Yummy or what!

Well it all began innocently enough, Monday morning with a Vicky D'amours buttertart. Vicky is a popular baker in Timmins who makes the best cookies, cakes and pastries. Let me share a story about her food. A few years back there was a civic reception in Timmins at the opening of a new building. I was there to take pictures. It was a gala thing. Men in suits, women in gowns. Soon enough, the VIPs and politicians were making a few speeches. At the back of the room, the caterer arrived and quietly began moving food and drinks in.  I heard whispers. "Vicky... Vicky D'amours. People were turning to look and the whispering became a bit louder. People were noticing that Vicky D'amours was setting up the tables, loaded with  hors d'ouevres and pastries. The speeches continued. People began leaving their chairs and heading for the food! 
So that will explain why on Monday I decided to have one of her buttertarts for breakfast. It was delish. I also had a cup of tea, and a glass of apple juice. That was it. I remember telling Jennifer I don't feel that hungry some mornings, so a buttertart and tea is fine.

Here's the thing, I had to go to Life Labs for a blood test, among other things. The lady at the front counter asked me when was the last time I ate, since I would be having a random glucose (blood-sugar test). So this test is a set up for another appointment, sometime soon, for a colonoscopy. I also had to do an electro-cardiogram, pee in the jar, blah blah blah.
So it was all good. I remember commenting to the lab girl as she was taking blood how much I enjoyed my buttertart, that it was a Vicky D'amours. Her eyes went wide and she smiled.
"Lucky you!" she said. Oh by the way, don't you love it when you get a good lab person who knows how to pull blood? I barely felt the needle and she hit the vein on the first try!
So on Tuesday, I was walking through the parking lot, getting ready to drive home for lunch, when my phone rang. Caller I.D. said it was a Toronto number. It was a doctor, from Life Labs. He identified himself and asked how I felt. I feel fine, I said. This was strange, I thought.
He explained that he had my lab results and my blood sugar number was high. 31. Hmmm. Okay, I said, what does that mean. He explained that the blood glucose level should not be that high, ever. I told him about the butter tart. He paused and then said, well that might influence it ...because he said he was about to ask me to go to the emergency room.
Well, that sure got my attention. So he made me promise to see a doctor right away. I told him I don't have a family doctor, but I said I could see a doc at 5:30 p.m. at the walk-in clinic. As I was back at work Tuesday afternoon, the phone rang. It was the walk-in clinic. The Toronto doc had faxed my lab results to Timmins and they wanted to see me. So I said, okay, see ya soon. So the doc was a pleasant fellow. I remember he used to be chief of staff at the hospital.
How are you feeling, he asked. Fine, I said. Are you thirsty, do you urinate a lot? I told him I get thirsty every now and then, but I didn't think anything unusual. So he sat down and we went through four pages of lab results.
So that's it, he said, as he described his diagnosis for me. I will book you in to see a specialist, he said.  He will do a whole new series of tests and then prescribe new meds, I was told. 
I couldn't help but think of the buttertart and how good it was. I don't think I will get to enjoy too much more Vicky D'amours treats now that I have Type 2 Diabetes. Darn.

Beans, booze and tea bags

What the hell is going on with the price of beans? I shop on a regular basis throughout the week, grabbing stuff as I need it. All the stores now have beans priced at about $1.99 a can. Give me a break! I am not paying that price. The good news? I am sure my apartment will smell nicer. Ha ha ha.

Red Rose tea bags. Bahhh. They have created tea bags made of 100 per cent renewable plant material. Big deal. The bags keep breaking apart in boiling water. No more Red Rose. Good news. Tetley Tea has a new product… BOLD tea. It is a blend of teas from Kenya and Africa. Tastes pretty good and the tea bag doesn’t break in boiling water.

Whiskey. Everyone who likes whiskey knows that 40 Creek has been winning all sorts of awards in the past few years. They make an incredibly smooth product. This week I have been enjoying Spike, a honey whiskey blend. Very nice. 

