test blog #10

As the state of Florida continues to devolve , Canadian snowbirds are warned to fly low. You may have heard about Florida's new "shoot first" law, which immunizes anyone who "feels threatened" (nice precise term, eh?) and responds to that feeling with a gun. Florida law has always permitted people to shoot home intruders - or anyone thought to be a home intruder. The new law extends that right outside the home, and allows people to carry a concealed weapon. In response to this lunacy, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence launched a public education campaign warning tourists that they now face a greater risk of bodily harm within the state of Florida. Good strategy, considering Florida's dependence on tourism. From the Brady Campaign: Individuals who are unfamiliar with Florida's roads, traffic regulations and customs, or who speak foreign languages, or look different than Florida residents, may face a higher risk of danger - because they may be mo...

I've just been reading about Canadian Thanksgiving , which sounds very similar to Thanksgiving in the US, without the football and the Macy's Day Parade. I haven't celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving in I don't know how long. Some years Allan and I would serve meals to homeless people, sometimes we'd go to a friend's house, and one year we hosted a big gathering of friends. Mostly we'd get some profitable overtime the night before and the day after, and spend the holiday enjoying some quiet time at home together. So it's kind of amusing that this year we end up doing the family thing for both the Canadian and US Thanksgivings. My mom's visit is purely coincidental, then we'll go to New Jersey in late November, when all our nieces and nephews will be at their parents' home. I wish Canadian readers a very happy Thanksgiving. I'm very grateful to be here.

This happened yesterday, too, but it deserves its own post. My sister called to tell us that she had saved someone's life. Seriously. The night before, at a restaurant. Judy is a registered nurse. Out to dinner for her husband's birthday, she noticed a man at a nearby table, and recognized he had Parkinson's disease. What she didn't know is that the man was also blind. His wife was cutting his food for him. My sister went to the ladies' room, and when she returned, the room was in chaos. Someone was attempting to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on the man with Parkinson's - but he was already unconscious. Apparently instead of eating the piece of meat his wife had cut for him, he had picked up the big piece she was cutting from - and swallowed it. And no one had the slightest idea what to do. Judy asked if anyone had called 911 yet. They had. Calm and collected, she laid the man out on the floor, undid his shirt and performed CPR. Everyone was shouting things to ...

My mother and I had a lovely, ordinary day yesterday. We picked up the shades I had ordered at Home Depot, returned something to Ikea, bought a few things at Ikea and Canadian Tire. (The shades fit! Huge sigh of relief.) Later we all took the dogs for a lakeside stroll, hung out in the backyard, had a terrific Greek dinner in the neighbourhood, looked at some of the beautiful streets and houses nearby. But the unquestionable Canadian highlight of the day came at 8:00 p.m.: we saw "Hockey Night In Canada" for the first time. More specifically, we saw Don Cherry in action. Allan and I knew of Don Cherry. We've seen pictures of him, a news clip here and there, and when a HNIC outrage erupts, we see it in the US sports media. But we had never seen him at work, until last night. Whoa. Let me put it this way. When I saw him spoofed on "Air Farce," I assumed it was exaggerated. But the man himself is a spoof - a walking parody. Come on, folks. Can this be real? We di...

Alan With One L sent me this excellent editorial from the New York Times . As B.W. Ventril says : The New York Times doesn’t yet seem to have had a post-Katrina spinedectomy. In fact, their editorial today tears Bush yet another new asshole. The President is becoming. . . porous. Read it, anyway. It will brighten up your day. Though it will also make you wonder why the Times wasn’t doing this sort of thing, say, two years ago. I suppose the brief appearance of a spine on the Times ' pages is to be lauded, even though we know it's a rental. The editorial ends thusly: The president's inability to grow beyond his big moment in 2001 is unnerving. But the fact that his handlers continue to encourage him to milk 9/11 is infuriating. For most of us, the memories are fresh and painful. We mourn the people who died on Sept. 11, as we mourn Daniel Pearl and other Americans, not to mention innocents from other countries, who were murdered by terrorists. The administration's pencha...

My mom (CK) arrived safe and sound yesterday. Allan and I ran around the airport a bit - Pearson could use some better signage for arrivals and terminals. But now we know that all flights from the US come in to Terminal 2, Zone A, and by the time CK cleared customs we were waiting for her. It was so good to see her! We saw a little bit of the neighbourhood, did the house tour and had dinner at our favorite Irish pub, the one with the story we never get tired of telling, and a brief stroll along the lake. We watched a frustrating ball game, and CK got to see the baseball-loving branch of her family in action. I think she was quite bemused by the spectacle. I don't think I'll have much to report, as we're not planning anything exciting. Just enjoying each other's company. My mother does have a lot of questions about life in Canada, so if I stumble on any revelations, no matter how trivial, I'll report back. No observation too small for wmtc! Hey, this morning, for the...

How many days til spring training? Now, about those Maple Leafs...