tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61699910084279842052024-03-16T00:33:13.167-07:00Left Coast Mumblings by Colin T. PatersonStuff That Came From Somewhere?Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-84594610903203468512022-01-09T00:02:00.002-08:002022-01-09T08:54:17.910-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPIzKuAqJQs-f4hWNS7vAWI1YJiECSPNwUcSLffrXGowBf1nX5dZFAjrENMSixTt_Cxt_McaoGTuC4MDd-ra609XkN6jZeV2hbPgt5f2dn5bQgSKH7TYsWijpetZJ_sOd6nCXV5EMoHQQN7jFDnp5_N5ByiWSKmysvbnQqH3EKgd4GUGy7sIV_sJq5=s735" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="735" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPIzKuAqJQs-f4hWNS7vAWI1YJiECSPNwUcSLffrXGowBf1nX5dZFAjrENMSixTt_Cxt_McaoGTuC4MDd-ra609XkN6jZeV2hbPgt5f2dn5bQgSKH7TYsWijpetZJ_sOd6nCXV5EMoHQQN7jFDnp5_N5ByiWSKmysvbnQqH3EKgd4GUGy7sIV_sJq5=w464-h243" width="464" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial Black","sans-serif"">HER
(HIS) MAJESTY”S THEATRE MONTREAL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was the autumn of 1962. I was living at the Boy’s Home of
Montreal, also known as Weredale House. (It’s a long story.) The Westmount
Rotary Club was one of the sponsors of Weredale House and most of their members
leaned Conservative when it came to politics. There was a federal election that
fall and the administration at the home asked for volunteers to work on the
Conservative campaign. I was the only one who responded. I ended up stuffing
envelopes and doing other things at Victoria Hall where the campaign
headquarters was located. It kept me away from doing homework in an overheated
classroom at the home for a few weeks. I think the district was called
Westmount-Little St. Antoine. The Conservative candidate was a guy named Egan Chambers
who was the incumbent. Unfortunately for him, his competition was John Turner
who had been “parachuted” into the riding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chambers lost badly. Turner later became Canada’s finance minister and
briefly PM. The highlight of the campaign was being within a few feet of PM Diefenbaker
at a rally at Delormier Stadium.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the spring of 1963<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Weredale House received a short letter from the Westmount Conservative
Party thanking the boys for helping out during the election. I still have the
letter somewhere. It was typed on blue paper about 4” square. (Thrifty
Conservatives?) I found it amusing that I really was the only boy who had
helped. A group of about 15 boys were invited to see a musical at Her Majesty’s
Theatre on Guy Street. I have no idea how they were selected. We were a
somewhat rough looking crew and I think a few of the boys wore their issued
sweater with reindeers on them. At one point we were standing in a group when I
looked up and noticed 3 girls coming down the wide stairway. I’m not sure
whether they recognized me or not. The musical was called Carousel and starred
Ed Ames. Jo-Anne Worley (later on Laugh-in) was also in the cast. Ed Ames was
part of a singing group (The Ames Brothers) that had a number of hits in the
1950s. He also played an Indian side kick on the Daniel Boone TV series. More
than anything Ed Ames is probably most famous for a bit he did on the Johnny
Carson Show. He threw a tomahawk at a stick figure target and it landed right
in the stick figure’s privates.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Carousel was certainly one of the last musicals performed at
Her Majesty’s Theatre. Months later the building was torn down. The building
was built in 1898 when Queen Victoria was still alive. For many decades the
building was called “His” Majesty’s Theatre until Queen Elizabeth was crowned.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An odd thing is that I have never voted Conservative in my
life. Mostly Liberal and lately Green.</p>Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-50010392797559495562020-09-07T04:30:00.000-07:002020-09-07T04:30:49.845-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mayhem In The Streets Of America<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been almost 100 days now since George Floyd was
murdered by Minneapolis police officers. I believe that there is enough proof
in the aftermath of that event that the US should no longer allow organized or
disorganized large demonstrations at night in US cities. Some would say that
that would be an infringement on citizen’s rights to express themselves. My
answer to that is isn’t there enough time in the broad daylight to protest? How
many speeches are needed in one day to get points across? There is always the
next day for the protests to continue. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We aren’t clueless people. There is something very different
about the light of day and the darkness of night. In the daytime we are all
clearly visible. Not so much at night. In the daytime we can clearly identify
what and who are around us. Not so much at night. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At night the darkness can make it harder to
have our bearings and because we can’t see clearly in the dark there is the
uncertainty of the unknown. At night in large crowds tensions increase and people
can be panicked by loud noises like firecrackers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are things that are predictable that are going to
happen if a black person is killed or beaten badly by the police when the black
person posed no physical threat. Crowds of black people will form that evening
and some of them will start looting local stores and steal things like TVs and
sneakers. It is hard to say whether these actions are fuck the system that did
this to our people or simply opportunism or both. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second thing that will happen is that organized protests
will be lead by black leaders. In most cases these protests will include a lot
of white people who are sympathetic to the cause. The Rev Al Sharpton will most
likely turn up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The third important ingredient to the protests are the “lookie-loos”,
the mostly young people who go downtown to see what mayhem is occurring. Often
there are as many of these people as there are protesters. They usually stand
around on the fringes of the protesters. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fourth important ingredient are the pure shit disturbers
who want to fan the flames of unrest. They are a small minority but can be very
effective in causing mayhem through vandalism and arson. Once they have
committed their acts they can fairly easily blend into the crowds of
lookie-loos on the fringes of the demonstration. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s go back to the beginning of the Black Lives Matter
demonstration after George Floyd was murdered. MSNBC’s Ali Velshi was out in
the street the first night. He was having a hell of time trying to figure out
what people were representing what. We could see businesses burning. We would
often see guys riding around on bikes and some of the bike riders had large
backpacks attached to them. The thought occurred to me why would anyone need a
large backpack to attend a demonstration? Were they carrying rocks, fireworks,
stuff to start fires? Cops on foot are never going to catch up to a guy on a
speeding bike. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Something that is not mentioned very often is the millions
of young people who feel betrayed by a system that is never going to give them
the opportunity of owning a house or raising a family in a good neighbourhood. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of them work at low wage dead end jobs.
There are now millions more of them unemployed due to covid-19. A small number
of them may be prone to committing vandalism at Black Lives Matter events.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trump and his Attorney General Bill Barr have identified the
hooligans and vandals as left wing anarchists including members of a group
called Antifa. They refuse to admit that right wing groups like The Proud Boys,
The Bugaloos, The Three Percenters, The Oath Keepers, often turn up at Black
Lives Matter demonstrations. Isn’t it strange that all of these right wing
extremist groups worship Trump but you will never see an Antifa wearing a Biden
hat or waving a Biden sign? The reason is there is absolutely no connection
between Antifa and the Democrat Party.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You may have wondered who Antifa are? They are a loosely
knit group that started in Europe over 3 decades ago. Their premise was that
before WW2 many people in Germany stood by while right wing fascist groups took
over the country. They see right wing militia groups in the US carrying out
fascist acts and stand up to them even when it comes to physical clashes. Antifa
has been in existence in the US for about 25 years. Over that period of time
they have never killed anyone. I’m not trying to paint them as being harmless
but they don’t come close to being compared to right wing domestic terrorists
in the US. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1995 right wing terrorist Timothy McVeigh killed 168
people and wounded 680 others when he bombed a federal building in Oklahoma
City. Right wing domestic terrorists have murdered 329 people in the last 25
years including killing 12 Jews at synagogues in Poway, California and
Pittsburgh, the mass murder of 23 Hispanics at a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas,
the killing of 9 worshippers at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
This year the Bugaloos assassinated 2 police officers in Oakland, California.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are about 275 militia groups in the US and they are in
all 50 US states. Some of their core beliefs may differ but basically most of
them are anti-government. Most of them are anti-tax and anti-immigration. Most
of them consider themselves to be white supremacists. All of these groups are
right wing and all of them love Donald Trump. There are no left wing militia
groups to speak of.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You may have noticed that Trump never has a bad word to say
about right wing extremists. Fear is something Trump learned long ago is
something he can stoke to his benefit. Trump’s daughter Ivanka is Jewish as is
his son in law Jared Kushner. When hundreds of white supremacists carrying tiki
torches marched in Charlottesville in 2017 chanting “Jews will not replace us.”
Trump said that were “good people” on both sides.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few nights ago 600 cars driven by right wing extremists
turned up in Portland. Oregon. Many of them were not from Oregon. A number of
these people would really like to see a civil war in the US.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several days ago a 17 year old Trump follower killed 2
people and wounded another with an AK-15 rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Instead
of the cops getting him off the street they chatted with him and offered him
water. Not one of the cops thought of asking the 17 year old how old he was and
if he had a license to carry the rifle in the open. It’s no secret that most
cops lean to the right politically in the US. It’s also no secret that many of
them have lost their jobs for racist comments on Facebook and social media.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In closing I am going to add a couple of personal observations
of riots from the past.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the late 1960s I witnessed a riot in Montreal that
involved a St. Jean Baptiste parade in Montreal on Sherbrooke Street. I was a
spectator along with many others. I’m not sure what exactly happened. Maybe
some people threw rocks or bottles at the police. If so I didn’t see it. All of
a sudden the police were coming in our direction with their helmets on and
waving their batons. It wasn’t a time to try and explain that we weren’t the
rock throwers and a whole crowd of us took off running down the side streets
and alleys. I know that was long ago but when I see people running away at the
riots in the US it makes me uneasy about how TV watchers could assume that the
people running away must have committed some kind of crime.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2011 the Vancouver Canucks hockey team was playing the
Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals. The city put up a few giant screens in
downtown Vancouver so fans who didn’t have tickets could watch. A crowd of
about 75,000 turned up on the streets for the 7<sup>th</sup> and deciding game
which Vancouver lost. Moments later, complete mayhem broke out. Over 20 cars
including cop cars were set on fire. Stores were looted. There was over 4
million dollars in damage to buildings. The question is why did this happen and
who did it? It certainly wasn’t a political issue. It wasn’t a class issue.
Pretty well all of the shit disturbers and vandals were white and young in age.
It wasn’t a racial issue. Downtown Vancouver is a very expensive place to live
even in 2011. It was pretty obvious that most of the shit disturbers were from
the suburbs of Vancouver like Surrey and Burnaby. They were in the midst of a
huge crowd that was very wired up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
may be hard for some to understand but there are a small number of younger people
who really enjoy mayhem. They don’t really have a cause or strong political
beliefs. They just want to watch as the shit hits the fan. They don’t represent
the major part of the crowd. In fact, 15,000 volunteers turned up the following
morning to clean up the mess the vandals left behind. My point is that a lot of
the rioting in the US is fomented by pure shit disturbers and not by political
types or protesters. </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-66450716958830940922020-08-19T15:00:00.004-07:002020-08-19T15:00:41.843-07:00
<br />
<strong> RACISM AND KEEPING IT REAL</strong><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxKhRd5sz1SG4Ibpb7CbaJtN60FeDwF5lI_gZTcLmSm50nV3rmlZC3AeP75_p6LGT_AzfEtmG5YnXqJ1VXAMGEcztOk7j_usZKwxeY_gifJl2A7be-aa3LaPi9_YeaHlHMf2ZRBworPc/s1600/images8NZDPLFH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="286" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxKhRd5sz1SG4Ibpb7CbaJtN60FeDwF5lI_gZTcLmSm50nV3rmlZC3AeP75_p6LGT_AzfEtmG5YnXqJ1VXAMGEcztOk7j_usZKwxeY_gifJl2A7be-aa3LaPi9_YeaHlHMf2ZRBworPc/s400/images8NZDPLFH.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Biden and Kamala Harris</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know that even before writing this that there are people
who will not agree with what I am about to say here. I can take the incoming
flak. I consider myself to be a liberal and part of my core beliefs are things
to do with fairness. Sometimes I agree with people’s general beliefs but I am
not a big fan of bullshit no matter who is slinging it.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am a strong supporter of Black Lives Matter and believe
the American cops have killed a number of blacks in cold blood without just
cause. I am a 100% in favour of complete civil rights. I also believe that
there is a lot of racism in the US and that that country had a horrible past of
slavery and Jim Crow laws.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXYOF1gan6BjjzBtyw-YhcT_W-rU6laOqx7FJfI3sIT5s-UAdEIy3PCzcED-rVl9geeSN99kLwgJMyNbOYxOsRlFwC9AuIXlCYEX79R8DL11UVaL-pXpF9SJ19EJLCy9bmIXDgrkJU0M/s1600/imagesYTTAGSHE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="283" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXYOF1gan6BjjzBtyw-YhcT_W-rU6laOqx7FJfI3sIT5s-UAdEIy3PCzcED-rVl9geeSN99kLwgJMyNbOYxOsRlFwC9AuIXlCYEX79R8DL11UVaL-pXpF9SJ19EJLCy9bmIXDgrkJU0M/s400/imagesYTTAGSHE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joy Reid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is where I take exception to some black voices,
particularly show hosts on MSNBC like Joy Reid, Al Sharpton and some weekend
black hosts. They all claim over and over that black women are the core of the
Democratic Party. They have all applied pressure on Joe Biden to select a black
woman as his running mate. Joy Reid likes to say that black voters are not a
monolith like they have other options. They really don’t but she keeps saying
it. It isn’t complicated as to why most blacks would vote Democrat instead of
Republican. First of all the Democrats passed the Civil Rights Bill in 1964.
The Democrats elected a black man, Barak Obama, president of the United States
twice. Obama had 2 black Attorney Generals when he was in office. There are 52
black Democratic men and women in congress. There is only 1 black Republican in
congress and he isn’t running again. Add on all the social programs the
Democratic Party is in favour of and it is absolutely a no brainer for blacks
to vote Democrat. Oh, and one last thing on this topic, you can be a racist in
the Republican Party and still remain in office but you can’t be a racist in
the Democratic Party. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joy Reid is very selective in the data she uses to support
her claims about black women voters like something close to 90% of black women
who do vote vote Democrat. This is true but all black women and black men for
that matter don’t vote. Black people make up about 13-14% of the American
population. In most areas of the US a black person can’t get elected without a
large white turnout supporting them. There are approximately 50 million black
Americans in America. In the last general election Trump won states where over
31 million black Americans live. The math says that close to 60% of black
voters had no effect on getting a Democrat elected president. It’s just a fact.
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What is rarely mentioned by Joy Reid and others who think
like her is that white people are not a monolith either. Back in the 60s a
number of whites marched with Martin Luther King. LBJ passed the Civil Rights
Act in 64. Millions of white people have stood up to racism over the last 60
years. If you watch the protests and demonstrations on TV you can clearly see
many white people supporting Black Lives Matter.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzwyzCVC6FxTW0aJkCFdz7O0suASLfuT4a_L369eG5qYsEMazf5AQ075cTSLIrdkj9iveaaYl0Q9dasCRXoCGF2m0ZQ8tOVJLaD1UqdKBKrV0rdMaOcfWGSyiF9TJ_0fpQsgZ_nTkdMQ/s1600/imagesJ2U5K79T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzwyzCVC6FxTW0aJkCFdz7O0suASLfuT4a_L369eG5qYsEMazf5AQ075cTSLIrdkj9iveaaYl0Q9dasCRXoCGF2m0ZQ8tOVJLaD1UqdKBKrV0rdMaOcfWGSyiF9TJ_0fpQsgZ_nTkdMQ/s400/imagesJ2U5K79T.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of white people supporting Black Lives Matter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s go back to the Democratic primaries which occurred
some time ago. Biden was struggling. Progressives like Bernie Sanders and
Elizabeth Warren were giving him a run for his money and had a Democratic party
favourability of over 45%. The Democratic “old boys and girls” people behind
the scenes were starting to panic. Could the progressive candidates stand a
chance against Trump? In stepped the 79 year old Jim Clyburn from South
Carolina who threw his total support behind Biden and the rest is history.
Everyone knew that Biden was prone to gaffs but he also is a very likable guy
who shows sincere empathy for his fellow citizens. Biden is now leading Trump
by a substantial margin.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what else went on at those Democrat primaries? The front
runners were Biden, Sanders, Warren, and Mayor Pete who all had their moments. There
were a lot of candidates. Two of them were black, Corey Booker and Kamala Harris.
Corey Booker is a very likable guy and many had seen former prosecutor Harris
effectively go after Republicans in hearings. In the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> debate
Harris pulled the rug out from Biden about bussing. It was a well planned
attack that ended with her saying “….and that little girl was me!” What she
didn’t mention was that there was no bussing in her high school years because
she was living in Canada during those times. In the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> debate
Harris had the rug pulled out from her by an obscure and weird candidate from
Hawaii. It didn’t look good on Harris. She was done.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My question to Joy Reid is if black women voters in the
Democratic Party are so powerful why did Booker or Harris have so few votes for
them? There were a lot of blacks in California who weren’t big fans of Harris’s
because she had a number of them incarcerated.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It took a long time for Biden to pick his VP running mate. He
said he was going to pick a woman. This was not good enough for Joy Reid and
her friends. It had to be a black woman, not a Hispanic/Latino who are 20% of
the US population, not a white woman like progressive and effective Elizabeth
Warren who is really liked by at least 45% of the Democratic Party. To me it
seemed like Biden was almost being blackmailed. Don’t pick a black VP running
mate and maybe black voters would just stay home because there would be nothing
in it for them.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am not saying Harris is a total disaster. She is very
bright and had a great laugh. On the other hand she seems to go where the wind
blows sometimes like taking back her plan for universal health care. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Biden is 77. He will be 78 in November. A lot of people
don’t think he could serve 2 terms if he gets elected and I would agree. Being
president is an exhausting job. Normally when a president decides not to run
the next person up is the VP. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is no doubt racism is still a big problem in the US.
Personally I would like to see a bit more on TV of black political show hosts
saluting white Americans who have stood with blacks over the years. 6% of
Californians are black and yet Kamala got elected senator. Also racism isn’t
always a 1 way street. Some time ago Kamala Harris mentioned that there were
some white kids when she was a kid who weren’t allowed to play with her. I’m
not sure what her point was other than show that she too had experienced
prejudice. Harris grew up in a middle class family with a well paid single
mother. She hasn’t exactly had a hard life. I wonder what black people would
say if a white politician said that some black guy stole his bike when he was a
kid. Most likely they would say it isn’t fair to label all of us with that. The
same thing would be true if white people are generalized as racists. Most of us
aren’t.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the scheme of things what I have written here is not
extremely important. To me fairness is fairness. The most important thing at
this point in time in America is getting rid of the total asshole that has been
ruining the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully the close to 4
year nightmare will come to an end.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-2264873866456469952020-07-02T21:41:00.001-07:002020-07-05T09:23:51.474-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Trying To Solve A 65 Year Old Mystery</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPr-hCjBBdad_EopNt1vI14pigHQocc8SPvIV57_7dqa-46bmcCbOBvuh-MpHkhYzjCcIfxtuZ32UGKHSFzoy7GuufaQOtmdgPgf4wZuJzvWDE_ikjuIRFxSmNcb6WuhtPWsHDQsrqSU/s1600/059%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPr-hCjBBdad_EopNt1vI14pigHQocc8SPvIV57_7dqa-46bmcCbOBvuh-MpHkhYzjCcIfxtuZ32UGKHSFzoy7GuufaQOtmdgPgf4wZuJzvWDE_ikjuIRFxSmNcb6WuhtPWsHDQsrqSU/s400/059%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo was taken in 2012. Back in the 1950s the driveway was gravel and a Mr. Beauchamin would come by with his tractor with 45 gallon drums filled with water to give it traction and plow the snow away. 4590 and 4592 Harvard Avenue.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1951 my family moved into
an upstairs flat in the middle class district of Notre Dame de Grace in
Montreal. 4590 Harvard Avenue. Back then “flats” were sometimes called
duplexes. More often than not the buildings were actually “fourplexes” that
housed 4 families with separate entrances. One side of the building
“copycatted” the other side of the building. They were kind of like large
apartments. Our flat had four bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a separate
dining room, a breakfast nook, a pantry off of the kitchen, and a small
bathroom. There was also shared basement space and two garages built into the
building on either side of the fourplex.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were thousands of
buildings in Notre Dame de Grace (NDG) and other Montreal districts that were
similar to the one we lived in. Most of the units were administered by trust
companies like Montreal Trust and Royal Trust. Nobody owned their own flat back
then but there were a few single family homes dotted throughout the
neighbourhood that were privately owned. NDG had a hill in the middle of the
community. The more desirous places to live were on the northern slope of the
hill where we lived. I think my father paid something like $140.00 per month
for our flat in the 1950s. Rent got cheaper the further down the southern slope
of the hill one lived at.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Previously to moving in we
had lived in an apartment building a few blocks way. The birth of my younger
sister in 1952 necessitated the move. We needed more space. We became a family
of 6 including two boys and two girls. For some reason May 1<sup>st</sup> used
to be moving day in Quebec. It never seemed to make a lot of sense. The school
year didn’t end until the end of June. I can vaguely recall the day we moved
in. It was overcast.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Downstairs Neighbours</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We quickly became aware of
our downstairs neighbours shortly after moving in. There were 3 of them and we
would know them for the next 14 years or so. At the time, in 1951/1952, there
was a middle aged woman we called Mrs. Myers, her son Billy who was in his
early thirties, and an adopted son named Peter Tellier who was 8 or 9 years of
age. There was also an overweight cat named Tippy who was white with gray and
black spots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were a few advantages
to living downstairs. The biggest one was probably the fact that they had a
fenced in backyard and we didn’t. For some reason they were also responsible
for the maintenance of the front lawn. They also had a bigger basement than we
did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mrs. Myers wasn’t the
friendliest person I’ve ever met. She always seemed to have a scowl on her
face. She certainly wasn’t fussy about our family at all and let it be known
from time to time. She also kind of acted like we were her tenants and that she
wrote the rules. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Her son Billy was probably
the first gay person I ever met in life. Billy was gay before I even knew what being
gay meant. He was about 22 years older than his adopted brother Peter. They
never seemed to have much in common and I can’t recall much interaction between
the two of them. Billy’s big hobby was gardening. He would spend hours tending
to his flowers in his backyard and could often be seen with a water hose in
hand at the back and the front of the building. Billy also had a garden plot
some distance away that I think was a Victory Garden during WW2. I think he
mostly grew vegetables there. When we first moved in Billy drove a blue and
white Willys Jeep station wagon that carried all of his garden tools. One day
the car was suddenly gone and Billy was then using a bicycle to get back and
forth to his garden plot. He looked rather awkward transporting his gardening
tools on a bike and I can clearly remember him having a metal clip at the
bottom of one of his pant legs that stopped the cuff from getting caught in the
bike chain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Once in a while Billy would
listen to the opera on Sunday afternoons in the summer. He jacked up the volume
a bit. My mother used to talk to Billy every now and then while he was
gardening downstairs and she was taking stuff off of the clothesline. I believe
they shared the same birthday. Something else that they both had in common was
the loss of a brother in WW2.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Billy worked for a number of
years in the downtown offices of KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) and the last time I
saw him and talked to him was around 1966 when I ran into him on the street in
front of the KLM offices.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPB68-JfJArFbs5QyrSsa-1D55hhlPaG-u-xYbkfRG8GOvNmJ8IUzrHKqesobZnyTXbonhiCtLXw2m-nopzclBogGOGiNcKTWXFyYPLvwefY7CB0lHjMsW7E8VFc3h3eiaGU0t2IRsR0/s1600/PeterTellier%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPB68-JfJArFbs5QyrSsa-1D55hhlPaG-u-xYbkfRG8GOvNmJ8IUzrHKqesobZnyTXbonhiCtLXw2m-nopzclBogGOGiNcKTWXFyYPLvwefY7CB0lHjMsW7E8VFc3h3eiaGU0t2IRsR0/s320/PeterTellier%255B1%255D.JPG" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Tellier and I circa 1953. This photo was taken across the street from where we lived. We looked like a couple of Charles Dickens characters.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peter Tellier was about 4
years older than me and about 1 year younger than my older brother. He was a Catholic
and didn’t attend the same schools that we did. He had blonde hair with a
little patch of white hair off of one of his temples. From a young age he was a
big sports fan. He would often organize street hockey and between houses hockey
games in the winter. Chunks of ice were frequently used as the goals and hockey
sticks often were missing a piece of the blade. There was a lot of whacking and
hacking going on. On any given weekend, in the midst of winter, Jewish,
Catholic, and Protestant kids from houses close by could be seen scrambling in
a pack for the momentary possession of a grey tennis ball or a hockey puck
before some kid would fire a riser at the illusionary net.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the summers Peter’s
attention turned to baseball. I believe he went to a number of Montreal Royals
games in the fifties at the old Delormier Stadium. He would organize baseball
games on the big field behind the high school I would later attend, West Hill
High. Getting enough boys to form 2 teams was a bit of a feat in itself. He
would cajole any kid he could find to come out whether or not they had played
baseball before. Some of the boys didn’t have baseball mitts and had to borrow
one when the opposing team came off of the field. My older brother participated
in some of those games.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For a few years on many
Sunday mornings Peter would throw a ball against the brick wall of the building
we shared and catch it with his mitt on the rebound. I remember my father
saying “That damned Dogen is stotting that ball again!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am pretty sure that “Dogen” was a derisive
term for an Irish Catholic and the verb “stotting” must be a British thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From what I can recall I
think Peter was a pretty decent pitcher in baseball and he may have played for
the NDG junior baseball team when he was about 16. He once told me that he had
been scouted by the Philadelphia Phillies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peter was the guy who
informed a few other boys my age and me about the basics of sex. We were
sitting on a metal railing by a small strip mall around the corner from where we
lived. The other boys and I were about 6 at the time and were more than a
little confused about the information.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Easily the most interesting
thing about Peter was the stuff he had in his home. In all the years I knew him
I don’t think I was in his home more than 6 times. His bedroom was on the small
side and he had a variety of treasures in the room starting with an 18 inch
stuffed light brown alligator. He had stacks and stacks of hockey and baseball
cards. He also had a collection of Hardy Boy books that I believe dated back to
the 1930s. There were some other items that were interesting. Peter had a
certificate that indicated he was the owner of 1 square inch of land in the Klondike.
It was a promotion put on by one of the breakfast cereal companies in the
1950s. He also had a little stack of photos that were about 2 inches square of
some guy’s face. They were held together by an elastic band and when you
flicked the photos they became animated because each photo was very slightly
different from the other. Peter also had what seemed to be a permanent stash of
Kraft caramel candies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a big table set up
in Peter’s basement (about 8’x 8’) that had a square hole in the middle of it. On
top of the table was an elaborate Lionel train set complete with a train
station and a tunnel. One of the railway cars had a ramp that led up to it with
cattle. I think the engine had a headlight. There were railroad crossings where
the barrier poles went up and down. There were trees dotted about and people too.
A person had to crawl under the table to the square hole to get to the train
controls. On the wall next to the train set were some large posters of WW2
vintage fighter planes. My older brother and I back then both believed that
Peter had inherited a lot of the little “treasures” in his bedroom and the
train set from an “older brother” who had died in WW2.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXwoc6TclfCfd5mRu0zWTzMlFhkAG6ggXGmj43Wy-p1zanqqO-koskgX2HLvvwDkwrCARGiwC_Smj2d2m2Ar1JrMuMsdZ7P5Tkci9gFoLjTDucmNpT3Sh2L8iOw7g3u0StPXWg15QgoY/s1600/imagesEI802NQS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="261" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXwoc6TclfCfd5mRu0zWTzMlFhkAG6ggXGmj43Wy-p1zanqqO-koskgX2HLvvwDkwrCARGiwC_Smj2d2m2Ar1JrMuMsdZ7P5Tkci9gFoLjTDucmNpT3Sh2L8iOw7g3u0StPXWg15QgoY/s400/imagesEI802NQS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As time went on and Peter
became a teenager he became interested in rock and roll and had a stack of
records including one called Born Too Late by the Ponytails that came out in
1958. I can still remember that song seeping through the thin basement walls.
He got interested in girls and one gal who was a classmate of mine in grade
school visited his basement a number of times. I think her name was Elizabeth.
