Thursday, June 30, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
God's Country - At The Top Of Yonge Street.
If you keep on driving up Yonge Street, North, out of Toronto, after about two hours, you will be in Muskoka, or "God's Country" as Pop used to call it.
It was just a little too long a drive for us today, but I thought about it a lot.
Elaine placed a yellow rose on the grave from the bouquet she placed in St.Mark's Church for me. What a nice thing for her to do.
Those chairs - yes, those empty chairs are together again.
Rest in Peace, Mom, the best mother-in-law a person could have.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Rain, LIghtning, Thunder? That Might Just Be BoBo Talking To You!
On the night Bobo, the Lhasa died, we were sitting quietly in the living room when there was a very loud clap of thunder. Fanny, a Shih Tzu was sitting beside me and I said to her, "That is just Bobo talking to us".
I believe that because I have taught this to my dogs they are not afraid of storms and generally come to sit quietly with me.
In Toronto, when I used to do PR for dog shows, I had the pleasure of twice being on a CFTO-TV program called Toronto Today with a man named Mike Ongarato. Mike was very attractive, had lots of charm and was cut out for an interview format show.
The first time I appeared I was very nervous and Mike was quite calm. I had two Shar Pei with me. I watched that tape often and so the next time, when I had three dogs, I was calm and it was Mike who was a little nervous. We had a Bernese Mountain Dog, a Cairn Terrier and my own Shih Tzu puppy, Sadie. At one point, Sadie - in full coat - had her backside to the camera and we had to lift and turn her. It is a great tape to watch! I tell you this to let you know that Mike's strong suit was interview. He had a knack for putting you at ease.
Now, when I came to Texas, I found that it is a pretty good training ground for weathermen. I have watched as their eyes glaze over when they are talking about major weather . . . and we do sometimes get some major weather, believe me!
Probably the most notable weatherman we had in Toronto was a fellow named Percy Saltzman on CBLT -TV who used to wind down his forecast by tossing his chalk up in the air and saying,
"And that's the weather tonight!"
I know they don't use chalk anymore, but that's what made Percy notable.
Well, back to Mike Ongarato. One week when the weatherman - Dave Devol - was on vacation, CFTO put Mike in the weather slot on the evening newscasts. It so happened we did not have very nice weather and mid-week, Mike stood before the camera, mentioning he had had a few calls about the bad weather. I never forgot Mike saying,
"I am just reporting the weather forecast. Please don't shoot the messenger!"
At Carolina 14, there is a wonderful friend named Lee Ringer who can give you weather like he is telling you about Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. Lee came to our area out of college, so I guess this was his boot camp. He gets up to be at the station before the crack of dawn to make sure he has everything just so for the people getting ready to go to work, One of his favorite things to do is visit classes of school children. Lee is a natural.
So, as I sit here tonight with thunder, lightening and threats of worse around me, I think of all the weathermen. We have a fellow named Brad who just reports the weather and does it very well. It has been a terrible week for us because we have had forest fires - the worst ever in the area. So we have prayed for rain.
Now, tonight, the rain began and tree limbs were blowing down and the phone was ringing with the alerts that very bad weather could be coming.
Oh, yes . . . no rain to speak of this whole year and tonight . . . well, be careful what you wish for.
Friday, June 17, 2011
John Corapi: I Think A Smart Network Executive Has A Spot For Him!
Today, twenty years after his ordination, John Corapi is packing it in as a priest in the Catholic church.
This is very sad as this is a person who had such a fine message and so much to share with all of us, no matter our belief.
If the mainstream networks are “on the stick”, they will give this man his own program and hopefully in a time spot similar to what he had – 10:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday nights. (EWTN)
An anonymous person sent a letter of accusation against this man and in the Catholic church, the priests are now guilty until proven (if ever) innocent. This is a direct contravention of the American legal system.
It has been so long with nothing happening, that it is indeed time for John Corapi to now move on with life and help others as he has been doing all these years.
To listen to what John Corapi says himself, here is the link:
There is a special John Corapi Facebook page, just put in The Black SheepDog at the top of FB.
So Letterman can retire and John Corapi will bring us some real solid programming. (In case no one has Saturday night open . . .)