Oh by the way, I am upset at myself for inadvertently breaking my Nestlé boycott. I wanted to grab some easy coffee for work and I saw these very nice Cappacino coffee packages. So I grabbed a couple, and they were excellent. Problem is they’re made by Nescafé. I honestly didn’t notice. I will have to find a new product.

Yeah, we sure had fun.

I was pleased this week to have some time to drop by the annual chamber of commerce Nova Awards. It's a big deal in Timmins. It's quite the gala affair and everyone who is anyone goes. I had to shoot a few photos... so I had to be there. I ran into the new managing editor for the CTV Northern Ontario, Michelle Tonner. We worked together so many years ago. If I had stayed at CTV, she'd probably be my boss now. Anyway, it was great to catch up on all the old gossip. I also met her boss, Scott Lund, who is the general manager. I remember Scott from when he was a high school student and worked as the night camera operator for the late news. Whoa, that was back in the 1970s. So we had some more catching up to do. I also met a really good friend who still looks as good as when we worked together in the 1980s, Sharon Bowes. Wow, those TV gals always look good. But it was great to chat with her too.
I remember thinking how much fun it was fun to work in the old CKSO newsroom in Sudbury. I was the rookie assigned to cover stories across the North from a Bureau in Timmins. Back in the day, newsrooms were loud, smoky places will with a good deal of profanity, argument, debate and laughter. Especially laughter. And it was not unusual for some of the bosses and senior reporters to have the smell of liquor on their breath before lunch. I enjoyed my visits to Sudbury, because it usually meant I had an important story and the older staff were always welcoming and helpful. One of the best things is that this was back in the day before fax machines, before cable TV, before satellite TV and before the InterNet. We learned to do research the old-fashioned way ... on the telephone, or face to face. I remember calling up cabinet ministers at Queens Park at 10 o'clock at night, and they would take our calls and give us comments and reaction. At least two or three times a year, I could get through to premier Bill Davis for comments. It was a lot of fun to be a reporter back then. 

By the way, the winners are the NOVA event are all pretty amazing people, who are doing amazing things for Timmins. That's one of the reasons why I enjoy this town so much. 

Fabulous news from Jennifer

Wonderful news today. I called Jennifer to chat and discovered she had her six-month check-up with her oncologist on Friday. The doctor said she was fine and informed her he is about ready to declare her fully cured from the terrible cancer that knocked her down back in 2009. Jennifer said the doctor told her this doesn’t normally happen until ten years on, but he was confident about her situation. So that is just excellent news.

I had called Jenn to let her know I finally have a family doctor again. So that is good also. I have just gotten a referral for a colonoscopy at the urging of some friends, so that will be interesting, but I promise, no pictures.

On to culinary matters. I enjoyed the basmati rice I cooked for supper last night, but like I told Jenn today, it’s not a big deal. It was okay. Jenn said she liked it because it is less starchy. I still like the old fashioned Uncle Ben’s. So today I was looking for a ride pudding recipe. And I found one… that includes Whiskey! The recipe called for bourbon. But I switched it to Scotch. I will let you know how incredibly perfect this will be! Ha ha.

One other thing. I mentioned here awhile ago that so many Hollywood movies suck lately.

Well I enjoyed a wonderful film last night, based on the true story of Chess Records from Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s. The movie is called Cadillac Records. It includes great stories about Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf and Etta James. The character for Etta James was played by Beyonce. Incredible. So find this movie, get some popcorn and enjoy.
Listen to this YouTube Clip from the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh-0jH4Rb7Y

New shoes!

So it’s Friday evening. I haven’t had supper yet. It’s still cooking. I am trying something called Basmati Rice, with carrots, peppers and beef. I will let you know if it is okay. In the meantime, I just made lovely bourbon/dubonnet Manhattan. I will let you know if it is okay. Wait a minute. Of course it is okay!

Today was a pleasant day, not just because it was Friday but because it was pleasant and mild. But right now at 8:10 p.m. there is a bloody snowstorm outside. Thank goodness for my perfect Manhattan. I can close my eyes and imagine I am back living on the south side of Timmins where the snow isn’t as fierce. Ha ha. Just kidding.

