one of the reasons I have taken so many photos of the old McIntyre Mine headframe, such as this one, which has the look of an old postcard. One of the nicest tributes will be a re-enactment of the walk from the townsite up the hill to the mine gate. It’s a walk that was taken by thousands of miners over the years, as they left home each morning, or evening, and went to work at the mine. In a lot of cases, wives and children would accompany the men to the mine gate; it was a social thing. So Thursday night, at 7:00 p.m., the whole town is invited out for the walk to the mine. See you there!

Half a century ago...

Hard to believe that 50 years has passed by since the flight of Mercury 6 - Friendship 7 when American John Glenn became the first NASA astronaut to orbit planet Earth. I remember it because I was in Grade 2 and the teacher stopped classes so we could listen to the broadcast on the radio on February 20, 1962. It came back to me a couple of years ago when I toured the famous Museum of Flight and Aviation History in Seattle where they had the Mercury space capsule on display. A lot of people at the museum walked right by the old capsule, but I was drawn to it and just tried to imagine what it is like to travel through space at 27,000 kilometres per hour!

A nice winter day in Timmins

Winter in Timmins is great. Well, today it was. I like winter. But I’m not alone. Today was an amazingly bright and sunny day with a temperature of about three degrees. So I was out driving around with the intent of snapping a few photos. Sure enough, there were things to see. I saw a family out at the sliding hill on Highway 655 by Gillies Lake having cookies and hot chocolate at the top of the hill. Of course, they were surrounded by all the other families out enjoying the snow and the sunshine. How nice is that? Over at the Hollinger Park, people were out skating on the new oval there. Other people were sitting around the open fire roasting marshmallows! And then, over at Tim Horton’s the snowmobile crowd was standing around outside, enjoying the sunshine with their coffee. So yeah, it was a nice winter day in Timmins. I took one of the photos I snapped today and played with it through Adobe Photoshop to get some different effects. I think they’re interesting. (Click the photos to see them enlarged)

Why are they called Smart Phones?

I received a very interesting e-mail this past week from my cell phone company offering me a great price on a new plan and encouraging me to get one of those new Smart Phones. So I spent quite a bit of time last night reading up on the new plans and these phones that everyone is excited about. I have to explain that I have a very basic cell phone. It rings, I talk. I want to call somebody, I enter the number and if they answer, we talk. I am not big on texting.This past month was one of my busiest ever though. I sent 14 messages. I was on the phone for 209 minutes! Of course all this was well covered by my plan which gives me hundreds of minutes, free long distance and "unlimited" messaging. Woohoo. But I don't use the internet or e-mail on my phone. In fact I called and told the phone company to disconnect any Internet service because I once activated the Internet on my phone by mistake. I didn't even know it at the time. Seriously, I can't imagine standing on a street-corner and browsing the net with my phone. So as I looked through all the fancy phones being offered I had to wonder why I would need one. I am still not convinced. Besides, I like my phone. They gave it to me for free and it has my initials on it!

Reading the fine print ...

So I signed up with the online version of the New York Times last fall. And since this is the time of year I gather all my tax receipts, I sort through my credit card bills. That's when I noticed I was billed twice for my MONTHLY subscription in November... on Nov.1 and Nov.29. Hmmm. I telephoned the customer service number to tell them of the "mistake". Hmmm ... no mistake. The subscription is not a MONTHLY thing. It's every 28 DAYS! So I said to the guy, "This is not a monthly subscription then?" "No sir, we bill you every 28 days... that's what you signed up for." Hmmmm... that means they will send me 13 bills this year instead of 12. Got to read that print more often eh.

Glasses, gasses and giggling ...

Things have changed at my dentist’s office. I was in twice this week and both times they gave me sunglasses to wear! I like that. Those dental lights are so bright that even with your eyes closed, there is still too much light! Instead of squinting my eyes in that bright light I was able to close ‘em and relax a bit more. Monday, I had a cleaning and check up. On Thursday I got a root canal procedure done and it was nowhere near as uncomfortable as I expected. I think the nitrous oxide gas sure helped. I have learned that the gas is not so much for relieving pain as it is used for relieving anxiety. Well it worked for me. And yes, it does make you giggle; just a bit. And because it was a one-hour procedure for the root canal, having the gas administered cost an extra $125! Oh well, it was sure worth it.

Ouch!