God Bless!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Bone Marrow Doners - Do Read About this 15-year-old's Bucket List
Alice Pyne of Ulverston, United Kingdom is 15 and has already had a bone marrow transplant. Yes, she is only 15 and she has a bucket list.
Go to the link below to read about Alice and how she has the British House of Commons supporting her.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Happy Birthday, John Edwards . . . and a Few Others!
John Edwards is 58 today.
So? Not so surprising that this fact was stated in the People column that appears daily in the newspaper.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth is 90 today. He has done well for himself, the Queen and England. Nice and tall and always at her side.
My sister-in-law is . . . well . . . about 61 today. She is a great gal who has had some sadness in her life but has been true and loyal to family and friends. She is a great gal!
The President's daughter, Sasha Obama is 10 today. She and her sister have done well. They have a grandmother who watches over them because both their father and mother work, you see. I presume it was her sister who made the comment when showered with well wishes after the election by their classmates when they arrived late to school after a late election night,
"Well, THAT was embarrassing!" You gotta love that remark!
And as I said, it is John Edwards' birthday today.
We CAN learn from others' mistakes and we can learn that some of the simplest people are the best people.
Be very careful to look inside the person, behind the facade because that is where the real story of that person is . . .
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Nothing Reminds Me Of Home Like Don Cherry
Now, generally, Don Cherry is wearing an outrageous jacket - really colorful, but I picked this picture because he is wearing a Canadian tie . . . or a tie with a Canadian motif.
Don Cherry at one time coached the Boston Bruins and has a wonderful program called Coache's Corner that is run when the hockey games are on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV. So, that is one thing I miss in Texas.
When I was a kid, Foster Hewitt used to commentate the games and he always opened with, "Good Evening Hockey Fans In Canada And The United States" on his own radio station, CKFH out of Toronto. After he died, his son, Bill continued the tradition.
Don Cherry, who at one time coached the Boston Bruins, started a program called Coach's Corner which was aired after games. He is known for his outspoken remarks and bright (well, okay . . . outrageous) outfits.
Don also has a string of restaurants where there is lots of sports memorabilia and good, hearty food. He also owned and showed Bull Terriers. (Yes, that would be his kind of dog.)
So, once in a long while we get to see Don Cherry but not very often. A wonderful fellow named Ron McLean plays straight man. (Somebody has to do it!)
Here's hoping we get to see this Canadian icon tonight when Vancouver Canucks play Boston Bruins in Vancouver. The time is 8:00 p.m. Eastern on either CBC or TSN in Canada and tonight it will be on NBC in United States. Next week, Versus Channel will also carry it. You might get some extra there tonight as well.
In case you ever wondered, Hockey is Canada's national WINTER sport. Lacrosse is the official summer sport ! Try that piece of trivia with your Molson Canadian which might have a label tonight that reads: Molson's Canuck. No, I am not kidding . . .
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Feeling Happy Today . . . and Younger, Too!
That picture was taken at our 50th St.Clement's Reunion in 2009, which means all of us are about the same age. Most of my class lives in the Toronto area, but not all.
Yes, that's me on the left, with Andrea on the right.
Andrea has kept in touch over the years and now she e-mails. She spends some of the year in Toronto and some over in England. A few of my classmates are not married, including Andrea.
So, this morning, Andrea sent a message that she and Brian went out to buy the engagement ring after she accepted his proposal of marriage. The wedding will be in October in Toronto, with another ceremony in England.
Wow . . . wow . . . wow!
I had an aunt whose sister was married for the first time a little younger than Andrea and I are when I was in my teens. Mother and I went to visit her and she had a girdle stretched around the back of a kitchen chair. I wrote about that once before when I was in the widownet.org group, so some some people have heard about that before.
I don't think Andrea will be doing that because I do not recall her ever needing to lose weight. You can see that she dares to wear a cream colored wool suit.
She comes from a musical family and I can imagine she will come down the aisle to "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring".
Well, after last year's five weddings . . . all brides in their 20s . . . and this years abundance of funerals, this news just makes me feel on top of the world today.
I am smiling so wide for you, Andrea! God Bless!