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…

Good Karma...

Life is good. I am totally relaxed after a nice Easter weekend in Westree. This morning I enjoyed a fabulous piece of leftover carrot cake with coffee for breakfast that I took home with me, from my visit with Don and Denise and the family. Denise has outstanding bakery talent. But the best reason for visiting is to enjoy the great hospitality and the chance to unwind. It is so calm and peaceful there. On Saturday I was sitting on the front porch reading and then I stopped for a bit to enjoy the quiet. A short time later, I realized I had dozed off while sitting on the porch. How relaxed is that? It was great to see everyone too. Jennifer and her guys were there, so the visit was just excellent. The grandchildren are all getting older, quickly it seems. But Westree is where they do have fun. Denise organized a scavenger hunt for the kids and within minutes they all roared away on ATVs. When Victoria,Tyler and Nathan got back more than an hour later, they were all full of stories and laughing hard. I know these are times they will remember for years and hopefully share with their own children someday. I knew I had some good Karma coming my way. A couple of weeks ago, I went to renew my driver's licence and to purchase new licence plate tags. The girl at the counter forget to charge me for them. I only realized it when I left the building. So I drove back to pay the $170 owing to the Ontario Government. The poor clerk was so pleased that I returned to pay. I figure this past weekend was my reward. The other good thing is that there is a new TV season for Downton Abbey. It is a fabulous television series on Netflix. I watched three episodes last night before finally giving up and going to bed at 1:00 a.m.

The nice people I work with ...

The local media gang in Timmins gets along quite well. Many of us meet on a regular basis to socialize and enjoy each other's company away from the work environment. So with one of our group leaving Timmins to pursue a new job down south, I decided it was my turn to have some company, with a farewell dinner for Paige. It was nice. One of the nice things was that it also forced me to do my spring cleaning. That took about three days. I also enjoying cooking. The menu was pasta primavera, shepherd's pie, glazed chicken with mac salad; a cheese platter, a veggie platter and an anti-pasto plate. Zoom. Everything went. The fun thing was that some of the people were working and so they dropped in after their assignments to eat, chat and laugh. The big surprise came from Lydia, a local TV reporter I've known for several years. She showed up with a very nice birthday cake... a very big cheesecake in fact, complete with two candles, one a six and one a zero. I was indeed caught off guard, but I liked it. So thanks to Lydia, and Emilie, and Paige, and Paige's mom Lori who was in town to help her move, and Amelia, and Nabi, and Shane, and Blair, and Steve, and Brent, and Daniela, and Joey. ***** Also, congrats to my niece Valerie and her man Dennis. Was so pleased to see the photos of the wedding in Arizona. Was also pleased to see my son Neil there, along with several of his cousins who made the trip from Timmins.

Birthday gift ...

Whew, I am 60 now. A freakin' senior citizen in some circles! Anyway I got a nice gift yesterday ... in a way. March 31st was the first day of special hearings into improving health and safety for miners in Ontario. The hearings began in Timmins and I was there to cover them. I have covered hearings like this before, in the 1970s and the 1980s. Miners are still being killed in underground accidents. More miners have died in Timmins in recent years than in any other single mining camp in Ontario. I do feel strongly about this. I am glad that more will be done to try to prevent more deaths.

I am just nosey...

One of the best things about my job is meeting new people. This week I ran into an interesting fellow who is a vice-president with RBC Royal Bank in the commercial financial section. His name was Pierre Maltais. Of course, I had to ask him about his family name, which is the same as Terry's family. Turns out his Dad is quite the researcher into the family history. He told me all the Maltais in Canada are tied back to two brothers who came from the Normandy region of France back in the 1600s. He said his branch of the family settled in the Saguenay region of Quebec, where they were mostly employed in the logging business. Interesting eh?

I dress bland ... but more people are doing that now.

I'm a fashion trend setter! Who knew? According to the fashionistas out there, the newest trend in men's fashion is something called Normcore. Apparently it means just plain bland ordinary comfortable clothing. Yup, that's where I am now. Several years ago I had to follow a spiffy dress code and wear suits and ties at work. Not any more. My thing now is clean and plain and comfortable. And yes, I get to wear jeans. I don't worry about that because if I have to go to a special chamber of commerce lunch, I just throw on a blazer. I bought two very ordinary looking cashmere blazers in the past year. One is navy and one is light brown. They're perfect for adding a bit of formality to my everyday casual clothes. The best part is that I dress comfortably. If I have to work in these clothes for 10, 12 or 14 hours a day, I am going to be comfortable!