So it was just over a month ago, Neil and I were leaving a restaurant in Timmins. We had a beer and a sandwich. It was a cold, cold night and we were leaving early to go home. As we approached the parking lot, I took a mis-step on the ice and whoopsie, took a flip. It was a rather spectacular fall, as falls go, as my head hit a truck bumper on the way down and then I banged my head on the ice. I'm no Sid Crosby... I have a thick skull. No damage there. But I did bang my teeth together and that resulted in a nasty bite on my tongue. Neil was alarmed and said I might want to see a doctor. No problem said I, waving him off. I should have seen a dentist though. I went in for a cleaning and check up today and Dr. Kurys tapped on one of my front teeth. Yow, that hurt! X-Ray! Yup, there's a problem. Abscessed root, damaged nerve. So I will be going back in Thursday... root canal time. Darn.

Stories...

I remember my favourite professor from journalism school saying "everyone has a story". He wanted us to understand the fact that if we give people the chance to talk, everyone has something truly amazing about them that is worth telling. I was thinking about that today when I spent some time on the telephone with a former Timmins fellow who is now in his late 70s. He used to be a millionaire. He used to rub elbows with Hollywood celebrities. Now he's on parole after spending years in prison. He shot his business partner to death in a fit of rage. I went through all the court documents and I am still trying to get the real story of how it all happened so many years ago. These two guys, both from Timmins, both millionaires, were as close as brothers ... but then they had a falling out. What the hell happened that one murdered the other? Years have passed, but there is still a story to be told. It's going to take some time, but I am working on it...

Yes, I am glad I went...

Sometimes it pays to answer those e-mails … you know the kind, the ones that you don’t think are that important at first, but then you figure, oh what the heck, just do it. That was the case this week when I got a note from Porter Airlines asking me to drop by their wine and cheese event Thursday night to celebrate the fact that Porter is now running scheduled flights three times a day between Timmins and Toronto. People in Timmins sure seem to appreciate the new airline, which is offering cheaper fares and connecting Timmins with New York, Chicago and Boston. I don’t normally do the wine and cheese events, but I figured it was a good chance to see Robert Deluce again and a few other folks and have a nice chat. I wrote about knowing Mr. Deluce and his connection to Timmins several weeks ago. So, when I got the wine and cheese event, I realized I had to take a few notes and a few photos, so I never got the chance to enjoy some good wine and the fabulous food. Too busy. But there was a lot of nice people to chat with, folks who I haven’t seen in awhile, so I stayed… right to the end. Well almost to the end, because CEO “Bob” Deluce was making a thank you speech to the “hometown” crowd in Timmins, saying he realized that the best advertising for Porter Airlines was word-of-mouth from happy customers. That said, Deluce told the crowd he’d like them all to become goodwill ambassadors for Porter … and then he announced that every person in the room, about 500 people, would get a free round-trip airline ticket to anywhere Porter flies. Nice eh?

Staying in touch ... NOT

I have not been doing well lately in terms of staying in touch with people. I realized this about 20 minutes ago when I arrived home and found my phone sitting on the little shelf by the front door. Sure enough there were two text messages on it, from fellow reporters who were kind enough to send me info on a court trial. I confess, I didn't know I left the phone at home. On Monday I realized I didn’t have my phone with me. I searched high and low for it and finally found it in the back of my vehicle. I was on a photo shoot Sunday night at the airport and when I took off a safety vest, I placed it in the back of the truck. My phone was there. Last night, just before I was going to bed at 11 p.m., I noticed there was a text message on my phone. It was sent out at four in the afternoon. I didn't notice. I should mention that my cell phone is my only phone. I cancelled the house phone more than a year ago. The only time I do any serious telephone time is at work when I call people for news stories. Other than that, I am not a serious talker. Most months when I check my cell phone bill, I usually have 40 to 50 minutes of talking and about a half dozen text messages. I have a good phone plan with hundreds of minutes, free long distance anywhere in Canada, unlimited texting and lots of other perks for less than $30 a month. I can’t understand how people can send more than a hundred messages a month and speak on the phone for three or four hundred minutes. Even when I chat with Jennifer or Neil, a long call is about 15 minutes. The one exception is Debra. I don’t think I have ever had a phone call with her that was less than an hour. But that’s okay because it’s usually a good chat. I am sure I will hear about that. Oh, I don’t have Internet on my phone either. There is nothing that is so important that I have to know about it NOW. Now as far as being in touch, I just got a newspaper poll question in my e-mail wondering if I thought Ricky Gervais did a good job hosting the Golden Globes. Who the hell is Ricky Gervais?

