I reckon that I’m a miner. No, not the kind that extracts things from the earth, but rather one who feels it necessary to own things that I just ‘had’ to have, but will probably only use twice in my lifetime (if I’m lucky). I’m the kind of miner that walks around in his garage saying, “That’s mine, and that’s mine, and that’s mine…” Why, I have enough sockets to disassemble the Eiffel Tower, power tools to start a furniture shop, and odds and sods to start a Continue reading »
Somebody asked me if I was for, or against, the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project. That’s like Crazy Lady asking me if a pair of jeans ‘make her butt look big’. I ain’t real sure there is a good response. But, to answer the question, I reckon that I’m against it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for folks having good paying jobs, but buying a Brooklyn Bridge just ain’t the way to go about it. City folk and Enbridge have a long history of being city smart, but Continue reading »
Recently I had the ‘pleasure’ of being surrounded by several persons of the female persuasion. Normally, Crazy Lady and I live a fairly quiet, almost reclusive life. But, once a year, I’m subjected to a feminine genetic reunion of three generations. Now, don’t get me wrong, Screeches and Cream’s family is just as nice as they come, but I’m just instinctively nervous about being a male around all that estrogen in one place, at one time. The nice thing is that O. Yesuwill always Continue reading »
Do you smell something rotten? Have you noticed that the closer you get to city hall, the worse that it gets? Well, I reckon there’s good reason why.Like the fact that we currently have politicians, who, as elected officials of the city, have as much actual political power as the Queen of England. The real people running the city are senior bureaucrats, who make obscene amounts of money compared to similar pay in the private sector. The salaries city managers are paid would be excessive in a thriving, wealthy and healthy city, overflowing with tax dollars to spend. But, the sad reality is Continue reading »
You know you’ve been a couple for a long time when you find yourselves spending an hour discussing whether or not you need to go to the store. Once it’s decided that we need to, Crazy Lady co-pilots the trip. Somehow, despite my deplorable driving practices, we manage to safely arrive at the parking lot. I usually like to go only so many rows, then park. I like to do it because it serves two purposes. I get to park close enough to satisfy me, and because The Navigator is not Continue reading »
You know you have anger problems when… I recently tried to think back over the years to find a time in life, before meeting Alli Everwant, when I wasn’t angry. I simply couldn’t recall a single time in my entire life when I wasn’t. Now, don’t get me wrong, there were tons of moments of love, laughter and fun, but always a cauldron of anger, hotter than lava, bubbled below the surface, waiting to erupt. I wasn’t even a ‘smart’ angry person, in fact, I reckon I was dumber than a Continue reading »
Age sure does funny things to people. Take Minnie Changes and I.When we first met, she’d all but curled into a fetal position and shut out the world. She was introverted, shy, and a reclusive person who was sick of all the pain people inflicted on each other. I, on the other hand, drank too much, talked too much, and had the social conscience of a politician. She cried at the drop of a hat, I laughed at the tragedies of mankind. She was afraid of mice, I gave a one fingered salute up Continue reading »
It is my humble opinion, that one of the greatest wastes of time, money and manpower in all of modern history, is the current education system. It is a gluttonous, insatiable pig, that needlessly consumes massive amounts of public resources to attempt to establish its own concept of a ‘social norm’, and, it has failed miserably. After more than two hundred years, all it has ever accomplished was producing worker bees to keep the financial honey flowing into the buckets of Continue reading »
I reckon that we all have irrational fears and phobias. For some, it may be a bug busily buzzing around them that sends them dashing about, flapping their arms like someone trying to flag down a helicopter. For others, it may be a spider or mouse that reduces them to a blubbering basket case, balanced on the highest object in a room. For still others, the threats are Continue reading »
It breaks my heart to see trade unions committing suicide, and sadly, they don’t even realize its happening.As a union supporter, and current member, it’s painful to watch them walking right into a trap with their eyes wide open, totally oblivious to the danger. So, just what the heck am I talking about? It’s important to look back to the roots of organized labour, when employers had virtually no accountability for employee wages, rights and safety. People worked long hours in horrible conditions, for very, very little money, where mutilation and death were acceptable ‘occupational risks’. Unions formed to protect the ‘common man’. Their noble fight, and ongoing sacrifices, have improved the living and working conditions for millions, not just for union members, but for the Continue reading »