She would have been about 13 at the time and Peter would have been about 17.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I saw less and less of Peter
as he got older. He obtained a Honda or was it a Yamaha 60cc motorcycle when he
was about 18. I think he started going to college or university. By this time
he had almost become a ghost with very infrequent sightings.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Mysterious Sedan</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">About once a year a black,
or was it a dark grey, sedan would pull up to front of our house. A couple of
people would get out of the car and walk up to our downstairs neighbor’s front
door and ring the doorbell. I vaguely remember that they were dressed well and
one of them seemed to be an older gentleman. It is possible that the other
person was a woman but I can’t recall for sure. After about 3 or 4 hours they
would return to their car and drive way not to be seen again for another year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My older brother and I
always suspected that the people visiting were blood relatives of Peter’s and
that they were getting an annual update of how Peter was making out living as
an adopted child. It was highly unlikely that the visitors were from child
welfare. They just seemed to be too well dressed for that type of job. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Search For Peter Tellier</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Most people my age, 73, have
parents who have passed on. For many of those parents their memories of days
long ago were old family photographs stored in boxes or a trunk in the basement
or the attic. Before the advent of the internet, Google, and Facebook,
reconnecting with old friends or acquaintances was highly improbable. Often
once someone disappeared they were often gone for good. This is still true
today but we now have more avenues to track somebody down if we care to,
including old schoolmates.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First Clues</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have revised this section from what I wrote initially a few days ago when I first posted this story.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I find it a bit ironic that
I am writing about clues and Peter Tellier considering that I remember playing
the board game “Clue” with Peter about 65 years ago. (Mrs. Peacock in the
library with the candlestick holder.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From time to time over the
past 10 years I would do an on-line search for Peter Tellier. Tellier is a
pretty common French last name in Quebec. I checked out Facebook pages and used
Google. About 2 years ago I found an obituary for a Peter Charles Tellier who
had died on November 12<sup>th</sup>, 2016 at the age of 73 in Port Williams,
Nova Scotia. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A lot of things matched up on the Peter Tellier obit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-He was originally from Montreal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-He was the right age.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-His father was named Maurice which was one of the names of the guy who died in WW2.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">-In his obit he looked like an older version of the Peter Tellier I once knew.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It seems that I have found the wrong Peter Tellier however. A friend of a friend e-mailed me yesterday morning and pointed out my mistake. It turns out that he knew the Peter Tellier whose obit I posted and the one I knew and the one he knew are not the same guy. In the obit I posted a younger brother named Ross is mentioned. The Peter Tellier I knew didn't have a younger brother. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span></strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Second Clues</span></b></span></span></strong><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A little over a month ago I
Googled “Peter Tellier obit” and was surprised at what I came up with. It was
an item from the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. It was in memory of Warrant
Officer Class II Maurice Tellier Peter Myers who died in Germany in March of
1943 while serving in the RCAF in WW2. I was shocked. Somehow I had stumbled on
Peter Tellier’s “older brother” and things seemed to start to match up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Canadian Virtual War Memorial<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
Maurice Tellier Peter Myers</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In memory of:</span></span></span></span><br /></div>
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Warrant Officer Class II Maurice Tellier Peter Myers</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT59_com_zimbra_date" role="link"><span style="color: #336699;">March 14</span></span>, 1943</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">R/77338 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">138 (R.A.F.) Sqdn<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just for the heck of it I
thought I would Google Peter’s older gay step brother, Billy Myers, and see
what I could find. Once again I was surprised when I found Billy Myers’s obit.
William (Billy) Myers passed away on May 31<sup>st</sup>, 2016 at the ripe old
age of 95. The obit mentions his deceased mother Helene (Mrs. Myers) and his
deceased father Charles. It also mentions his brother Peter who died in Germany
in WW2 and Billy’s adopted brother Peter Tellier. The obit talks about Billy’s
gardening hobby and how he cooked meals for Meals On Wheels later in life. It
seems like he was a pretty decent guy.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEP96JaCRqI5lARnXFUqqI96c0aCeheHrtrrvhpRANLqDFni33oRe3_RB5UcigFWZb_T3xyNfFOt7AAlAXq2-h1X7pPgC2yCAWicau6jhK-dwUgTw4hFqqPljhFJ3Nrm-tpcO4hnaJzY/s1600/eyJ3IjozODAsImgiOjM4MCwiZCI6NzIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGFzLW9yZWdvbi1jYXMtb2JpdHMuczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbVwvcGhvdG9zXC9jcmVhdGVfc3RvcnlcLzViM2M2ZDU5NTVjYzFcLzg4NzFlZTZjNDUxNTFjM2%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="380" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEP96JaCRqI5lARnXFUqqI96c0aCeheHrtrrvhpRANLqDFni33oRe3_RB5UcigFWZb_T3xyNfFOt7AAlAXq2-h1X7pPgC2yCAWicau6jhK-dwUgTw4hFqqPljhFJ3Nrm-tpcO4hnaJzY/s320/eyJ3IjozODAsImgiOjM4MCwiZCI6NzIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9hZGFzLW9yZWdvbi1jYXMtb2JpdHMuczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbVwvcGhvdG9zXC9jcmVhdGVfc3RvcnlcLzViM2M2ZDU5NTVjYzFcLzg4NzFlZTZjNDUxNTFjM2%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Billy Myers</td></tr>
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<span class="details-copy">MYERS, William <br />1921 - 2016 <br />William Myers passed away peacefully on May 31, 2016 in his 95th year. He was predeceased by his father Charles and mother Helene Tellier Myers and his brother Peter, RCAF Germany 1943. Bill Booked his express ticket to heaven and now will be happily reunited with his family, and can cook and garden to his heart's content. He touched the lives of countless, throughout his long and highly fulfilled life. He was always smiling and happy to lend a hand to anyone, especially Meals on Wheels where he cooked hundreds of meals in LaSalle. He will be especially missed by his adopted brother Peter Tellier, many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. A very special thanks to all the staff at Ste-Anne's Military Hospital. Visitations will take place at Centre funéraire Côte-des-Neiges on <span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT90_com_zimbra_date" role="link"><span style="color: #336699;">Saturday June 4</span></span> from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and <span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT91_com_zimbra_date" role="link"><span style="color: #336699;">Sunday June 5</span></span> from 12 to 1 p.m., followed by a Memorial Service in the Chapel of the Center. Burial at a later date in July.</span> </div>
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Published on <span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT92_com_zimbra_date" role="link"><span style="color: #336699;">June 2</span></span>, 2016 </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Fourth Clues<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I went back to the Canadian
Virtual War Memorial and discovered a few more things about the family member
who had died in WW2. A newspaper clipping identified him as flight sergeant
M.T. Peter Myers. M.T. probably meaning Maurice Tellier. Apparently he joined
the RCAF at the young age of 18 and was called up for active service in 1940.
Before that he was a student at West Hill High School and was noted for his
cartoons. I went to the new West Hill High but it was built about 9 years after
Peter Myers died. The original West Hill High was later called Monkland High
School. The clipping also mentions that Peter Myers’s brother Billy was also in
the RCAF and was stationed in Halifax at the time of Peter Myers’s death.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX70InQIp_Zn77GquO3Dr06R1cCIsfzIflL6GRl25doRPOz11oJKI0oi15sPWm6DLJLIKBLoVR641tLAXe2n3jxWDtWyVOrpuGk-rvtVnnLADcvZf4OCVw_JxrgxKQntQbtvU7_Dcywc/s1600/2102577_2%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="278" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX70InQIp_Zn77GquO3Dr06R1cCIsfzIflL6GRl25doRPOz11oJKI0oi15sPWm6DLJLIKBLoVR641tLAXe2n3jxWDtWyVOrpuGk-rvtVnnLADcvZf4OCVw_JxrgxKQntQbtvU7_Dcywc/s640/2102577_2%255B1%255D.png" width="267" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLI6WzSCL7W3U6YsXoGYpGts9V5SfCVlpMNmzb8dt2ziTWNsGfxH6vxrVjE8EWN0Uhsy1Arv75jwT58GoTpLYlhViSb2wLlcq5pU5NEDOABgiNbZgT9W3ysLYLklw6inB6vc8RP-8b2g/s1600/2102577_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLI6WzSCL7W3U6YsXoGYpGts9V5SfCVlpMNmzb8dt2ziTWNsGfxH6vxrVjE8EWN0Uhsy1Arv75jwT58GoTpLYlhViSb2wLlcq5pU5NEDOABgiNbZgT9W3ysLYLklw6inB6vc8RP-8b2g/s320/2102577_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sorting It All Out</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></b></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>First of all let me say that
a lot of the following is conjecture on my part.</strong></span></span></b></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong></strong></span></span></b></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Part 1</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I believe that Peter
Tellier’s “older brother” who died in WW2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>was actually his father. Things were different back in the 1940s and
1950s and there was a certain shame about having a child out of wedlock,
particularly for Catholics. Famous entertainers like Jack Nicholson and Bobby
Darin both thought that their mothers were their sisters when they were growing
up. Nicholson didn’t find out the truth until he was in his thirties. In the
1930s actress Loretta Young had an affair with Clark Gable that produced a
daughter. Ms. Young secretly went off to England to have the baby and later
made it seem like she had adopted the child.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peter Tellier’s “older
brother” died at the age of 21 or 22. That would have made him 21 or 22 years
older than Peter. It is almost unheard of for two brothers to be that different
in age. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is what I think
happened. The “older brother” got a girl pregnant. I’m guessing this happened
when he was home on leave. He dies in the war, most likely never having married
the girl because his obit doesn’t include the mention of a wife. The girl
decides that she is not prepared to raise the child alone and wants to get on
with her life. Her father steps in and negotiates a deal with the mother (Mrs.
Myers) of the dead soldier. The father will pay for the rent and upkeep for the
young boy until he leaves home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Back in 1943 when Peter
Tellier was born I think adoption was different than it is today. If the child
became a ward of the court I think the authorities could decide which foster
home the baby or child would go to without the parent or parents being part of
the decision. By choosing Mrs. Myers as Peter’s adopted mother the mothers’s
father and the mother would know exactly who would be looking after Peter as he
grew up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is pretty obvious to me
that the mother’s father was paying the rent and expenses in Mrs. Myers’s home.
Billy would have been the only one working back then and it would be very doubtful
that he would be able to support 3 people and pay the rent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><strong>Part</strong> <strong>2</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is just conjecture on
my part but I am guessing that something may have occurred at one of those
annual meetings that affected Billy. My guess is that Peter Tellier’s mother’s
father may have figured out that he was also partly supporting Billy who at the
time was in his thirties. The father may have demanded that Billy pay rent.
This would explain Billy selling his Willys Jeep and using a bicycle instead to
get to his gardening plot because he could no longer afford a car.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Part 3</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the more confusing
things in doing this research was trying to understand the identifications of
Billy and the guy who died in WW2. Their obits reveal
several things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Billy is identified as William
Myers on his obit. It also identifies his father as a man named Charles and his
mother as Helene Tellier Myers. It is quite possible that Mrs. Myers was
married more than once. Nowhere in Billy’s obit does it mention that Billy
served in the RCAF in WW2. This may have been an oversight by whoever wrote the
obit. There may have been another reason for not mentioning Billy’s RCAF
experience and that is that he may be have been discharged after being outed as
being gay. This is purely conjecture on my part.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I found 2 documents about
Peter Myers, who died in WW2 and was Billy Myers’s brother. The Canadian
Virtual War Memorial indentifies Peter Myers as Maurice Tellier Peter Myers.
The 2<sup>nd</sup> document looks like a newspaper clipping. It identifies
Peter Myers as M.T. Peter Myers. The M.T. would have meant Maurice Tellier. The
clipping also states that he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Myers who lived
at 4465 Harvard Avenue in Montreal. Mr. C.H Myers must have passed away or skipped
town between 1943 and 1952 because he wasn’t around when we moved in. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you have found this all
confusing at this point you are not alone. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Part 4</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From what I can deduce Peter
and Billy Myers were very close in age. My guess is that they were born about a
year apart. It is curious that one of them (Peter) had the names Maurice and
Tellier as part of his name whereas Billy didn’t. It is also curious that Peter
Tellier was named Peter. Was it a salute to Peter Myers who died at a young age
in WW2?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where did the name Tellier come
from? Was he perhaps Mrs. Myers’s first husband or lover?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I guess I’ll never know but
it has been interesting trying to sort all of this stuff out even though it is
none of my business. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A Few Final Oberservations</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Billy Myers died at the age
of 95 in 2016 he was residing at Ste Anne’s Military Hospital In Ste Anne de
Bellevue on the far west side of Montreal Island. My father was a captain in
the Canadian Army in WW2 and I believe he spent his final years in the same
hospital as Billy. My father died in 1981 at the age of 75.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Peter Myers died in
1943 in Germany his home address was 4465 Harvard Avenue. This is not the same
address that Billy Myers, Mrs. Myers, and Peter Tellier lived at when they were
our downstairs neighbours. Their address was 4592 Harvard Avenue. When I was
growing up in NDG it wasn’t uncommon for some families to hop scotch from one
house to another that seemed more appealing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This was a complicated story
to write and I hope that the readers have managed to follow along without
having to give their heads a shake.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The long and the short of this effort is that I never did find out what happened to Peter Tellier. I gave it a try.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-56055347301212855202020-03-16T15:38:00.000-07:002020-03-16T15:38:11.105-07:00
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></b> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Mad Man In Mad Times</span></span></b></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Within a short period of time all of our lives have changed
and at this point we don’t know how long it will be before things get back to
normal, whatever normal is these days. In the US on Friday Trump finally
declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) to be a national emergency. Right away 50
billion dollars will be allotted to fight the epidemic. A number of corporate
executives appeared on stage with Trump and promised to be actively involved in
combating the disease. Other than providing parking lots for testing it was
unclear what many of the retail corporations could do. It was enough to see a
huge swing in the stock market, if only temporary. One thing that seems very
evident is that every corporation that was represented on stage stands to
profit from the epidemic. Trump insisted on shaking hands with every executive
even though every doctor in the US pretty well says that shaking hands is one
of the easiest ways to transmit the disease. Trump said that 1700 Google
engineers are working on a website that would make it easy for people to detect
whether they had the virus. A lady doctor, Debbie Birx, even showed a poster
indicating how easy the steps are. The reality is Google is not doing any such
thing. A subsidiary of theirs is planning on creating a test site in the San
Francisco area. No Google executives were in attendance at Friday’s press
conference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is interesting who Trump often has on stage with him when
he is talking about coronavirus. The dark haired guy with the beard and glasses
is Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Mr. Azar is a lawyer
and not a doctor. In his past he was a corporate lobbyist and CEO for the drug
manufacturer Eli Lilly. Under Azar, Eli Lilly tripled the price of insulin. Mr.
Azar is second only to Mike Pence to kissing Trump’s ass in public. VP Mike
Pence is anti-science in a number of ways including being a global warming
denier. To his credit he seems to have coordinated communications between the
federal and state and city governments. A few days ago a Democratic
congresswomen from California, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Katie
Porter, grilled Dr. Robert Redfield, the current director of the CDC (The
Department of Disease Control and Prevention). Redfield is often seen on stage
with Trump. He is the white haired guy with a beard and glasses. Katie Porter stated
that a full battery of testing for the coronavirus could cost $1300.00 or more.
She pointed out that over 50% of Americans have less than $500.00 in the bank.
She pointed out to Dr. Redfield that he had the authority to make testing free
to every American. Dr. Redfield hummed and hawed and tried to avoid the
question. Porter was having none of it. Dr. Redfield finally capitulated and
agreed to cover the costs of all coronavirus testing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One doctor who really stands out is Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is
trusted by both Republicans and Democrats. Over a period of time he has
contradicted Trump’s statements a number of times. Sometimes you can see Dr.
Fauci wincing while Trump is bullshitting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two Fridays ago Trump stopped off in Atlanta and told a
bunch of lies before continuing on to Mara Lago for the weekend where he played
golf twice (something he promised not to do as president because he wouldn’t
have the time) and held a fundraiser. So far 3 Mara Lago guests have been found
to have coronavirus. On average Trump has played golf on 25% of the days he has
been in office.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Things move fast in American politics, particularly with
Trump as president. Lies are often forgotten or overlooked because there is a new
batch of them coming out of Trump’s mouth every day. Let’s look back on Trump’s
involvement in the coronavirus epidemic so far.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 2018 under the instructions of Trump national security
advisor John Bolton shut down the office overseeing responses to pandemics. A
lot of people with expertise in the field were out of a job.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The current version of the coronavirus disease was
discovered in China in December of 2019. It was soon pretty obvious that it
would spread to other parts of the world. The first case in the US was
discovered in Washington State on January 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> of this year. As more
cases were discovered FOX News and a number of Republican politicians scoffed
at the deadliness of the disease. Some of these nuts suggested that the whole
thing was a plot by the mainstream media and the Democrats to undermine
President Trump. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican politician and close friend
of Trump went so far as to wear a gas mask to mock those that were in fear of
the virus. Matt Gaetz is currently under self imposed quarantine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gaetz was recently on Air Force 1 with Trump</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the disease started to spread across the US Trump became
more and more obsessed about how the stock market was doing. He seemed to care
far more about losing his leverage about a soaring stock market in the upcoming
elections this fall than the plight of American citizens. In the past he has
always tried to lie his way out of difficulties. It wasn’t going to be as easy
this time around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s list of just some of the lies Trump or his advisors
have told the American public in the last several weeks…..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-February 10<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Trump claims that there is strong
possibility that the coronavirus will go away once the weather warms up. There
are no facts to indicate that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-February 24<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Trump claims the coronavirus is
“very much under control”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-February 25<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Senior White House National
Economic Council director Larry Kudlow said “We have contained this. I won’t
say airtight but pretty close to airtight.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-February 26<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Trump claimed that coronavirus
cases were going down not up. A total lie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-March 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>. Trump claimed that a vaccine would be
available in a fairly short time. The reality is that at best a vaccine might
be available in a year or a year and a half. Dr. Fauci had already told him
this but Trump insisted on lying anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-March 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Trump blamed Obama for impeding
testing while Obama was in office. A totally false claim. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-March 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Trump claims that over 100,000
Americans died of the “regular” flu in 1990. The number was closer to 26,000
deaths.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-March 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. The Secretary of Health and Human
Resources, Azar, claims there is no shortage of test kits nor has there ever
been, Trump repeats the lie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-March 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Trump claims the numbers the numbers
of deaths and people with coronavirus in Italy were getting much better. This
was totally untrue and since then Italy has shut off parts of the country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-March 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Trump claims that the US numbers for
those that have contacted coronavirus are lower than most countries. The US is
about 7<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> in coronavirus cases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-March 9<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. VP Pence says that Trump’s priority
was to get people off a cruise ship floating near San Francisco. 3 days earlier
Trump had said he wanted the passengers to stay on the ship so the coronavirus
numbers wouldn’t rise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It does appear that Trump is more worried about the stock
market than anything else. The Fed is talking about injecting 1 trillion
dollars into the market. Trump has talked about buying low cost oil from
fracking companies and storing it. It has become quite evident that fracking
companies are not profitable and even before the coronavirus scare they were
severely undercapitalized. More and more it looks like the federal government
will be bailing out various sectors of corporate America including the oil companies,
the cruise ship industry, and the airlines. The American farmer is already
being subsidized by the American taxpayer. Just what about all of this doesn’t
make the US a socialist nanny state?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something else that has become quite evident of late is how
badly the American version of health care works. Something like 1/3 of
Americans put off medical care due to the costs. Almost 90 million Americans
are underinsured and over 30 million have no insurance whatsoever. Viruses
don’t choose who is wealthy and who is not. Testing for coronavirus is just
part of the potential costs should one be infected. There is no assurance that
the health care insurers or the government will pay for hospital stays and
continued care. With that type of recipe it is certain <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a number of Americans will do all they can to avoid
expensive care and debts which will no doubt increase the spread of the virus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neither US VP Pence nor Secretary Azar can say how many
Americans so far have been tested for the virus. A few days ago it was
estimated by sources outside of the government to be around 10,000 tests. South
Korea alone has been testing 10, 000 of its citizens daily for some time.
Somehow with the shortage of testing kits in the US, 38 rich NBA professional
basketball players managed to get tested. Money still talks, even in a crisis. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the end of last week a bipartisan bill was agreed to
between the White House and the Democrats that would expand funds for free
testing. The bill would also give some Americans a limited time of paid sick
leave. The Republicans insisted on one exception and that was that guaranteed
sick pay didn’t apply to US companies with over 500 employees. Something like
49% of Americans work for corporations with over 500 employees. Even in a time
of crisis the Republicans chose to favour Corporate America over working
people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saw Trump briefly on TV today. He was wearing a ball cap
that said USA instead of his regular MAGA cap. Someone on his staff must have
gotten to him finally. Not enough to clear up the fiasco he has been involved
in for the last several weeks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is anyone’s guess what the world is going to look like in
several months. In the past Americans could go about their daily activities
oblivious to their county being involved in foreign wars. Not this time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The coronavirus outbreak has been a horrible thing. Instead
of being a compassionate leader Trump made the whole situation worse by telling
lie after lie. Hopefully Trump and the coronavirus will be a thing of the past
in 8 months.</span></div>
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-54696607438881734502019-08-16T10:31:00.002-07:002019-08-16T10:39:06.897-07:00<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pop Culture, TV, Sports, Politics,
Movies, Music, History, and Other Stuff <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">(Don’t read this if you are a cat
lover.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm4hy9X8CAlfAVXuoHVYYFocAnZOhqmRTH4XbSdfOgHf5znael6H9PRgCXCe584r1zlgWsUAdjMROsTydoFTO-UQjeQrO5-7OSjW6fCbbAHL7DsL3J1O-XWbJ8m6AhFhBjTqu3UoXXkI/s1600/imagesMP5SZ6A7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm4hy9X8CAlfAVXuoHVYYFocAnZOhqmRTH4XbSdfOgHf5znael6H9PRgCXCe584r1zlgWsUAdjMROsTydoFTO-UQjeQrO5-7OSjW6fCbbAHL7DsL3J1O-XWbJ8m6AhFhBjTqu3UoXXkI/s400/imagesMP5SZ6A7.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Saw an old guy the other day without a goatee….very
strange….The most fake person on a TV ad?..... it has to be the bearded guy in
the TD Ameritrade TV ads…..just how did he manage to entice his clients into
his basement and is it his basement?.....why are the walls and furniture
green?.....do all of his clients get to play pool or throw darts in said
basement when they buy RRSPs?.....what a suck up!.....Why do some juice
companies show a picture of some particular type of fruit on the front of the
juice container but when you read the small print you find out other fruits are
part of the juice…...they used to call this lying….or bait and switch….. most
juices are pasteurized to kill germs so the juice that has been misrepresented
might be part apples off the ground that have been rotting……Why does Trump’s
wife always look like she is trying to hold a poop in? </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JX_hurHOENEGVCAUhni9CRe0mEfj5-WVHgisC4K-FpFqi3gCTXryof7_UHyAwk4op2iuKlAgIao3ViOjjXmJZl6h3lpRyZYQaCYnSmA7-YJf131wiWaoApwooZSPoxXrHvs1pEZQ844/s1600/images7JDH4VW7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="241" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JX_hurHOENEGVCAUhni9CRe0mEfj5-WVHgisC4K-FpFqi3gCTXryof7_UHyAwk4op2iuKlAgIao3ViOjjXmJZl6h3lpRyZYQaCYnSmA7-YJf131wiWaoApwooZSPoxXrHvs1pEZQ844/s400/images7JDH4VW7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In 1965 Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson of the girl singing
group The Supremes discovered a mixed race soul group called Bobby Taylor and
the Vancouvers when they were playing a gig in Vancouver…..they told Berry
Gordy about the band and Gordy brought them to Detroit and signed them up…..
Tommy Chong, later of Cheech and Chong, was one of the band members…..Bobby
Taylor was friends with Jimi Hendrix who was from Seattle but spent his summers
in Vancouver, BC when he was a kid.....while playing in Chicago in 1968 the
band’s opening act was The Jackson Five…..Taylor personally brought The Jackson
Five to Detroit and introduced them to Berry….. Taylor produced their first
album and then Berry took over……Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers’s only had 1
hit, Does Your Mother Know About Me?, which Tommy Chong co-wrote…..Cheech Marin
once worked at the Banff Springs Hotel…..so did singer Jim Cuddy of Blue
Rodeo…..so did I…..twice…..There are programs on TV that tell us about the best
places to retire……lakefront houses seem nice but they never show the noise from
the many motorboats and seadoos breaking up the tranquility…..houses are built
on stilts in US eastern coastal areas for a reason….hurricanes often cause
flooding…..white sandy beaches are nice but not so much when there are
apartment buildings (condos) in the background…..I tuned in the Toronto Blue
Jays on TV and the other team was winning 6-0 in the 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> inning…..I
tuned out the Blue Jays…..maybe another time?..... In the movie “Diner” Kevin
Bacon plays a young guy who sits by himself watching Jeopardy on TV and answers
the questions out loud…..I’ve done that……”We don’t need no stinkin’
badges.”……Treasure of the Sierra Madre…..I wonder how many guys my age saw
their first naked breasts in National Geographic Magazine?……A golf announcer on
TV today was talking about a pro golfer who had bought the house his family had
rented when he was a kid. The announcer went on to say that back then they also
had to pay for electricity……my question is…..when did electricity become free?….did
I miss something along the way?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In 1970 an American movie came out called Zabriskie Point…..
the plotline entailed a college activist who gets involved in a college riot
and eventually flees to the Arizona desert in a stolen small airplane….. he
meets a hippie chick out in the middle of nowhere who is driving an old car….
they roll around naked together in the sand and are later shot dead by the
cops….thousands of young men auditioned for the lead male role in the movie and
a guy named Mark Frechette was chosen…..at one point his face was on the cover
of the Rolling Stone…..Frechette decided to join a commune instead of
continuing his acting career…..in 1973 he and 2 others from his commune decided
to rob a bank….one of them was shot dead by the cops…..Frechette was sentenced
to a term of 6-15 years in prison….one day while in prison he was doing some
weightlifting and a 150 weight fell on his neck and suffocated him…..he was
dead at 27…..What’s the deal with all the cat photos on Facebook?....it seems
to me there are 2 kinds of cats….#1 the ones that are locked inside their whole
lives….”What should I do today? Maybe walk over to the bookcase? Maybe I’ll lie
on the top of the couch for 6 hours? Maybe I can mark up the leather furniture
some more? At some point I’ll have to defecate in that box by the kitchen which
I like to think of as my own desert island…… maybe I’ll walk over to the
bookcase again after that?”……#2 the ones that are let out of the home for a
period of time so they can dig up the neighbours’ gardens and leave a crap or
kill a few small birds and watch them slowly die for sport or scream to high
heavens in the middle of the night when they are in heat…..”I would never join
a club that would have me as a member.”…..Groucho Marx…..How someone uses a
fork and knife tells you a lot about how they were brought up….sorry but it is
true…..I believe that almost everyone has some dishonesty in them…..here’s an
example…..you are selling a house that you have lived in for 20 years…..at this
point you have a good idea what is wrong with the house…..maybe the furnace or
the water heater needs to be replaced, maybe there has been a few leaks and
some water damage or a new roof is needed, perhaps you have discovered termites
or mold, maybe your neighbours are unbearable…..of course you are going to tell
the prospective buyers all of this so they know that once they buy the house it
is going to cost them a small fortune to fix<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>it…..right?</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Turner and Princess Margaret</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">John Turner was the prime minister of Canada for 2-1/2
months in 1984….. he was a good looking guy but a dud as a politician…..in the
late 1940s he was the fastest runner in Canada…..he once had an affair with
Princess Margaret…..he also saved former Canadian prime minister John
Deifenbaker from drowning in Barbados in 1965….Turner is in his nineties now
and still alive and kicking….I’m not sure of this but I think there might be a
race between pharmaceutical pill makers and sci-fi writers and comic book
writers for new names for new drugs and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>strange
characters and the places that they live…….Zoloft is the ruler of a distant
undiscovered <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>planet called Prozac in the
galaxy called Lipitor. Zoloft’s nemesis is a nasty guy named Motrin whose
meanness stems from a lifetime of drug side effects…..Why do people on TV
describe men’s balls as cajones?..... The word “ball” is kind of a happy,
playful word isn’t it?..... it shouldn’t offend anyone?…..”Gentlemen you can’t
fight in here, this is the war room!”……Dr. Strangelove.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry Seinfeld with the late Jerry Lewis</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What’s the deal with Jerry Seinfeld?......lose the suit
jacket and mom jeans look, and the white runners while you are at it…..it looks
so 80s like when you had big hair……I loved your old show but now you act like
you were a 1 man genius who made it a huge success…..you had some pretty decent
other writers on the show including Larry David, an excellent ensemble cast,
and the best supporting actors ever on TV…..your current show, Comedians In
Cars Getting Coffee, has proven that a lot of comedians aren’t very funny
without a script, that you are very condescending to people who aren’t famous
including waitresses, and that you can be very petty at times…..BTW
Jerry…..Sarah Jessica Parker, Mathew Broderick, and Christopher Walz are not
comedians in cars getting coffee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The View is probably the most watched daytime TV program in
America today….. it is hosted by some women who aren’t very bright…..Whoopi
Goldberg claims<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that her taxes are too
high and that she can hardly afford to go to the movies anymore…..Whoopi
Goldberg is worth 50 million dollars!…..Joy Behar believes that the population
of the US is about 200 million…..she’s only out by about 125 million people……2
of the other panel members, Meghan McCain and Abby Huntsman, are daughters of
famous Republican politicians…..that’s their claim to fame…..Meghan McCain can’t
last 1 episode without mentioning her dad, the late John McCain who was a piece
of shit. She needs 3 x 5 cards to remember what she wants to say….. The
Bachelorette?…..1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> of all, does anyone actually use this word
“bacherlorette”? “Let go see if we can pick up some batcherlorettes at the
bar?”……I don’t think so…..I have to confess that I didn’t watch this whole
series including the final 2 days……this year’s Bachelorette was a gal named
Hannah Brown who was a beauty contest winner from Alabama…..is there anything
shallower for women than a beauty contest?......she got to meet 30 eligible
bachelors and at least 5 of these guys were black…..did anyone ever think she
was going to take a black guy home to meet her white family in Alabama?..... the
tricky part for her, was not getting rid of the black guys all at one time….. skip
ahead to the crazy guy who wouldn’t quit who stood next to the final 3 guys…..the
3 guys all kind of feigned toughness but never got in the interloper’s face or
threatened him physically…..why I oughta…..then sweet Hannah told the viewers
that she had sex 4 times one night with one of the final three guys….. and then
she rejected him…..instead she accepted an engagement ring from a Nashville
folksinger but gave it back to him when she found out that he already had a
girlfriend back home and got on the program to further his career……she didn’t
like his dishonesty…..kind of like her dishonesty in not mentioning to him that
she had had sex 4 times with one of his competitors……I think they should change
the name of The Real Housewives shows on TV to Catfighting, Over The Hill
Bitches, Who Go After Each Other Over Really Petty Shit……just a suggestion…..”You’re
breaking my heart, you’re tearing it apart, so fuck you!”......Harry Nillson……Driving
across Canada in the early 70s in the middle of winter at night and seeing the
flickering lights of Medicine Hat off in the distance from the highway…..Kevin
Hart isn’t funny…..I remember those wooden toll bridges in the Eastern Townships
of Quebec long ago and the fishing lures wrapped around the power lines….Did
you ever drive through a small town and for future reference think to yourself
that this would be the ideal place to be on a witness protection
program?......This just in…..the quota for aspiring singers in the world has
totally been used up…..turns out that 1 in 5 people can carry a tune….. “Learn
to work the saxophone, play just what I feel, drink Scotch whiskey all night
long, and die behind the wheel…..Steely Dan…..cheery outlook?.....Years ago I
knew a guy who flipped houses…..actually I’ve known a few who did some
flipping……..one guy bought a house on a hill in North Vancouver but didn’t
realize that there was a bus stop out front……every 20 minutes or so he could
hear the loud sound of the bus’s air brakes…..must have been a Sunday when he
bought the place…..another guy who was my next door neighbor on Bowen Island
got into flipping houses with a guy from Hong Kong who was his financier…..the
Hong Kong guy believed in paying cash for everything…..my neighbor once showed
me 50 grand in cash that he had hidden in his basement…..a drug pusher in a
Vancouver hippie club called Rohan’s Rockpile once showed me 10 grand in
cash…..So you are out hiking deep in the woods and come across a small wrecked
plane…..you open the plane door and discover the skeleton of the pilot….a
newspaper is lying on the floor and it is dated 1978….. in the back of the
plane you find two large canvas bags……one of the bags holds tightly wrapped
packages of marijuana…..the other bag contains about 100 grand in cash…..what
would you do?......I would keep the cash and send a letter to the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cops anonymously and let them know where the
plane and pilot could be located…..”All the world’s a stage and the men and
women merely players.”…..William Shakespeare…..the first time I ever ate sushi
was after a Vancouver Canucks hockey game that I went to around 1982 with my
family doctor at the time…..we had great seats about 2 rows up from the ice and
we were both stoned on pot…..the Canucks beat Minnesota that night 10-9…..there
were so many goals it was like watching a tennis match…..the first time I ever
ate raw oysters was around the same time when I was shucking them in a basement
of a guy who was about to get married at an Orthodox Ukrainian church later in
the day…..The word “loose” isn’t the same as the word “lose” for those that
don’t know…..The cost of a campsite less than 100 yards from the edge of the
Grand Canyon is only 12 bucks a night…..firewood is extra…..there’s always a
catch eh?.....just kidding….“You’ve got a lotta nerve to say you are my
friend”……Bob Dylan…..Positively 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Street. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lindsey Graham and Trump</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Is there a certain age
when a politician should be held responsible for what they say?.....it seems to
be fair to give them a pass for what they did and said as kids or even as
college students…..as long as criminality or violence didn’t occur……I don’t
consider smoking pot as criminality……here is what Tennessee senator Lindsey
Graham said about Donald Trump 3 years ago…..”He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic,
religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values
of the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for…..he’s the ISOL man
of the year.”…..3 years later and Lindsey thinks Trump is the greatest thing
since sliced bread…..who do you believe?.....the 64 year old Lindsey or the 61
year old Lindsey?.....“Pennies in a stream, falling leaves, a sycamore,
moonlight in Vermont…..Willie Nelson…..If faith healing really worked don’t you
think the healer would be spending every waking hour fixing people instead of
once a week in front of a TV camera?.....it should be called “fake
healing”……W.C. Fields hated Philadelphia…..his gravestone says “All in all, I’d
rather be in Philadelphia”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mad Magazine is going out of business….that’s funny…..I
thought it went out of business around 1960…..No matter where you go, there you
are…..If someone has sex with Nicki Minaj and one of her friends…..is that a
Minaj a trois?.....Don’t ask me about video games…..I’m still freaked out about
those cyber things in Astro Smash from 35 years ago…..We have been buying
loaves of bread our whole lives…..have any of us ever been curious enough to
count the slices in the loaf?.....do we just have a rough idea as to how many
sandwiches we can get out of loaf?.....Why do men buy pickup trucks?…..they
cost about 60 grand or more and are gas guzzlers…..what’s the point of only
having seating for 2 or 3 just to make yourself look cool and rugged?......almost
all of the time the truck bed is empty…..friends are always hitting on you to
help them move something as a favour…..like a piano…..FYI….. Home Depot will
deliver lumber to your door for a few extra bucks…..just because you drive one
of these behemoths doesn’t give you the right to follow the car in front of you
2” from their bumper because you are pissed off at the world about
something…..BTW…..when you are doing that 2” from the car in front of you thing
I’m sometimes the guy in that car…..the guy with a smirk on his face pretending
I haven’t noticed you in the rear window.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">”I thought that you’d want what I want, sorry my dear.”…..