Grandma's letter to Jennifer

I am very pleased with myself this weekend. I did some housework. Ha Ha. But more than that I found a letter that Grandma Gillis mailed out more than 30 years ago. The letter was addressed to Jennifer. I thought it was lost, but it was in an old photo album. Jenn was just a child at the time and likely had a hard time reading Grandma's handwriting. The important thing is that it was a letter about our family history and how the Gillis family came over from Morar, on the northwest coast of Scotland. Grandma was a teacher at one time and had a great memory for detail. I remember her with great love and fondness. I have made digital copies of the letter and I will transcribe it into text as well. Grandma signed off the letter with this: "Now my hand is getting tired and you may not be able to make out the writing but try to anyway. Give my love to your Mother & everyone. God Bless You. Will write at Christmas. Bye Bye. Your great grandmother."

Hmmm... did you notice she didn't mention me? I thought I was her favourite! LOL

People are getting to be so young!

So here we are in March 2014. This is a bit of a milestone month for me. I will be turning 60. I'm okay with that, but some days I am amazed how young some people are getting. Of course, people don't "get young". It's just that as I go about my day to day work meeting different people in different walks of life, I come upon some very talented and very interesting people ... and they are so YOUNG! It takes everything I have to shake hands with them, instead of giving them a gentle pat on the head, as you might with a child. Well, it's not really like that. But it is how I think sometimes. I ran into one of these people last week, who is so young and fresh-faced you might think he is a teenager. But this fellow is a mining engineer who is in charge of a billion dollar gold mining operation and oversees the jobs of hundreds of people. Sometimes I walk into an office or a building and ask to see the see the boss. Many times I am surprised to find that the "big boss" in these situations is often a young person, younger than my own children. I am confident that I act properly but I sure hope my face or mannerisms don't give anything away. I believe in the idea that in these days of very strict working conditions, you don't get to be the boss unless you have exceedingly good qualifications. That being said, I work in a situation where most of my fellow reporters, colleagues in the news business, are also young. And as expected, they make a lot of rookie mistakes. I don't bother pointing out the mistakes, as I am confident they realize when they have done something wrong. I do however make a point of complimenting them when they do something really well. It sure makes the day go better.

I bought a book!

Not such a big deal... unless you consider I have been using an e-reader for a year now. I gave in, as a friend suggested would happen. He said sooner or later, I would go back to a book. So on Sunday, I bought VIMY by Pierre Berton. I like it; already half way through it. Pierre Berton would approve I think. I met him once and there was a bit of a falling out. He was speaking out against the logging situation in Temagami, Ontario back in the 1980s. I asked him if he had ever been to Temagami. He said no. I asked how he could form a valid opinion of the place if he had never visited. He was upset at my question and even more upset when I broadcast the interview. I was working for CBC Radio at the time. Oh well.

Unusual behavior... for a wild cat

One of my neighbours came over Friday night. He told me his wife's dog was killed by a lynx, while on the hiking trail near our homes. Everyone was quite upset. Maybe I could do something to publicize it, they suggested. Sunday morning I went out to the trail to check things out, not really expecting to find much. Imagine my surprise when I saw this lynx. I was able to get within a few metres of this cat before it began moving away. They're bigger than I expected and apparently not worried about contact with humans. The dog that was killed was still on a leash with the owner right there. I wasn't going to press my luck by stepping off the trail into the deep snow. But this is the first time I have seen a lynx, up close, in the wild.

What an incredible hockey game!

My own little tribute to Team Canada's women's Olympic hockey team... It was the best game I've seen in a long time.

House of Cards... again

I am such an addict. The House of Cards series returned to Netflix on Friday. Thirteen new episodes. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I have already watched the entire second season. I don't feel so bad. I have been meeting people all this week who also watched the second season, every episode. It is just the best television show out there right now. The only thing that really bothers me is that the main character, Frank Underwood, (played by Kevin Spacey) is just so evil. And I like him! This is so wrong! LOL No wonder his cufflinks have his initials... F U :)

New mine begins in Timmins ...

I am not fully acquainted with the video function on my little sony cam, but the noise in the background is the sound of my news cam clicking away, shooting still photos.

Timmins is changing

By this time tomorrow, things in Timmins will have changed significantly. Goldcorp is having the first blast for the new Hollinger open pit mine. This will be the newest gold mine in a city whose entire history is gold mining ... only this new mine is going to be in the heart of the city. It will be within half a kilometre of the downtown core. This means the company has to put up special signs all around the new pit advising when there will be blast. The sign in the photo is located across the street from the Food Basics grocery story, right next to the soccer field. The mine even has to notify the airport so that aircraft don't fly over the mine site when a blast is on. This will be the "new normal" in Timmins for the next ten years at least.  Interesting times eh?

