July 2012

A Tipping Point

My massage therapist is a terrific guy.  He’s young, with a young family and I know he doesn’t have a ton of cash.  He rents a room in my chiropractor’s office and he’s a Registered Massage Therapist, not one of your spa ladies who lays stones on your spine and relaxes you but can’t give you a receipt for your workplace health coverage reimbursement.  …

Working at It

If you were advising a young person about which field of work to get into, what would you say?  I’d probably suggest a trade like electrician or contractor. You make your own hours and you are as successful as you want to be. Our nephew is almost half-way through his electrical apprenticeship and he recently wired (with supervision) a new electrical panel in our house. His future looks bright. Pun intended.  …

Muppet with a Cause

As we toured the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor in Las Vegas we couldn’t help but notice an interracial couple among the photographs of passengers who were on board the famous ship. What must life have been like for them back in 1912?  Surely there’s no way they could have escaped prejudicial comments and other foolish and unfair reactions to their different races. I looked at them with awe. They must have been resilient and in love.  …

Laughin’ at Gaffigan

Imagine how difficult it is to get two people who get up for work at 3:30 am to go out on a Sunday night. It’s nearly impossible.  But Jim Gaffigan decided to make a tour stop in London’s Centennial Hall on a Sunday, so, what could we do?  We bought front-row seats. We literally had the best seats in the house. …

My Book-to-be

It’s time for an update on my upcoming tome about the summer I spent working at a nudist resort.  Its title is The Naked Truth and it will be an ebook for Kindle (Amazon) and Kobo.  I want to put it through iBooks but I don’t have a Mac – a requirement to upload an ebook.  If I can find a good samaritan with a Mac, I’ll have access to the seller who owns the biggest market share.  …

Horror

Friday was the kind of news day that separates the journalists from the alarmists.  The horrific mass shooting near Denver yesterday morning broke shortly before I went on air with my first newscast.  I love my work even if I sometimes loathe the tools (stories) I work with.   …

Concerts Past

Some people can remember shows they’ve been to in incredible detail.  “Yeah it was a Tuesday and we were in the 11th row. The tickets were $17. They opened with Free Bird and did 2 encores.  I wore my striped shirt and a pair of Wranglers.”  …

Schmo-lympics

It appears that I’m lacking several genes found in most Canadian humans.  There’s the hockey gene, except in some specific instances, like if I’m attending a game.  The figure skating gene completely skipped me although I can appreciate the talent and skill.  And I don’t have the Olympics gene.   …

New News Hub

Many weeks of intense effort have culminated in the launch of the new Blackburn News website.  It’s a regional hub combining the news-gathering efforts of all of the radio stations in the Blackburn chain; London, Windsor, Chatham, Sarnia, Leamington and Wingham.  If you follow one of those stations’ news departments on Twitter you’ve noticed the logo and name have changed to Blackburn (market).   …

Wedding Favours

Last weekend I attended a wedding reception for a couple whose ceremony was held in February in the Dominican Republic.  I wasn’t even invited to the party!  The groom, Zack, is my cousin’s son.  I went as the plus one of another cousin in the family. It was like sneaking into a secret society where I knew everyone.   …