Send In The Clowns…..Stephen Sondheim…..Subway…..Eat Fresh? The only thing
remotely fresh in the store are the bread and cookies…..the veggies all come
from California or Mexico by truck, none of the veggies are local……precooked
chicken, beef strips, meatballs, and bacon are obviously not fresh…..It must
have been a good day for a haberdasher (men’s clothing merchant) 50 years ago
when a rock band walked into his store and said “We’ll take 6 of those and 6 of
those and 6 of those.”…..Is it square dancing or squares dancing?.....The first
thing I ever tried to grow were radishes when I was about 10 years old…..I kept
pulling them out and replanting them every few days because I wanted to see if
something was going on underground…..It looks like Dave Clark, the drummer for
The Dave Clark Five, was a real prick back in the day…..the rest of the group
were basically hired help with Clark getting most of the money…..he didn’t take
part in any of the song writing but took credit and the profits as a
co-writer…..without the lead singer, Mike Smith, nobody would have ever heard
of the band…..Regina, Saskatchewan was once called Pile of Bones…..”Hello
darkness, my old friend”…..The Sound of Silence…..Paul Simon…..Never ever,
under any circumstances, mention Ed Sullivan, Leave It To Beaver, Lassie,
Abbott & Costello, to anyone under the age of 50…..they just aren’t
interested and have no idea what you are talking about….”Everyone has a
photographic memory, some just don’t have film.”…..Steven Wright.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bishop Fulton J. Sheen</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One of the
first conspiracy theories I ever heard came from an older Jewish guy who grew
up in the same neigbourhood as me in Montreal…..I ran into him around 68’……his
theory was that CBS (the Columbia Broadcasting System) was an arm of the
Catholic Church……he connected “Columbia” to the The Knights of Columbus, a
large Catholic based fraternal organization……he went on to list a number of
Catholics who had program on CBS TV like Ed Sullivan and Jackie Gleason…..back
then I wasn’t sure if he was right or wrong on his premise…..several years ago
I did some research on the matter…..William S. Paley, the founder of CBS was
Jewish, newsman Walter Cronkite told people that his religious faith was none
of their business, and noted CBS war correspondent Edward R. Murrow was a
Quaker…..the most recognizable Catholic on TV in the 1950s was Bishop Fulton J.
Sheen…..he had 30 million weekly viewers but he was on NBC…..so much for that
crackpot theory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was sitting in a bar in Plattsburgh, NY <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on a cloudy afternoon in the summer of 65’ or
66’…..I got into a conversation with a guy sitting next to me…..he said he was
a salesman for a local car dealership called Santa Claus Chevrolet…..only in
America…..as the afternoon wore on and few beers were consumed he began to tell
me a little story……according to him he was one of the American soldiers that
wheeled out the atomic bomb, nick named “Little Boy” that was loaded onto a
B-29 bomber named Enola Gay and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dropped
on Hiroshima in Japan in 1945…..his wife turned up and dragged him out of the
bar…..Remember when almost every doctor’s office had a copy of The Reader’s
Digest in the waiting area?.....you would get part way into a story you were
interested in……and suddenly you would be summoned into the doctor’s
office…..never to know how the story ended…..Who doesn’t like bicycles?......I
used to love riding them and the freedom that went along with it…..these days
some bike riders remind me of Mr.Toad in the children’s story The Wind In The
Willows and the glazed over look in his <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>eyes after he had stolen a motorcar…..a lot of
the bike riders I see these days are on the same paved trail where I take my
dog for a walk and they seem oblivious to their surroundings…..every few days I
have the crap scared out of me when they come up from behind me and don’t
bother to ring a bell or tell me that they are on the left or right side of
me…..I’m tempted to bring a hockey stick with me on the daily hike one of these
days….Never play cards with guys who have nick names like “Hollywood” or
“Doc”…..About 15 years ago I was parked on a ferry headed to Vancouver from
Vancouver Island…..I got into a conversation with a guy in a pickup truck
parked next to me…..I asked him what he did for a living and he told me that he
was a storm chaser…..never met anyone else who did that…..we told each other
every joke we could remember for close to 2 solid hours and laughed our asses
off….. an elephant, a monkey, and a giraffe walk into a bar……they get pretty
drunk and when it came to pay the bill the elephant and the monkey both said
they didn’t have any money…..the giraffe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>said “well I guess the highballs are on me.”…..rim shot…..the ferry
pulled into the terminal and the storm chaser went his way and I went mine…..it
was a hoot!.<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgbM7dHf8BETgKceKsDOUFVf5O3QzxZgqAFQKERVKS-aIKM1Lb8kYe-Ct4fnPuhuhu5HGHOxVEQYFl019P5TCGT33Q4elgSLafDsNPm3aTwXqAwGvdj4Q4ktLRqnJYs5HEBH4OsxHUn0/s1600/Justin-Trudeau-has-been-told-he-lacks-the-moral-authority-to-lead-by-Andrew-Scheer-1093869%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="590" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgbM7dHf8BETgKceKsDOUFVf5O3QzxZgqAFQKERVKS-aIKM1Lb8kYe-Ct4fnPuhuhu5HGHOxVEQYFl019P5TCGT33Q4elgSLafDsNPm3aTwXqAwGvdj4Q4ktLRqnJYs5HEBH4OsxHUn0/s400/Justin-Trudeau-has-been-told-he-lacks-the-moral-authority-to-lead-by-Andrew-Scheer-1093869%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheer and Trudeau</td></tr>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Tonto’s horse was called Scout….Most people (I think) love
going to the beach…..they find a nice spot,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>slather suntan lotion all over their bodies, stretch out on their large
beach blanket…..then they start reading a book about being somewhere else other
than the beach…..America, the land of the free?.....the US has more people per
capita in prison than any other nation on the planet…..”It winds from Chicago
to L.A., over 2000 miles all the way.”…...Route 66…..Asleep At The
Wheel…..Somebody you don’t really know and have never met in the flesh asks to
be a Facebook friend…..you think to yourself “what the heck”……the next thing
you know you are receiving a dozen or so notifications a day from the
guy…..every trite inspirational thought that is out there…..you start
thinking…..this isn’t what I signed up for….. I did a lot of hitchhiking in my
early twenties…..one guy picked me up in a station wagon in Northern BC in the
early 1970s…..every time I got a lift I would always start a conversation with
the driver so I could figure out whether or not I was travelling with a
psychopath…..I asked this guy several times what he did for a living but he was
evasive…..eventually he told me…..he worked for a coroner’s office and had just
fished a dead guy out of a river…..the body was resting behind a curtain behind
the front seats…..kind of freaked me out!.....Most Canadians will work 40-45
years in their lives…..this fall there will be a national election in
Canada…..we will choose to keep our present Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who
is a Liberal, or elect Andrew Sheer, a Conservative, to take Trudeau’s job…..these
2 guys, between them, have a combined working experience in the private sector
of less than 5 years…..come on Canada!!!.....is this the best we can do?.....Years
ago I was sitting in my living room alone in the dark stoned on pot…...across
the room I could see the green and red lights<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>on my stereo…..the lights looked to me like I was coming into port in a
boat…..maybe you had to be there?.....Marlon Brando was 5’9” tall and Humphrey
Bogart was 5’8” tall…..Prince was only 5’2”……I finally tore that ugly shag
carpet out…..and replaced it with parkay flooring…..cool eh?.....3 people who
make a lot more sense to me than most others are…..Joe Rogan, Cenk Uygur, and
Snoop Dog…..Darts, bowling, and pool are not sports…..And I am out of here!</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Google has dismantled
the comments area on Blogger for some reason….if you would like to make a
comment on this story or other stories…..send me an e-mail…..colinatcove@shaw.ca<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This story has been
fun to do…..would like to use the same format again. Thanks for reading!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</div>
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</div>
</div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-39187075095856888412019-04-05T16:01:00.001-07:002019-05-04T15:18:02.202-07:00Single At 48(Please note: The comments section on this blog doesn't work. If you want to send me a message about a story e-mail me at <a href="mailto:colinatcove@shaw.ca">colinatcove@shaw.ca</a> Thanks)<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At the
beginning of this story I would like to make a few points. I am sure there will
be some readers who have had long marriages or relationships that may find some
of my experiences with women I’ve known to be jaded or possibly even abhorrent.
I make no apologies to them nor am I interested in what their “moral standards”
are. We all have choices in life and I made mine. I’m totally content with my
“values”. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I’ve never
really been the “manipulator” type but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t aware of
what my own best interests were when it came to “relationships”. Of course
there are a variety of differences between men and women but then again there
are a lot of differences between men and other men. I certainly never wanted to
dominate any woman. In fact I’ve never wanted to dominate anyone. It’s not my
style.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The chances
of some gal I met along the way reading this story is fairly slim. One would have
to be a detective to figure out their identities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So why did I
decide to write this story? Mostly because I thought a lot of people would find
it interesting. I’ve read lots of stories over the years about peoples’
experiences in the dating world. Most of them have been from a woman’s point of
view.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Basically
it’s all old news now. I haven’t dated in over a dozen years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Breaking Up Of A Marriage</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A few things
on my marriage, how we broke up, and how I found myself single again at the age
of 48. We got married in the summer of 1981, the same weekend that Chuck and Di
wed. We met at a Vancouver company where we were both in sales. I was 34 and my
wife was 29 when we walked down the aisle at a Catholic church in the small
town of Gull Lake, Saskatchewan where she was from. That was a pretty big deal
for me considering that I am an atheist. My mother, who was at the wedding, sat
right next to the priest. She too was a life-long atheist. There were well over
150 people at the wedding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gull lake, Saskatchewan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At the
beginning of the marriage we lived in a waterfront house on Bowen Island, not
far from the ferry terminal in West Vancouver. After that we lived in 3
different apartments over several years in Vancouver proper. In 1986 I started
my own business. My wife settled in working as a sales rep for a tile company.
She became pregnant in 1988 and we soon found out that we were going to have
twins. We bought a townhouse in Richmond, BC in preparation of our starting a
family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My wife took
6 months off work and the babies were born in March of 1989. The dynamics of
our relationship started to change. I’m not sure if she had postpartum depression.
Understandably, she was quite overwhelmed at having 2 babies at one time.
Almost instantly there was an expressed strong resentment on her part that I
was not helping out enough. I would confess that I wasn’t great about getting
up in the middle of the night if one or both of the babies were unsettled. I
was a pretty heavy sleeper and I did have a business to run during the day. I
also wasn’t capable of breast feeding. I found my wife’s resentment of me to be
quite unfair. I did a lot of the cooking and household chores. On several
occasions I packed the twins in the back seat of my car and drove them around
until they fell asleep. I was home every night and not out socializing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We went to “counseling”
but it had little effect. I agreed to have a vasectomy. We went on a couple of
getaways including a week at a Club Med in Mexico but whatever sparks there
once were could not be rekindled. Married life became kind of like fulfilling a
contract, at least to me. I became numb.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Being a
parent was very important to me. I was very cognizant of not repeating my own father’s
ineptitude in that role. My wife was very good at organizing things for the
kids like finding a pre-school and getting them into activities. Before going
back to work she found a nanny who would be a part of the kids’ lives for about
the next 12 years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We were
living in the “burbs”. I kind of adapted to it but was a bit uncomfortable at
times. From time to time we would go to house parties. A lot of that stuff I
found completely boring but there were a few occasions that I shared a joint
out on the back porch with a few likeminded souls. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I was rarely
consulted about decisions made about our kids. Usually I would find out about
those decisions after the fact. I wasn’t involved in the hiring of a nanny. My
wife also made some financial decisions independently like buying RRSPs through
an investment guy she met through a friend. It wasn’t as if I was against the
idea, it was more that I was left out of any meetings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Our marriage
had evolved into a kind of staleness. I was living in routines. These weren’t
happy times by and large. In June of 1995 I spent about a week hiking with 7
others along the West Coast Trail on the western side of Vancouver Island. Not
something my wife was interested in doing. It was an exhilarating experience. I
loved being out of my element. My wife had planned on going home to
Saskatchewan for 2 weeks with the kids in July. I enjoyed spending time with
her family but by this point I had been to Saskatchewan several times. She was
going to fly there with the kids. I decided to spend 3-4 days golfing and
fishing on Vancouver Island with one of the guys I had hiked with (he died
several years ago) before driving to Saskatchewan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">After
arriving in Saskatchewan I felt a kind of iciness from my wife’s family. I
couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Not long after my wife and the kids
arrived back in Vancouver she asked the kids to go upstairs because she wanted
to discuss something with me privately. She told me she wanted a divorce. I was
stunned. I hadn’t expected that at all. I asked her if she was sure that this
was what she wanted to do and she said yes. I remember getting on my mountain
bike and riding down to the dike area in Richmond. It was like my world was
passing by me on both sides as I pedaled at a rapid pace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I learned
that there was a reason for her family’s iciness towards me back in Saskatchewan.
They all knew that she was going to ask for a divorce.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My biggest
concern was what was going to happen to our children. I loved them dearly and
didn’t want to be out of their lives. I also didn’t want to see them leveraged
between my wife and me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My first step
was to find somewhere else to live. It was going to be a bit complicated. The
cost of paying child support, renting a house, and renting office space was
fairly expensive. I slept on the couch for a few months before I moved out. I
bought out my office lease for several thousand dollars and my secretary found
me a house that had room for an office.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I signed a
separation agreement. I would pay a healthy amount in child support, my wife
would keep all the investments, we would split the house, and I would keep my
business. I would be active in the kids’ lives and they would stay at my house
once a week for 2 days. I agreed with everything she asked for but that isn’t
to say that I thought it all was fair. I had no problem with the child support
amount stuff. It didn’t seem balanced that she would keep all of our
investments. I had contributed to them and both our names were on the
documents. Keeping my business wasn’t exactly a break for me as it was how I
made my living. Splitting the house was something that could only happen much
later when she could afford to buy me out and I wasn’t about to force her to
find a new home. The 50/50 split of the house wasn’t equal because I paid for
the down payment on the house with money I had inherited. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She finally
bought me out 12 years into the 20 year house mortgage. I never received
anything close to my 50%. The main reason I agreed to everything she asked for
was because I didn’t want to rock the boat. She was the mother of our children
and her being upset wasn’t going to make the transition run any smoother.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There was a
lingering bitterness on my wife’s part for several months. As the primary care
giver to our children she kind of had the hammer. When our first Christmas
apart was coming up she informed me that she was taking the kids to
Saskatchewan for the entire Christmas holidays meaning that I wouldn’t see the
kids at all during that time. <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">For
some reason she changed her mind on those plans and taking the kids out of town
for the holidays never came up again. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
relationship between my ex improved after about 6 months and we became cordial.
Somebody published an article in a magazine about how well we had coped with
co-parenting. We attended all of the kids’ events at school and other
activities like dance classes and sports together. When the nanny’s car died I
paid for the repairs. For a number of years I hung up the outdoor Christmas
lights at my ex’s house and brought the Christmas tree back to her place in my
vehicle. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I did the
major part of driving the kids to their activities. I got involved in my son’s
sports and coached him in soccer and baseball for a few years. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My ex and I would sometimes go for lunch
together and sometimes I would have dinner at her place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I never had
second thoughts about our splitting up. Never once did I think about reconciliation.
It was over for very good reasons. We weren’t at all alike. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day when her mom was visiting, her mom
suggested that we might get back together again. I told her that that was never
going to happen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">For the
record, I never cheated during my marriage. In the 15 years we were together,
including living together for close to a year, I may have gotten drunk 2-3
times in total. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The above, of
course, is my version of events. As they say, it takes 2 to tango, so it would
be a safe say that my ex would not be in total agreement with me in my
conclusions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Single At 48</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I had to
figure a lot of things out about being single. Considering that I didn’t get
married until I was 34 I had had a lot of experience with the single life in my
younger years. This was going to be very different. I was now a middle aged
man. I made a few rules for myself, the first being that I wasn’t going to let
my social life interfere with my responsibilities to my children. They would always
come first. I also knew that I wasn’t going to be messing around with any
married women and to the best of my knowledge I never did. I’m not trying to
sound noble here but I’ve never had any admiration for people who cheat. They
are basically all liars. How a person can climb into bed with their spouse
after getting some on the side is beyond me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So where was
a 48 year old man going to find single women at this stage in life? Meeting
them in bars seemed like the simplest option. I never wanted to be the creepy
old guy at the end of the bar in a joint that was mostly full of younger people
in their twenties and thirties. Jazz and blues clubs seemed to be my best bet.
My initial “targets” were women in their late thirties to mid forties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I went out on
some weekend nights while still sleeping on the couch at my ex’s. One night I
was standing at a bar and got into a conversation with a divorced couple. They
both made it very clear to me that they were no longer romantically involved.
Eventually, I asked the gal in the couple if she would like to dance. This was
a big mistake. Shortly after we came off of the dance floor the guy in the
couple punched me in the stomach leaving me winded. Welcome to middle aged
single life!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Not long
after the above I met an Italian gal in a Vancouver blues bar called The Yale.
I would spend many nights over the years in this nightclub. The Italian gal
wasn’t hard to notice. The top she was wearing revealed some pretty large
breasts. I confess that I’ve always been a breast man. Not long after our first
meeting I invited her over to my new house. It was bit strange at first to have
relations with someone completely new, but I got over that fairly quickly. We
hung out together for a few weeks and then I cut things off. It was far too
soon for me to jump into another long term relationship. This was kind of my
pattern over the next 10 years. Oddly enough, I went out on a date with a
friend of the Italian gal’s several months later not knowing initially that
they knew one another and worked at the same place. The friend turned out to be
a complete pain in the ass. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">One day I was
reading a free left wing Vancouver newspaper called The Georgia Straight and
noticed on the back page a dating service that was being offered. It was a
phone kind of deal where men pay a per minute phone charge when they contact a
woman using the service. Both men and women created a voice message describing
who they thought they were. It was, and is, a really stupid way of trying meet
someone, particularly because there was no way of knowing what the person on the
other end of the phone looked like. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I only
remember meeting one gal through this service. It was at a Starbucks in Maple
Ridge, BC, a fairly long drive from where I lived. I had a back-up plan. If the
date didn’t work out I would visit a good friend who lived in the area whose
house I had never been to. I knew from the first moment I saw the gal that she
wasn’t somebody I was attracted to. She also had a lumpy bandage around one of
her lower legs that looked gross. I sat with her for about an hour listening to
her blabber away non-stop.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We parted
company and I had a beer at my friend’s place before heading home. When I got
back to my house there was a phone message from the gal with the bandage. Her
message was quite analytical and she said she felt that I didn’t ask her any
questions about herself. I messaged her back that the reason I didn’t ask more
questions was because I had absolutely no interest in her. We just had fucking
coffee together! No big deal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My next
venture into middle aged single life was joining a club called TGIF. I can’t
recall how I discovered the club. It cost something like $150.00 to join and
they had some kind of event most nights of the week including dining at
restaurants, dances, excursions and some sporting things like bowling. I went
up to Whistler one weekend with a group of them. The guy who owned the club was
making a bit of a killing. He wasn’t only pocketing the initiation fees he was
getting a kick back from the restaurants and other venues that were visited.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Some of the women
in the club were the kind that looked like a deer in the headlights, totally
out of their element in mid life and back on the market, a place they never
expected to be. One night as I was leaving a dance 3 women from the group
stopped me and one of them told me that this club wasn’t for me and that I
could do a lot better on my own than stooping to this situation. I took it as a
compliment. I did go out with a couple of women from the club. I went for a
bike ride with one and rollerblading with another. I couldn’t see any chemistry
with either of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The final
straw for me with TGIF was one night when the club went to a restaurant above
The Shark Club in Vancouver. Freshly sliced roast beef cut by a chef was the
specialty that night. I was thrown off a bit when an older woman at the table I
was sitting at introduced herself. I had known her slightly about a dozen years
earlier. I had worked in sales with her husband at one time. I also went to his
funeral. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Somehow a
piece of roast beef became lodged in my throat and I couldn’t breathe. Someone
at the table did the Heimlich maneuver on me. It was like a neon light flashing
at me. TGIF obviously wasn’t for me. It was time to move on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I decided
that my best bet was to mix things up a bit as far as my social life went. I
hung out at jazz and blues clubs that tended to draw older singles like me,
Rossini’s and The Fairview Pub for jazz and The Yale for blues music. I also
went to a number of singles dances that catered to folks over the age of 40.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I met a
really nice gal at a big dance at the Bayshore Hotel (where Howard Hughes once
lived); got her phone number and a week later we went out on a date. She chose
the venue which was at a big Baptist church in Burnaby and the entertainment
was a gospel group called The Blind Boys Of Alabama. I was totally blown
away. It was one of the best dates I’ve ever been on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_9tBvO_eif1hgYKeGvtj20jlX0Zu2mDHZQduT0rdU9qrhl5Q07G8xuVGg-Nn3TjuilMSctr5d1GVFLmu0_0C3e9_6yOcX5h2gaguD0LhfrFs9Fhh_7xX4KXljoUFMcSLK_Swv6UdH5A/s1600/images7Q0NISH1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_9tBvO_eif1hgYKeGvtj20jlX0Zu2mDHZQduT0rdU9qrhl5Q07G8xuVGg-Nn3TjuilMSctr5d1GVFLmu0_0C3e9_6yOcX5h2gaguD0LhfrFs9Fhh_7xX4KXljoUFMcSLK_Swv6UdH5A/s320/images7Q0NISH1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Gospel music
can be very overwhelming. To me it is almost a physical thing like being lifted
up. Kind of strange in a way too considering that I am an atheist. That night
kind of reminded me of the Blues Brothers movie where someone is doing
somersaults in the air.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I enjoyed our
date. Before going out with her we had discussed on the phone that I have never
been big on hand holding and prefer a woman I’m with tucking her arm around
mine. Sure enough that’s how we walked to and from the church that night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We later went
and grabbed a bite to eat somewhere. As I looked across the table at her I
realized that she had wrinkle marks at the top of her cheeks. I wasn’t sure how
old she was but my guess was that she was a few years older than me. I liked
her a lot but felt that we had no future together. Some might think that that
was pretty shallow on my part. I guess we could have just been friends but I’ve
never really known how that works. I was looking for something a bit more than
“company”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I went to a
few singles dances at a place called Fantasy Gardens. It was on a property in
Richmond, BC that was developed by BC’s former premier Bill Vander Zalm. It was
kind of a tourist trap with a big windmill and fake facades of stores that were
made to look over 100 years old. It also had a mini train that was quite
popular at Christmas time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the middle
of all this was a fair sized ballroom with a large balcony from which the North
Shore Mountains could be seen in the distance. One night I was out on the
balcony having a smoke and got into a conversation with some guy. After telling
him that I had climbed the distant Grouse Mountain that day I asked him if we
had talked before. He looked familiar. It turned out that we had. He said “You’re
the guy that thinks drunk driving is OK.” I think what I might have said was
that I got away with drinking and driving when I was younger.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi0_SufKXVgwBb-wdMSpLR_0Y2w_QBssjDzQT1tUm3Ve9Tk_twO9NWZ9ZOZwaJ_XggOsHBHMhfDOsLVsO9a3Mst7TP821TkRuUj-z2zqua8At1vGbBzN1jWcqr02MM-r8WFlHqsJVDYM/s1600/3044438%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi0_SufKXVgwBb-wdMSpLR_0Y2w_QBssjDzQT1tUm3Ve9Tk_twO9NWZ9ZOZwaJ_XggOsHBHMhfDOsLVsO9a3Mst7TP821TkRuUj-z2zqua8At1vGbBzN1jWcqr02MM-r8WFlHqsJVDYM/s400/3044438%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fantasy Gardens, Richmond, BC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In fact I was
very careful about drinking and driving. The most I would ever drink when I was
out and about was 3 beers. This would be followed with a few cups of coffee
over the next hour. Sometimes I would have a nap in the back of my van before
driving home. Back then I was pulled over several times and had to do the
breathalyzer thing. I passed each time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I had a month
long fling with a gal who was a first responder and ambulance driver that I met
at Fantasy Gardens. She had Fibromyalgia that she seemed to manage quite well.