Two watches and hearing loss?

I have two watches. They’re exactly the same. One is in daylight saving time and the other is standard time. It’s easier to have two watches than to worry about changing the time forward or back a couple of times a year. There’s just too many dang buttons to figure out. When Neil was here a couple of weeks back he was able to find my summer watch because he could hear the alarm going off. Alarm? I didn’t hear any alarm. Neil assured me there was a distinct high-pitched alarm on the watch, which goes to prove that older fellows such as myself do indeed lose part of their hearing as they age. Neil was able to hear the high frequency alarm that I could not hear. So there is truth to the statement that one loses the ability to hear higher frequencies. If you’re wondering, you can take an online hearing test at: http://www.freehearingtest.ca/index_flash.html. I didn’t hear anything at 8000 Hz… but maybe it’s a trick! So if you're having a birthday anytime soon and you're feeling a teensy bit older, take the test.

Don't put THAT on your blog ...

So here we are, entering our seventh year of blogging! Hmm….I wouldn’t have guessed. But then again, the Internet changes so many things. Who can imagine what sort of Internet we will have seven years from now? It will probably be all video. I don’t know if that is good. I have entertained the idea of Vlogging (Video logging). Well it’s not going to happen anytime soon. I think if I do video logging, I will have to be showing something far more interesting than my old face! Something like a good snowstorm. Hmmm… I do like e-mail. I think it has more people communicating with each other. I can even send silly jokes to my grandsons. Whatever the case, I will try to keep this blog as interesting as possible. Sometimes, I have to hold back because I realize that some of the things I write about are family things … and not everyone wants to have their information, ideas or issues put out here for all to see. I actually had one person tell me something recently … and then they said “don’t put that on your blog!” So I will be sensitive to that. There are even people I know who DON’T cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs, if you believe that! My Google stats tell me that people read the blog more if there are photos, so I will work on that too.
It has been an interesting week in Timmins. We are now in 2012, our official centennial year. It was kicked off Sunday with a spectacular ice skating show that featured a fellow named Elvis Stojko. I was pleased to meet him and have a brief chat (one of the perks of the news business). He’s a very pleasant fellow. The best part was seeing him skate. I have never seen a professional figure skater perform before, in a live situation. It blew me away. Television cannot match the speed and energy these people have. So that was good.In another story our local police will be patrolling the ice road on the James Bay coast, the one that eventually leads to the De Beers diamond mine. I might go up and check it out. It will be a few weeks yet before the weather is cold enough to completey freeze the road. Interestingly, you don’t need a driver’s licence or insurance on that road.
Speaking of weather, we have plenty of snow here in Timmins and this week it has been a very mild minus-ten to minus-twenty. I was out hiking twice yesterday and it was perfect.

It has been a good year ...

Where did the year go? This was a good year in a lot of ways … maybe the best part is that everyone in the family is okay. The other highlight this year was visiting Scotland and the village or Morar where my paternal ancestors came from back in the 1800s. And maybe I have some regrets that right now I am not in Edinburgh. It is said, that Edinburgh is the best city in the world for New Year's Eve celebrations. This past week was excellent because I got to spend a lot of good time with Jennifer, her family and my son Neil. Neil is headed back south to Toronto for a day or two with friends and then back home to Vancouver. I say home because he is quite certain that the west coast is where he wants to be. He was NOT impressed Thursday morning when the temperature was minus 35! He doesn’t even have a winter coat. He wore a heavy fall rain jacket (popular in Vancouver) and dressed in layers, and then added a scarf and toque. I offered him any coat in my closet but he said he was fine. It was a great visit. I mentioned to Jennifer this morning that I stocked up on groceries and vegetarian stuff that Neil likes, but we managed to find a lot of restaurants. It was more fun for Neil as he was able to see people he hasn’t seen in four or five years. Either way, I have a fridge full of fresh vegetables, which I suppose is a good thing.
Tomorrow, Timmins celebrates its official centennial as a municipality. I am amazed to think back to the people who built this community and how they managed to carry on and survive 100 years ago. The Northern Ontario wilderness is very unforgiving, but when people search out gold, they don’t hold back.
It was on this day in 1910 that Noah Timmins was trekking through the bush for his first ever visit to Timmins. He had grubstaked Benny Hollinger and Alex Gillies to work some claims, which eventually became the world famous Hollinger Mine, one of the world's richest gold mines. It was the next day, on January 1, 1911 that Mr. Timmins first arrived to see his new property. Obviously, his mine had an impact on the city that bears his name. Quite the history in this town.
In a couple of weeks from now, I will be marking my own anniversary of the day I arrived here back in the 1970s. I figured I would stay maybe six months. But the people here are nice. So I hung around.
So I will sign off for 2011 and wish everyone the very best in the coming year. Tonight I will think of all those I love, and I will toast you, as I enjoy the warmth of a great whisky.