I also did something today that some of my friends think is a bit overboard. I purchased some new shoes. They’re exactly, precisely like the shoes I bought two years ago. But they were on sale. I like them and I know I will get months, no, years of good wear out of them. Actually, they’re low rise boots made of buffalo leather. They might not be as stylish as my Doc Martens, but I like them.  So buying a second pair is entirely appropriate. By the way, I think the current “fashion” for men’s shoes is pretty blah. Those long pointy things where the toes curl up just …hmmmm… retarded.

 The week has been good, thanks mostly to the fact I visited Jenn and her fellows last weekend. It was a wonderful Easter weekend and Don and Denise were there as well. So the whiskey was nice and the food was outstanding. By the way we celebrated Tyler’s 15^th birthday… something I will remember because he is now taller than I am, or at least the same height. I was able to spend most of the Saturday with Tyler and Nathan and we had a great lunch. I hope I didn’t bore them too much with stories of my hitch-hiking days back in the 70s and how I visited the west coast and road a freight train through the Rockies.

So things are good with the boys. Tyler is obviously making a good impression in his first year of high school. His average is in the 90s and he is exempt from all the exams.

Anyway the weekend was so nice. I think one of the best parts was being out by the bonfire Friday night, enjoying that big full moon, the fresh air and the great company.

Well the ice is clinking in my empty glass. Time to go.

Help is on the way ...

Funny thing about the Air Ambulance, there are so many of them down south, where so many communities and hospitals are close together.  In Northern Ontario, the air ambulance is literally a lifesaver for so many because medical facilities are so few.  If somebody in a remote reserve or a mining camp gets sick or injured, it would take hours for a land ambulance to get the proper attention for the victim. Thank goodness that the helicopter service is there. By the way, the air ambulance service was set up in the 1970s, mainly to serve the North. I live in the part of Timmins where I see the helicopter come in to the hospital quite often. I am glad to see people getting help. This patient was injured this past Sunday while out on a frozen lake about 50 kilometres west of Timmins. Luckily, he was found and rescued.

Remembering Bwian...

I don’t know how or why this came to mind today, but I was remembering a friend from several years back. His name was Brian. He was a mentally challenged adult who had a hare lip and could not speak correctly. Brian could not say a word with the R sound. He replaced it with a W. So when he introduced himself, he would say, Hiya, I’m Bwian. And Brian knew just about everyone in Timmins. And he always had a wave and a smile for you. He was always at every hockey game, or baseball game. So one fine summer day I was sitting in my car on Third Avenue, at Pine, facing the bus station. The light was red and Brian was walking along the street saying hello to everyone. “Hiya Len. How’s Tewwy?

So as he was crossing the street, Brian suddenly stopped. Something had caught his eye. It was a pop truck, parked in front of Bucovetsky’s department store. Now back in the day, pop trucks used to have open sides. I guess this made it easier for the driver to reach the cases of pop and bring them into the stores. It also made things easier for Brian. He looked around the intersection and brought his finger to his lips with a big Shhhh sound. And he smiled. And then he ran over to the pop truck, reached in and stole a six pack of orange pop, turned and ran back along Pine Street.  I will never forget how happy he looked. I looked around and saw other people on the street watching and smiling. Several of us made eye contact and we all laughed. I guess it’s one those reasons I’ve always enjoyed living in Timmins. I haven’t seen Brian in years, but if I do I will tell him he has to buy me a coffee or I will snitch on him. Just kidding.

Hollywood sucks. Thank God for books.

I was feeling disappointed these past few days as I sat down to call up an online movie through my Roku box. I went to Google Play, which is supposed to have all the best movies from recent years. Bahhh on that.  Roku is great, but the movie choices from the past few years are just terrible. No wonder I am not inspired by the Academy Awards any more. It has become such a dog and pony show and it seems the only thing people care about is what other people are wearing. Well they should be wearing shame for one thing. Hollywood really sucks lately.
There are always exceptions of course. I was pleased to watch the film Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis. For a few moments I really believed I was seeing the face of Abraham Lincoln.  Brilliant movie. And it was directed by Stephen Spielberg, who is beyond brilliant. But when I look the few choices left of really good movies, I say thank God we have books.