She lived with her teen aged daughter and had a pet monkey. Monkeys gross me
out. I never met the daughter or the monkey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Something
else that I remember from those singles dances were the men who had clearly
taken ballroom dancing lessons. Most of them looked kind of creepy. A number of
them were bald and not in a good way. Others were very short like 5’4”. No
matter how good a guy that size can dance, they still look very peculiar
dancing with a woman several inches taller.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Dawn Of Internet Dating</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Looking back,
internet dating didn’t become a big thing until the early 2000s. Older people
like me can remember dial-up in the 90s. Facebook didn’t come into being until
2004. The movie You’ve Got Mail came out in 1998 and kind of opened up the
possibilities of meeting someone on the net. If it worked for Tom Hanks and Meg
Ryan’s characters why not give it a shot?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmUybw2-fNK_kPxgwohFvu1i0RjoGXLbNaxIkDtG6mEZumgmfK7iMUXzcU9jKA5QWY585LLipz67Q9ihUGVV7DCTm258mhPULo-m2F8k8bl_L0gVgmLVbKVxF_CY3phD8Qo4cRF8y4hQ/s1600/imagesDSCCJ5GJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmUybw2-fNK_kPxgwohFvu1i0RjoGXLbNaxIkDtG6mEZumgmfK7iMUXzcU9jKA5QWY585LLipz67Q9ihUGVV7DCTm258mhPULo-m2F8k8bl_L0gVgmLVbKVxF_CY3phD8Qo4cRF8y4hQ/s400/imagesDSCCJ5GJ.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The first
dating site I joined was one called Lavalife in the late 1990s. Back then you
could buy a deal where for a fixed fee you could contact something like 6
different women from the site. It was kind of like buying booze beads at a Club
Med. Once you ran though those 6 contacts you had to pay again or you couldn’t
participate. I believe they later changed their format to a monthly flat fee.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAgESGjCJWTvZ9ljSRx8WSkZdsmWS5QElYRDhB0RQ3CWLp-jcBAsWSUfAgIlFvhLBpISbWiXZIc1B8OUBeX8q9v4A2WfMOuyAOyzSdB2Iwv3l7dNszvpcsBlwGaM7U7X4rlQ78MFY6zU/s1600/images%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="119" data-original-width="424" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAgESGjCJWTvZ9ljSRx8WSkZdsmWS5QElYRDhB0RQ3CWLp-jcBAsWSUfAgIlFvhLBpISbWiXZIc1B8OUBeX8q9v4A2WfMOuyAOyzSdB2Iwv3l7dNszvpcsBlwGaM7U7X4rlQ78MFY6zU/s400/images%255B1%255D.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">You could
post a photo of yourself (a few didn’t) and write and post a brief description
of what your likes and dislikes were. There was also a section that stated what
your religious beliefs were, if you smoked or not, and some other things like
occupation. I was kind of surprised at how many women wrote “spiritual” when it
came to religion.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I was a
smoker and an atheist so I probably was eliminated by 60% of the age
appropriate woman on the site. I countered those limitations by being creative
in my profile. A little bit of funny, a pinch of off the wall, a short list of
some of things I liked to do. One of my opening lines was “What’s in your yurt?”
Nothing I ever wrote was a lie.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There were
definitely a number of turn-offs for me in reading women’s profiles. At the top
of the list were demanding women, women who appeared to be high maintenance,
women without any apparent sense of</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> humour</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">, and woman who had inflated opinions
about themselves. On dating sites it is quite common for men and women to
misrepresent who they really are. Sometimes these things might not be discovered
until going out on a date.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I remember
sitting out on patio deck at a place called Bridges on Granville Island with a
date. She had used her college graduation photo on her Lavalife profile and
didn’t look anything at all like her photo. She was German, kind of stocky, and
had a kind of gruff demeanor. Images of a WW2 German prison guard flashed in my
mind. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I couldn’t get away quick enough but stuck it out for an
hour.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiase0o-VcL3z4Bv94CW4w_vES_64aGXy45nTo6PXwAXNLB-PnyhY3ttxXHY6qpFZW6tFSmk_XVeM4QLopoO2mFT_IjGWiTPRilqw_EoAEETcx3Mj0ZPo-lkc-z5qdVv8lH-a2E3LL3GrM/s1600/imagesWUPCVT1N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiase0o-VcL3z4Bv94CW4w_vES_64aGXy45nTo6PXwAXNLB-PnyhY3ttxXHY6qpFZW6tFSmk_XVeM4QLopoO2mFT_IjGWiTPRilqw_EoAEETcx3Mj0ZPo-lkc-z5qdVv8lH-a2E3LL3GrM/s400/imagesWUPCVT1N.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridges Restaurant, Vancouver</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There should
be no shame in being “average” looking. Most of us are and more so the older we
get. Most people have something going for them in their physical appearance.
Hair, eyes, smile, skin, body shape, how one carries themselves. A great laugh
doesn’t hurt nor does a pleasant voice. Being confident and comfortable with
who they are also goes a long way. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I never had
unreasonable expectations about dating on the net. It truly is a numbers game.
I never had long range plans, I was simply looking for someone who I was mostly
simpatico with and then we could go from there. This was easier said than done.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Over a period
of about 8 years I went out with hundreds of women I met on the net. There were
times when I went out on more than 1 date during a week. Usually I met them at
a coffee shop like Starbucks or at a pub. These days sometimes when I’m waiting
for my coffee at Starbucks I can spot a couple out on a first date. For some
reason they are almost always seated outside. Maybe it’s the lighting or the
ability of making a quick escape? Realistically being in public is a safe place
for women to meet a complete stranger.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In all the
years I dated on the net I never had a “no show” nor did I ever have a gal walk
out on me. I never walked out on anyone either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLKFNAsdOQ1EfD_ZzIsrc_gOzDvHbBmRWlmfC-726kITOKipkz5wp-5N2mS2a5KshbzC5EJsZghh_Xr3wZ3iaGA4agB6J4t7_uTuc0Fzs2x8K0_Tz57PQg3vH6OHVrpj_iX4C7p_rrYs/s1600/55882030_10156582311221339_5356359710339497984_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="648" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLKFNAsdOQ1EfD_ZzIsrc_gOzDvHbBmRWlmfC-726kITOKipkz5wp-5N2mS2a5KshbzC5EJsZghh_Xr3wZ3iaGA4agB6J4t7_uTuc0Fzs2x8K0_Tz57PQg3vH6OHVrpj_iX4C7p_rrYs/s400/55882030_10156582311221339_5356359710339497984_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="345" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So here’s the
basic routine when it comes to internet dating. You send someone a “smile” or a
short note whose profile has got your attention. If they respond affirmatively
you start a conversation. If this goes well you ask for her phone number. If
that goes well you both agree to meet one another.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">One of the
first things both men and women think about when first meeting a stranger on a
date is whether or not they could possibly sleep with that person. From what I
understand there are a lot of men who cut right to the chase. I imagine that
that works sometimes but it turns a lot of women off. Using double entendres
are also a creepy way of communicating. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Pretty well
almost everyone over the age of 40 has been in a long term relationship. Most
have been married and most also have children. A gal with 2 teenagers at home
isn’t as flexible with her time as gal living alone. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Everyone has
war stories about their previous relationship(s). Some of those stories can be
very uncomfortable to listen to. Quite frequently the women telling their
stories revealed things about their own character that weren’t flattering.
Alcohol abuse and cheating were the most common reasons for their marriage
breakdowns. I never offered up much about my own previous marriage unless I was
asked and when I did I basically said that we were 2 people who didn’t have a
lot in common who had drifted apart. I never said anything bad about my ex.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What
Did I have To Sell?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Just what did
I have going for me? I was reasonably good looking but not a stud. For the most
part I was also pragmatic. Possibly because of my background in sales, I was
comfortable talking to almost anyone even if I didn’t always agree with them. As
an aside, I can’t recall ever sucking up to anyone in my life. I was pretty
confident and didn’t have doubts about who I was. My bullshit detector was
pretty accurate so it was unlikely that some gal would be able to snow me. I
didn’t have a messy background from previous relationships. I was also a
relaxed kind of person who liked to laugh and was open to new experiences. I
had a decent income. Rejection wasn’t something I feared. If whatever I was
looking for wasn’t going to happen, I would just move on just like I would in
my sales career. Also I never ever lied to anyone. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Just what was
I looking for? Love at first site was not something I expected. Physical
attraction was at the top of my list but that didn’t matter without some kind
of chemistry. I liked women who approached life positively, had some sense of
adventure, and enjoyed a good laugh. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Let’s stop
here for a bit. The reality is that internet dating sites aren’t crawling with grade
“A” material, whatever that is. Very attractive mature women weren’t that
common on the net and the ones that were very attractive often had personality
flaws. I’ve never been a big fan of lining up for anything so I generally
avoided these women unless they contacted me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trying To Remember All Those Internet
Dates</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy84GMI2NT8h5l8fL7AbAZzI3PDIJGszMQNkuuvvgEoKFo_Lps7GmtNMFIVLCw8lsM7bUTwrzkd2qK7O6_WwafEenYtZFGuggsF0pWQKQLonAf7zKiHFFW7nsyQKZZHqgbLiQbt1_rhTg/s1600/the-time-machine-1960-700x500%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="700" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy84GMI2NT8h5l8fL7AbAZzI3PDIJGszMQNkuuvvgEoKFo_Lps7GmtNMFIVLCw8lsM7bUTwrzkd2qK7O6_WwafEenYtZFGuggsF0pWQKQLonAf7zKiHFFW7nsyQKZZHqgbLiQbt1_rhTg/s400/the-time-machine-1960-700x500%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Time Machine movie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I can hardly
recall any of their names, even the ones I spent extended time with. My best
reference point is where I was living at the time. I rented 2 houses in
Richmond, BC fairly close to my ex and kids, I lived in a home I owned in Fanny
Bay, BC for 2 years, and Victoria, BC for a short while. The gals I met were
from all over the BC lower mainland and Vancouver Island. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">First House</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My first date
on Lavalife didn’t work out very well. She lived fairly close to me and we went
for a walk along the beach at night. I invited her back to my place for a drink
but it soon became obvious that there was no chemistry. She insisted that she
bring her dog along to my place. After she left I found dog poop in 3 different
rooms. Not exactly a great start.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">While living
at this house I went out on what turned out to be one of the weirdest dates in
my life. It was with a blonde gal in her mid forties. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">We
decided to drive down to Washington State for the day and stopped for lunch at
a place called The Oyster Creek Inn on Chuckanut Drive not far from the city of
Bellingham. I am pretty sure that it was during lunch that the gal told me that
she was a part time pastor. The thought of any action with her happening later
was quickly dulled. What are the chances of a pastor and an atheist hooking up?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
decided to head on to the riverside town of La Conner after lunch and found
ourselves on a 4 lane highway. We were a hundred yards or so behind a big black
SUV. All of a sudden a car came onto the highway from a side road and clipped
the SUV in front of us. The SUV rolled over on its roof with the tires still
spinning. I stopped our car and pulled 6 people out of the vehicle, two small
kids, their parents, and two grandparents. Nobody was seriously hurt but they
certainly were stunned. The grandfather had a bit of a cut on his forehead. I
turned the ignition off and gave them a hand getting their luggage out of the
truck. I learned that the grandfather was driving the parents and their kids to
the airport and that they were going to be flying to Europe where they planned
to live for several years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While waiting for the
cops to turn up the grandfather took me aside and gave me his phone number. He
said to give him a call the next time we were coming down that way and he would
take us out on a big boat that he owned. I stuck the piece of paper in my
pocket. We just did what anyone should do when people are in difficulty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4NdzCM6bOLI1KHIDHJ_8j4bjnhyphenhyphenjlkD1sGeZyIZyRV8-5FULnn1foLZPxZP7OHhjq2bmsHyAs2q4VyLgDha0O7L9Uwom9o6u0h_0BjZo6NK4c21HQ9UGYYKBB0vDPckb6bEeofwPwM8/s1600/IMG_6571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4NdzCM6bOLI1KHIDHJ_8j4bjnhyphenhyphenjlkD1sGeZyIZyRV8-5FULnn1foLZPxZP7OHhjq2bmsHyAs2q4VyLgDha0O7L9Uwom9o6u0h_0BjZo6NK4c21HQ9UGYYKBB0vDPckb6bEeofwPwM8/s400/IMG_6571.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Conner, Washington</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We drove on to La Conner
and both of us agreed that a good stiff drink was in order. We found a bar
where the locals hung out and ordered drinks. The pastor gal started to make
plans about us coming back to La Conner and going out on the old guy’s boat.
This could be awkward I thought because I didn’t plan on seeing her a second
time and I also didn’t want a reward for being a Good Samaritan. I can still
remember the shock on her face when I took the phone number note out of my
pocket and ripped it up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was kind of thinking
that we should probably head back to Canada but then we got into drinking
shooters. After 3 or 4 of those we were pretty drunk. I got it into my head
that I wanted to go the fishing port of Anacortes that wasn’t too far away. Out
in the parking lot I bought a joint from a stranger who was toking up. In no
time the pastor gal and I were totally wasted. Somehow I managed to drive us to
Anacortes and we found a small nightclub with a live band. The place was
rocking. The clientele seemed to be a mix of young adults who had escaped from
their parents’ summer cottages and street people. It turned out that the pastor
gal was a lot more liberal than I would have imagined. At one point she moved
her hand up the shorts I was wearing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was going to be a
long drive back to Canada and it was now about 2:00 a.m. I think it was about
3:00 a.m. when we rolled into the border town of Blaine. We were starving and
went to an all-night Denny’s. As luck would have it the cook hadn’t turned up
and the hostess was trying her best to do his job in the kitchen. By the time we
finished eating it was about 5:00 a.m. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We still had to get
across the border and my head was spinning. As I drove up to the crossing the
place looked abandoned. In the distance I could see one border guy sitting on a
chair outside. (Times have changed since 9/11.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He asked the usual questions and gave us the green light to go. Whew!! A
few minutes later I noticed that there was a roach in my coffee holder by the
dash. Man, were we lucky!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I only saw the pastor
gal once more after that. She phoned me and said she was in the neighbourhood
and asked if it was OK to drop by. The last image that stands out about her was
her sitting on a lawn chair at a small kitchen table and after her standing up
me seeing lawn chair dents in her bare bum.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went out with a
special needs school teacher for 2 or 3 weeks. Our first date was spending a
Friday afternoon visiting antique stores in Fort Langley and taking her big
black dog for a walk. At the time she had been off work for several days with the
flu. She didn’t look sick to me. I learned that she had been married 3 times
which meant to me that this deal had no long term potential. I also found out
that she was religious, which was also a no go for me.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNgHAIka9AsdS2rOvf42jdQNHOtX1lPj6tPl0MRci3t4FU1IQw28y7ykKNr3tjiP_dYxVj1OCsGK1o6iWoBvLcKzikJG03QjFPu_G101tN7f8VOtvzK247WSepXanggKLl0N-JcLLlX4/s1600/imagesAFQQKLCC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="325" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNgHAIka9AsdS2rOvf42jdQNHOtX1lPj6tPl0MRci3t4FU1IQw28y7ykKNr3tjiP_dYxVj1OCsGK1o6iWoBvLcKzikJG03QjFPu_G101tN7f8VOtvzK247WSepXanggKLl0N-JcLLlX4/s400/imagesAFQQKLCC.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fort Langley, BC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The following Monday she
went out of town to a teachers’ conference. When she got back she told me that
a number of the other teachers were pissed off at her for spending so much time
away from her special needs kids. “Fuck them” she said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She kind of hummed a
hawed about my lack of religious beliefs. She was really stacked and I was
determined to see what was in her shirt. One night we were making out in my car
and she told me how she could see us both reading the newspaper in bed on
Sunday mornings. The next time I talked to her she told me the religious thing
was still an issue. Maybe I should have told her I had seen the light just to
get some but I didn’t. What a waste of time! Never saw her again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went out on dates with
a few school teachers. I found them all to be pretty anal. It was as if they
didn’t seem to know the difference between talking to children and adults. I
remembered from years before working as a waiter and serving teachers. 20 of
them would come into the restaurant and all of them wanted separate bills. Most
didn’t tip at all. Mostly I found them to be bland with pretty dull lives. I
decided not to go out with any teacher at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went out with a nurse
who worked in palliative care at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. St. Paul’s
was where a lot of AIDS patients were looked after. It didn’t take me long to
figure out that this nurse had alcohol problems and consumed a lot of wine. She
was nice enough but I would never get involved with an alcoholic. She did offer
up some really interesting info that I’ve never forgotten. She told me that
most people’s severe health problems have a lot to do with heredity,
particularly when they get older. I believe that. Lucky genes are nothing to
sneeze at. I’ve known other nurses in the past and the most screwed up ones seem
to be those who work in Emergency where deaths, wounds, and lots of blood are
somewhat common. It takes a lot of character to not take the work home with
them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not all contacts or
phone calls ended up in dates. I wasn’t interested in dating Asian ladies or
Latinos. I’ve known some men who have done that who have found themselves
wrapped up the gal’s family and their kids. I’m not the Red Cross! Women with husky
voices or bad grammar always turned me off, scary stories from their pasts too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remember going over to
a gal’s house one night knowing that getting laid was a sure thing. For some
reason we used her roommate’s, who was out at the time, brass bed. I didn’t stay
the night and the next day I was back on Lavalife. She noticed I was back on
the site and was more than a bit ticked off. I pointed out to her that pretty
well everything she wrote on her profile was a lie. I didn’t feel sorry for her
at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A typical coffee date
lasted for an hour or two. I never had a prepared plan. I just winged it. A
number of times there was no physical attraction but I stuck it out. Depending
on the situation, sometimes I would say that we weren’t a match and other times
I would end the conversation by saying “It was nice meeting you” even when it
wasn’t. I guess you could call that a small lie. There were other times where
we mutually agreed that we weren’t a match with no hard feelings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went out with an
attractive blonde and we had a nice time. We both smoked which made things more
comfortable. I think she worked in retail. She also did a lot of drawing in her
spare time. For some reason I never asked her out on a second date. About a
month later I got an e-mail from her along with images of some of her
paintings. She told me that she had picked up a permanent socially transmitted
decease from a guy she had met before me. My first thought was that I had
dodged a bullet. I thanked her for her honesty and wished her the best.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
House</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rented the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
house for about 5 years. It was a big place, about 3,000 square feet, and had a
swimming pool. It was also minutes away from the high school my kids went to.
About 2 years into the rental I bought a vacation/retirement house at a place
called Fanny Bay on Vancouver Island.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mostly I went out on
dates in Vancouver but I also started going out on dates with gals who lived on
Vancouver Island too once in a while.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Over the years I met
several women who were in deep financial trouble. Of course they never
mentioned that on their profiles or in phone conversations. One gal I met was
49 years old and had just joined the navy. It didn’t make any sense to me. The
Canadian government was investing in someone who might give the government 5-10
years of service? She was so broke I could see the desperation on her face. I
bought her a bag of groceries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I made arrangements to
meet up with a gal in Victoria on a Super Bowl weekend. She told me in advance
that if things worked out well I could stay at her house that weekend. We went
for dinner at a pub in Oak Bay. The dinner worked out well enough that we made
out a bit in the restaurant. She didn’t eat much and asked the waitress for a
doggy bag.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We then drove over to
her rented house in Oak Bay. It turned out that she had a couple of teenaged
kids living with her. There was no way I was going to have sex with her with
kids in the house. I simply couldn’t do that. She gave the doggy bag to the
kids like she had lucked out and the food was devoured in moments. I noticed
that there was hardly any furniture in the house and wondered if she had sold
some of it off to buy groceries. She didn’t have a job.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her son had a job
working at one of the bigger Victoria hotels and I drove him to work for his
late shift. She had a car but no money for gas. When we got back to her house I
told her that I would find somewhere else to sleep and see her the following
day. She agreed. I wanted to see the Super Bowl and possibly get laid. She put
me off when I called the next morning and I realized that I had been totally
wasting my time. I ended up watching the Super Bowl in a pub in Sidney, BC. The
story doesn’t end here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The crazy broad looked
up my phone number in Vancouver. I think she suspected that I was actually married.
When my ex and I split up years earlier my ex never bothered taking my name off
the phone billing. I wasn’t aware that this was the case because I had a
business number and a cell phone number.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Long story short, the
crazy broad phoned my ex and asked if I was still married. My ex told her to
screw off and to not call again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went out with at least
3 other women who were broke. None of them actually asked me for financial
assistance probably because they knew that I wasn’t capable of being that big
of a sucker. There’s a distinct sense of desperation when a woman doesn’t have
a job and they don’t know where they will be living at the end of the month. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I said before, every
contact on a dating site didn’t end up in a date. There were a number of times
that it was agreed that we didn’t have much in common or I alone was of that
opinion. Sometimes things just drifted into oblivion. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had a fairly long
correspondence with a gal who at one time had a column in one of the Vancouver
newspapers. Her husband, who had died, was also once a Vancouver columnist. We
wrote some pretty long letters. I was intrigued because she was a writer and I
wanted to be one. She once told me that I reminded her of her dead husband, in
a good way. We never talked on the phone. She complimented me a number of times
on my writing style.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was interesting for a
while but I was starting to find her to be pompous. She sounded like an elitist
to me. I remember her talking about seeing Arabian horse races as a child
somewhere in the Middle East and she came across as someone who thought of
herself as a hob nobber with aristocrats. It was far too classist for me and I
told her so. This really pissed her off and her last comment to me was “Piss
off you sot!”. Priceless!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spent a weekend with a
gal who came up to Vancouver for the weekend from the Interior. She wore far
too much make-up and didn’t tell me that she walked with a limp. We went up to
Whistler and stayed overnight. She insisted on driving her sports car with a
cracked windshield. She had a pretty high opinion of herself and at one point
told me that I was lucky that she was spending time with me. I almost threw up
in my mouth. Dumpy, badly dyed blonde hair, awful complexion, lousy
personality, and a distinct limp when she walked, lucky me? I thought to myself
that there must be a real shortage of wo</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">men<span style="color: black;"> in the Interior. What a
mess!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another lady came over
from Victoria for the weekend. She brought along a huge bag of pot for some
reason. A few joints would have sufficed. She told me that she worked in drug rehab.
I lost interest in her
after the first night and couldn’t wait for her to go home. Shallow perhaps on
my part but I’m just being honest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remember spending a
night with another gal from Victoria. It turned out that she was in Vancouver
because of a cancer scare and found out that she was cancer free. I got pretty
drunk (she wanted to celebrate) with her but never saw her again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And then there was the
gal that threw me out of her apartment. She was quite attractive and we met for
drinks at a pub in Port Moody where she was living. We got along well and at
the end of the night we made out for a while. The next day she invited me for
dinner at her apartment. She worked out of town during the warmer weather at a
fishing lodge in northern BC where she made some pretty decent money. She lived
on that money in the Vancouver area when the weather turned cold.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My mistake was that I
wasn’t just interested in getting laid. I thought there might be a possibility
of some kind of relationship happening. I guess I got mixed signals. She wasn’t
into anything serious other than getting laid. I could have played that part
but I made the wrong assumption that most women like to be romanced a bit. She
literally shoved me out of the door. As they say, live and learn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another gal I met and I
spent a few hours taking my dog for a walk out near the Vancouver airport. As
the evening approached she told me she wanted to go dancing somewhere. We went
to a local disco in Richmond called Matches. About 80% of the people in the
place were of Asian backgrounds. I couldn’t see any chemistry happening and was
writing the date off in my mind as just another meeting that was going nowhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We drove back to my
place. I thought the date was over and it was just a matter of her picking up
her car and our saying our goodbyes. I was kind of shocked when she said that
she would like to spend the night. She also said something about sex not going
to be happening. She asked me if she could borrow a shirt to sleep in. The sex
not happening wasn’t true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I saw this gal for about
a month. She had a nice townhouse in Surrey. I think the term for this
relationship is called a “booty call”. She’d phone me up and ask me over about
twice a week. I was OK with it all. We weren’t in love or anything like that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One night she showed me
some photos of one of her two daughters. The daughter had a baseball
scholarship at a US college and the gal told me that her daughter could throw a
base runner out at second base from her knees. Her daughter was kind of stocky
and had spiked blonde hair. As politely as I could I asked if her daughter was
a lesbian. She told me no.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About a week later I was
over at this gal’s place and she told me that she had a story to tell me.
Apparently a few days before the 2 daughters were visiting and the 3 of them
were having a chat on the gal’s bed. During their chat the baseball player
daughter “came out” as a lesbian. It may sound a bit strange to some reading
this but for some reason I’ve always been pretty good with “gaydar”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don’t think this gal
had much interest in me other than the sex. One night after doing the deed I
decided to get out of bed and end this deal. It was fun while it lasted. I
grabbed the car keys but when I got to my car I realized I had her keys, not
mine. I had to go back and ring the doorbell. We exchanged keys and I never saw
her again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One thing I always
stayed away from was any gal who said that their best friend was a gay guy.
First of all, I had no interest in spending any extended time with any gay
people. I’ve always been for their rights and had no problem having conversations
with them but I have nothing in common with their lifestyles. On top of that I
had no wish to be scrutinized by a gay best friend and I was damned sure that
would happen if I went down that path.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I got involved with a
British gal for few months. She lived in Ladysmith just south of Nanaimo. I had
just bought a vacation place at Fanny Bay, about an hour’s drive north of
Nanaimo. She worked in purchasing at a pulp mill south of Ladysmith. She had a
really nice house that was kind of 1940s Art Deco.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We kind of had a
routine. I would go over to my place in Fanny Bay every second weekend. She
would meet me up there. On Sunday afternoons she would drive home so she had a
bit of time and space to herself. I would stay at her place on Sunday nights
and get up in time to catch the 5:15 a.m. ferry back to Vancouver. She even had
the coffee maker timed for 4 a.m.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She was a bit on the
skinny side which wasn’t my normal choice in women’s shapes. On the other hand
she was very liberal sexually. What really wore me out was her British accent.
“And that would be you.” and other phrases. Eventually I just put an end to the
deal even though she owned a classic red Jaguar convertible. We were from
different worlds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Something that I found
amusing from time to time was the opinion some women had of who they thought I
was. Several seemed to think that I was fairly well off because I owned a
business. I was comfortable but I certainly wasn’t rich. Some others told me
that they thought I had been brought up in a wealthy environment and life had
been pretty easy for me. The reality was that life had not always been easy for
me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Falling
In Love?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It would be safe to say
that when it came to internet dating that I was a cynic. Almost every gal I met
seemed to be damaged goods in one way or another. I never expected to fall in
love on the internet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went out on a date
with gorgeous blonde gal a few years younger than me. We met at a pub in
Richmond, BC and hit it off right away. She had been married to an older guy
and had two adult sons who didn’t live with her. She was the receptionist at
one of Vancouver’s biggest advertising agencies. Her ex had retired to the
Sunshine Coast in BC and I think they split up partly because she didn’t want
to live in an area that remote </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and<span style="color: black;"> have to quit her job. According to her she got nothing in the
divorce settlement and her ex kept the house.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She had a great
personality, a great smile, and was well put together. She kind of reminded me
of Dinah Shore. Our kiss goodnight on the first date was pretty passionate. We
made arrangements to get together on the weekend. I took her up to Lynn Canyon
on the North Shore to do some hiking. (Wish I could still bounce down hills
like I could back then.) As we were bouncing down the mountain for some reason
the conversation turned to should women shave their private parts or not. It
wasn’t me that brought it up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the hike she
suggested that we pick up a bottle of wine and go back to her place. We stopped
at a wine store and I parked in the loading zone. She was worried that I was
going to get a ticket. If parking in a loading zone made me the bad boy type I
was OK with that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She had a 1 bedroom
apartment on Vancouver’s west side. Our clothes were off within 5 minutes. She
had a sort of shrine thing going on in a small area of the living room. I
wasn’t sure what that was all about. We talked on the phone every day and she
blew me away. I remember her phoning me during work hours while I was at one of
my suppliers. My knees were a little weak and I was feeling euphoric as I stood
out in the parking lot. I told her I was falling in love with her. I hadn’t had
that feeling in years and didn’t know before this time if I was still capable
of having those feelings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She had just bought a
new Volkswagen convertible and was over the moon about her acquisition. She
seemed to be trying to work out things in her life that would put her in a more
contented position. She did volunteer work for the Vancouver Aquarium but quit
because she couldn’t cope with the idea that whales were living in captivity in
pools at the aquarium. She also joined a choir.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Apparently she didn’t
have a lot of luck on dating sites. She had a group of gal pals who liked
sipping wine on some of the best restaurant patios in Vancouver. She told me
that her friends and she had discussed going out with shorter men because the
pickings were getting rather lean other than the guys that disappeared after a
few sexual romps.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I remember us smoking a
joint and “getting busy” and later walking over to a nearby deli and loading up
on take-out. Things were going well it seemed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had a plan to go over
to Vancouver Island to my place at Fanny Bay on an upcoming weekend and invited
her. She wasn’t interested and later I think I figured out why. Her ex lived in
an out of the way place and she had escaped that environment. She much
preferred the busy life of the big city.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I checked my e-mails
when I got back from Fanny Bay and there was one from her. It was a “Dear John”
letter. I can’t recall what it said exactly. I felt a bit blindsided. The whole
deal had gone up in smoke. I had kind of put my feelings out there. Fortunately
for me I wasn’t emotionally destroyed. Life sometimes works in mysterious ways
and I have been shocked a number of times over the years about a number of
things apart from falling in love. I’m good at rolling with the punches.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About 2 weeks later I
got a call from her asking me if I would like to go for a drink with her. We
went to a hotel bar in Richmond, BC (near where I lived). We basically talked
about life and she got me up on the dance floor. She had an interesting story
to tell me. It seems that after she dumped me she went out with a younger guy
who was an executive. He humped and dumped her and then he wouldn’t take her
calls at work. It was pretty obvious that he didn’t want to see her again. She
got into a bit of twisted logic. She had been dumped. I had been dumped. The difference
was I wasn’t chasing after her as she was him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I saw her several times
after that. I’d bump into her on the loading dock in the building she worked
in. I had a few customers in the building and several times during the day she
would go down to the loading dock for a smoke. I had purchased a golden
retriever puppy and sometimes he came in the car with me. I brought the dog out
of the car on a leash to show him to her one day when she was having a smoke.
