Friday, another summer Friday : )

The sun was shining in Timmins today, but only briefly. I was out in the bush for a bit and saw a very nice blue flower. I don't know why, but I like BLUE flowers. So i snapped a nice close up. Hmmm... maybe i should make it into a nice framed print. It's a nice close-up if you click on the photo.
Today was also interesting because there's a bunch of people over at the college tearing apart old cars. It's an auto-extrication competition for small town fire departments. It's interesting because small town firefighters are usually the first ones called out when there is a bad auto crash on nearby highways. These guys have to know their stuff and how to rescue people who get trapped in car crashes.Also had a nice chat with Jenn this morning and it was good. But I feel guilty because I haven't seen the boys in awhile. I will have to do something about that soon eh.

In other news that day...

On Thursday I posted a photo from the front page of the Toronto Daily Star showing news about Apollo 11. If you noticed at the very bottom of that page, there was another interesting news story that happened at the same time. Yeppers,... That's when U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashed his car, drove off a bridge and left the scene of an accident and a woman in his car (wait a minute, he was a married man!) was left to die. Her name was Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy did not report the accident until her body was discovered the following day. It was a HUGE scandal back then.

End of an era

Walter Cronkite’s death on Friday indeed signifies the end of an era in journalism. He sure was admired, mainly because he was a straight shooter… no B.S. about Uncle Walter. I have read his book “A reporter’s life”. Interesting that Cronkite noted that TV journalism is losing its edge with soundbites being as short as eight-seconds. He also noted there is too much “entertainment” in TV news. “There is a powerful lot of junk on our airwaves.” Well said, Walter.

Hard to believe it was 40 years ago this day that the Apollo 11 rocket lifted off on the moon mission. I know my friends and I were amazed. Some of us wondered if it was really possible. I remember watching TV and seeing Walter Cronkite on, hour after hour, explaining how even though the rocket was travelling three times faster than a bullet, it would still take three days to reach the moon! I kept a copy of The Toronto Daily Star newspaper from back then. I took it out last night to read through it. Amazing times back then. The real funny part is there are still people who believe that it was all fake, that Apollo never actually reached the moon. Check it out here: http://www.newuniverse.co.uk/Apollo_Moon_Landing_hoax_accusations.html

Timmins rocks!

Construction in Timmins usually means there has to be some blasting. There is just so much rock all over the place. When somebody says Timmins rocks, they usually mean it literally. I was waiting in traffic on Ross Avenue today when the road crew had to blast the big rock on Texasgulf Road... That rock actually used to be an island because at one time this whole area was underwater as part of the original Gillies Lake. (Click on the pics to see 'em full size!) Here are a couple of shots; one taken just before the blast and then another taken seconds afterwards... ....BOOOMMMM!

Crazy times eh

Well it sure has been a crazy week since I was here last. Aline and I made the trip north to James Bay, but it was overcast and raining. The train was more than two hours late arriving on the coast and then it was late leaving, and then it was more than three hours late arriving back in Cochrane. Thank goodness for the trip to the liquor store where we grabbed some Bacardi Breezers and drank them on the sly! We did meet an actress, author and opera singer on the trip. All the same person! Quite an interesting lady she was. Also met a fellow from Washington DC… he gave me his business card and he was from the US State Department -- and get this -- he was the Director for Political Affairs in Iraq. Okay, I have read too many spy novels. This guy is not from Foggy Bottom. He had Company written all over him! But he was nice to talk to.
Anyway, the train trip was 20 hours of less-than-great travelling. But I did manage to beat Aline at Crazy Eights somewhere around Otter Rapids. She will deny it of course.
Work has been good this week, but today I had to write an obit for an old friend. That sort of ruined the day. Jim Prince died of a heart attack Wednesday. That just sucks. Jim was just a damned good reporter and broadcaster. I’m sorry I didn’t make the time to check in with him more often.
Had dinner at Aline’s place with her Mom and Dad. She made barbecue pork chops and mashed potatoes. I like meat and potatoes. With all the fancy foods we can pick from these days, it’s nice to have meat and potatoes.

The Flag March

Timmins has a nice tradition which has been on for nearly 15 years.Every Canada Day, rain or shine, a group of local citizens takes part in a flag march, and they walk a couple of miles to a local park where they sing O Canada. And sure enough, even though it was raining steadily this morning in Timmins, the people were out with the flags and smiles. It's a nice thing. So Happy Canada Day.