Bye Buddy.

I was saddened this week to hear that Jennifer’s dog Buddy died. He had cancer. He had to be put down. Jennifer was obviously sad when she told me, saying she and Scott were just at a loss. Tyler and Nathan were also terribly upset. One forgets how much a pet can connect to a family. Buddy was so much a part of Jenn’s family. He was big, very big. He was calm and he was gentle.  I confess I didn’t spend much time with him, but whenever I went to Sudbury and drove up the driveway, Buddy would get up and come over to me, tail wagging, and sniffing around. Once he was satisfied everything was okay, he’d go back to the snoozing by the front step. That’s how he was. Reassuring. I am glad there were times I could sneak him a piece of bacon, or a beef bone. I am going to miss him.

Trains are still the best ...

In the past month I have covered two major CN rail train wrecks near Gogama, just south of Timmins. Luckily, no one has been hurt. But the two train wrecks have caused a huge mess in the environment. One wreck involved a train on the mainline between Foleyet and Gogama. The other was also on the mainline just a few kilometres west of Gogama. In both cases the trains were hauling tank cars loaded with crude oil. Both trains had massive fires.

Here’s the thing. Regardless of the huge mess involving dozens of broken and burning tank cars, CN managed to get the tracks repaired and the mess cleaned up within three days. I am not praising them, just saying I find it amazing they can work so fast to get back in business.

I expect there will be a lot more in the news about these particular derailments in the weeks and months ahead.

 Anyway, I still like trains. Several of my friends have suggested they will never travel by train. I still look forward to my next train trip.

I have enjoyed several excellent train trips over the years. One of my favourites was the night train from London to Edinburgh, where we sat up till 2:30 a.m. drinking excellent FREE Scotch, and eating bread, cheese and fruit. Another was the VIA Canadian from Vancouver back home to Ontario. I really enjoyed riding VIA from Sudbury to Toronto one night with Tyler and Nathan so we could have a short holiday in the city.  It was great.

I find trains just so relaxing and a great way to spend that other luxury – time.

Photos: 1-CN Rail derailment and fire Gogama, March 7, 2015.
2-Amtrak Cascades train in Seattle station.
3-VIA Canadian stop for sandwich and beers in Jasper.
4-Jacobite steam train arriving in Morar, Scotland.
Photo 1 by Transportation Safety Board.
Photos 2,3, 4 by Len Gillis ©

Getting mellow

I told some of my fellow reporters this week that I think I am getting old and mellow.There was a time that drama was everything in a news photo. I ignored that this week. I was at the scene of a house fire at 5:30 in the morning. These things are never happy occasions. But they are dramatic.
A house was burning. The air was thick with smoke. The street was awash in frozen spray and water. Firefighters were shouting above the noise of the engines from several firetrucks. Neighbours were out on the street, wearing parkas, pyjamas and snowboots to see what's going on. I always have my camera ready, holding it inside my parka. It takes only a moment to move it to my eye and snap off five or six photos when I have it in burst mode. I looked up to see paramedics coming toward me from about ten feet away. I realized the ambulance was behind me. The two paramedics were walking either side of a distraught woman. She was wearing only a blanket. Her bare shoulders and bare legs were obvious. It was 33 below zero. The woman was crying and oblivious to everyone, except perhaps the paramedics supporting her. What a picture it was ... or might have been. I didn't raise my camera. I stepped aside and let them pass by. I felt awkward for being there. Twenty years ago, I would have snapped the picture, telling myself this shows the true drama and tragedy of a domestic fire. On Wednesday morning I just felt I was intruding on a terrible day in another person's life.