The dog frightened her. Who doesn’t like golden retrievers?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A few years ago I sent
her an e-mail. I was curious as to how her life had worked out. My guess is she
is close to 70 years of age now. It turned out that she had never found the
ideal relationship she had been looking for and basically had given up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The last gal I spent
some extended time with in Vancouver was quite tall (taller than me) and was a
court reporter. She lived in a co-op on the west side of Vancouver. She didn’t
own a car and was quite frugal. She told me that her job wasn’t something she
could always count on and for that reason she had a freezer in her kitchen
stocked with food. I think she also made some of her own clothes and there were
stacks of patterns in her apartment. Her politics were certainly to the left
and to me she came across as a seasoned hippy without the weed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I stayed at her place
overnight several times including after I moved over to Vancouver Island. The
co-op didn’t allow smoking or dogs in the building. I would leave my dog in my
van when I stayed at her place. One morning I got up in the dark and drove over
to Kits Beach to let the dog go for a run. He jumped some guy in a suit and the
guy spilled coffee on his shirt. He wanted to punch the crap out of me but
someone else stepped in and prevented that from happening. It wasn’t the first
or last time that dog got me into trouble.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We really didn’t have a
lot in common but she seemed to want a serious relationship. We went for brunch
one Sunday morning at a place called O’Doul’s. I thought I should be honest with
her and told her that I couldn’t see myself falling in love with her. We could
go on with the status quo but love wasn’t going to be happening, at least on my
part. She pretty well blew a gasket and tried to convince me that I wasn’t
right about the way I felt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The last time I talked
to her was when she called me at my place at Fanny Bay. I told her I was
somewhat unsettled about suddenly moving away from Vancouver. She suggested
that I see a psychiatrist. I think this was her pay-back time and she did some
needling. I hung up on her and she phoned back again. I also hung up on that
call. I was glad to see the last of her. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fanny
Bay</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spent two years living
on my own in Fanny Bay with my golden retriever Cooper. I would go back to
Vancouver once a month and stayed at my ex’s house for 3 or 4 days and helped
out with the driving of my son and daughter to activities they were involved in.
My kids, twins, were in their last years of high school. They were at the age
where they much preferred spending time with their friends than with their
parents.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-RGdy1NSUlvU0dHMaK3U_ZEA64Dmu9w-FcSLD_MOE0R6a9jNMDUH0rrPIup81BFz6V6wp8frhmScEhDMpRbH52iry2gecyIu1zWxcpCpiMxvkxBG1VQdaWd2mqMBBSrLqC2qLO7peAY/s1600/IM000335%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-RGdy1NSUlvU0dHMaK3U_ZEA64Dmu9w-FcSLD_MOE0R6a9jNMDUH0rrPIup81BFz6V6wp8frhmScEhDMpRbH52iry2gecyIu1zWxcpCpiMxvkxBG1VQdaWd2mqMBBSrLqC2qLO7peAY/s400/IM000335%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My place at Fanny Bay, BC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I changed my dating
habits to exclusively seeing women who lived on Vancouver Island. One gal
invited me to a big party that included a giant bonfire. Her on-line photo
showed her as being in some tropical paradise. It turned out that the photo was
taken at a Vancouver Island attraction called Butterfly Gardens. I really found
her unattractive and she didn’t have much of a personality. All evening long
she intimated that we were going to be having sex later on. The thought made me
feel ill. I think I said something like “I gotta go” when I dropped her off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I did the “booty call”
thing for a couple of weeks with a gal who lived in Parksville, BC. She gave me
cat salt and pepper shakers which I threw out. I’m not a cat person.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spent a weekend at a
gal’s house in Victoria. She was a big heavy metal fan. Why I hung around for 2
days is beyond me. There was no chemistry at all. On top of that it rained the
entire 2 days I was there. I must have brought take-out back to her place about
6 times that weekend. She never chipped in a dime. She wouldn’t let me channel
surf on her TV either. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She had an older
Doberman pincher who was on his last legs. My dog tore into the other dog’s
toys and they were spread all over the place. I found it amusing. I remember
standing outside having a smoke and looking at the living room window. My dog
was up on the couch, where he wasn’t supposed to be, staring out the window and
wondering where I had gone. I found this too to be amusing. This was indeed a
“lost weekend”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went out on another
date with a gal who lived in Victoria. She worked at a golf course. We hung out
for a few hours at a pub but nothing much was happening. A few days later she
phoned me and told me she would like to drive up to Fanny Bay to see me. Pretty
well anytime a gal invites herself to a guy’s place a fair distance away that
will involve sleeping over some “action” is going to happen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was pretty cold out
but she was determined to play some golf. We went to an executive course about
an hour away from where I lived. We had layers of clothes on. It was by far the
coldest temperature I have ever played golf. She was fairly decent at golf but
I outdrove her a lot. Our situation was a “one and done”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I vaguely remember 2
other “one and dones” at my place at Fanny Bay. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A gal sent me a message
from Alberta and told me that she was moving to Courtenay, BC about a ½ hour
drive away. It turned out that she had a really nasty personality. She also
drove a car that somebody had thrown a can of paint on. Apparently I wasn’t the
only person she pissed off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I really wasn’t having a
lot of luck with internet dating on Vancouver Island. I wasn’t meeting anyone I
was interested in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I started talking to a
gal in Victoria who had a Danish background. She lived in Sidney, BC, not far
from Victoria, along with her two teen aged daughters who were rowers. We made
plans for me to come down to Victoria. We were going to take my dog for a walk
around Elk Lake.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykAbm2VDkbiKxFFwIXBletsjIjnRakE8kw85DCKTU_oyBJmn3h1Z0MOk7zIbCwlU15CDfsdmtxmh1iZubSTFFdIxawiqvFGpQzgJhfoVwnbzukkBefaRBaUIDDzxC6nb485Z-nqQXLA4/s1600/3002235832_98fe918f8d_b%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1024" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykAbm2VDkbiKxFFwIXBletsjIjnRakE8kw85DCKTU_oyBJmn3h1Z0MOk7zIbCwlU15CDfsdmtxmh1iZubSTFFdIxawiqvFGpQzgJhfoVwnbzukkBefaRBaUIDDzxC6nb485Z-nqQXLA4/s400/3002235832_98fe918f8d_b%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elk Lake, Victoria, BC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We met up in the parking
lot at the lake. She was very attractive. She asked me if I had got her phone
message and I told her no. Apparently she had had second thoughts about our
date and had phoned to cancel. At that point it was kind of like “Well you’re
here so let’s go on the walk anyway”. The walk lasted about 3 hours and she
started to warm up. I asked her if she would like to go for dinner and she was
into it. She chose an Italian restaurant that she been to before. We sat at an
outdoor table.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our conversation over
dinner got a bit deeper and at one point she asked me to hold her hand. In the
back of my mind I thought that this date had progressed from possibly being
cancelled to her getting intimate. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I drove her back to the
lake where her car was parked. I also had my dog in the car. She asked me if I
had a blanket, which I did, and we made out on the blanket next to the lake. I
probably should have rented a motel room. I knew that there was no way we were
going back to her place because her children lived with her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One thing led to another
of course. We put my dog in her car and we both climbed into the back of my
van. (It wasn’t a panel van or anything like that. It was a windowed GMC
Safari.) Our clothes came off and we were just about to do the deed. All of a
sudden there was a knocking sound on one of the van windows. It turned out to
be a security guard who told us the parking lot was being closed for the night.
Ours were the only 2 vehicles in the lot. There was a bit of a panic as we scrambled
to get our clothes back on. I remember her jeans were inside out. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She was quite
embarrassed about the whole deal and probably pissed off that I hadn’t just
taken her to a motel. She was also restricted by time and although she never
mentioned it there was no way she could stay out all night which would have
been a bad example to her teenaged kids.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I later discovered that
she had left her jacket in the van. I didn’t know where she lived so I couldn’t
drop it off to her. We e-mailed back and forth a few times when I got back to
Fanny Bay and I mailed her jacket to her. I think she was a bit confused about
letting her inner passion get the best of her. She had gone from being
disinterested to becoming horny. More than anything I think she was in desperate
need of male companionship and some intimacy. We never saw one another again.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Victoria,
BC</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think it was around
2006 that I sold my house in Fanny Bay. The main reason was I was too far away
from everything and most of my neighbours seemed to be paranoid retirees. I
wasn’t ready to pack it all in and live out my final years there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I made some good bucks
on the sale of my Fanny Bay place. Sold it for close to 2-1/2 times what I paid
for it. I do have good memories of living there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I ended up moving to
Victoria and renting a house in an area called Gordon Head where the University
of Victoria is located. I decided to join another dating website called Plenty
of Fish. Change things up a bit. Over the years I sometimes was a member of
more than 1 dating site. Woman quite commonly joined several dating sites to
increase their odds. The nice thing about Plenty of Fish was, at the time, it
was free.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57fhSHou_QqqD_Iy_mjXwuN9ZEW1TzNz7V0nUUouV0IPQYFVw2CGdDTqxWWdq04iJjnMSZ9Sf7YE1jPCszdbovNQtQU5nV5KL7r_7j4EtVpCEw-zi9hnDWNp9CDZYHscU7MdaCyDsXVM/s1600/imagesQ6VJD4TX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57fhSHou_QqqD_Iy_mjXwuN9ZEW1TzNz7V0nUUouV0IPQYFVw2CGdDTqxWWdq04iJjnMSZ9Sf7YE1jPCszdbovNQtQU5nV5KL7r_7j4EtVpCEw-zi9hnDWNp9CDZYHscU7MdaCyDsXVM/s1600/imagesQ6VJD4TX.jpg" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was now the autumn
and it was starting to get cold outside. I only dated a few times in Victoria. One
of those dates was with another unemployed gal with an uncertain future. We had
drinks in the Bengal Room at the Empress Hotel and then went looking for a
sushi place for dinner. I wasn’t fussy about her personality, she was a bit
sarcastic. She also had a pretty wide ass that I didn’t find appealing. It was
one of those one and done dates.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A few weeks later I got
a message from her saying that she would like to go out on another date. I have
to confess that I took a little delight in telling her that I had found someone
that I was interested in having a relationship with.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Linda</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spotted a photo of
Linda on Plenty of Fish. She was standing on a beach with rugged rocks in the
background. Her arms were up in the air expressing what looked like exuberance.
I later found out that the photo was taken in Ireland. She looked pretty cute
and had a nice smile.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She lived in Nanaimo and
worked at a group home for adults with mental illness. We e-mailed back and
forth and did the twenty questions stuff and then talked on the phone. No
warning signs blinked for me. One night we had a long conversation while a snow
storm raged outside. Nanaimo and Victoria often have similar weather.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We decided to meet on a
Saturday afternoon in Nanaimo at a local Starbucks. Oddly enough I had met
several women over the years at the same Starbucks. I was impressed immediately
on meeting Linda. She was in good shape and she was pretty. Not a bad start,
for me at least. We got along right away and no red flags went up for either of
us.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioc0jMmXqCuSUmhCrhyOvC4-CO8uiJmkTl7vbBcGAkQO20EBhNRBFojqxCPa2yLL_gaiEQZrrdggihiIDwAWwcdseLy9R_5kROLTlhDvuf2JZgtGpf4NiF_nwf2wb5wpEZFDJiatnvcg/s1600/e0ae68c0-3813-432d-b5f2-10c0d7d7294b%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioc0jMmXqCuSUmhCrhyOvC4-CO8uiJmkTl7vbBcGAkQO20EBhNRBFojqxCPa2yLL_gaiEQZrrdggihiIDwAWwcdseLy9R_5kROLTlhDvuf2JZgtGpf4NiF_nwf2wb5wpEZFDJiatnvcg/s400/e0ae68c0-3813-432d-b5f2-10c0d7d7294b%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Starbucks in Nanaimo where we met.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I didn’t have any
definite plans as to what we were going to do with the rest of the day. It was
Linda’s home turf. She suggested that we go to a place called the Dingy Dock
Pub. Apparently it is Canada’s only floating pub. To get there we had to take a
small ferry to Newcastle Island not far from downtown Nanaimo.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVT-NhN70Q3rUbObsytq3blTjbDZFvjjd_BQhPOgUbI-t9qYCdipe-tTn309m1yH6BqykoZkpVrd_5MLosITt7qOfNphY_Xb6oDhzBpAOlaYMpAnJn20VnDSinyxbirY0laGcB3OCdqA/s1600/Newcastle-Island-023-copy%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVT-NhN70Q3rUbObsytq3blTjbDZFvjjd_BQhPOgUbI-t9qYCdipe-tTn309m1yH6BqykoZkpVrd_5MLosITt7qOfNphY_Xb6oDhzBpAOlaYMpAnJn20VnDSinyxbirY0laGcB3OCdqA/s400/Newcastle-Island-023-copy%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dingy Dock Pub</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We were about the only
people in the pub when we arrived but the place started to fill up fairly
quickly. I’m not sure if it was a duo or a trio who were the entertainment.
They had a guitar or two. Within an hour the joint was packed. It took us a
while to figure something out that we weren’t aware of at first. Everyone else,
other than us, was at the pub for an office Christmas party. That was kind of
weird.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By this time it was
quite evident that we liked each other. We kissed a few times. It was a 2 hour
drive back to Victoria and somehow I convinced Linda to let me sleep on her
couch for the night. There was no way sex was going to happen on the first
date. I can’t remember what we did the next day. Linda also made it very clear
to me that if we were going to have sex at some point that I would have to see
a doctor to get checked out as to whether I had contacted any social deceases
over the years. I did that and passed with flying colours.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For the best part of the
following year we took turns with me driving up to Nanaimo for the weekend or
Linda driving down to Victoria for the weekend. She adopted my golden retriever
Cooper right away and they became good pals. I thought it was quite ironic that
I had moved down to Victoria at the southern point of Vancouver Island only to
find someone in the direction I had moved away from.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I went to Linda’s
Christmas office party that year. A few months later we took our first trip to
Mexico together. I had been there several times before. I introduced Linda to
my ex and they got along really well. We sometimes stayed at my ex’s place when
we were over in Vancouver. Linda hosted a surprise 60<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> birthday
party for me in May of 2007. We did a lot of hiking and exploring around
Vancouver Island that first year. I showed Linda around Seattle. We played a
bit of golf.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqP_k6Vj6rF6xGCVHibA2fCD3J_e3uLo0DirpLJlrzJ2cEz-O6dCRmTigiflRfBYIMB_eVJ7VUfpeapAbAQoPKckVPzMwvSXXgdDu72deUkYuhJLw8Mi11yu9UeqhdM_RmpQViu-dLIM/s1600/197036_10150206231623569_817711_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqP_k6Vj6rF6xGCVHibA2fCD3J_e3uLo0DirpLJlrzJ2cEz-O6dCRmTigiflRfBYIMB_eVJ7VUfpeapAbAQoPKckVPzMwvSXXgdDu72deUkYuhJLw8Mi11yu9UeqhdM_RmpQViu-dLIM/s400/197036_10150206231623569_817711_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda and I at Long Beach 2008.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I moved in with Linda in
2008. We’ve been together now for close to 12 years. We had to do a bit of
adapting to each other but nothing earth shattering. Life has been good....for
both of us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Was
All Of That Internet Dating Worth It? </span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagrAWoyDvJhq9mx8PQ7Bor23Ms-McmemMnwi9ntnFBoOEwiMZ3tN8Xlw_G3XrZ5lt_T7h6UyB9hdsDPuKdP-rfPAg5bnr-noICZQraZSTY2zwxv90fdl988YJZdKRZovbSYzDWAb3pFU/s1600/abd4d86a560efa389e17e4d7ba924d87%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagrAWoyDvJhq9mx8PQ7Bor23Ms-McmemMnwi9ntnFBoOEwiMZ3tN8Xlw_G3XrZ5lt_T7h6UyB9hdsDPuKdP-rfPAg5bnr-noICZQraZSTY2zwxv90fdl988YJZdKRZovbSYzDWAb3pFU/s320/abd4d86a560efa389e17e4d7ba924d87%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On one hand there was a
futility at times. I wondered several times over the years why it was so hard
to find someone I considered “normal”. I thought about just packing it in several
times and just hanging out with my dog.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the other hand, there
was a sense of adventure in the chase. I’m not anti-social but any stretch of
the imagination but throughout my life I’ve liked being a stranger and not part
of a group. There’s a kind of mysteriousness about it all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are some other
analogies I could use like gold panning for years and being patient enough to
wait for the big payoff. I’m pretty good at waiting things out. I can fish for
hours and not catch anything and still hold out hope. Maybe no fish
today.....but there is always tomorrow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are other dating
stories I could have written about here but I tried to write about the more
interesting ones. Here’s a short version of one more story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A year or two before I
met Linda, I met a gal in the same Starbucks in Nanaimo. About 15 minutes into
the conversation she told me that her boyfriend had died on top of her from a
stroke while they were having sex. This event supposedly happened a month or 2
earlier. I wasn’t sure if she was just a total moron to tell that story or if
she was just trying to scare me away. She didn’t seem to have mourned much.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixe4JFDr_n4w2MnZBQ3_deV3XKWgc2ET2n5Nw49ygqfPGdPa6V4_gcKSfo62n3Cdo3KAuOMghP7vaiN1cil7GCJr5R-2bAT3HkLYVURoesmWyD3HLGe-4c7K-7dCJE0ShvegQwlSenOEk/s1600/45211c00abbd4ff5676448bdbb7aa907%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixe4JFDr_n4w2MnZBQ3_deV3XKWgc2ET2n5Nw49ygqfPGdPa6V4_gcKSfo62n3Cdo3KAuOMghP7vaiN1cil7GCJr5R-2bAT3HkLYVURoesmWyD3HLGe-4c7K-7dCJE0ShvegQwlSenOEk/s320/45211c00abbd4ff5676448bdbb7aa907%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As they say, it takes
all kinds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-28377823195989528832019-01-16T12:55:00.000-08:002019-01-23T10:30:24.190-08:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Tale Of 10 Cities</span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Wandering
Through A Good Part Of The 1970s</span></b></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoR8A19qMaiRXsgeFsiLxY6YuCYGXRoutrGSC4mPT_2sfyhiy5D0hlGENxp5eA2uWjNpF_sk6nhlq3G4AUIqwLCRBv0FFj96qCEiE_d7pEg3hug8LUOHGX5ivzygb6_dFSJvMeDs5JuI/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="800" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoR8A19qMaiRXsgeFsiLxY6YuCYGXRoutrGSC4mPT_2sfyhiy5D0hlGENxp5eA2uWjNpF_sk6nhlq3G4AUIqwLCRBv0FFj96qCEiE_d7pEg3hug8LUOHGX5ivzygb6_dFSJvMeDs5JuI/s400/untitled.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at Weyerhaueser pulp mill in Kamloops, BC 1976.</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p>………………………………………………………………</o:p></span></b></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Toronto
Late Fall 1972<o:p></o:p></span></b></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was late autumn in 1972 in Toronto. I was living in an
attic room in a downtown rooming house. There was an eclectic group of people
living there. A few were university students. A Vietnamese family of 4 shared
one room. There wasn’t a kitchen to share and a hotplate was the only way to
eat something warm. I think grilled cheese sandwiches were often the order of
the day. The whole house smelled horrible when the odor of the Vietnamese
cooking seeped from the bottom of their doorway. </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The guy I remember the most in the house was a total
drunk who had blotched swollen ankles and an almost purple nose. He was
probably about 50 years of age at the time. It would be safe to say that he was
lonely and he would engage anyone he could in conversation. He could get very
loud and was very opinionated. He once told me that he had been the American
writer Norman Mailer’s roommate for a period of time and that Mailer had pulled
a knife on him. I wrote it off as pure BS. The guy across the hall from me was
about my age and had a steady girlfriend. He lent me his record player and I
bought my first big band and jazz albums to play on it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the time I was working as a waiter. In the span of
less than 3 months I worked at 3 different places including the brand new Four
Seasons Sheraton across from City Hall, The Ports of Call on Yonge Street, and
a private Jewish Club called The Primrose Club. I was going nowhere fast and
didn’t have any solid plans to change that. The one thing I knew for sure was
that I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life in Toronto. I was 25 at the
time and was never thrilled with the city.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One night around dinner time there was knock on my door.
It was my younger sister who had been living on the West Coast. I was startled.
What was she doing in Toronto? She had lost of lot of weight and there was a
distinct sadness in her face. Her boyfriend, who I had met only once, had OD’d
and died of a heroin overdose in Vancouver and she had found his lifeless body.
They were both a part of the Hippy culture and although my sister liked her
weed, to the best of my knowledge heroin wasn’t something she did.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After hearing her story I wasn’t sure what to do but I
knew I had to do something. Our parents lived on the Lakeshore outside of
Montreal and it seemed that my sister’s best bet was to get back to their
place. A former roommate of mine in Toronto who was divorced drove up to
Montreal once every month to see his young son and he agreed to take my sister
along with him the following weekend. I didn’t want to see her hitchhiking
alone in her frame of mind. </span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(See blog story…Toronto 1970-1972<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>posted March 5, 2013)</span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Montreal
- Late 1972- Early 1973<o:p></o:p></span></b></b></div>
</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I quit my job, packed up my meager belongings, and made
my way to my parent’s place about a week later. My parents were retired and
owned a house in Valois about 15 miles from downtown Montreal. My younger
sister was the only one of 4 children in our family to have lived in that house
and it was only for a short while she was in high school. I can remember a
poster of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau doing a somersault into a
swimming pool on one of the walls in her room. The house had 3 bedrooms, with
my parents occupying a bedroom each. I would sleep on either the couch or on
the floor.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wMP0mDs9DSdvYQwnR9ycbHHcI3Y-rSPeWll_akYsJRf3wTy4TtpzKp1qnRW3hM91n-soroF8JKDBIXjlV3V7WCTebihyeD90nWjNvJYJHKoopq5eqXgyoZUbtoI669nhy37ZmUa-QC4/s1600/jj.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1460" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wMP0mDs9DSdvYQwnR9ycbHHcI3Y-rSPeWll_akYsJRf3wTy4TtpzKp1qnRW3hM91n-soroF8JKDBIXjlV3V7WCTebihyeD90nWjNvJYJHKoopq5eqXgyoZUbtoI669nhy37ZmUa-QC4/s400/jj.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backyard view of my parent's house in Valois, Quebec</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I needed some kind of income and over the next two months
I worked as a waiter at 3 different restaurants. It was kind of a surreal time
in my life. I never expected to be living again in Montreal even temporarily. The
first waiter job I had was at the Miss Montreal Restaurant on Decarie Blvd. (The
home of the Pu-Pu Platter.) I remembered the restaurant from when I was a kid
when it was located on the other side of Decarie Blvd. and along with other
restaurants like The Bonfire and the Orange Julep close by it was known for its
“curb service”. Times had changed and the menu now featured deli food and some
Asian dishes. Back in the day burgers, hot dogs, and French fries were the more
popular things on the menu.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were 3 waitresses at the restaurant who were from
Seattle, Washington. I can’t recall how they ended up in Montreal. I had a
brief fling with one of them. Initially, I was unaware that these gals were
actually jockey groupies. I had no idea that such a thing existed. Blue Bonnets
horse racing racetrack was just minutes away from the Miss Montreal Restaurant.
At the time I wondered what these gals found so appealing about these short
gentlemen. Dangerously barrel assing down a straight away on top of an over
1,000 pound steed must have been some of the allure for the gals. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I hitchhiked back and forth from Miss Montreal to my
parents place each day. I remember standing out by the highway with my thumb out
at 1 a.m. freezing my ass off in the dark. I needed to find a waiter job closer
to my parents. I found one at the Airport Hilton, a round 2 story building by
the airport in Dorval.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was hired to work in room service. The attire I had to
wear was about the creepiest clothes I have ever worn and included a sash that
dipped from my waist. I also had on a string tie and a vest. I think the shirt
was mustard coloured. Almost all my shifts were in the daytime so I wasn’t
making hardly anything in tips. Basically I was a garbage guy picking up food
trays that had been used the night before.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One morning I was on my rounds with my cart picking up
smelly trays when I came around a corner (Do round buildings have corners you
say?) and my eyes came in direct contact with a young guy on a pay phone. He
was dressed in a flashy suit and I recognized him right away as he did me. A
Catholic guy I vaguely knew from the ski crowd at St. Sauveur back in my high
school days. “Mortified” might be the word I felt about being seen in my
costume. I quit that day.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My 3<sup>rd</sup> waiter’s job was the charm. It was at
an upscale restaurant called The Vieux Amsterdam and was also close to the
Dorval Airport. The tips were great and the owners liked me. The menu was based
on Indonesian food. Indonesia was once a colony of Holland’s.(The Dutch East
Indies.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason, a lot of the
dishes had a fried egg on top.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The restaurant was busy both at lunch and in the evening.
It was one of those 3 martini business lunch kind of places. One of the
regulars was former Montreal Canadiens star hockey player Dickie Moore. He
always came in with an entourage. His voice sounded like he might have been hit
in the larynx by a hockey puck at one time, very raspy like he was short of
breath. I believe he was in the heavy equipment rental business.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISCBDWOXrfQTzZqCpyJS4QTP49S7VAqdSvjMJR1yeXNQC-BoZkk-tR21sUeJjcDVhs9S0pxy_tA1-NnNW7oiWpmzKztr29EyvAq4pPmDYcRr8R2q0E7gO22oJ3lE2Qkjg-4Ze7RLq2k8/s1600/imagesMVE2WHIA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISCBDWOXrfQTzZqCpyJS4QTP49S7VAqdSvjMJR1yeXNQC-BoZkk-tR21sUeJjcDVhs9S0pxy_tA1-NnNW7oiWpmzKztr29EyvAq4pPmDYcRr8R2q0E7gO22oJ3lE2Qkjg-4Ze7RLq2k8/s1600/imagesMVE2WHIA.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At this point I had been in Montreal for over 2 months. I
didn’t have the answers for my sister’s grief. It was obvious to me that it was
going to take time for her to sort things out. I did suggest that she try
waitressing so that she had some kind of income. That kind of job could also
take her mind off of other things, even for a short while. Over the next dozen
or so years she waited tables in BC and the US.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Like a lot of other older parents, mine didn’t seem to be
sure what to make of hippies, pot smoking, and the counterculture activities of
the times. Never mind the music. Things were moving pretty fast and changing
rapidly. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with myself or where
I was going to live. A year and a half before I had spent a pleasant summer
working at The Banff Springs Hotel as a waiter. I thought to myself that maybe a
Banff redo was in order. I saved up some money and bought an airline ticket to
Calgary. I think it was late February or early March.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></span></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Banff
- Winter of 1973</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I caught a bus from Calgary to Banff. After buying my
airline ticket I didn’t have a lot of cash left but enough to get by with for a
bit of time. I checked into the Mount Royal Hotel on Banff Avenue. The hotel
had a mammoth tavern in the basement. I remembered the tavern for its huge
murals on the walls depicting the building of the CPR Railroad, one of Canada’s
two major railroads. The CPR went though Banff and the CNR went though Jasper.
The tavern was also known as the cheapest place in town to get ruined on beer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have no idea how the hotel guests dealt with the loud
noise coming from the basement which didn’t end to about 1 a.m. I was too
exhausted from my trip to go downstairs and participate. I remember sitting in
my room and wondering what my plan was going to be. I thought I was going to
need a Plan A and a Plan B. My Plan A was to walk up to the Banff Springs Hotel
in the morning and see if I could get hired on again as a waiter. The bonus in
this was that I would also have a place to stay if I got a job.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A year and half before when I was working at “The
Springs” I had quit and had told my superiors that they could shove the job up
their asses. Not exactly a good reference. I was pissed off at working some 2 hour
lunch shifts and being ordered about by shop owners and employees from the
hotel lunching and them not leaving a tip. I was totally surprised when I was
hired on the spot. Fortunately for me there were no bosses left at the hotel
who would have remembered me including the maître d' who had moved on or
retired.</span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IC_wzdip_f2mtBf6Zzw24GAfz1F5_q2v58eb0lGZBmjOPc4IwBGkKf8p2FiUEUS-Y_Dg_HEmc2LiCCUWxsscL40H53E1-IFSe-NJZQv8TY6Pweqn1CQM89QXh_J10kEIL8d64whZadE/s1600/d.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1496" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IC_wzdip_f2mtBf6Zzw24GAfz1F5_q2v58eb0lGZBmjOPc4IwBGkKf8p2FiUEUS-Y_Dg_HEmc2LiCCUWxsscL40H53E1-IFSe-NJZQv8TY6Pweqn1CQM89QXh_J10kEIL8d64whZadE/s400/d.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banff Springs Hotel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhquCPFIMxFGSnX5sszMQxhIMQciavRbuR1T7fKzXUGIKLTlPhcAwe03ZERd4XOC9kb5sXMu-nt7F9CegVoEi1SI3FNarfjc4aQ5U3pARXzawM8fifF0IrXXGFhIGnkO-MjZn_AWSMOQ/s1600/v.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1572" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhquCPFIMxFGSnX5sszMQxhIMQciavRbuR1T7fKzXUGIKLTlPhcAwe03ZERd4XOC9kb5sXMu-nt7F9CegVoEi1SI3FNarfjc4aQ5U3pARXzawM8fifF0IrXXGFhIGnkO-MjZn_AWSMOQ/s400/v.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain sheep near Banff.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The winter crowd of workers at the hotel was quite
different from the summer crowd of workers. Summer jobs at the hotel were
coveted by university students across Canada and the jobs were hard to get.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the winter staff worked at the hotel
for the skiing and of course the partying. A lot of them were what could be
called “transients” in that to them Banff was merely a place to have some fun
before moving on and returning to a more serious kind of life, or not. </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were 2 large dining rooms that shared the same
large kitchen at the Banff Springs Hotel, The Alhambra and The Fairholm (later
to be renamed The Alberta Room). The Alhambra was the more upscale of the two
and was where I worked on my earlier stint at the hotel. The Fairholm had
pillars and the site lines were not as appealing as the Alhambra. The Alhambra
also had a curved marble staircase that led to the room entrance. For some
reason the Alhambra was closed this winter season, probably because the resort
was more popular in the summer months than the winter months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In my absence a new restaurant called the Rob Roy had
been built on the main floor that had a medieval kind of theme. It specialized
in steaks. I believe they shut the place down once after a waiter with a
flaming skewer came in contact with a lady diner with a lot of hair spray in
her hair. A daytime coffee shop in the basement became The Sundance Cabaret at
night.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was assigned to the Fairholm dining room. Almost immediately
I formed a connection with two other waiters. One was a guy named John who was
the same age as me. He had recently graduated from the University of Toronto
and was a licensed pharmacist. The other guy was named Ken and he was from New
Brunswick. He was about 2 years younger than John and I and had worked for the
ski patrol at Lake Louise before working at the Banff Springs Hotel.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John was kind of low key and laid back. He loved to
travel. In his younger years he had been a lifeguard at the beaches in Toronto.