A perfect Christmas ...

This past week has been the best week of the year I think. In the past some Christmas weeks have been too stressful and too much of a headache. Not this time. For some reason, everything was just right and spending so much time with people was just perfect.
It was a week ago today that I arrived in Sudbury to catch some much anticipated Rest and Relaxation at Jenn and Scott’s place in the Valley. Denise and Don had arrived from Westree. Nathan and Tyler were being the best grandsons I can imagine and I was ready to unwind. I was able to enjoy Jennifer’s latest cooking effort of Chicken Kiev which she mastered. Well, that was just the beginning of a week long bash of really good food, delicious desserts, really great company and a few fine drinks. It wasn’t long after arriving at Jenn’s that we got a call from Neil to let us know he would be on the overnight bus from Toronto after flying in from Vancouver. As good as that news was, we also discovered that Victoria would be arriving on the same overnight bus. Cool. So we all went off to bed that night looking forward to more company in the morning. Don and Denise were up bright and early to get to the bus station and before long Neil and Vic had arrived for Christmas. I was just pleased to see Jennifer and Neil again. I thank God I am blessed with two wonderful children. So that Friday was just perfect. Jennifer went all “Martha Stewart” again cooking up a fabulous breakfast for everyone. Neil slipped off to grab a snooze but he was up again by noon so we could do some father-son shopping. That was good and before long we were in a pub enjoying brewski’s and having a late lunch. We even managed to get some shopping done before heading “home” to Chez Alexander. I should mention that Nathan and Tyler were perfect hosts. Nathan let me stay in his room while Neil stayed in Tyler’s room. The boys were able to sleep in the “fort” they created with furniture in sleeping bags in the rec room. And as you can see in the photo, Neil enjoyed seeing Buddy again and said he was amazed at how big Buddy has become. On Christmas Eve, the boys and I carried on what might now be a tradition. We headed off to Perkins to for pancakes, just like last year. Neil came along and so did Victoria. It was great. We all ordered huge breakfasts and really mucked out. Then we went shopping on Christmas Eve! Which every man knows is the best day of the year for shopping. We walked and shopped and shopped and walked so much!!!
I was having fun except for the fact I had twisted my knee the night before playing a bit of ball hockey with the boys. So I was limping a bit, but still having too much fun to complain.
I remember giving Vic, Tyler and Nathan some spending money so they could run off by themselves. And then they did something amazing. They came back with a fabulous photo of themselves with Santa. I nearly had tears in my eyes. I have never seen them look as perfect as they did in that photo.
I should mention that going back to the Valley was excellent. Up until this point, it looked like it was going to be a green Christmas in Sudbury. But then it started snowing. Nice big fat fluffy snowflakes were coming down and covering everything.
Back at the house it was time to wrap gifts and munch a bit. I should mention that Denise created a fabulous seafood chowder and cheese tea biscuits that are too good to describe. I won’t waste words. I wolfed down four biscuits and two bowls of chowder. As the evening wore on, it was nice to sit back and enjoy the conversation. I got such a kick out of seeing Jennifer playing the perfect hostess. You have to remember it was only two years ago that Jenn was still at the cancer centre and they let her out with a two-day pass for Christmas. She was in the wheelchair then and wearing a bandana because she had no hair after her chemo treatments. What a change.
By the way, Jennifer gets a bit stressed about the fact that she had another birthday just a few weeks ago…I would never give away her age, but being a normal woman, Jennifer frets about it. The best part is that she was at the liquor store recently and the clerk carded her! Yup, she got asked for her I.D. How nice was that? Jenn tells the story with a big smile. And she’s no baldie anymore. Her hair is long and wavy and she looks as fabulous as the day she was married.
At 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, I was able to declare that Christmas had arrived in Canada (in Newfoundland right!). That was the occasion I needed to open up the bottle of single malt whisky I brought back from the Isle of Skye in August. We kept it at Jenn’s place so I wouldn’t be tempted to open it before then. It was a litre of Talisker. It’s the only whisky made on Skye. It was warm and wonderful and so very, very, very smooth.
Anyway, Christmas morning was normal. Tyler was first up the stairs from the rec room. I could hear his feet thumping up the stairs and into the living room. So I got up and sure enough he and Nathan and Vic were all standing by the tree with big smiles. Yes, Santa remembered them. But it was 7:00 a.m. and still dark, so I told the kids we had to wait. Each year I snap a photo of the children by the tree. This year, Victoria declined. She’s a teenager now and her hair wasn’t quite right! Once we got the coffee on and cracked open the Bailey’s, the adults were ready and so it went smoothly and with great fun and joy. I was amazed at the wealth we Canadians all enjoy and I am pleased and thankful we are all so blessed. CHRISTMAS MORNING!Later, the children and I enjoyed some chocolate cake for breakfast!
Christmas Day turned out to be nicer than expected. The snow kept falling and the temperature was mild. Scott headed out with a few friends for a special tour of the Xstrata copper smelter, since there was a minimum staff on. The lucky guys got to see them pouring a million dollars worth of molten nickel from the huge ladle crane. The ladle is about the size of a house. I didn’t mention that in Timmins you can pour a million bucks worth of molten gold into something the size of a breadpan!
Scottie brought home his good friend Ritchie, who always shows up on Christmas. And Ritchie brought along fishing pal Howard, a genuine Bay Street lawyer. Howard was amazed to get such a warm welcome, but the best part was that he was a cool guy and so the warm welcome wasn’t wasted!
Before long we had a nice ball hockey game going in the backyard rink with all the men and the boys. My twisted knee ached, but the whisky was soothing and warm, and took my mind off the pain. I was goalie and took a few hard shots, but am happy to say I stopped a few hard shots. And yes, I actually have the bruises to prove it. It was a good game until poor Tyler took a slapshot in the face. He went down. We thought he was faking, but then realized he wasn’t. We put the sticks away and after a few hugs and atta-boys, Tyler was okay. He has a nice little scar near his eye to show off to the gang at school.
As the afternoon progressed, we got wind of the wonderful smells from the kitchen where Denise and Jennifer were hard at work creating the perfect Christmas dinner of turkey, potatoes, turnip, stuffing, ham and salads.
Howard and Ritchie didn’t need much coaxing as they agreed to stay for dinner. How nice was that? Vic, Tyler and Nathan got to sit at “the kid’s table” as they ate from the coffee table in the living room. Doesn’t get much more Canadian than that eh?