Overdose on television

Frank Underwood is back on television so I cocooned this week, watching the new season of the hit television series House of Cards. I feel guilty about it ... for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the new season was released on Netflix last Friday. So this past week, I watched every new episode. Yes, an entire season. Sometimes staying up as laste as 2:00 a.m. on a worknight.
Secondly, I was secretly admiring the main character Frank Underwood, who fought like a deranged animal to become president of the United States. Frank is a despicable person, but he does whatever it takes to win. Why on Earth would I cheer for the bad guy? I don't know.
By the way, Frank has monogrammed cufflinks. They say F U.

3K on snowshoes? No problem!

So there was a train wreck in Northern Ontario last night. 100-car freight train with 29 cars off the tracks in dense bush north of Gogama. No injuries, but the train was burning.  I was up early this morning and figured I could drive out and get some photos. The first word I got was that the wreck was only three kilometres back from the highway. Hey, no problem. Grab the snowshoes and go for a hike. I figure 3K is just fine. It has been so cold, minus 45 last night, and there is a nice crust on the snow. Good thing I checked with the CN Rail office in Toronto before heading out... I wanted to get precise information. Whoa, it's not three kilometres. It was 30 kilometres up the tracks from the highway. Forget the snowshoes! Anyway, it is so far in the bush that the heavy equipment guys with excavators and bulldozers still have not arrived as of suppertime Sunday.  I didn't get photos of the wreck, but I did snap a couple of pictures in the freight yard in Gogama. So I will try again tomorrow and either find a plane or hitch a ride with a CN crew. Although many of those poor guys will be out there working all night tonight.That doesn't sound like fun!

Lyin' Brian

I really struggled this past week with the incident involving NBC reporter Brian Williams telling a lie while on a TV talk show. Everybody lies. But I still think it was so wrong for Williams, a journalist of some renown, to do it so publicly. He didn't just lie, he made up a whole story about being attacked by jihadists. What makes it so wrong is the fact he is a journalist. If it was a sports guy or an actor, he might get away with it. But when your job is to tell people what is going on in their city or country, you have to tell the absolute truth. Everytime. Without exception. I cannot tell you how many times we have sat back on a story because we were not able to confirm a detail or a fact. If you're in doubt, the story is pulled out.  Otherwise, people will lose faith in what we are reporting.
Even in small towns, journos live interesting lives and they see and do some pretty interesting things. There is no need to make stuff up. I am fond of telling crazy stories to my younger newsie friends, and they are often amazed at the weird and unusual things that  have happened.
I also struggled this week with a really nasty chest and sinus cold. Yeah, so I am a big baby whiner. But the thing is, I have to work out in the public and it is so annoying when you're talking to somebody and suddenly your nose starts running and running and it's so bad the salty mucus runs into your mouth, like when you were a four-year-old. I am now in the habit of carrying pockets full of Kleenex everywhere.
The other thing is that eating is such a boring chore. For the past week, my taste buds have shut down. I had a glass of whiskey on Monday, but that was it. I could barely taste it. So that was a waste.
Regardless, all week I forced myself to eat just to keep my strength up. On Wednesday, I tried some Szechuan noodles for supper. It was filling, but I don't know if it tasted good or not. I did have one of those lime-flavoured Budweiser beers. It seemed okay. I could taste the lime! Oh, almost forgot. On Monday I had Lipton chicken noodle soup. Yes! It was good. Three cheers for Lipton soup!

Cake for breakfast is okay!

Saturday morning and I am baking a cake and nursing a cold! Don’t know where it came from, but I am keeping company with a pot of tea, a book and a little bottle of cough syrup.

I was pleased this week to interview a lady who runs the eating disorder clinic at the hospital. As she was describing various food disorders, I confessed that I like to share chocolate cake for breakfast with my two grandsons. She assured me this is NOT a food disorder, since it only happens a few times a year. She agreed that it is a nice tradition. So there you have it!

I was upset this week to see that Sudbury voters elected Glenn Thibeault as their new MPP. I am not so upset at the fact that Thibeault crossed the floor and went from being a New Democrat to a Liberal. I am more upset that the Liberal party officials ignored the fact that a local candidate had already been chosen and then pushed him aside and gave the nomination to Thibeault. It really stinks to see how they ignored the democratic process. Shame on voters in Sudbury! At the same time, some Liberal party folks were offering the old candidate a cushy government job in return for stepping aside. Now the police are involved because of that. It stinks, it stinks, it stinks. I hope the police can do something.