Ken, on the other hand, was a pure shit disturber who liked to stir the pot.
Mostly we bullshitted while working and hung out some nights at the cabaret.
Ken was also friends with a guy from Columbia in South America named Ricardo.
Ricardo spoke in broken English and many of his co-workers found him to be kind
of exotic or something like that.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ken had a kind of secretive side. He was engaged to a gal
in Toronto and was getting married at the end of the summer. In the meantime he
was messing around with a young gal who worked at the hotel on the sly. He
wasn’t fooling John and I. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqY_VQoVRcl8f97GMoWF4V0vDOTQ0_BOdno_0lvU5JZLNKYNnvG7BS3WkYJ_uSL9qpclxmLSJOOJUTLXjU15zzwOvOrBlsfmFMEKRlnSYR8pVgk28VCGqb0TgL_BNuBwFHODtK3mloEQs/s1600/z.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1035" data-original-width="1304" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqY_VQoVRcl8f97GMoWF4V0vDOTQ0_BOdno_0lvU5JZLNKYNnvG7BS3WkYJ_uSL9qpclxmLSJOOJUTLXjU15zzwOvOrBlsfmFMEKRlnSYR8pVgk28VCGqb0TgL_BNuBwFHODtK3mloEQs/s400/z.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John in Banff.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjv9xPx_wCWezz_Ybcz_lVyEJYmjwTwMjHrEchtjU-dpsVFEhoOMmFXLChtujCo9Gw-mbLamvypRE67kGbh0IlSugto5uBhv-SehlU9avdWWZ0l_x_lA5Jq2svsXi0eSJYhnBvcuJlho/s1600/i.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1328" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjv9xPx_wCWezz_Ybcz_lVyEJYmjwTwMjHrEchtjU-dpsVFEhoOMmFXLChtujCo9Gw-mbLamvypRE67kGbh0IlSugto5uBhv-SehlU9avdWWZ0l_x_lA5Jq2svsXi0eSJYhnBvcuJlho/s400/i.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken wearing ball cap.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I never really had a lot of luck with women in Toronto,
perhaps because I didn’t own a car and had very little money. The Banff Springs
Hotel was a totally different story. One night at the cabaret I ran into an old
French Canadian girlfriend from Montreal. She was with some guy and was
attending a convention at The Banff Springs School of Fine Arts. She was now a
college professor. She ditched the guy she was with and spent a day or two
staying in my room with me before going home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One night I was at a room party down the hall. I made eye
contact with a gal but didn’t think much about it. Somewhat bored I decided to
head back to my room and get some shut eye. As I was unlocking my door I saw
the gal I had made eye contact coming down the hall. The next thing I knew
there was a knock at the door. Why couldn’t things always be this easy? She had
short hair and Ken nick named her Fast Eddy. She worked at the front desk and
when they were about to open the staff lower annex she invited me to join her
in her new room before the rest of the staff moved into their new rooms. We got
a bit drunk and sung a few songs. The lower annex rooms had their own bathtubs
and washrooms. A bit of a step up from taking a shower in a messy large shared
bathroom.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI00_bEcKfjSHMJ4bB-_5SnPi-J_Akqz9_peqmjDAq813GpjvMPZ06uJfkUCxqNJNycPY2G1F0UBGfyYb_dJR1mt_ZJfAjxXHvk_YIkCm-p0gIiSxNQ0bIO6bs1azG9S0FA0jswy6qiQM/s1600/p.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1060" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI00_bEcKfjSHMJ4bB-_5SnPi-J_Akqz9_peqmjDAq813GpjvMPZ06uJfkUCxqNJNycPY2G1F0UBGfyYb_dJR1mt_ZJfAjxXHvk_YIkCm-p0gIiSxNQ0bIO6bs1azG9S0FA0jswy6qiQM/s400/p.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeky photo?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I moved on to a French Canadian gal with huge knockers
who worked in the kitchen. I guess it was kind of like being a kid in a candy
store. I didn’t have much of a conscience about moving from one gal to another.
I can’t lie. I had nothing bad to say about those gals either. The last gal I
got involved with was a chamber maid from Ottawa. When I first met her she was
a girlfriend of a rich guy who worked at the hotel from Calgary. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdXzPTqv4sdR8R8qAzce1-M985-uXMlBPDumd7PA2KbIlwf_Iwq2NmfZoeMADc6HvZZZczeG9ekr0ZAghCwuH8VxZji60FNow_BpMMNKBs5LgVHnSZxLKgEdtaw-AC-GOKIR1USROAh8/s1600/aa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="941" data-original-width="944" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdXzPTqv4sdR8R8qAzce1-M985-uXMlBPDumd7PA2KbIlwf_Iwq2NmfZoeMADc6HvZZZczeG9ekr0ZAghCwuH8VxZji60FNow_BpMMNKBs5LgVHnSZxLKgEdtaw-AC-GOKIR1USROAh8/s400/aa.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken on chairlift Sunshine Lake Louise.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My friend John left and went back to Toronto. For some
reason I joined the room service crew. I don’t know why. The tips weren’t as
good as working in the dining room. One morning I was working with a guy from
Hong Kong who had, at one time, been my roommate. We seemed to have gotten
along well at that time. On this morning for some reason I jokingly told the
Asian guy not to spit in a room service customer’s tea pot. Kind of a stupid
thing to say I guess. The next thing I knew he was coming at me with his fists
flying. I was pretty good at scrapping and got the best of him before the fight
was broken up.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I didn’t give the fight much thought. Later that day I
went for a swim in the hotel pool along with the Columbian guy Ricardo and his
girlfriend Penelope from Calgary. Ricardo called her “Pineapple” because he had
trouble pronouncing her name. Out of the side of my eye I noticed 3 Asian guys
standing beside the path from the swimming pool. One of them was carrying a
table leg. In a flash the burliest one hit me in the face with the table leg.
Blood was everywhere and I was never more scared in my life. I started to run
but my legs were kind of out of sync. I knew there was a clinic on the way into
town about 15 minutes away. My heart was beating like a jungle drum. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I went into the bathroom at the clinic to see what the
damage was like. There was a gaping hole above my lip that was later stitched up.
It left a scar and I’m sure that turned a few women off in later years. I never
thought that I could have made the scar more glamorous by saying it had
happened in a hockey game. I wasn’t a hockey player. I was lucky that I didn’t
lose an eye or have brain damage.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course I was fired for my involvement in the 2
incidents. The Hong Kong boys kept their jobs. Life isn’t always fair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For some reason, when I left there was a minor exodus of
a number of people I worked with out to Vancouver, probably about a dozen guys
and gals. I guess it was just time to move on.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">See blog story Banff Springs Hotel 1971 posted
April 14, 2012)</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></b></span></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><br /></div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Vancouver
– Spring 1973 </span></b></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I ended up sharing a 1 bedroom apartment with Ricardo and
Penelope in the west end of Vancouver. I was determined to see the guys who
attacked me go to court in Banff. If I had been older and wiser I would have
got a lawyer and civilly charged them. I didn’t know any of those 3 guys and
they didn’t know me. They were avenging for a guy who was also from Hong Kong.
You could call it racism.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I got a notice in the mail in Vancouver that a hearing
was going to be held in Banff regarding the assault. I hitchhiked over 600
miles to Banff to attend the hearing only to learn that it had been postponed.
That was an over 1200 mile trip. I did the same trip about a month later and
this time 2 of the attackers turned up at court. The guy that swung the table
leg wore a Banff tee shirt on the witness stand. (Cute.) In the end the judge
fined him 50 bucks.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I had no illusions as to how the town of Banff was run.
Behind the scenes the Rotary Club was pulling the strings. It was all about the
bottom line, making money. Perceived trouble makers, hippies, or any younger
people who weren’t spending money were encouraged to move along and get out of
town. My being assaulted with a weapon was not of any concern to the local
businessmen. One day I was in a shop called Monad’s Sportswear and I had some
dry cleaning with me. When I left the store an employee came out and physically
frisked me right on Banff Avenue. These days someone doing that would have
their ass sued off.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I received a letter from the last girl I was involved
with In Banff saying that she would like to move in with me in Vancouver. She
turned up about 2 weeks later. At first we lived with Ricardo and Penelope and
then they moved to a place of their own. In this story I will call her “Louise”
although that isn’t her real name. I started working at an upscale restaurant
at the top of the Blue Horizon Hotel on Robson Street in Vancouver as a waiter.
We found another apartment in the tallest apartment building in Vancouver’s
West End.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve only been in love a few times in my life and Louise
certainly wasn’t one of those times. One day I asked her a strange question not
realizing the effect it had until years later. I asked her if she had ever had
a child. I had never slept with anyone who was a mother at that point in my
life but something seemed different about Louise’s’s body. After asking that
question it was pretty well the end of our sex lives together. We lived that
way even though we shared the same bed for a month or so before she moved out
and returned home to Ottawa.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I got involved with a gorgeous red head who I met in a
nightclub for a short while after Louise moved out. Around this time I got a
letter from my friend John the pharmacist who I’d met in Banff telling me he
was coming out to Vancouver. He moved in for a bit and worked for London Drugs
for a few weeks. We also spent a few rainy days working outside on
construction. I tried to set him up with the red head’s roommate but that
didn’t work out.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John had a proposal for me. He asked me if I would be
interested in going on a skiing road trip with him in the western US. The plan
was that I would meet John in Banff in a few months after saving up some money
and we would head south from there in John’s van that he was going to drive out
in from Toronto. I was in.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Blue Horizon was a good gig and the tips were great.
I served The Mills Brothers one night, a black singing trio who had been around
since the 1920s. (Up The Lazy River)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dean Martin once said that the Mills Brothers singing style influenced
his singing more than anyone else.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I kind of ditched the red head. One night she turned up
at the lounge beside the restaurant with her girlfriend while I was working. I
was caught by surprise and told her I was going on a ski trip shortly to the
US. And then she was gone. There was a waitress (Italian) at the restaurant
that I was quite attracted to. We went out on 1 date. She was headed to Europe
to do some travelling and I was going skiing in the US. Passing ships I guess?</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Banff
– February 1974<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was about a week to 10 days ahead of John as to meeting
up in Banff<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I was going to be staying at our old
“friend” Ken’s basement suite on Banff Avenue. A lot of water had gone under
the bridge since I last saw Ken. John had been to Ken’s wedding the previous
fall in Toronto. After the wedding the newlyweds moved to Banff and into the
basement suite. We never found out what Ken did to his wife but one day she
moved out suddenly and returned to Toronto. Sometime later the father and her
brother turned up in Banff. The father was quite well off. He jammed a knife into
the coffee table and told Ken that they were taking the wedding gifts home with
them. Yikes! Ken also got fired from the Sundance Cabaret at the Banff Springs
Hotel when 100 dollars went missing. He said it wasn’t him and he wouldn’t come
clean even when he was drunk. If I remember correctly he was also trying to sue
the ski patrol for a damaged knee. I guess you could call Ken bad news,
certainly not anyone to ever be trusted. He was one sneaky little guy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZIPaAOKZY_wgrvlkoJMSwoI90-8FuplrOCSL6Sukqnp_lf0HbOANcV910Nl-R3kSE3uuvXQoWeevey3lkyrFxEH0ICYi_92Crsjk6meWKf4uXhfYIMZEhzrdm9P_61v0FDECkol2oNU/s1600/op.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1060" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZIPaAOKZY_wgrvlkoJMSwoI90-8FuplrOCSL6Sukqnp_lf0HbOANcV910Nl-R3kSE3uuvXQoWeevey3lkyrFxEH0ICYi_92Crsjk6meWKf4uXhfYIMZEhzrdm9P_61v0FDECkol2oNU/s400/op.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken and John.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For some stupid reason I got involved in a number of
all-night crap games and lost a sizable chunk of my savings. Never gamble with
guys with nick names like “Doc” or “Hollywood”!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6RxAr5A5Fq0WxrPW7OcVOoRTpzyHruPiJW0UyZGPfxRSKnZcgUB7YeIFCGhkpn2sGW4j2yX5A-jj1wbWQGY3xU3JIRAhbUuCz9E8usyewaYXmtMtfvzb1I4fTRe11cYYvvSqKk2flzk/s1600/s.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1312" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6RxAr5A5Fq0WxrPW7OcVOoRTpzyHruPiJW0UyZGPfxRSKnZcgUB7YeIFCGhkpn2sGW4j2yX5A-jj1wbWQGY3xU3JIRAhbUuCz9E8usyewaYXmtMtfvzb1I4fTRe11cYYvvSqKk2flzk/s400/s.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in downtown Banff.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUg3uTZDcAnwofzNR4OcnTTRbvdiAAbx30nM6CxMe-20ePv_NgWKnaqRjyWUc5HX2TbogeA8jwoOWiniVIAdaf3GFq0i7e2kGm3RvwItYTprOvgEEh6uWXG-RFiepdW6Oxvx6KMusbCnw/s1600/a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="1048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUg3uTZDcAnwofzNR4OcnTTRbvdiAAbx30nM6CxMe-20ePv_NgWKnaqRjyWUc5HX2TbogeA8jwoOWiniVIAdaf3GFq0i7e2kGm3RvwItYTprOvgEEh6uWXG-RFiepdW6Oxvx6KMusbCnw/s400/a.png" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very drunk me.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our old friends Ricardo and Penelope got married in
Calgary when John and I were in Banff. I got really drunk on tequila the night
before in Banff and went to sleep in the furnace room. John woke me up in the
morning and drove the both of us to Calgary. Ken, who was better friends with
the couple than we were, couldn’t be bothered with making the trip. I was in
such bad shape that when the mother of the bride saw me she insisted I go
upstairs to one of the bedrooms in her home and sleep it off.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Skiing
In The Western US – February/March 1974</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John finally turned up and we headed south in his white
van. The heater in the damned truck didn’t work and the only little bit of
warmth came from the engine. Most of the time I sat in the passenger seat with
my feet resting on the inside part of one of the headlights.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwd-_s1EApGrtcMh1oi3pM5vhZJkVj8Qs5_uXCfK2wn_u_sNNXtDYYo4sp_cuBhEtIvroXac6FuOO0mHP5kSVt3Jk5dxGkEusaxN4qrbEF1Lblnsk-TEWPbqAFU1A8Hl1b0Ui36ps2Uqk/s1600/8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1266" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwd-_s1EApGrtcMh1oi3pM5vhZJkVj8Qs5_uXCfK2wn_u_sNNXtDYYo4sp_cuBhEtIvroXac6FuOO0mHP5kSVt3Jk5dxGkEusaxN4qrbEF1Lblnsk-TEWPbqAFU1A8Hl1b0Ui36ps2Uqk/s400/8.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John's van.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We were refused entry to the US at the Montana border. The
border guy’s reasoning was simply that he just didn’t feel like he wanted to
let us across even after we showed him that we had funds. He suggested that we
try another border crossing about 75 miles away. I remember John pleading with
him and claiming to be a student which didn’t make any sense to me. It was kind
of embarrassing. We got across the line at the other crossing.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Altogether we spent about 3 weeks in the US. John was
about the most frugal person I’ve ever met. He found us a motel room in
Ketchum, Idaho near Sun Valley (where Hemingway committed suicide in 1961) for
6 bucks a night. We sang for our supper literally one night at a city mission
where we tied our shoes to our cots before we went to sleep. John was so cheap
that he had a pair of dark blue leather boots that he got a deal on. Who wears
blue shoes, even back then? </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznq2l_BTIJBIuomgDk2qrqodCGr4vTdkvjIgECgqKTh2_qQ_mkR9Zf_T6CBa2nDH6NbiLC5dd-7N53Wkxmhf0q2iXobjOdPe9IpowcEayPqX5wX8Ud8mi2AjcmBD0sRbpjqkjP5Dq3jE/s1600/ff.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="1335" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznq2l_BTIJBIuomgDk2qrqodCGr4vTdkvjIgECgqKTh2_qQ_mkR9Zf_T6CBa2nDH6NbiLC5dd-7N53Wkxmhf0q2iXobjOdPe9IpowcEayPqX5wX8Ud8mi2AjcmBD0sRbpjqkjP5Dq3jE/s400/ff.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun Valley Inn</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I remember we bought a jug of really cheap red wine, the
kind of a bottle with playing cards on the label. The stuff was so bad that one
day we stopped the van and left the bottle beside the highway. One night some
black prostitutes in Salt Lake City tapped on the van window as he were
wondering what our next move was going to be. They asked us if we were looking
for dates. For some reason when I think of Utah I don’t think of black
prostitutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We took a tour of the Mormon facilities in Salt Lake City
with one of the church elders. When I asked him why there were no black Mormons
(at the time) he tried to grasp both our arms firmly with John escaping his
clutch.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7yVtW1oVpY7TovtvFlMqLi3iE3YRevov8ilKVlgzw814LNavnhgLcHQY8qQ_zrpyNPntB9fyMMwsrkWYxfvWRqnw-zqyUI_5uqVLvTn3h6AlqvXGX_01IDRcmpMVqXp1bSaLA-rYX2k/s1600/f.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1332" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7yVtW1oVpY7TovtvFlMqLi3iE3YRevov8ilKVlgzw814LNavnhgLcHQY8qQ_zrpyNPntB9fyMMwsrkWYxfvWRqnw-zqyUI_5uqVLvTn3h6AlqvXGX_01IDRcmpMVqXp1bSaLA-rYX2k/s400/f.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mormon tabernacle. Visited the Mormon facilities with Linda on our way to the Grand Canyon a few years ago.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We visited a jail in Vernal, Utah where I had stayed
overnight back in 1968. I had my picture taken inside a cell.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtdY74D2FO6qSLRmZWq00Au8XLdg4Hi5RV4ZBlk_V3biepPHs6yjoNlhOpC21A9KoRrt_6lUR6p6mKC06I92sks_D5INytyWcnLeBwWnufEl0OljZjner7QvTA-8MkwX4rj8TxFAEt34/s1600/r.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1340" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtdY74D2FO6qSLRmZWq00Au8XLdg4Hi5RV4ZBlk_V3biepPHs6yjoNlhOpC21A9KoRrt_6lUR6p6mKC06I92sks_D5INytyWcnLeBwWnufEl0OljZjner7QvTA-8MkwX4rj8TxFAEt34/s400/r.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in jail cell in Verbal, Utah. Believe it or not I was 25 at the time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We also got in some skiing at Sun Valley, Idaho, Park
City in Utah, Aspen Highlands in Colorado and a few other places. I got stopped
for speeding by the ski patrol in Aspen.</span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One thing I quickly learned about John on our ski trip
was that he had a kind of a solemn side to him. I am the kind of the yacky type
and am not that comfortable with long silences. I learned that John could be
quite moody. What was I supposed to do as we drove by miles and miles of snow
with me freezing my ass off in his van?</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m not sure where we parted company back in Canada. Was
it Banff or Vancouver? At least we were still friends I guess.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Vancouver
– Spring of 1974<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I first started waiting on tables on the trains in the
summer of 1967 out of Montreal during Expo 67. For years it was my fall back
kind of job. It was never hard getting hired by some restaurant. I worked all
over Canada as a waiter over a period of about 7 years. I also worked at office
jobs and on construction.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I went back to The Blue Horizon after the ski trip to
work as a waiter but packed it in about a month later. One day I took my
waiter’s stuff like white shirts and black ties and stuffed them in the
apartment building incinerator chute. My table waiting days were over.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was good friends with the maitre d’ at the Blue Horizon
Hotel and somehow he had managed to get a contract to paint a couple of 4 story
office buildings on West Broadway in Vancouver. Long story short, I ended up
getting electrocuted by touching a BC Hydro power line with a paint pole.</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(See blog story On Being Electrocuted posted
January 2, 2014) </span></b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I kind of came to terms that if I wanted to get ahead in
life I needed to own a car. I couldn’t manage that working as a waiter or some
crappy office job. I answered an ad in one of the Vancouver newspapers. I was
hired as a millworker at a remote place called Tahsis on the northern part of
Vancouver Island. When I got over to Vancouver Island I discovered that I would
have to take a boat ride to get to the mill. Once on board I was asked by one
of the crew where I was going. He then informed me that the mill was on strike.
I got off the boat with my duffle bag and sat on the dock and wondered what my
next move was going to be. I wasn’t having much luck in life. (Cue the Otis
Redding song <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting on the Dock of the
Bay?)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br /></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Port
Alberni, BC –April – December 1974<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I remembered that Ricardo and Penelope had moved over to
Vancouver Island and were living in Port Alberni. Port Alberni wasn’t that far
away from the boat dock I was on. I stuck my thumb out and 4 or 5 hours later I
was in Port Alberni.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Back then writing letters was the way to stay in touch.
Luckily I had Ricardo and Penelope’s address. They seemed glad to see me when I
knocked on their door. They were renting a 2 bedroom suite in the downtown area
and were saving up their money to buy a VW van and drive all the way south to
Columbia in South America. They had both worked on a green chain at a saw mill
before I arrived, quite a dangerous and monotonous job.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ricardo was a bit volatile as far as his temperament went.
He had a few run-ins with his bosses and kind of went from job to job. Aside
from the green chain job, he also planted trees and worked as a deck hand on a
small salmon fishing boat. </span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOJO3Zc859zfN862Thomlx4FQFCOQWEP7ghX4Cyj0cRJwgaExy2PUZJY0_sDuzyo0Y4kWrleWwXuiMsSYr3DH5hMSZkfjFtiNdqu4ZuQIHR6lwfSMxtDHUx9x_Ti_rQCAHe1s4xNsxco/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1060" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOJO3Zc859zfN862Thomlx4FQFCOQWEP7ghX4Cyj0cRJwgaExy2PUZJY0_sDuzyo0Y4kWrleWwXuiMsSYr3DH5hMSZkfjFtiNdqu4ZuQIHR6lwfSMxtDHUx9x_Ti_rQCAHe1s4xNsxco/s400/2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ricardo and Penelope.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekIxLjOUijAT2s8meHmKSo2ghkrDbxdvQ3gXRpSug7ExtGgtR4gh8JSyDShonkGtHKlSzBS6q599Ku-c5HybpZSKlKeaomk0Yip3EGsgQXBs_YonHh8dNhPfONhuOoKTEfq-GTd2ZUb4/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1380" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekIxLjOUijAT2s8meHmKSo2ghkrDbxdvQ3gXRpSug7ExtGgtR4gh8JSyDShonkGtHKlSzBS6q599Ku-c5HybpZSKlKeaomk0Yip3EGsgQXBs_YonHh8dNhPfONhuOoKTEfq-GTd2ZUb4/s400/3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happier times.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis03JgXbVem2g5uWPFHmhFoH0_GJrWhnmOYlZvuWV9vGh5i9cjqH6fTwGebeVkWYtUE1xD3zCeLD0gh6Edskh2VtRvFFJf6ypyY_RfksNuITBF_D2WGwAHdKShKRT0JKT_Kou-7HeAS8w/s1600/e.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1360" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis03JgXbVem2g5uWPFHmhFoH0_GJrWhnmOYlZvuWV9vGh5i9cjqH6fTwGebeVkWYtUE1xD3zCeLD0gh6Edskh2VtRvFFJf6ypyY_RfksNuITBF_D2WGwAHdKShKRT0JKT_Kou-7HeAS8w/s400/e.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ricardo with salmon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I moved in with the 2 of them and they were quite happy
to cut their costs with me splitting the rent. I got my first taste of planting
trees and hated the back breaking work. I applied for a job at the local pulp
mill and was hired right away. We lived at the top of a steep hill and the mill
was a mile or two away. Penelope lent me her 10 speed bike to get back and
forth to work. It felt like I was going 90 miles an hour going down that hill
and I was lucky I never ran into a moving or parked vehicle.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Once in a while we would have a few beers but I wasn’t
experiencing much of a social life. Ricardo and Penelope set me up with a kind
of crazy gal they planted trees with but that didn’t last long. I was kind of
fixated with putting money in the bank.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the end of summer Ricardo and Penelope sold their
Izuzu Bellet car and bought a used VW van. They are the only people I have ever
known who have driven to South America and back. I didn’t like their chances
when they left. Come to think of it they are the only people I ever knew who
owned an Izuzu Bellet.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I moved to another place and rented a room for my last
few months in Port Alberni. I made friends with one guy in the house who was
working his way through university by doing stints in pulp mills. His name was
John and I would later hang out with him and his friends in Victoria and
Vancouver.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My older sister (by 9 years) lived in Hamilton, Ontario
and had an executive position at a car dealership. She knew I was saving up to
buy a car and wrote me that she had found a 68’ Ford Falcon that I could
purchase for $750.00. The price was right on the mark for me. I quit my mill
job and flew back east in early December.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(See blog story Port Alberni, BC 1974 posted March
21, 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Hamilton,
Ontario – December 1974- February 1975<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was totally thrilled about finally owning a car. I even
took driving lessons. I moved in to my sister’s place for the short time I was
in Hamilton. She was a single mom with a daughter who was about 10 years old at
the time. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I needed to find some kind of employment to pay for my
trip with my new car back out to the West Coast and I found a job at the local
Stelco steel mill. Initially they had me do broom work cleaning up metal
shavings before giving me the job of straightening bars on a big press with a
flywheel. One day a guy I was working with turned a heavy steel bar over on my
thumb and I had to go the hospital. My thumb hurt like hell but there was no
permanent damage.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To be honest, I started faking my job a bit. I wasn’t
straightening all the bars that passed my way. I just wanted to get out of that
place in one piece. I remember someone telling a story at lunch one day about a
guy who got caught up in lathe and lived to tell about it. For some reason a
lot of pornography was passed around at that mill.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I bought myself a metal ski rack for the top of the car,
I thought it looked cool but it always seemed to make a groaning sound when I
was driving. Finally I had enough cash saved up and was ready to see Hamilton
in my rear view mirror. I never cared for the city. It was my 2<sup>nd</sup>
time living there. A few years earlier I had worked as a waiter at a kind of
road house restaurant called “The Pines” in Stoney Creek just south of
Hamilton. The tips were good and the owner almost treated me like a son even
though he had 2 boys of his own.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Ottawa
– February 1975<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There were several things I wanted to do before heading
out west again. One of those things was to make a brief visit to Montreal to
see my parents. A few weeks earlier I had received a letter from “Louise” (made
up name), the gal I had lived with in Vancouver a year and a half before. She
had tracked me down through my friend John who I went on the ski vacation with.