Good things, bad things.

Good Thing. I confess I am now reading Alice Munro stories. I bought one of her books awhile ago and I think I mentioned here that I just couldn’t get into her writing. Well now this has changed. I finished another book awhile ago and because I had a collection of Munro stories, I picked it up and tried reading again. Somehow I got hooked. I can see why she became so popular. I am not thoroughly convinced she deserved the Nobel prize, but that is just my opinion.

Good Thing. The winter Olympics are on and I am enjoying them. I watch bits and pieces on the Internet. I like speedskating. The energy of those athletes is incredible. I also watched some luge events. I am amazed at how they can speed down that course on a couple of steel runners. I thought the opening ceremonies were boring ,..but I did like the way the torch lighting took place.

Bad Thing. I covered a fundraising dinner last week for a group of men raising awareness of sexual abuse of boys. It was uncomfortable to see two grown men, my age, telling their stories of what happened to them … it drove them to alcoholism, drugs and to the verge of suicide. Both men were sobbing with tears rolling down their cheeks.

It reminded me of an uncomfortable incident when I was a boy. I was an altar boy. The priest, who I thought was an okay guy, was always getting me to stay after mass to sweep the chapel or help put things away. I was good with that because he always gave me a quarter or two. My parents were okay with it because I was helping Father do chores. I guess they saw it as something good, because I was not really a good kid.

I was always getting into schoolyard fights and generally raising hell. I even began smoking when I was ten, stealing cigarettes from my parents.

So one summer night, Father invited me to his officer quarters … this was on the base at RCAF Downsview. He said he was moving or something, and needed help packing boxes. So I went. Once I was there, we did a few chores and then Father asked the strangest question to me. I was 12 or 13 at the time.

“Have you heard the word c**ksucker?” he asked.

Okay, so I am a bit shocked, but I answer “Yes Father. That’s a bad word.”

Suddenly something I had been told was making sense. One of the other altar boys, named Eddie, told me that Father had stroked his crotch one day. I thought that was the weirdest thing Eddie had ever said, and so I stopped talking to him.

But anyway, back to Father.

He said “Do you know what a c**cksucker does? Do you know what the word means?”

Okay, I thought, play innocent here. “No Father,” I said.

Then I thought if he tries to stroke my crotch, I am going to punch him. There is no way this pudgy old f**cker is going to touch me.

I was like that as a kid. Thanks to my Dad, I knew how to take a beating. I was a better than average scrapper for a kid that age. I guess I was angry.

So in those few micro-seconds that Father was staring at me, I figured I am going to punch him in the throat and the second punch will be in the nose and then I will run. A punch in the throat is always a shock punch because no one expects it and it hurts like hell. The punch in the nose always bleeds. There is blood and mucus going into your nose and mouth, making it hard to breathe,  and your eyes water making it hard to see.

For some reason Father didn’t ask me any more questions. And nothing happened. Maybe he sensed he had gone too far. Either way, I never said anything to anyone. Certainly not to my friends. And certainly not to any adults. This was stuff people just didn’t talk about. Besides, who would have believed me?

Thank You Logging Truck Man ...

It’s just one of those things. If you stray too far from the beaten path, you’re gonna get stuck. Sure enough I was out on a remote logging road south of Timmins Sunday morning, minus 36, following a photo opportunity where a road grader went off a bridge. Paramedics, police and fire crews were all there. I got within about 500 metres of the scene. A first responder said keep to the right of the road, because we can’t block the ambulance coming out. Keep to the right is a good idea until the side of the road suddenly disappears in the soft snow. My  vehicle got stuck real good. A team of six firefighters was not able to push it out. Luckily, there was a massive logging truck nearby with a nice big chain. Guy pulled me out in about 15 seconds.  He was a very nice fellow so I gave him 20 bucks for Timmies. I don’t feel too bad about the morning. A Timmins firetruck and a Timmins Police cruiser also went off the road at this call.

Yes, it sure is like January around here...