Oooh Yuck... stuck in the muck!

Every now and then something unusual happens in Timmins that raises the level of conversation at Tim Hortons.This is summer road construction season and so its not unusual to see large pieces of construction machinery around town. Except one poor fellow decided to move his excavator off the road and got too close to one of the swamy areas near the old Hollinger Mine tailings. Schlurrrp! He sure had that sinking feeling Thursday. They had to build a new section of road to rescue the excavator... they got it out Friday afternoon.

Good movies!

Saturday night is good for movies. I watched a great one last night that I hadn't seen in years.
The Joy Luck Club. I liked it years ago and I liked it again last night. I recommend it highly. Amazing story. The screenplay was written by author Amy Tan, the same person who wrote the original novel. I will have to find a copy. Hmm... I am betting Jenn will really like the movie.
And because I was at the video store I picked up Clint Eastwood's latest film... Gran Torino. Really good story. I watched it this morning with a pot of coffee. Eastwood is always great to watch. The ending really surprised me though. Never saw an ending like that!

Good Saturday morning, people.

What a nice morning in Timmins. Only 16 degrees so far. I have been up for awhile; put the coffee on; made a fresh batch of muffins; got two loads of laundry on the clothes line and read about 30 pages in the latest novel I am devouring. It's amazing what happens when the weather is "nice" eh. I must be getting older. I am working on a story about how young people in Timmins have managed to find an open pit mine filled with water and they go "cliff diving". There was a time when I would have thought it was a cool thing to do. But now I can only imagine how crazy dangerous it is. Because it was a former mining operation, there are slabs of broken razor-sharp rocks everywhere.
I had a nice chat with the Jennifer and the boys last night. Those kids are amazing... Both Tyler and Nathan had excellent report cards and they're all excited about the first week of summer. By the time you read this, their cousin Victoria will be on the road for a trip of a lifetime to Newfoundland with Don and Denise. I imagine they'll have a fabulous time. I sure hope so. And Jennifer and Scott and the boys will soon be heading off to a place called Great Wolf Lodge, sort of a them park and luxury hotel all in one. Aline and I are planning a trip "down North" next week. Here's a hint. We might see a Beluga.
Well now that poor Michael Jackson is dead, the rumours are alive and well. Even though the autopsy indicates no foul play, the conspiracy theories are already spreading. It seems that MJ may have been the victim of over-medication. I can just imagine what the supermarket tabloids will be writing. I will predict that Elvis is involved somehow. LOL. Stayed tuned. Keep smiling.

Too darned hot.

It's just after 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday and already the temperature is 25. It has been crazy hot all week. On Monday, Timmins was the hottest place in Ontario with 32 degrees. I have to find a lake soon and get cool. I am NOT a warm weather person. Oh well, lots of other people seem to be enjoying it. I just close my eyes and think about how much I enjoy snowshoeing!

Father's Day

Father's Day is nice only because I remember how lucky I am that I have two truly amazing children... They're adults now of course, but they're both kind of special and unique and I am so blessed to have them in my life. I never took any training to be a Dad. It just sort of happens, but I am glad to be their Dad. Yup, Father's Day is good.

It's still June eh?

It's funny how I feel guilty when I haven't dropped in here with a note. Usually in June, there's lots going on that I write about. I have just been lazy. Some good things have been happening with my life. One is that Neil dropped by Ontario for a visit and was able to see plenty of his friends. He stayed at the house for a few days and I think the best part was that he was able to just crash and take it easy without any pressure to go anywhere or do anything new. The warm weather has arrived in Timmins and for sure there are a few forest fires going on. Luckily Northern Ontario is so huge that there is no serious threat to any towns yet. Interestingly the entire area of Southern Ontario, stretching from Windsor all the way to Ottawa to North Bay, doesn't even make up one-tenth the size of Ontario. I took a hike in the bush the other night and the bugs were pretty bad. But it was nice to hit a few bush trails and feel the breeze through the trees. I even heard a loon, but I couldn't get close enough to the shore to see it. It has been pretty warm though for most of the week... temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s! That kind of heat just saps all the energy out of me. So I have been hiding in my cool rec room and reading a lot. I promised myself to get over the the library to do some more research as the Wintergreen group is planning to publish another history almanac to make the Timmins centennial. I was thinking about that when I was out on the trail near Simpson Lake Wednesday night. Goldcorp is turning most of the mining lands back to a natural state. After 100 years of industrial abuse, it is amazing to see how quickly the bush restores itself. It's not perfect, but it sure is getting better.