I never expected to see her again. In her letter she invited me to stay at her
parents place in Ottawa for a weekend. Why not I thought? I certainly didn’t
have any plans on rekindling something that never was but I thought it might be
nice to catch up on things.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I arrived at her parent’s place on a Friday night. The
chit chat with her folks at first was rather cordial but as time went on I
realized that I was being politely grilled as a potential husband for their
daughter. What were my plans in life? Was there a career I favoured? Was I
ready to settle down? I had to be on my toes a bit. There is no polite way to
tell parents that you have absolutely no romantic interest in their daughter especially
considering that I was staying in their home.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The next day Louise invited me to go to an upscale
bar/restaurant in the afternoon. I guess her thinking was that we could have a
one on one conversation without her parents around. I think it might have been
at the Ottawa Press Club. Shortly after we were seated the floodgates kind of
opened. She mentioned the question I had once asked her out in Vancouver as to
whether she had ever had a child. She told me that some time before she met me
she had found herself pregnant while travelling in Europe. The baby was put up
for adoption in Holland I believe. That was also a bit strange because Louise
and her younger brother had also been adopted.</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The second shocker was when she told me that she had
colitis. I had no idea what that was at the time. I was told that she had to
use a colostomy bag. After describing the maintenance of her affliction she
asked me if I thought it would make any difference to any potential future
suitor. As delicately as I could I told her that there was a strong possibility
that that could turn some guys off. I wasn’t trying to be mean. Just realistic.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">My plan was to drive back to Montreal that night. I
started to pack my overnight bag. By this time Louise’s parents now seemed a
bit frosty to me. It was kind of creepy. Louise had just started a nursing
course and was going to a dance with the other hospital types that evening. Her
parents were also going out that night. I can’t recall how our goodbyes were
said but I think there was a mutual feeling that we couldn’t part company soon
enough. I had never expected the drama.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I was still technically a new driver. To my chagrin I
soon discovered the roads were covered in black ice. It was one thing to creep
slowly along side streets but after a while I thought I was going to be taking
my life in my hands once I made it out to the Ottawa/Montreal highway. It was
also pitch black out. I pulled the car over and stopped to think what my best
action should be. I had been driving for about an hour and still wasn’t near
the highway. I decided to turn back.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I got back to Louise’s house at about 8 p.m. and rang the
doorbell. A teenage baby sitter answered. It was quite awkward explaining who I
was to her. I think I said something to Louise’s younger brother like “Hey
Bobby, remember me?” The babysitter was kind of on the spot. How was she going
to explain to Louise’s parents that she had let a complete stranger into the
house? <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The parents were the first to turn up later in the
evening. I kind of got the feeling that they loathed me at this point. It
wasn’t like I had somewhere else to stay. I felt like telling them to go and
fuck themselves the following morning when I left for good. Was I supposed to
die out on an icy highway because I had no romantic interest in their daughter?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Road
Trip <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Across Canada And The US – February
1975<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I got back to my parent’s place in Montreal from my
trip to Ottawa I put an ad in one of the local papers seeking someone who would
chip in on gas for a ride out to Vancouver. A Jewish guy a few years younger
than me with dread locks responded. He got a pretty sweet deal. For his meager contribution
to the gas expenses he was also getting a free place to sleep each night as I
would smuggle him into each motel we stayed at.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We stopped off at my older sister’s place in Hamilton at
the beginning of the trip. The car trunk was packed with stuff as was part of
the back seat. For some reason my passenger was in the back seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Maybe to get some shut eye). I remember
looking in the rear view mirror and realizing that he was stretched out on top
of a stereo I was bringing out west with me. I was really pissed. Suddenly I
noticed that the traffic had stopped in front of me and I barely avoided
crashing the car. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At this point in my life I had been across Canada a
number of times. I didn’t relish the thought of driving over the top of Lake
Superior in the dead of winter. I chose to enter the US and drive through
Wisconsin and Minnesota instead and then back into Canada. This probably wasn’t
a great decision. There’s lots of snow in those states in the winter. (The
movie Fargo with the bleakness of winter is a good reflection of the
conditions.)</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I got stuck in a snow bank once and some good Samaratins
helped us get back on the road. I lent one of them a new pair of leather
clothes my mother had given me for Christmas and drove away forgetting I had
lent them. I felt kind of stupid about doing that. There was a lot of white out
driving across the US states and I can remember seeing the occasional Budweiser
or some other US beer sign lit up along the side of the road.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My passenger wasn’t exactly a barrel of laughs nor was he
much of a conversationalist. Some nights I would rent a motel room with only 1
bed and he would have to sleep on the floor. One night he was resting his head
on the bed watching TV. Back then some motels had a thing where you could make
the bed vibrate by putting a quarter into a slot. I did just that and watched
my passenger’s head with dread locks bounce around for a few minutes. Well at
least I thought it was funny.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My destination was Victoria, BC. I was going to look up
the guy who I had become friends with at the rooming house in Port Alberni.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Altogether the trip took about a week. I dropped my
passenger off in Victoria.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Victoria,
BC – March-May 1975</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The friend, (let’s call him John #2) that I had met in
Port Alberni had moved to Victoria and he introduced me to his 2 brothers and
some of his friends. Most of them were from Bathhurst, New Brunswick. One of
John<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#2’s brothers, Jim, was an artist.
He also did outdoor painting like dams and big construction jobs. He drove a
red Mustang convertible and I started hanging out with him more than John #2.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9S_lznYJlrO5zNofJfngrGlUJSyjpEwfPRaE0CSl2ijYuK8Fp3bCuIb2Eo2w5tPLyFz0iifrn5tY8iMetvQEWGsnRUGJ1UQ6ChdSc73xtULGwPFInfnHcK51xEeMb5UHYtJDLIwH9J8/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="788" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9S_lznYJlrO5zNofJfngrGlUJSyjpEwfPRaE0CSl2ijYuK8Fp3bCuIb2Eo2w5tPLyFz0iifrn5tY8iMetvQEWGsnRUGJ1UQ6ChdSc73xtULGwPFInfnHcK51xEeMb5UHYtJDLIwH9J8/s400/4.png" width="342" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John #2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of John #2’s friends was a guy named Fred. I had
taken up tennis and would spend hours hitting a ball against a wall at the U of
Vic. One day Fred and I played tennis for about 5 hours in the hot sun. We were
pretty evenly matched and it was probably the most enjoyable tennis match I ever
played.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jim had a girlfriend named Hildie who rented a large main
floor apartment in and old mansion in the James Bay area of Victoria not far
from where the Canadian artist Emily Carr once lived. Hildie must have had
about 50 plants in her place and it kind of felt like a botanical gardens in
her home. I crashed there for a while.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hildie’s dad was a professor at the University of
Victoria who had a friend who owned a nice waterfront house not far from the
university in the district of Gordon Head. Well known jazz flautist and
saxophonist Paul Horn lived next door. Hildie was asked if she would house sit
her dad’s friend’s house for a few months while the they were away traveling
and she accepted. There were artifacts in glass cases from all over the world
in the house and I remember a giant shower room on the top floor. The water
views from the house were impressive. I stayed at that house for about a month.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbIzWevY1kqHw1_aKU_WMzQpN_BHxL1tUdHkrbwFQYm9VXZG4hphfUFdr_2AljVh8ZfnqFWGOei6kR9AyW3cosWcnRhTeK0aYDxcEzkxKxx9HQJBIJ7BnQb70MTtNyrN09ZepTQYaVvM/s1600/m.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="1332" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbIzWevY1kqHw1_aKU_WMzQpN_BHxL1tUdHkrbwFQYm9VXZG4hphfUFdr_2AljVh8ZfnqFWGOei6kR9AyW3cosWcnRhTeK0aYDxcEzkxKxx9HQJBIJ7BnQb70MTtNyrN09ZepTQYaVvM/s400/m.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 68' Falcon next to John #2's Volvo parked outside of house in Gordon Head.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I wasn’t sure what I was going to do as far as work goes.
One day a friend of John #2’s mentioned that he was going up to northern BC to
plant trees and asked me if I would like to come along. I had done this kind of
job once before and hated it but I was enticed about going somewhere and
socking some money away. It wasn’t a great decision. I was gone for about a
month and left my car parked in an alley way.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">See blog story
Planting Trees posted November 6, 2012)</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I got back to Victoria from tree planting I rented a
basement room in a hilly part of Victoria. I couldn’t find that place today if
my life depended on it. I found a job working as a sales rep for a Victoria
company called Old Country Rentals. The owner of the company was a guy in his
mid thirties who had made a lot of money selling real estate in Calgary. I
quickly discovered that many of the staff, excluding the owner, were born again
Christians. Sometimes they would leave little notes from the bible on my desk.
I’m an atheist so I found it quite creepy. I also recall that the owner had an
old Jaguar that he had one of the staff repaint a number of times.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One night I was in a downtown bar in Victoria and ran
into a gal tourist from Montreal. She was visiting the city along with 2 other
friends from Montreal. We messed around for about a week before she went back
home. Her 2 friends and I then decided to rent a house together. One of them
had a boyfriend who had his own apartment.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I ran into a few guys that I had planted trees with and
they helped me move some furniture I had bought and I bought them a bucket of
KFC chicken for their efforts. Oddly enough, that same day I ran into the guy
with the dread locks who had traveled with me as a passenger a few months
before. He was walking off of a field where he had slept the night before and
he looked quite bedraggled. It was the last time I ever saw him.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I had a brief little fling with one of the 2 girls. I
guess you could say I was batting .666. The best looking of the 3 was the one
with the boyfriend. The next thing I knew there was another gal living in the
house. She was the sister of the boyfriend of the best looking gal. My name
alone was on the rental agreement and all the furniture was mine. I wasn’t
consulted about another gal moving in. I told the new gal that she too would
have to pay rent and she basically told me to screw off. A few days later I
came home for lunch and told her that she had an hour to pack her bags and get
out or else I would put her bags at the end of the driveway. She left.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCnQE7t0Ai974UQsGTHKWbTLpXar3oZ5wCj8ZYjXYt5y0u8z_R24LaeySXNMJVqWRMSwIIQFl0c4UhyphenhyphenoTzMfpd5Tif389zG1opVQBSpTiMAp5GFEjC5F1ZcZqYcLmE6pMk3oU_VBsKQs/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1296" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCnQE7t0Ai974UQsGTHKWbTLpXar3oZ5wCj8ZYjXYt5y0u8z_R24LaeySXNMJVqWRMSwIIQFl0c4UhyphenhyphenoTzMfpd5Tif389zG1opVQBSpTiMAp5GFEjC5F1ZcZqYcLmE6pMk3oU_VBsKQs/s400/1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 2 Victoria housemates.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The house was in the Saanich area of Victoria on a street
called Peto Place. The landlords were East Indian and lived in the basement.
They had kids and often I could hear them yelling downstairs. I came home one
day and had just about enough of the downstairs noise after complaining several
times. I placed my stereo speakers over the air vents and jacked up the volume
before taking a 15 minute shower. Things were a lot quieter after that. Another
time one of the girls found a poop beside her bed. Apparently one of the kids
from downstairs had come upstairs while we were out and decided to have a crap
on the shag carpet. Gross!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was no training at all at my sales job. Basically I
had to wing things and figure out stuff for myself. I visited a number of
construction sites. Mostly I sold hand tools for bricklayers and concrete
finishers. The weirdest place I visited was a local penitentiary. I sold them
some acid brushes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wondered if the
brushes were going to be used to clean up blood.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One November morning at around 5:30 a.m. and in the dark,
an older employee and I set off for the ferry to Vancouver with a van full of
construction equipment. We were going to a trade exhibition in Vancouver. I
rounded a corner on the Pat Bay Highway and hit a stretch of black ice. I lost
control of the vehicle and gave the steering wheel a yank when I saw the van
heading for a large tree. We hit the curb sideways and the van rolled over on
its roof. The older guy climbed of out of the front window and I got out
through the driver’s side door even though it was upside down at that point.
Neither of us was hurt. We stood there in bewilderment watching the tires that
were still turning. The radio was still on.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That was the end of my job at Old Country Rentals. Funny
how that works!</span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Kamloops,
BC – January 1976 – September 1976</span></b></span></span></span><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I packed up everything in Victoria and caught a ferry to
Vancouver. At the time my younger sister was renting a converted garage with a
wood stove in North Vancouver and working as a waitress at a nearby seafood
restaurant called Guppy’s. I stayed at her place for a few weeks.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I think that was the year when we went to Frank Baker’s
Attic restaurant in West Vancouver for Christmas dinner. The joint could seat
over a 1,000 people. Frank Baker was a character. None of the dishes or cutlery
matched and there seemed like there were a million Tiffany lamps in the place. It
was a buffet type of restaurant. I can still vision the wieners lying in hot
water. Frank wore a white suit and liked Dixieland jazz. Every now and then he
would whip out his trumpet and attempt a few tunes. Apparently there was a
statue of David complete with a fig leaf in the ladies washroom. A siren would
go off if some gal decided to see what was under the fig leaf. If all this
wasn’t strange enough, outside of the restaurant, under plexiglass, was one of
the Aston Martin cars used in the James Bond movie Goldfinger.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My new plan was to drive up to Kamloops about 225 miles
away and see if I could land a pulp mill job there, save up my money again, and
then move to Calgary and find another job in sales. I left Vancouver in the
afternoon and I soon realized that I wasn’t going to get there that night. I
picked up 2 young gals in their early twenties who were hitchhiking and snuck
them into my motel room that night. They shared the other bed and I acted like
I was their big brother.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I made it to Kamloops the next day, got a hold of a local
paper, and found a basement room in a house owned by a French Canadian guy who
worked at the local Weyerhaeuser pulp mill. He gave me the info as where to
apply for a job at the mill. He later took credit for getting me the job which
actually wasn’t the case.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A bit of trivia…..The <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>German/American Weyerhaeuser family <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has been in the softwood lumber business for
close to 120 years. Based in Washington State with interests around the world,
including in Canada, the company is one of biggest lumber companies in the
world with net sales of over 7 billion in 2017. Some readers of this story may
be aware of the Lindberg kidnapping of 1932 where a baby was taken and later
murdered. The Weyerhaeuser family was also victims in the kidnapping of the
owner’s 10 year old son in 1935. The child was recovered in good health and the
kidnappers were sent to prison. In the mid 1960s the lead kidnapper was
released from prison on parole. The 10 year old boy was now the chairman of the
company. He hired the parolee to work at one of their mills in Oregon.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Working at a pulp mill can be a bit dangerous at times.
Shortly after I was hired at the Kamloops mill I was told a story about a wall
being blown out and that an employee was found to be missing but they did find
his lunch box. It turned out that the employee was alive but after the
explosion he left the premises and got in his car and drove home. never wishing
to go back to as dangerous a job as that.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmc6RwYUtE9meao4MOUF2zyRp_XRnT97AZSNvkLdDeR5yxmuXgchJ3XZwZgW5zK49xyZDnY9DT9gTO7FASbzWuDiCfmRZl050ubuxxE-e-pPMl1wvYsikwV8RfhaLEFyh3VfYjwdC4cvk/s1600/g.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1600" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmc6RwYUtE9meao4MOUF2zyRp_XRnT97AZSNvkLdDeR5yxmuXgchJ3XZwZgW5zK49xyZDnY9DT9gTO7FASbzWuDiCfmRZl050ubuxxE-e-pPMl1wvYsikwV8RfhaLEFyh3VfYjwdC4cvk/s640/g.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of my chores at the mill was to do testing on the
purity of various chemical liquids stored in huge tanks. It could get pretty
cold up on the top of those tanks in the winter as the mill was situated in a
valley where the wind came screaming through. When it got way below freezing I
had to go up to the top of the tanks and pour in sacks of corn starch or
something like that. One night in a blizzard some electrical wiring got loose
and I could see sparks coming from the live end. This job wasn’t for the faint
of heart!</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I always worked with one other person who was “the
operator”. His job was to watch a control panel making sure the process wasn’t
getting out of whack and delegating manual chores to me. By and large the
operators were proficient but I remember a British guy, who had been a milkman
before working at the mill, screwing things up every now and then by trying to
fine tune the control panel too much. Sometimes the system would get overrun
and I would spend the entire shift washing pulp down the drain with a fire
hose.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A number of the millworkers played crib when things were
pretty quiet on the night shifts. To this day I still don’t have a clue how
that game is played. I just didn’t have the curiosity to find out I guess. </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXp_HUVt1xlj7xHHg5-BP16faE5WIudmba_Q17iuhZSJoCcquH7iizc_oStGlYeX7zujGFUPwX2-K08usPIUaa3Z8HxnDAPdB79VfsWUASllwZzcc2LS9V9_PMqno176nt6IQ8seJHuA/s1600/hh.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1291" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXp_HUVt1xlj7xHHg5-BP16faE5WIudmba_Q17iuhZSJoCcquH7iizc_oStGlYeX7zujGFUPwX2-K08usPIUaa3Z8HxnDAPdB79VfsWUASllwZzcc2LS9V9_PMqno176nt6IQ8seJHuA/s400/hh.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crib players. Blonde guy, Doug Paget, was a crack golfer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My room in the basement was just basically a bed and a
dresser. There was no door for privacy, just a curtain. Kitty corner from me
lived another renter, an older guy with an artificial leg. Every now and then
one of his terrible farts would waft across the basement.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Every day for months when I would come home and go
through the backyard to get to the basement door, a small yappy dog would chase
after me. Finally I had had enough of that and went upstairs and told them that
if the dog continued with his routine I was going to drop kick the dog over the
back fence. I was never going to do that but I never saw that dog again.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eventually I moved out and into a nicer basement suite
that I didn’t have to share with a small kitchen. The owner of house was a
Polish lady who had stacks of jars of borsht against the walls on the stairway
to the basement. The only furniture I had was a trunk where a rented TV sat.
That trunk went all over Canada with me. I found it abandoned in a fraternity
house I was living at in Montreal in 1966 that was about to be torn down. I
still have it. Over the years it was used as a TV stand, a coffee table, and I
think an aquarium once sat on it.<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I slept in a sleeping bag on the carpeted floor. I remember
watching the 76’ Olympics in Montreal and Bruce Jenner winning a gold medal in
the decathlon.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I didn’t have much of a social life in Kamloops. I played
a bit of tennis and golf with some younger guys from the mill a few times. One
day I got word in the mail that John from Toronto was making another visit out
to Banff and that Ken was still living there. Kamloops to Banff was about a 6
hour drive and I drove up to Banff to see “the boys” for a few days. I thought
it would be neat if we had dinner at the Banff Springs Hotel which we did. I
treated.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoMveR2KI-aKWHXTMkvSwRqCKDrUYtxm2kJwB3xNtnYufLMzfaGc5u-Au6dIScJW5WwcG7Zegd84Y9WVq8LudQyUinlwgD3yzGSSfAyaS7tP0AapuzONFSkjl_NSkOosWmrR7Hf9YB4k/s1600/t.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1318" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoMveR2KI-aKWHXTMkvSwRqCKDrUYtxm2kJwB3xNtnYufLMzfaGc5u-Au6dIScJW5WwcG7Zegd84Y9WVq8LudQyUinlwgD3yzGSSfAyaS7tP0AapuzONFSkjl_NSkOosWmrR7Hf9YB4k/s400/t.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dining at the Banff Springs Hotel with Ken and John.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I really had the shit scared out of me on the way back to
Kamloops. I was coming down some mountains when I notice a semi in my rear view
mirror. It got closer and closer until it was just a few feet from my rear
bumper. I had the pedal to the floor and still the jerk wouldn’t back off.
There was no way I could pull off of the highway. We finally got to a flat
straight away and I pulled ahead. My engine light lit up and the car was
overheated. I pulled over to the side of road. A few minutes later the semi driver
drove past me with a big grin on his face. I wanted to throw a rock through his
windshield but I didn’t.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I saw Ken one last time when he came up to Kamloops. Why
I haven’t a clue?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He just turned up one
day and didn’t have a car. He must have hitchhiked or taken a bus. We got
really drunk one night at a huge tavern in Kamloops called “The Cattleman” (or
something like that) and we picked up a couple of girls. I was too drunk to do
anything with the gal I met.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Calgary
– September 1976</span></b></span></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I quit my mill job at the end of the summer and drove to
Calgary to start another “new” life. It was impossible to find an apartment in
Calgary and I started going through my savings staying at motels. I was once
again going nowhere fast. I didn’t know a soul in Calgary and the city seemed
like a cold place to me even though they were experiencing one of their boom
periods.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I packed up the car and headed back to Vancouver.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Vancouver
–Autumn 1976 - February 1977<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I found a 1 bedroom apartment in an older building on 2<sup>nd</sup>
Avenue in North Vancouver. I did a short stint as a commissioned sales rep for
an alarm company but didn’t make any money doing that. To keep money coming in
I resorted to doing daily labour, mostly unloading box cars. It wasn’t a lot of
fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In February of 77’ I responded to an ad at the “Manpower”
government office in downtown Vancouver. The job was working as a sales rep for
a business equipment company called Benndorf-Verster Ltd. I was hired after 3
interviews and my life was changed completely. After being there for a few
years I got into photocopier sales (Canon) and started making some serious
money.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(See blog story Benndorf-Verster posted June 3,
2014)</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "bodoni mt" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Updates…..</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ricardo
and Penelope</span></b></span></b></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I last saw Ricardo and Penelope in Victoria when they
came back from South America. I still have some Inca god bookends that they
gave me. I moved in with them and cut their rent costs. Ricardo got me a job
through some guy he had worked for that required me to dig a drainage ditch.
The chore was impossible to do with a spade as some of the boulders in the way
were well over 200 pounds. When I told Ricardo that I was quitting the job he
went berserk. He was kind of like a powder keg. I packed up my stuff and moved
out. What a lunatic! I’m pretty sure that marriage didn’t last.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: small;">John #2<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John #2, the guy I met in Port Alberni and hung out with
in Victoria, eventually moved to the Vancouver area and went back to school at
Simon Fraser University. For a while he rented a farmhouse with a New Brunswick
friend in a muddy industrial area next to the Fraser River in Delta, BC. There
were wild horses on the property and blueberries the size of grapes. I stayed
at this place a few times while visiting from Victoria.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One night I went night skiing at Grouse Mountain in North
Vancouver and got lost on a dirt road trying to get back to the farm house. It
was pretty dark out and hard to see anything and I decided to turn the car around.
For some reason I decided to park and get out of the car to see where I was. To
my amazement I discovered that only 3 of the car wheels were on solid land.
There was a very steep drop off behind the car. It freaked me out. A few more
inches! I realized that I was going to need a tow truck. I approached a house
that was about 200 feet away and rang the doorbell. A few moments later the
whole place lit up. There was a big Jesus sign up on the roof. Whoa! I felt
like I was in the middle of a cheap horror movie. A guy talked to me through a
little window in the front door and agreed to call a tow truck for me. I waited
by the car. A few minutes later a car stopped close to me and the driver asked
if I needed any help. He tied a chain to my bumper and yanked the car back onto
terra firma. I never waited for the tow truck. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I remember John #2 staying at my place in North Van
around 1980. He left one morning not telling me what time he was coming back or
if he was coming back at all. He didn’t have a key. I was out to about 2 a.m.
that night and when I got home he was waiting for me in the apartment building
garage. He told me that he had asked the building superintendant if they would
let him into my apartment but was refused.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The next time I saw John #2 was around 1982. At this
point I was married and making great money. John #2 was also married and had
bought an established printing business. I sold him a photocopier. About a year
later I injured my back while on vacation in Hawaii and was laid up for several
months on Bowen Island where we then lived. I had lost a lot of muscle fiber and
was going to need some time to get myself back in reasonable shape. I decided
to help John #2 out in sales at his business for a few months before getting
back into the rat race of selling copiers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I quickly discovered that John #2 had no business acumen
whatsoever. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t have any previous
experience in working in the printing business. When he bought the company it
included a lot of dated equipment that was no longer functional in including
machines that made metal credit card kind of things that were no longer used by
the public. He had one really big client that provided most of the company
revenue and had no idea how to expand sales.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A lot of printing jobs got messed up and any that
required full colour were farmed out. It was disturbing to know that I could
find printing jobs but in most cases they would be screwed up. Finally I had
had enough and went back to copier sales.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I later learned that the world had come crashing down on
John #2. He lost his house because he was using the equity to invest in his
business. His wife left him and took their young child with her. Then he
discovered that his bookkeeper was embezzling from him. At one point he had
lent her money to buy a house. He found out that when she was off on sick days
that she was actually in court for stealing money from other companies she had
worked for. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In almost no time the company went out of business. I
felt really bad for him. Unfortunately he just didn’t seem to know what he was
doing when it came to business. I hope his life took a turn for the better.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John
The Pharmacist<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I stayed in touch with John the pharmacist and skiing
companion for close to 25 years. My first wife and I spent a few days with him
and his girlfriend in Toronto in the summer of 82’. We spent a day at Canada’s
Wonderland. By this time John had become a full blown world traveler. He visited
countries all over the world for months at a time. This was his deal. One of
the more exotic things he did was riding on the Trans Siberian Railroad. He
once told me about being at a baseball game in Puerto Rico and a local asking
him if he would give him money if the local stuck a long nail up his nose. John
wasn’t interested but the guy stuck the nail up his nose anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFGC84Ve4Y3mQmG_EbGTIkIpjupMzydLUN53utxaIgovVDOKtCQBxBMCZ8XUiQdZ3eHobKLkQPk1I8wRuj3mfZtTRjXv89UqpR36C1fMidWuqtWCrukmrdag8I5KHkuNUHKYpCPIcsO8/s1600/c.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="1516" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFGC84Ve4Y3mQmG_EbGTIkIpjupMzydLUN53utxaIgovVDOKtCQBxBMCZ8XUiQdZ3eHobKLkQPk1I8wRuj3mfZtTRjXv89UqpR36C1fMidWuqtWCrukmrdag8I5KHkuNUHKYpCPIcsO8/s400/c.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and his then girlfriend in 1982.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">His modus operandi over the ensuing years was to work as
a temp at a pharmacy and save up enough cash for his next trip. He owned a nice
house in the Islington area of Toronto which was often empty for months at a
time. I met his brother and sister and his parents who were all nice. I think
his brother ran a strip club with his in laws. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John came out to Vancouver in the late 80s. We took him
up to Whistler one weekend. After spending about a week with us I drove him
down to the US border. He set off for San Francisco on a ten speed bike he had
purchased in Vancouver. </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The next time I saw John was in 1997 not long after I had
turned 50. One of my business suppliers, who were based in Montreal, told me
about an NDG reunion that was being planned for the early fall that year. (NDG
was the district I grew up in Montreal.) I looked at the list of potential
attendees and I recognized a lot of names. I thought it would be a hoot to see
some old faces from 30 and more years earlier.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before flying to Toronto John and I discussed plans for
my trip back east. I asked John if he would be interested in going to Montreal
with me. My plan was to rent a car and drive to the New England states and back
up to Canada through either Vermont or Maine. John was keen on the plan and
said he had friends in Montreal that he had met while travelling around the
globe and that it would be nice to reconnect with them.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The second day that I was in Toronto we drove down to the
Guelph area to visit my older brother. When we got back to John’s place I was
pretty eager to start our trip to Montreal. John wasn’t showing the same
enthusiasm. One day seemed to roll into another. He insisted on showing me maps
and photos of his travels which bored me to death. One night we went to a video
place to rent a movie. John had a wallet fatter than George Costanza’s but
couldn’t find his video store membership. The clerk suggested that maybe John’s
“Significant Other” (me) might have a membership card. I almost fell on ass
laughing. We had been labeled as a couple of middle age homosexuals. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Something else I found very annoying about John was his
repeated whining about his younger sister and how she had inherited the bulk of
their parent’s estate. From what understood she was their main care giver in
their last years while John was often travelling the planet. He had a
university degree and owned a house so he wasn’t exactly experiencing hard
times.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I remember another time when we were driving around and
John telling me he knew of a place where we could get a really good deal (5
bucks?) on rugby pants. Rugby pants had gone out of style about a dozen years
earlier. I was starting to get uncomfortable with this whole situation. I had 2
small kids and a business back in Vancouver. (At that point I had been
separated from my wife for about 2 years.)This was my vacation and I was
wasting my time hanging around Toronto not doing much of anything. We sure lead
different lives. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One night when I asked him to drive me to a take-out
place so I could have some dinner he complained that he wasn’t fussy about
driving me around. What a prick I thought. I drove him all over the place when
he was in out in Vancouver. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally he told me that he wasn’t going on the trip with
me. To be honest it was a relief. I didn’t want to be stuck with this moody
bugger for over a week. I rented a spiffy car the next morning and took off for
Montreal. By this time my side trip to New England no longer fit my time
limitations although I did spend a few days in the Eastern Townships and up
state Vermont. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I got back to Toronto John wasn’t home so I waited
outside of his house for a few hours. Later on he drove me to the car rental
place and out to the airport to catch my flight back to Vancouver. In
retrospect I probably should not have had him give me those lifts and instead
just looked after things myself.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I got a card or a letter from John some months later. I
didn’t respond to it. Sometimes you don’t have to make a final goodbye formal.
We were worlds apart in how we were living our lives and no longer had anything
in common.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Reunion In Montreal<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJFbUE-q12QjY2Sc3L8yELz5wuv853DO-1p4EvLyK89tRclL0l9kDoZ1qLyXFSYbovS1R3OWeCT92UzMvXEM7T5eUu-G3Scb8jydDkZV4jW09y-MN943ey_dlBZCRjellzUzHdoLnJJM/s1600/k.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="1600" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJFbUE-q12QjY2Sc3L8yELz5wuv853DO-1p4EvLyK89tRclL0l9kDoZ1qLyXFSYbovS1R3OWeCT92UzMvXEM7T5eUu-G3Scb8jydDkZV4jW09y-MN943ey_dlBZCRjellzUzHdoLnJJM/s400/k.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I spent a night at a hotel in Ganonoque, Ontario close to
the Thousand Islands vacation area off of the 401 Highway on my way to
Montreal. I had been working out a bit back in Vancouver wanting to look good
at the reunion. I hit the gym at the hotel.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I spent the next night at a motel in Pointe Claire,
Quebec. My parents had owned a house in this area in their retirement but by
this time they were both deceased. I had a few days to spare before the reunion
and decided to drive south of Montreal to the Eastern Townships. I stopped off
in a college town named Stanstead. A high school friend named Andy had been
teaching at Stanstead College for decades. His life kind of reminded me of the
movie Goodbye Mr. Chips. With the help of some locals I found Andy’s house. He
was away camping with his family for the Labour Day weekend. I noticed a couple
of small bikes in the car port. Like me it seemed that he had become a father
later than most. I stuck my business card in the front door jamb. I never heard
back from him.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stanstead is right on the border of the US and Canada.
Getting across the border wasn’t easy. The border security guy was very
suspicious of me. Out of the blue he asked me what prison I had spent time in.
I’ve never been charged with a crime and I certainly never did time in any
prison. He didn’t like it when I told him I wasn’t impressed with this tactic.
The next thing I knew he was dragging out anything I owned from the rental car.