Too many holidays, too much housework.

I have too many holidays. Really. The Boss told me this week I have more than five weeks to use up between now and my birthday next spring. Then I have another four weeks after that. Sheesh. I took three weeks in August! Now, I have to take Fridays off until I use up my extra time. I like my work. I have been doing it so long that's it's not a chore any more. Maybe that's why I don't mind being at work. I get to meet lots of new people every week. When something really important and interesting is going on, I get a front row seat. Oh well, today I have the day off. I was bored. So I cleaned the bathroom. Still bored. I cleaned the fridge. Then I vacuumed the little tracks at the bottom of the window sills. How the dirt gets in there I will never know. And they're brand new windows too. Oh well, gonna do the floors next. And it's just after 9:00 a.m. Good thing I have to do some Christmas shopping. That should take about half an hour. I chatted with Jenn yesterday and told her I will probably finish my shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve. She said "Yeah, you and all the other men!"

Minus 22 this morning

Well winter has arrived in Timmins, finally. The snow is on the ground to stay and hopefully it can provide some nice trails for the skiiers and snow shoe crowd. And a local businessman is creating a public skating oval in the Hollinger Park. I also snapped a photo of my outdoor thermometer at 7:00 a.m. today and it was a pleasant minus 22. I guess I am going to have to start drying my hair more thoroughly ... it was crunchy this morning when I jumped out of the shower, got dressed and headed out the door. Had a nice phone chat with my brothers this week. Gary, on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, celebrated in his 60th birthday on the weekend. And he was quite pleased there was a cake for him provided at the parish hall in Mira.
I spoke to Ronald Monday morning to get some background on a military story. He lives on Vancouver Island on the other side of the country. He should be a media researcher. He pointed me in the right direction to find all sorts of public information on the internet. There was also some exciting family news. Ron and Loni are also new grandparents! Daughter Christina had a baby girl several days ago and everyone is happy and healthy.

