I am a firm believer that summer doesn't actually end until September 21st but the fact of the matter is that true summer fun kind of ends when the kids go back to school after Labour Day. There are still a busy 3 weeks ahead of us here in Freddy with the students back, the Frex in town, and then the Blues Festival which is, essentially, the real end of summer for me.
No matter when I feel it truly ends, now or in a few weeks, this summer is going to feel like it flew by. The Black Spruce season seems like an age ago now but it took place mostly in the spring. The crappy weather we had in early August was forgettable and therefore so was a good few weeks of summer. We can hope for a sunny fall but the shorter days mean its just not as good for summer fun.
On our daily lunch excursion today we came across a smile-inducing sign at the Fredericton Inn. Apparently the Gun Show is coming to town this weekend. That's exciting stuff.
If only they could somehow conduct a poll to see how many guys looked at their wives after seeing that sign and said "Got your tickets yet?"
This week marks the second anniversary of me owning a home. Or I guess more accurately, the York Credit Union owning a home on my behalf. I have tried, valiantly, for two years to keep the homo out of homeowner but today at lunch I found myself at the mall telling Jackman that I needed to go the wicker emporium to look at drapes. "It's a nice little Saturday".So far I have had 5 different roomates, including a Scotsman and a displaced Gyp-Nor. The house used to be a bakery and I sometimes refer to it as such but it just doesn't feel the same; it's still the Southside Embassy to me. I love the neighbourhood and have only been broken into once and even then it was just a couple of friendly bears looking for honey. I plan on making some changes to the house but I'm in no rush as I see myself happy there for the time being.
It was with a bit of sadness that I watched the Olympics come to a close this morning in spectacular fashion. For two weeks every four years the world slows to pay attention to the best athletes on the planet. Some will go back to being mega-stars, while others will go back to toiling in obscurity, and some will decide how they might be able to juggle training with med school. Regardless of where they go now they will all remember their two weeks in Beijing.
I have always been a big fan of the Olympics; starting with our big medal haul in LA in '84, the roller coaster of Ben Johnson in Seoul, feeling immense redemption as we crowded around a 18" small screen on Graham Ave. to watch Donavan Bailey win gold in '96. I haven't been that excited about a single summer Olympic event until this year when cousin Jane raced. I was as proud to be her cousin as I was proud to be Canadian when Donovan won. What a wonderful feeling.
The Olympics are, of course, much more than games. They are big business; some of the events were scheduled to start at odd hours so it would match up with American prime-time because it is the biggest single television market in the world. It is also a political stage and much was, and will be, said about how this will help or hurt the people of China. It was certainly a wonderful showcase for the formerly reclusive country. But at its very core, the athletes and their competition, little could do more than to give you hope for humanity. These are the best and brightest and it's so nice to see them shake hands after games and mingle at the ceremonies. And It's either as sad testament to my mental state or a hats off to MacDonald's marketing department but, as I sat and thought about the contrast of wars starting in Georgia as the Olympics were on another channel this commercial made the most sense in the world to me:
I will now wait patiently for Vancouver in 2010 and hope that Jane considers giving it one more go in London or that some other cousin steps up.
I will also be wondering how we can broadcast more nursery rhymes for all the world to hear.
I don't usually do any griping about the weather. I'm usually the one reminding people of a good July when we get a few shitty days in August. This year has been a bit different though. We got more rain in August then I thought possible. There was actually flooding in northern NB and the water is still high here. The weather has turned for the better though and it looks like we might get a few more weeks of summer before the nights get chilly. I have managed to squeeze some good summer fun into the few good nights we've had in August but I still need a little more summer fun. Here's to hoping:
Some streaks are good and some streaks are bad. Winning streaks are great and records for futility are bad. Some streaks can't go on forever and some streaks CAN'T go on forever can they? I once again failed to catch a salmon at the fishing camp despite the fact that they were all over the place.As per usual, the one thing I did catch was a buzz. We arrived on Monday at around 7pm. We got in about an hour of fishing before tucking in for dinner. Shortly thereafter I decided it would be a good idea to crack a bottle of Sailor Jerry's. Earwitness accounts have us calling it a night sometime around 5, about an hour before the good fishing starts. I did not roll out of bed until 12:30 at which point I swore that the boys were playing a trick on me. It was then I decided that Sailor Jerry's is banned from the fishing camp; at least when I'm there. Little Forks is a prolific fishing camp but it is next to impossible to catch a salmon from a bunk.
There were a few fish caught but thankfully, for this selfish prick, unlike last year not everyone but Randy and I caught fish. The water is still high which means there was a lot more water to cover but they were jumping all over the place. When I wasn't in bed, I was fishing pretty hard. It would appear that I'm just a little bit snake-bitten. But I am comfortable in my role as the lovable loser of Little Forks Lodge.