Holy crap, where has January gone? I said that at work the other day, only because I am always working ahead on the paper. Our next edition comes out on January 30th, so I think that is what prompted my question. I think it might have been more appropriate to ask where the time has gone in general. It was 40 years ago this week I arrived in Timmins as a young student reporter eager to prove myself in the news business. So I am still working on that.
Timmins is just one of the best places I can imagine. I have lived in other places, but Timmins seems to be the place where people are very welcoming. That has been my experience. I moved away for several years in the Eighties and Nineties, but I can tell you I was sure pleased to come back.  So that's a good thing.
The cold weather has continued throughout most of January. I don't mind that so much. There has been lots of snow this year as well, but people are grumbling about the poor level of snow removal. I can only say I am glad I drive only four-by-fours these days.
The cold weather has also prompted me to change my cooking habits. I have enjoyed several winter soup dishes these past few weeks. Also, while I have been trying to stay away from red meat, I enjoyed a wonderful ribeye on Saturday. I think that was the first steak I had since before Christmas... and oh it was so good. 
And for some reason this month, I haven't been eating much in the way of veggies, but I have indeed been packing away the fruit. I bought some pears this week and I love waiting until they're a bit overripe. Then I tear into it and just love how sweet, juicy and slurpy they get.
I was just going to sign off, but I should mention I went out this week and bought new skates. I haven't been skating for 20 years! But I was out taking pictures at a local rink and suddenly got the urge. I was worried a bit about my left foot, which I broke some years ago. The last time I was skating (in Sudbury) I remember the skate being very uncomfortable. I find the skates I purchased this week are wayyyy more comfortable.
I was going to go to the rink this morning, but the temperature was minus 36 so I will wait until this afternoon.

Cold enough for ya?

Cold snap continues in Timmins. I have to make a point these days of ensuring the vehicle is plugged in. Thursday morning the temperature was minus 41, with a windchill of minus 52. Cold like that gave people a lot to talk about in the line ups for coffee. I honestly don't mind the cold, as long as one is properly dressed for it. I was driving along Pine Street Thursday and saw a telephone company guy going up a ladder to work near the top of a utility pole. Now that has be a challenge. One doesn't see too many outdoor workers when the temperature hit minus 41. Apparently the cold snap will break this weekend, thanks to warmer weather moving in from the Prairies. Funny, some of my earliest memories of extreme cold came while I was living in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.
I have to admit that with Christmas and New Years falling in the middle of the week, I find I am not yet in full back-to-work mode. I feel more like putting my feet up and daydreaming!
Had a nice chat with Debra a few days ago, now that she and her men are back home in Cambridge. They all took off to Disney World in Florida to celebrate their Christmas. Deb said they all had a great time, which is nice.
Jennifer and I shared a nice phone call to Neil on Boxing Day, so we could all get caught up on the family gossip. I felt terrible about not calling Neil on Christmas Day, but it was quickly forgiven. Neil had "an orphan's Christmas", getting together with several friends in Vancouver to celebrate. He also enjoyed telling us that the weather in Vancouver was so mild that some people were wearing shorts outside.

They're the best guys...

As a proud grandfather, I'd like to share the story of my Grandsons on Christmas Eve. After consulting with their mom and dad, it was decided both boys could have a fixed amount of money to pick out a gift for themselves from me, Papa. So off we went, first for a fabulous breakfast at a pancake house and then on to the mall. After hiking through the crowds for what seemed like hours, Tyler found the perfect hockey stick. It wasn’t as expensive as it might have been, so Tyler still had $30 to his credit. After much deliberation, Nathan said he’d like to buy a Sudbury Wolves hockey sweater. Luckily, there was a specialty shop that sold those sweaters. As we walked in, Nathan was obviously pleased. Looking at the big display, I asked him if he wanted the navy blue sweater, or the white sweater. He said neither and pointed at the retro-style green sweater worn by the Wolves in years past. Nathan was smiling. He was able to find the right size right away, but there was no price on it. We called the sales clerk over, who told us the price. It was $20 more than Nathan had to spend. Without a word, Nathan's face went blank. He turned to walk out of the store. But that’s when Tyler spoke up and said he would pay the difference for his little brother. Now, these guys scrap and argue like any other fellas, but when the time was right, a brother stepped up for his brother. I was so happy. I am sure my eyes got misty. And then on Christmas morning, I got an autographed photo of both of my favourite guys. Life doesn't get much better eh. Just sayin'.

Winter nights

One of the nice things about winter in Northern Ontario is just enjoying a nice winter night. That's how it was over Christmas at Jenn and Scott's place. We had time to enjoy a nice bonfire and the boys had fun on what they call the ODR (Out Door Rink). Scotty hung little frying pans on the goal net as puck targets, because the styrofoam targets you buy at the sports store get shredded quickly from all the practice shots.  Another fun thing that I enjoyed was actually shovelling all the snow off the rink. It was great exercise after enjoying all the food, the drink and the amazing christmas pastries and treats. This is also my first video on here. If people like it, I will post more.