Sunday and the shipping news

Sunday morning and I slept in until 10:00 a.m.!!! I was out last night, all evening actually, since it was the annual Christmas telethon at the local TV station. Myself and some of the other oldtimers get invited back each year to take part. So it was fun, if only to see some of the news reporters I haven’t seen for several years. Two out-of-town reporters, one from Hamilton and one from Kingston, actually drove nearly ten hours just to come back to Timmins for a visit. I thought that was fabulous. Jennifer sent me a text saying she and the boys saw me on the Bell satellite. Cool. As usual it was a good show with excellent work by so many people willing to help out some families in difficulty. The telethon provides grocery vouchers at Christmas.
It was around 2:00 a.m. when I finally got to be bed and I ignored my alarm this morning. What did awake me was a fire alarm call (I have a radio locked on the emergency frequency) in the west end. It was just after 10:00 a.m. The 9-1-1 call had a woman screaming on the phone that her kitchen on fire. So I was out of bed, dressed and ready to go out of the door when the fire commander called back saying it was a grease fire, the fire was out, the stove was unplugged. Wow, that was fast. I realized the house address was about three blocks away from the Mountjoy fire station. Good news. So I stayed home, put the coffee on and realized how glad I was not to go. I know there are always news photos of fires, but I really don’t want to see anyone lose their home or go through all the emotional trauma of a house fire.
So now for my addiction. I am a gamer! For nearly ten years, I have been playing a video game called Silent Hunter. It’s all about German u-Boats. It has great video graphics, campaigns and missions and it is a very relaxing passtime. The player, me, is a submarine commander attacking enemy ships. This year, I picked up a copy of a new updated version of the game, Silent Hunter-4. Oh my! The game is so technically improved that I couldn’t play it on my desktop computer, which is about four years old. I have to play it on my new laptop. The best part is that the game has an Artificial Intelligence feature. That means the better I get, the more challenging the game gets.(click on the pic for a periscope view) I read in a gaming website that I should expect hours of boredom in order to set up an attack. It’s just like a real submarine. It’s true. This week, I spent more than 60 hours creeping silently through the depths to complete an attack. Well, I really didn’t do the whole 60 hours, but it has taken about five days of playing to complete one attack. So everyday after work, I set up my laptop and proceed on a patrol beneath the ocean. I do other stuff, like read a book, wash the dishes, fold the laundry etc. while this is going on and if there is an alarm, I rush back to my computer to deal with it. This week I sank two Japanese destroyers and three cargo ships in the South China Sea! Sure beats watching TV!
One other thing. Yesterday was Gary's birthday!!! Happy day big brother.

Meeting nice people ... again

One of the best parts about my job is that I get to meet some of the most interesting people. That came back to me this week when I had to cover a speech by a fellow named Robert Deluce. He is the CEO and president of Porter Airlines. As I walked into the hall, Mr. Deluce turned, smiled and said hello. We shook hands. He's the same Bob Deluce I knew from many years ago in Timmins when his family ran Austin Airways. I travelled quite a bit with the Austin crews up north. Bob's dad was the legendary Stan Deluce who helped bring commercial aviation to Canada's far north. Bob was in Timmins to outline how Porter is going to bring three flights a day to Timmins from Toronto to be in direct competition with Air Canada Jazz. Bob put everyone at ease in Timmins when he said "it's nice to be back home." Here's the interesting part ... Jazz was born out of Air Ontario, which was born out of Austin Airways. The Deluce family bought Air Ontario and Air Manitoba back in the 1980's and then eventually sold the whole deal to Air Canada. I like free enterprise and I like that the Deluce family is still breaking ground in Canadian aviation. I am told that Porter offers deluxe service at an everyday price. What a difference from those days of bouncing around the Eastern Arctic in a DC3 or a Twin Otter eh?

Where did November go?