As usual Malcolm and Kevin kept us entertained and as always, despite the streak, we had a great time. As they say "A bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work".
I'm off this afternoon for a couple more days vacation, this time heading up to the Little Southwest Miramichi river, and more specifically to Little Forks Fishing lodge. Randell and I will be heading in with the aim of breaking our shared 3 year shutout streak and my personal 20+ year salmon shutout streak at the camp. As usual, we will be hosted by Malcolm MacAfee who does not guarantee fish, but whose presence does guarantee a good time.
These lovely ladies are Canada's Women's 8 (with coxswain) rowers. This morning they finished 4th in the Olympic finals. They rowed an incredible race and were narrowly edged out by the Romanian and Dutch boats. Cousin Jane's facebook page has already been updated to read "Jane Rumball...knows that was a heartbreaker. Couldn't have done anything more. 4th by 0.82 seconds. Thanks everyone!!!!" I honestly couldn't be any more proud of her, medal or not.
As an aside, I remember Dad and Sarah telling me what it was like for them to watch me get my shot to play for Canada. I never really knew what it must have felt like but think I have a pretty good idea now. For Jane's race my heart was in my throat, my hands were sore afterwards from wringing them so hard during the race, and I may have gotten a little teary-eyed by the end of the race. It's amazing what a little blood can do...
I hope Jane now gets a chance to enjoy the Olympic atmosphere and take in as much as possible. She has earned it all. And she only has a few weeks off before she starts med school. She's pretty special...I guess.
Jane, thank you for making this Olympic experience unlike any other for me. Everyone back home is so proud of you.
August 15 is National Acadian Day so, today, across that great swath of New Brunswick where pink houses and purple cars are the norm, Acadian flags will be even more ubiquitous. The history of the Acadians in the maritimes is, first and foremost, really freaking old. They are celebrating the 403 anniversary of the settlement of Acadia. Since then it was quite a roller-coaster ride. They managed to carve out an existence alongside the Native peoples of the Maritimes. When the region became a flashpoint for the British and French global tug-o-war they were unceremoniously expelled in 1755 (Le Grand Derangement). Some of them managed to stay close by and since then have worked hard to retian their distinct culture. I think it is wonderful that they have managed to do so and am proud to say Vive l'Acadie. Being (moderately) biligual is still one of my favourite achievements and it is thanks to persistant Acadians that we are the only biligual province in Canada.
My favourite Canadian band, The Band, had a special place in their hearts for the Acadians and two of their songs are stories of them. Here is the history song:
See Jane at the Olympics: See Jane row at the Olympics:The next picture will hopefully be the one from the podium.
Cousin Jane and her teammates qualified for the final this morning by winning their repechage heat. They will be rowing in one of the center lanes in Sunday's Final. Racetime is 6:10am Atlantic time. Set your alarm clocks...it looks like there is a chance this still might be Canada's first medal.
So apparently I missed this on my vacation to PEI last week but Freddy Beach has been anything but beach like for the past 10 days or so. There is much doom and gloom around the old office which is just great for a guy coming off vacation. Rainy days and Mondays indeed...
Luckily we do have Olympic fever to brighten our spirits and cousin Jane is racing today so hopefully she'll spiritually lift the fog from the Beach. Failing that we have all kinds of funny pictures from the Olympics to keep us smiling. Here is a sample: Not sure how you explain this one to Laura, George.Dubya being DubyaAnd a classic nip slip Smiles all around!
Some bad news for the upcoming trip to the Island; our PEI correspondent has confirmed that Wednesday's Loverboy concert at the Summerside Wellness Center has been cancelled due to low ticket sales. This is especially sad news after we spent Friday night doing a YouTube tour of Loverboy's greatist hits. And what hits they are; check it out here, here, here and here. Classic, classic stuff. It kills me that we won't get to see this although I'm not sure if it's the music I was keen for or just excited to see what kind of crowd shows up for a Loverboy concert these days.
Oh well, we'll make due. To aid in my mood, I have watched this commercial over and over again. It makes me laugh every time.
This motley crue of young gentlemen are the 2008 Provincial Champion Fredericton Loyalist U-20s. This was the first year in a while that a formal U-20 league actually took place and we managed to come out on top. I like to think the final came down to Blake and I winning the chess match between coaches but in reality we just had the better team. The most important part of our job as coaches was to make sure they made it to the games and had jerseys to wear. The rest of it took care of itself. If we can convince some of these guys to keep playing rugby for a while the club will be in good shape.
I am off work for a week and, frankly, couldn't be happier with the prospect. Yesterday was our end of quarter so no better time to enjoy some time off. I hope to spend as much time as possible sitting on a beach pondering life's unimportant questions, like what time is an acceptable time to have your first beer. I may or may not be seen around the internets for a week or so. I hope you can all manage.