Park with the cops!

It was a great weekend. So much going on and I was on the run Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes when I park, I just pull over into a fire zone (my friends at the Fire hall won't be happy to hear that!), but it's always good to get cozy with a cop car when you park illegally. That makes it real hard for anyone to give you a ticket. ; )
More good news. Got a text message this morning. Neil is back in Ontario for a few days and he is heading for Timmins. I guess I will have to stock up on a couple of cold ones. ...or I could just give him all the beer that Jennifer so generously left in the fridge after her visit. : )

Cool riders

It was a good weekend. The RCMP Musical Ride was in Timmins to help celebrate the 100th anniversary. I was allowed to pose a shot on the shore of Pearl Lake. It was also cool to watch the riders going through town. The horses were stabled at the McIntyre Arena, but the performance was at the Hollinger Park, so they rode through town.

Cool cruisers eh.

Timmins has done something interesting to mark its 100th anniversary. The local police service has come come up with a new design for its police cars to mark the occasion. The new black and gold design was unveiled last week and is winning a lot of approval locally. I think it's pretty cool. And at night, the gold trim is super highly-reflective. That should make it interesting for anyone getting pulled over.

Michaëlle Jean is too cool.

I don't care what any bleeding heart Europeans think, I think Governor General Michaëlle Jean rocks! She went to the North and met The People (literal translation of the word Inuit). She showed them great respect by engaging in their traditions and she ate a tiny raw piece of a seal's heart. Of course this action just flies in the face of the decision by the European Union to impose a ban on all seal products. I think it's a fantastic gesture. And I say to hell with the Europeans. Like my Dad used to say, we saved their asses twice in two world wars, why don't they just shut up. LOL. That is my rant for this week.

Lucky me! : )

Woohoo! I must be special. I just know I am lucky. This is what arrived for me at work today... flowers and chocolates! I even checked out the card, and it wasn't a mistake. Of course, working at a newspaper, I always figured I was the nosiest person in the office. It seems everyone else around here is just as curious as moi! Interesting eh?

A nice weekend... and poutine too!

What a grreat weekend. Jennifer was in town so we could drop by at a nice family gathering for Gerry and John. It was indeed a nice time to see most of the gang again and everyone seemed especially happy that it looks like the warm weather is here to stay. Jennifer asked for a weather update before heading home. We fired up the airport weather frequency only to hear there is a FROST WARNING for tonight. It was still nice enough this morning get two loads of wash out on the line. I took it easy most of the day and did something I've never done before. I enjoyed a take out order of Poutine from the famous Chez Nous store in Timmins. Apparently it's where Shania would hang out for poutine. It's also the first ever time I have had an order of Poutine. Oh I tried a taste of it before, when Neil used to come home late at night, but up until today when Aline treated me, I've never had a full feed of it. It tastes great, But I think I will be on the treadmill early tomorrow morning.

100 years of gold

It has been mentioned here before, but it's worth mentioning again because of a couple of things I have seen. Last night I got up close and friendly with a rare piece of high-grade gold. It was found in the Dome Mine in 1928 and sent off to Toronto where it sat in various government vaults and offices. Yesterday, the Ontario government gave it back to Timmins since the city is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of gold here. It is a gorgeous sample. (click the pic) This is the sort of stuff that prospectors drool over. The Klondike gold rush was seen as one of the greatest in history, but it lasted about five years and yielded 12 million ounces of gold. The rush is still on here in Timmins. It has been 100 years and 75 million ounces! Sometime in the coming months, the newest mine, Lake Shore Gold will officially go into production. They've already identified a million ounces in their ore zone. A couple of weeks ago, I was invited on a scavenger hunt to find things that represent what Timmins is all about. I found something interesting that I now have in my office... although I am not sure it's legal to do that.It's a genuine four-foot long claim post. The claim was staked in a remote area north of the city. It was left in the bush some years ago, but its not that old because the claim tag is aluminum. They used to be brass. Either way, i think it looks cool.