For a guy who writes for a living, I have to learn to be a bit more faithful to this blog. Especially since I am one of the loudest critics of twitter. If you’re going to broadcast a thought, I think it should be something a bit more substantive than 142 keyboard characters long.
Anyway, here we are in the last week of November, and as I ramble along through the days of the week I am amazed that I am still wandering around without a toque or heavy mitts here in November, in Timmins.
When I first arrived here back in the 1970s, this place was c-c-c-c-old. Now it seems winter is only a tease. I have to admit I am a cold weather person. I like winter. I can’t wait for a big blizzard and two week long deep freeze.
Then you go for a walk in the forest and you hear the snow squeak and the twigs crack and you just know how good it feels to be alive. The air is cleaner and fresher than you can imagine and when you get home a cup of hot tea tastes excellent. Hmmm… maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, some news. Jenn called this week to let me know she had a wonderful time out with Scott last weekend at a fancy company dinner. They both got all dressed up and had a lovely time, with dinner, wine and the company of friends.
As they were heading home, Jenn had a mis-step with her high heels. Her left foot rolled and OUCH! Did that ever hurt or what? That’s what she told me. High heels and icy sidewalks don’t mix. But it seems her sore foot was a bit more than a sore foot. Sure enough, she went to the emergency room the next day because it was so painful. Sure enough, a broken foot. Jenn now has a cast on her left foot.
That got me thinking. It was this time of year (October 5, 1981) some 30 years ago, that I got a broken foot! I was working in the mine then and had a little accident. So I can empathize with Jenn.
Had a nice chat with Debra last week and we got caught up on family stuff. She and her men are all well, which is good. Deb and John are planning a big trip next summer… Europe! They will have a great time I’m sure. They’ve been to all the popular “southern” places, so I am sure the tour of Europe will be so enjoyable for them.
I am pretty sure I will be hanging around Timmins all next year at this city celebrates its official 100th anniversary. The people here are fun and apparently a centennial event is something worth celebrating. I will keep you posted.
In the meantime, we are all planning for Christmas again. Jenn will be celebrating in Sudbury with her guys and the Alexanders and I am told that Neil will be joining us. Woohoo!

Yes, I am watching TV!

I was so pleased today to see so many citizens attend the Remembrance Day ceremonies at the cenotaph in Timmins. Today was the first really cold day of the season and I was happy that more than 200 people showed up. Of course, the old WWII veterans were there too, but there are now less than five local vets who attend the ceremonies. Still it was a good day to remember. Of course I was thinking of people like my Dad, Danny Gillis and my brother Ron Gillis, both of whom have served in wartime.
On another matter, I have been enjoying some great television shows lately. I tell people I don’t watch TV. That’s kind of a lie. I don’t watch regular commercial TV. But I do watch good television programs when I find them. HBO, an American production network, has produced some excellent television. In recent weeks I have watched a series called The Wire, another series called Rome and now I am watching a series called John Adams. If you can get your hands on those programs, you will be amazed. Americans are masters of serious television drama. The writing, the acting, the producing is so damned good. How good? So good that tonight I put aside a book to watch television! What does that tell ya?

Can you believe November is already here?

Hard to believe November is already here. I wasn’t planning it, but I have already begun Christmas shopping and thinking of how much fun that will be again. I guess it’s different because there really has not been any big change in the weather yet this season. I have seen Octobers in the past where we were whipped by snowstorms. Oh well, I am NOT complaining.
This was a busy week and I got out on the road, up north towards Kapuskasing this week. There was an interesting convoy bringing some heavy mining and milling equipment all the way from the Port of Thunder Bay. It was a sight to see as those oversized trucks were hauling a superload to the Bell Creek mill in Timmins, which is owned by Lake Shore Gold. The equipment was purchased in Europe and it’s interesting because the company is rushing to expand the gold mill and refinery at a cost of roughly $80 million. That’s NOT a lot of money for a gold company, especially when you consider the price of gold is more than US$1750 per ounce. The company wants to produce as much gold as fast as it can at those prices. Everyone is enjoying the high gold price here in Timmins and wondering when the bust is going to happen in the old boom and bust cycle. Canada’s economy is doing fine, but as long as the economy in the US and Europe keeps crapping out, people will want to buy gold. That’s what the experts say!
Had a nice chat with Nathan this week... He was feeling a bit under the weather on Monday and didn't really get a good run for Halloween. Jenn took him out for a bit, but she said he must have been feeling poorly because he quit early.
Also had a nice chat with Jenn and she is doing quite well. I am very proud of her for her new volunteer work. Jenn goes to the Sudbury Cancer Centre each week and helps out processing new patients that arrive. I think it's a very nice way to give back considering the excellent treatment she got there in 2009 and 2010.