Great song, but not what you'd expect

That's right, I don't watch "normal" TV but on Sunday afternoons, I do a bit of reading and listening to music... usually from YouTube. So here is a really different, but cool,  version of Ring Of Fire, by an acappella group called Home Free. I think they really put a nice touch on the song. So click here and enjoy!

Chasing a fire

Well the news came out this week that Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources is suing CN Rail, claiming that it was sparks from a passing train that caused the big Timmins No. 9 forest fire in May 2012. It was a huge, huge fire. So I was looking through some photo files this week and I came across these photos which tell a little story. I remember the day the fire began, going down to Tatachikapika Lodge to get some pictures. The fire had started south of the Lodge and north of Gogama.

By the time I got there, during the supper hour, the fire was going strong. I could only get photos from a distance. Heading back to Timmins along Highway 144 I noticed there were scores of sideroads leading into the bush, west of the highway. Many were blocked. Most were not. I figured if I wanted to get some photos of the fire I would have to take a sideroad. So I just picked one, put on the 4-by-4 and starting driving west.

Soon enough, after about 10 kilometres, I knew I was getting close to the fire, but I was a bit worried about going too close. The sky was filled with thick, black and grey smoke. I pulled into a clearing where there was an esker. I climbed to the top of the esker to look around and get photos. Yes, the fire was just over the next hillside.

Suddenly there was a helicopter hovering nearby. Great! I started snapping photos and then the helicopter got closer. Guy inside was waving at me. I waved back. So then the chopper circled around and landed. You can see my little truck in the photo. The guy got out and he was angry! He was an MNR Conservation Officer and told me I had no business being there, to get the hell out. Once I explained I was with the newspaper, he calmed down and explained that the fire zone was being declared and no one allowed in the hot zone. So I got out. But I also got some nice photos.

Whoa! Enough pizza!

Here's the thing. Monday was a long day at work... one guy got sick, so I covered for him and didn't get home until about 8:30. Then Tuesday, another long day. A federal cabinet minister interview... but he was an hour late. So I was at the office, just wrapping up when I decided it was too late to go home and cook supper. It was 8:00 p.m. So I went online and ten minutes later I was picking up a fresh pizza! Excellent. Got home, opened a beer and put my feet up. Having half a medium pizza was just about perfect. Tonight, I got home and decided ... leftovers! Pizza, yeah! Let me tell you... I was hungry... but Jeez, having pizza two days in a row is enough, thank you. So now I am full, but I don't think I will be having pizza for awhile. Tomorrow, Mr. Noodles. That's another story!

RIP Uncle Joe and Uncle Sonny

It has been a rough week or so. I was saddened to learn of the deaths of two of my uncles. Uncle Joe Gillis died on January 9th, and Uncle Sonny Rostek died on the 15th. Joe was my Dad’s little brother and Sonny was married to Aunt Theresa, my Mom’s little sister. I remember both of these fellows so much from my childhood. The great thing about uncles is that they always had a smile and a kind word for their nephews. I remember both Joe and Sonny as a couple of guys who were always smiling.
I spent a couple of days in court this past week covering the sentence in a manslaughter case. It was so bizarre. Murder and manslaughter cases are like that. More members of the public should drop in at court to listen to what goes on. It is so real and so raw.

Last weekend was a hoot. Jennifer and Scott and Tyler and Nathan were all in Timmins as the boys had a hockey tournament.
They did very well and had a lot of fun. Scott and Jenn are incredibly dedicated hockey parents and I was amazed at the energy and effort it takes to do that. The best part was seeing how much the boys enjoyed themselves. I snapped a couple of photos of the boys. Ty is No. 91 and Nate is No.13.

Ten years ago...

Just to make things interesting, here are a couple of photos of Jennifer and her boys from Christmas 2004.