2011: Sunshine in the land of the living

The glass is usually half full in my life.
I'm just that sort of person.
Life has hit me with a few body slams. Of course, it has. You don't get to be 55 without losses and disappointments, and I try to take them in stride.
But I have to say, being on Facebook makes me even more grateful for a relatively stable and uneventful life.
Two years ago, one of the my university friends lost her mother and brother within days of each other. Mom died suddenly of a heart attack and brother died in a car crash. Last year, my friend lost her father.
While many of us were opening presents and toasting the baby Jesus, Rose spent Christmas eve rattling around the old homestead, by herself, talking to ghosts.
Another Facebook friend had to take her dog in for emergency surgery just before New Year's and had to cancel a planned and deserved holiday.
Yet another Facebook friend had to put down her ailing retriever on New Year's Day. She was absolutely devastated.
There is sad news today that my cousin Bruce Simpson died early this morning; at the age of 59, he lost his battle with dementia.
I didn't know cousin Bruce well. He was a close and admired friend of my brother Bob. I've never heard of anyone having dementia that young, and it seems holy unfair that a disease associated with old age could snuff the candle of someone who was so vibrant.
I was reading all of this last night while pondering a visit to the ER. I took a nasty tumble down a flight of stairs just before suppertime after getting my legs tangled in a gaggle of canines.
I wrenched my ankle fairly badly and it blew up like a football.
I was sure I'd broken my ankle but opted for RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) and cocktails rather than an eight-hour visit to the Ottawa Hospital. I just couldn't face a showdown with all the skiers and the drunks.
I was at the hospital on Hallowe'en.
On holidays, they have ONE doctor.
I didn`t relish a repeat performance.
Still hurting this morning, I am able to bear weight on my foot and the swelling has gone down, so it appears I made the right choice -- red wine and Baileys and a nice turkey dinner -- over snotty nosed kids and holiday yahoos.
I'm missing my daily jaunt to the gymnasty, and I'm expecting a week off at least, but I can't help but feel grateful.
And I can't help but think that my decision to get fit last year has paid off demonstrably. I fell down a flight of stairs, wrenched my ankle and landed on my hands and yet I do not appear to have broken any bones. My wrists aren't sore either.
Strength training has indeed paid off.
I`m also lucky.
Bones and tissue mend quickly but hearts take a long time to heal.
My love and best wishes go out to the broken hearted on this day.
To Rose, Retriever Fred`s mom, Leslie, and to cousin Julie who lost her brother. To Freda, Bruce's devoted wife.

And to Fred, the retriever. May you always run in fields of gold.
Today, I pray for sunshine for those of us lucky enough to be in the land of the living.

What Bell isn't telling you about Fibe TV

Update: This week, we switched back to Rogers after spending far too long using Bell's crappy television service. For those with Bell, read and weep. For those considering Bell, think twice even if you hate Rogers. RS I've always been an early technology adapter. I had a Betamax. That tells you everything (if you're over 50 at least). My first computer was a "Portable". It weighed 40 pounds and I had to lug it around town on a gurney. I've been through probably 15 computers in my lifetime. Apple is the best. It's also too expensive so I have a piece of shit HP, the one I'm writing this blog on. I've had cable, internet and now Netflix. American Netflix . That's how far ahead of the curve I am. I get all the newspapers for free. How? I disabled my cookies so they can't track me when I'm on the newspaper sites. Even the New York Times hasn't cottoned on to that trick. Hahaha. That will be a fifty buck consulting fee. Bein...

Ashley Simpson: Please sign this petition to help her family

Those who read this space regularly know that my family is frantic with worry about my cousin, Ashley Simpson , who has been missing 40 days now. Both her boyfriend and her landlord reported that she had left with no money, no car, no resources from her Salmon Arm, B.C. home after a domestic dispute over money. Since then, there has been no trace of her. The RCMP now considers this a homicide investigation, but the family has not heard any updates from them in more than three weeks. Just after she disappeared, her father, relatives and friends set out from St. Catharines on a long trek to B.C. to find her. They all left their work, and their lives, intent on finding Ashley who had always kept in touch. It was completely out of character for her to lose touch. Her parents have been consumed by worry. They have been unable to work, and are having a hard time functioning. As a result, they are now relying on donations from family and friends to keep the wolf from the door...

The strange case of Greg Etue

I got out of the daily news reporting game, I'll admit, because I didn't have the stomach to cover the many sad stories that came across my desk. I remember clearly once when I had to call an RCMP sergeant after his young son blew his head off with the officer's service revolver. "Please," he pleaded. "I really can't talk right now." "It was your gun, is that correct?" He slammed down the receiver. I was ashamed of myself. People have a right to some privacy in difficult times like that. I also used to hate having to go to the door of a dead child's home and jostle the competition for a picture. Really, it felt more like ghoulism than journalism. That said, I still believe that these stories must be told in an honest and forthright fashion with all the facts and none of the flourish and emotion that is all the rage in reporting these days. Over the past two years, we, in this community, have been treated to a lot o...

Rose's Cantina

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