I was left to pick it up off the pavement and put it back. What a prick!</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a small golf tournament before the reunion. At
that point in my life I had given up golf for a while. Somebody later told me
that the tournament was named after a guy (who I didn’t know) who was a
complete drunk and had died way too early because of it. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes it probably is somewhat shallow but I wanted to look
my best at the reunion. I think I managed that. I walked into the hall and
identified myself to the evening’s hosts. I was asked if I recognized any of
the names on the guest list and I said I did. One of the names was a gal who I
knew as Cathy Marks in grade school and high school. We didn’t know each other
well but had mutual friends. She didn’t have a clue who I was. Better no
impression than a bad impression I guess. When I told her I had taken video of
our old schools she insisted I send her a copy and wrote down her address on a
Tower of London ticket stub. What? I have no idea of how to copy a video.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A lot of people on the guest list didn’t attend. I found
that a bit disappointing. I danced with a gal who I had once had a make out
session with while she was babysitting. Nice gal. I chatted with a guy several
times who also lived in the Vancouver area. We had hung out a bit in high
school. Another guy I knew from high school told me that he had gotten laid at
the last high school reunion. Actually the whole deal wasn’t a high school
reunion but more of a community reunion. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One guy knew my older sister which would have made him
around 9 years older than me. I remembered when he married one of two sisters
who lived across the street from me around 1958. They had rented a juke box for
the wedding and the younger sister let me play some tunes on it for a few weeks
before it was finally picked up. I played “Who Wrote The Book Of Love?” by the
Monotones over and over. The guy was a lot shorter than I remembered him, maybe
5’4”. I think he had a motorcycle back in the day. I asked him if he was still
married to the same gal and he said something like “that bitch?” Creepy little
guy.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I had my video camera in the trunk of my car. For some
reason I never brought it out. It would have been an interesting video. Because
my kids were young I almost exclusively took videos. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They had a draw towards the end of the evening and I won
a giant Texas Mickey. By this point I had had a few drinks and I never claimed
my prize. I think I just forgot about it. As things were winding down I was
invited to go night clubbing with some others. Montreal seemed so far away and
I didn’t want to get stopped for drunk driving. I opted for just going back to
the motel.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Not far from my motel there was a Jewish deli called
Chenoy’s. I feasted on their smoke meat several times during my stay in
Montreal. The front door guy recognized me each time I came in. After the
reunion I decided to have one more go at the world of cured meats. As soon as I
walked in the front door the guy asked me if I had heard the news. Princess Di
died that evening in a car accident in Paris. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I went back to the motel, turned the TV on, and watched
for hours. Things were starting to feel a bit surreal. I had kind of gone full
circle with Chuck and Di. I got married the same weekend as they did in 1981 in
Gull Lake, Saskatchewan and we received a few Chuck and Di gifts. Not quite as
bad as the giant wooden spoon and fork we received that I used for kindling in
the fireplace.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Montreal…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Made
1 last trip to Montreal in 2012. Not much left of what I remembered. Whatever
it was is just in my head now I guess.</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Toronto…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Drove
through Toronto twice without stopping on our trip to Montreal in 2012. I also
picked my wife up at Pearson Airport on that trip. Toronto never was my cup of
tea. A lot of people I grew up with in Montreal settled in Toronto. On a
positive note, I’m a big fan of Harvey’s hamburgers that aren’t available on
the West Coast. So there's that.</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Banff…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Have
driven through Banff a number of times over the years. Sometimes I would go up
to the Banff Springs Hotel and look around. A lot has changed since way back
when like newer surrounding buildings and TV’s everywhere in the hotel. The
giant buffalo heads that hung from the wall in the reception area have disappeared.
On one walk around at the hotel I asked an older security guy when they had
changed the name of the Fairholm dining room to the Alberta Room. His response
was that he had worked at the hotel for years and the room had never been
called the Fairholm. That might surprise some who waited tables in the Fairholm
some 50 years ago.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Calgary…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Spent
a few days in Calgary several years ago when my daughter was appearing in the
musical “Cats” in that city. Was kind of surprised how funky the downtown part
of the city had become.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Victoria,
BC…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Victoria is about a 2 hour drive south of where we live
on Vancouver Island. We used to get down there more often than we do these
days. Actually, I lived in the city out near the U. of Victoria for about a
year ten years ago. The city can be a bit of a tourist trap in the summers. We
much prefer the Nanaimo area. It’s not as congested.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Port
Alberni, BC…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve passed through Port Alberni many times
over the years on the way out to Long Beach and the Pacific Rim National Park.
Port Alberni is about an hour’s drive away from where we live.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sun
Valley, Idaho…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Spent a few days at the Sun Valley Inn on our
honeymoon in 1981<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. </b>They had a
covered outdoor theatre next to the hotel that showed the 1941 black and white
movie Sun Valley Serenade. My ex wife wasn’t interested in seeing the movie but
I was. Altogether there were about 6 people in the audience aside from me. I’ve
watched the movie many times since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To me the movie was an historical film. It was made just
before WW2. It was the era of wooden skis and men wearing ties while taking
part in recreational activities. Top billing went to Sonja Henning, a European
figure skater. Milton Berle had a supporting part. 10-12 years later he would
be the biggest thing on American TV. Glenn Miller and his big band were in the
movie. 3 songs from the movie would become very well known, In The Mood,
Chattanooga Choo, and At Last. Glenn Miller would die 3 years later in a plane
crash in the English Channel. Neither his body nor the plane was ever found.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We’ve visited the western US many times over the years
including the Grand Canyon. I wouldn’t mind trout fishing in Idaho some day if
it is in the cards.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vancouver…..</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I
spent most of my adult life living in the Vancouver area. I have lots of great
memories. I owned a business there. My kids grew up there. Unfortunately, like
Montreal, each time I have been back it is less and less recognizable. From a
midsized city it has grown into a major metropolis. The days of bringing your
own booze to restaurants are long gone. It’s like the character of the city has
been painted over with a broad brush. Real estate prices are totally crazy. Not
a city where most young people will ever own their own house. Glad I got out
when I did. I’m still a Canuck fan though.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Wasting
One’s Twenties?</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Years later I came up with a bit of a theory which was
that it quite OK to kind of waste your twenties travelling and doing a variety
of low paying jobs as long as you have learned some kind of craft that is going
to see you make a decent living for the rest of your life. Eventually most of
us get married and have kids. Most of us will never again see the total freedom
we had to make choices and get into a bit of trouble now and then like we had
when we had no other responsibilities other than for ourselves. When we were
young and thought we’d live forever. Like others around my age, I am finding
that that isn’t the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-48659843741703199082018-09-24T00:02:00.000-07:002018-09-24T00:02:37.434-07:00<div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_d">
<br />
<strong>Bill Conrod</strong><br />
<br />
A really decent human being passed away a few days ago in Ottawa at the age of 77, Bill Conrod. Bill spent his adult life as an educator and when he was in his younger years taught at schools in Montreal including Westmount High, in California where I believe he was driving a Volkswagen Bug at the time, (To me there seemed to be a bit of hippy in Bill), and in Prince George, British Columbia. Along the way, Bill jumped from teaching high school to teaching at colleges and universities. Moving around Canada and the US must have been a challenge for Bill and his wife Jill, considering they had 4 kids in tow.<br /> In the mid 1950s Bill and his twin brother Scott were summer lifeguards at the swimming pool at West Hill High School in Montreal. I can still recall the strong chlorine odor and the sound of the buzzer indicating the end of the swimming session, also the cacophony of excited young swimmers in the background.<br /> I got to know Bill in his later years. He was 6 years older than me. I considered him a friend. We had a continued correspondence via e-mail for close to 6 years. We exchanged hundreds of e-mails over that time. He talked about his health struggles, his dog Buck, his family, sports, and of course politics. I’m not 100% sure but I think Bill was mostly a “Lefty’.<br />We connected through 2 of his books about the Montreal district of Snowden. He used a couple of e-mail things I wrote in his 2nd book. He clearly loved his growing up years in Snowden and the memories, including some mischief. It was a different time back then, the streetcars, Peggy’s Nut’s, MacDonald Park across the street from where Bill lived so very long ago.<br /> Bill was often complimentary about my own writings and very supportive over the past several years. It was always appreciated. After I wrote a story about the Montreal community of Hampstead Bill sent me a wonderful photo of Hampstead Park in the early 1950s. The photo blew me away. I added it to my story. To me the photo was “idyllic” and captured a pure simple moment in time that reminded me of a French painting by George Seurat that was painted in 1886 and called La Grande Jatte. <br /> It was very clear that Bill was struggling with his health issues over the last several years but he never let it diminish his curiosity about the world around him. He always kept his sense of humour. Sometimes Bill would recommend a current book he was reading, including one called North Country, which is about a Vermont author travelling along the 49th parallel between Vermont and Washington State. Other times Bill would e-mail things like an article on a survival kit for skiers. He also passed along some funny stuff.<br /> Bill once told me that he was totally fed up with almost any talk about Donald Trump. I knew exactly where he was coming from on that. Bill was a get along with people type and it must have deeply disappointed him that the US ended up in its current state of affairs.<br /> I also knew that Bill had a keen interest in the outdoor life and I loved sending him photos of my own exploits in that area including kayaking and fishing. He once told me about a canoe trip he took out here in BC. He would have been a great guy to share a campfire with.<br /> Bill’s “stache” never went away. In the last year his hair got a bit longer. Was he making a statement? Had he become the quiet renegade? In the photos of Bill and his grandkids it was clear to me that he was enjoying himself thoroughly. Nice family.<br /> Time catches up with all of us eventually. Bill had mostly a good life. Glad I got to know him a bit and I’ll miss him. I respected him. Wherever his soul has gone I hope he is taking some of his own advice, “always keep your stick on the ice”.<br />Adios Bill!<br /> My condolences to Bill’s family.<br /> Colin Paterson</div>
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-49266823240653768922018-05-16T08:01:00.005-07:002018-05-22T06:38:08.522-07:00The Obits<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If you are of a certain age there is probably nothing
that questions our mortality more than reading obituaries. A lot of us older
folks read them. My guess is that many wonder when that fickle finger of fate
will be selecting us. The whole subject can be a bit macabre but as humans we
are curious creatures. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I first started reading obits in the newspapers years ago
on the 2 hour ferry ride between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. This would
have been after I had scanned the news and sports and before I took a stab at
the crossword puzzle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I would often read obits of people who were total
strangers, particularly if there was some content on how they lived their lives. A
lot of folks are lasting until their late 80s and 90s these days. I found in
Vancouver newspaper obits that many had moved to the west coast from
many different small prairie towns once they were out of school or newly
married. Moving and leaving their friends and families behind must have been a
big decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some who got divorced or had a wife or husband die spent
their final years with “companions” or “partners”. I’ve sometimes wondered
which family member gets to submit the obit. Is it necessary to list every
obscure relative? They are only making one submission so why not put a bit of
time and effort into it? Perhaps a few funny reminiscences? What did the deceased
do with their lives? If it costs 20 more bucks to have a few more paragraphs
printed, who cares at this point?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The obits are all on-line these days. I try and stick to
the Montreal Gazette (I grew up in Montreal) and the Vancouver Province (I
spent most of my adult life in the Vancouver area.) In a way, looking for a
familiar name (or last name) is kind of like gold panning. A lot more misses
than hits. In a way it is kind of like looking for some unique discovery. This
isn’t to say that there isn’t any empathy when a familiar name is found. There
always is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We have all seen relationships come and go in
our lives. People we once knew disappear in the rear view mirror. We may be
able to reconnect briefly on the net but the experiences we shared when we were
younger are all in the past which can be a bit hazy for some. That’s just the way life works. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t know if it can be called “trolling” but every now
and then I’ll check out Facebook or just Google a name from the past to see if
they are still around and what they are up to these days. Sometimes it is just
a dead end (no pun intended) and rarely have I initiated contact when I have found the person. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A week or so ago I Googled the name of a guy I hung out
with sometimes over 50 years ago in Montreal. I found him with just one
“click”. It turns out that he died in 2015 at the age of 69 in Alberta. He was
several months older than me.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gilbert Adrian Bushe (Gil)</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">October
5, 1946-February 6, 2015</span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEEamkwaFf1BVwGeTeifRAxnLJmsajKWx7lUoU87uWRWv4o1IAcnk2M6kG_WX2NqyP7XaYLca-iw7EQ1ptvTLFDpAiFH6uyJD0oKVUUnj__5eVsH0opEkT_t2kP1darWeK1esMIrjdUs/s1600/1111001_A_20150221%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="109" data-original-width="120" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEEamkwaFf1BVwGeTeifRAxnLJmsajKWx7lUoU87uWRWv4o1IAcnk2M6kG_WX2NqyP7XaYLca-iw7EQ1ptvTLFDpAiFH6uyJD0oKVUUnj__5eVsH0opEkT_t2kP1darWeK1esMIrjdUs/s320/1111001_A_20150221%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The year was 1968. The Viet Nam War was raging and the US
was split between the anti-war and pro war types. The Hippy culture was nearing
it’s peak. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated in 68’.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I travelled out to Vancouver that year with the hope of
making my way to Australia. It didn’t work out and I ended up hitchhiking
across the US and back to Montreal. My parents lived in the Montreal lakeshore
community of Valois and I stayed at their place for a few months while I worked
out my next move.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I needed some kind of job and got one at the nearby
Fairview Shopping Centre working at the Simpson’s Department Store in Pointe Claire as a clerk.
Simpson’s had a long history in Montreal and a large store on Ste Catherine
Street in downtown Montreal. The company was partly owned by the American
retailer Sears and the Canadian stores changed their name to Simpsons-Sears in
1972. The last Sears Canada store closed its doors in January of this year.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83MjAr71JJGJeiJWcW776pL4lSCupEekX5UIlMCvgTXhgt5tKzLUiArLH_UitykQXDSN57Mh5897h2zuQH-YfMRfu65p3PtBMiL9SUNNVmD7Fz577Jrjt1NreyjCI077O0SKljiK1V2U/s1600/3e570eef710e5b7fe98273942accb3c0--photos-google-simpsons%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="736" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83MjAr71JJGJeiJWcW776pL4lSCupEekX5UIlMCvgTXhgt5tKzLUiArLH_UitykQXDSN57Mh5897h2zuQH-YfMRfu65p3PtBMiL9SUNNVmD7Fz577Jrjt1NreyjCI077O0SKljiK1V2U/s400/3e570eef710e5b7fe98273942accb3c0--photos-google-simpsons%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I was assigned to work in the hardware department at
Simpson’s. The guy who was going to show me the ropes was Gil Bushe. I can
still picture him today from our first meeting. Bell bottom pants, slip on Hush
Puppy kind of shoes, and a wide tie that was the style at the time. Gil had
black hair that was combed back and came almost to his shoulders. He also had a
droopy mustache. His complexion was kind of olive and I think I guessed that he
must have come from another country. It turned out that his parents were from
India and I believe Gil’s mom and dad owned a beauty parlor (as they used to
call those places) in the mall just a doorway or 2 away from Simpson’s.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I was immediately impressed with Gil’s confidence and
casual manner. He didn’t seem like someone who could be rattled easily. Gil
made it fun to come to work. We became friends right away. Gil and a few other
employees organized a fishing trip on nearby Lac St. Louis that I participated in.
I remember talk about how polluted the water was at the time and nobody wanting
to eat whatever fish we caught. At the end of that day on the water I found
that I had baked myself too much in the hot sun. My mother applied most of a
jar of Noxema which eased the pain somewhat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The reality is that I wasn’t at Simpson’s very long, at
most a month. I do recall the turtles in the pet department and some kind of
devise in the storeroom that added different colours to paint.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One day I was notified that the store manager wanted to
see me. He told me that they were going to have to let me go. About 6 years
previously I had stolen a red ascot from the downtown Eaton’s store and my name
was recorded and shared with other department stores. I was a dead duck and by
their rules I guess I was beyond redemption. For some odd reason the store manager
thought my dismissal was an appropriate time to comment on the state of young
people. He showed me a Life Magazine that had a piece, including a number of
photos, on hippies doing their thing. None of them appeared to be wearing red
ascots! What an ass!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Not long after losing my job I moved back into Montreal.
Over the next 2 years I would give Gil a call every now and then and we would get
together for a beer or two. The beers were always somewhere on the Lakeshore.
Gil never seemed to have any interest in coming into town. Pointe Claire seemed
to be his turf. One week night we ended up in the near empty Pointe Claire haunt
The Edgewater. I ran into an old girlfriend I wasn’t fussy about and her and
her girlfriend invited us back to her girlfriend’s apartment along with two other
guys they had met that night. It didn’t take long to realize that this was kind
of a stupid idea. I pulled the fire alarm on the way out of the building. Kind
of a dumb thing to have done I guess.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the summer of 69’ I spent about a week with a gal who
was visiting from Philadelphia with a girlfriend. They were staying at The Holiday Inn on Sherbrooke near University St. The gal I was with told me
that her girlfriend wanted to get laid pretty badly and asked if I could set
her up with someone I knew. I phoned Gil but he was committed to other plans.
Or so he said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a period of time when I was living in a frat
house in downtown Montreal where I didn’t have a phone. Gil was still living at
home then and I can still remember his mom’s accent and politeness when I
called. “I’m very sorry. Gil is not at home right now.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I spent the first half of 1970 working as a purchasing
agent for a company in Ville St. Laurent. It took a long time to get there each
day from downtown Montreal. I worked out a deal with some Greeks who worked at
the plant who would give me a lift back and forth each day for a price. I can
still remember gold teeth shining in the dark in the mornings when they picked
me up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I gave Gil a call as the summer was approaching and he
asked me if I would be interested in going on a road trip with him down to the
US. It took me only a few seconds to decide I was in on the plan. I believe we
left on our trip in late June. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We were gone for about a week and I can’t remember
chronologically where we went. I know we spent some time in the state of Maine
and visited Boston.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">At the time, Gil owned a Mustang fastback sports car. I
think it was dark green in colour. It also had a big crack in the front window
which made me a bit nervous. Gil was a bit of a speed freak and at times would
be doing 120 mph. I pictured in my mind that window crack caving in at that
fast a speed.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvNtjDY4n3yCAk6KFJZY0ebr0jetchMEkq6QpNlVhyD1Xb4LLGIooZkZtXSa_uBezEltkcc9AJZ-Y5bgE1dyxdyyUDdiXcDLGDveObAbngt2VUt7cW4Q0IwDEZSsNwCCj64MQGwz0In8/s1600/images7KY46GRF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvNtjDY4n3yCAk6KFJZY0ebr0jetchMEkq6QpNlVhyD1Xb4LLGIooZkZtXSa_uBezEltkcc9AJZ-Y5bgE1dyxdyyUDdiXcDLGDveObAbngt2VUt7cW4Q0IwDEZSsNwCCj64MQGwz0In8/s400/images7KY46GRF.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mustang like Gil's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I hadn’t been to Maine since I was a kid when our family
visited places like Old Orchard Beach and Kennebunk Port by the Atlantic Ocean.
Strangely, one thing I remember seeing back then was a trailer made out of a California redwood tree. Unbeknownst to me Gil had a plan to visit his ex girlfriend who was vacationing
at Old Orchard Beach. If I remember correctly she had a new boyfriend who wasn’t
with her at the time. Gil’s ex was Jewish and I remember thinking the two of
them were an interesting combination considering Gils’s East Indian heritage.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0YjQgtZ2SqlXwnOipqy0PmABuPlrkEfNc0EY-3wD0xAmsoUVYD3RrnxL1-SBr_XOC_rK8fTvyCtZp49UzNjbRXAV4iQbGDTaeDOueZOEX0srLmEqop9PFS83GOtEYDQVqpQHZ4oXmkk/s1600/imagesC7UMG3VQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="281" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0YjQgtZ2SqlXwnOipqy0PmABuPlrkEfNc0EY-3wD0xAmsoUVYD3RrnxL1-SBr_XOC_rK8fTvyCtZp49UzNjbRXAV4iQbGDTaeDOueZOEX0srLmEqop9PFS83GOtEYDQVqpQHZ4oXmkk/s320/imagesC7UMG3VQ.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redwood trailer....something like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m pretty sure we brought out golf clubs with us because
we played a round at Webhannett Golf Club in Kennebunk. I still have the
scorecard.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjic5Z8Z5_l-bZcPLIqfOzyPHkOtmckB4Iy3qOxcj0-yPDvwTHB3Duej0FthrOEzYwEFdvJTSe37nrrVdOQ2wwyjgQZaOaV4nfRoGqnsyVsL8L8AFKUDm6Z0X1kY0phPI_gBwkuNFOD_pY/s1600/Scan%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="400" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjic5Z8Z5_l-bZcPLIqfOzyPHkOtmckB4Iy3qOxcj0-yPDvwTHB3Duej0FthrOEzYwEFdvJTSe37nrrVdOQ2wwyjgQZaOaV4nfRoGqnsyVsL8L8AFKUDm6Z0X1kY0phPI_gBwkuNFOD_pY/s400/Scan%255B2%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We also visited Mount Desert Island and Cadillac Mountain
in Maine. I remember both of us sleeping in the car one night and washing up
and brushing our teeth in a nearby brook in the morning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One night we were on a two lane blacktop highway winding
our way through the mountains of western Massachusetts. A car behind us was
using us as a guide and their headlights were glowing in our rear view mirror.
This went on for some time until Gil decided to shake them. He accelerated and
drove around a few curves before turning his headlights off. Once the car
behind us caught up Gil turned his headlights back on. It must have freaked
them out because they disappeared into the night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t recall much about our time in Boston other than
spending part of a night in a sailor’s bar in the harbour area. The joint was a
real dive with lots of US navy guys. A rock band was playing. Some drunk guy
kept yelling for the band to play Sinatra’s New York, New York. That wasn’t
going to happen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When we got back to Montreal and I went back to work I
was told that I was going to be laid off. I was really pissed off. I was good
at my job. On top of that I had spent every last penny I had saved on the
vacation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I was living at a fraternity house at the top of
University Street at the time and somehow ended up with the keys to the house
that summer. I rented rooms to tourists for 10 bucks a night and pocketed the
cash. It was a fun summer. In late August I took off to the West Coast. On the
way back I stopped off in Toronto….. for close to 2 years. After that I only
visited Montreal and spent most of my adult years in BC.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I guess the last time I talked to Gil was the time when I
tried to set him up on a blind date. We drifted apart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I remember Gil as a “sweet” guy….. a matter of fact sort
of person….. very easy to get along with…..not a lot of pretenses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In reading Gil’s obit I was a bit surprised to learn that he ended
up in the Calgary area. Gil always seemed to like living in Pointe Claire so my
guess is that the language issue in Quebec may have had something to do with
his move. It appears that his family moved with him to Alberta or maybe he followed them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I remember Gil as an outdoorsy kind of guy and Alberta
may have been just his cup of tea. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Glad I met Gil. Still love road trips and fondly remember
the one Gil and I shared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<h2>
</h2>
</div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-11145959919175498042018-04-04T07:21:00.001-07:002018-04-04T07:21:19.235-07:00Vancouver Canucks Bottom Out, New Blood Coming, Sedins Retire<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRPhiTjmBYOF83Wg5XLz4IPle0th-PBij6aRiHvbV8IYtV8qEjKwb5NepKdV2EszckGp-5Zn7CZrj_IE_6ROEjjiw5n665sRtwKVHj-6mGiTMMUdVuUzfBHGTnI58Uer77VVbqp9EuhY/s1600/images%255B5%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRPhiTjmBYOF83Wg5XLz4IPle0th-PBij6aRiHvbV8IYtV8qEjKwb5NepKdV2EszckGp-5Zn7CZrj_IE_6ROEjjiw5n665sRtwKVHj-6mGiTMMUdVuUzfBHGTnI58Uer77VVbqp9EuhY/s640/images%255B5%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Not sure who the audience is for this piece but what the hell...... I got it off my chest I guess.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial black";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Several nights ago the Vancouver Canucks were shut out
for the 3<sup>rd</sup> time in a row. They hadn’t scored a goal in their last
200 minutes of playing time. They may have reached a new low in their franchise
history. Things couldn’t be any worse.</span></span>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">5 out of 7 of the Canadian NHL teams won’t make the play
offs this year. I’m pretty sure they mostly don’t have a lot of empathy for the
plight of the Canucks. The Ottawa Senators have gone from making the 3<sup>rd</sup>
round in the play offs last year to trading away their veterans and defenseman Erik
Karlsson may be playing somewhere else next year. Montreal has floundered and
Carey Price doesn’t look like their savior anymore. Calgary has 3 elite players
in Gaudreau. Monahan, and Giordano but is pretty thin after them. Connor McDavid
can’t carry Edmonton by himself and the team has several slow forwards and a
porous defense. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Although we have milder winters here on Vancouver Island
than the rest of Canada, we too hunker down somewhat waiting for the warmer
weather to return. TV is always an option for a bit of escapism. We can watch
people looking to buy beach houses or get wired into “Survivor” in some
tropical location and watch the contestants pull the rug out from each other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If you like sports, watching them for 2 or 3 hours on TV
can while away a few hours of the winter doldrums. Golf is always being played
somewhere and I’ve been up in the middle of the night on occasion watching the
Australian Open in tennis. The Toronto Raptors are having a great season in the
NBA. The Olympics filled 2 weeks of this winter and Canada brought home a lot
of medals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Like many other Canadians who follow pro sports, the NHL
and hockey has always been the big deal every winter. Some of us are old enough
to remember when we only got one televised hockey game per week on Saturday
nights and often neither of the teams was ones we were fans of.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Nowadays we get to see every home and away game of our
home team. Even those that prefer to pull for another team other than their
home team can buy a TV package where they can watch that other team. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We Canadians have pretty well hit the saturation point
when it comes to hockey. Strangely, one of Canada’s sports networks doesn’t
have the rights to broadcast any NHL games. Even without any broadcast rights
that network still manages to have a panel of about 18 experts on NHL trade
deadline day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most hockey fans in Canada closely follow the NHL team
that is closest to them geographically. There are some exceptions like people
who grew up in cities like Montreal and Toronto but later moved away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When I was kid growing up in Montreal, I was a big
Chicago Black Hawk fan but my allegiance changed in 1970 when the Vancouver
Canucks were awarded a franchise.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I wrote a story on my blog some time ago (My First 20
Years Of Being A Vancouver Canucks Fan in December of 2013.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Every professional sports team has its ups and downs. Rebuilding
eventually becomes a part of the process. Players that once could be counted on,
can start to fade away. The legs are often the first thing to go as players get
older.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Stocking a minor league team with young players who will
eventually step into NHL jobs is a difficult thing to do. The best young
players in each year’s draft get taken by the NHL teams with the worst records.
The pickings can get pretty lean after the 1<sup>st</sup> round of the draft.
An NHL team at the top of the league or even in the middle of the pack in
points often needs some luck in finding even one young player each draft that
is going to make it to the NHL.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">High scoring young players from the junior leagues,
college, and the European hockey leagues often don’t transition to high scorers
in the NHL. In the under 20 years of age leagues high goal scorers are often
playing against kids with considerably lesser skills. Defensemen usually take
longer to develop and goalies almost always need years of seasoning in the
professional minor leagues.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyone chosen in the annual draft beyond the 2nd round is
really a long shot to make it. There are all kinds of young players that are
not the total package. Some are small in stature, some don’t have great foot
speed, and others have trouble making split second decisions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the old days a career hockey player could toil for as
long as 20 years in the minor leagues. Those days are long gone. In most cases
these days decisions are made on young hockey players when they are 23 or 24
years of age as to whether or not they are going to have NHL careers. Some who
were big scorers when they were younger are converted to 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup>
line defensive players. Every hockey team needs players that can score
consistently at the NHL level and the audition for that role often isn’t very
long.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Superstars in the NHL usually have the capability of
playing with a variety of line mates and can up the game of those players. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They used to say that every good team is built down the
center. 3 good centers that can distribute the puck well and score goals can
take a team a long way. Today’s game is all about speed and quick transition
from offense to defense and visa versa.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">All of the best teams have at least 2 really offensive
defensemen who can get the puck up the ice quickly and can blast a shot from
the blue line. These guys also know how to quarterback a power play. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The last ingredient for an outstanding NHL team is having
a superior goalie. Without one everything else doesn’t matter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The team that has the most points currently in the NHL is
the Nashville Predators. They have all the boxes ticked off…. 4 solid defensemen
with offensive skills in Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, and P.K.
Subban. Strong at the center position with Ryan Johanson, Kevin Fiala, Kyle
Turris, and Nick Bonino. Wingers who can score like Victor Arvidsson and Filip
Forsberg. Role players who can chip in and one of the best goalies in the NHL
in Pekka Rinne.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So
How Could Nashville Get Things So Right And The Vancouver Canucks Get Things So
Wrong?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The easy answer is probably better management.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">To get a better idea of why the Canucks are where they
are today you have to go back about 15 years. There was a period of 3 or 4
years in the early 2000s when the Canucks had one of the best scoring lines in
hockey with Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi, and Brendan Morrison. The trio was
nick named “The West Coast Express”. As good as they were the Canucks never went
far in the playoffs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In February of 2004 Colorado forward Steve Moore hit
Canucks player Marcus Naslund with a cheap shot causing a concussion. A few
games later Bertuzzi went looking for Moore and ended up smashing Moore’s head
into the ice. Moore never played hockey again and sued Bertuzzi for damages.
The whole deal was a big distraction on the team and 2 years later Bertuzzi was
traded to the Florida Panthers for goalie Roberto Luongo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By 2008 both Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison too had
left the Canucks as free agents.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrX9HHu0mdeZ-bKSNMBJeaqb2CP11PItNHPUuFTND4jX1OC5nLB4OuDii5MnrGFTsPeKNSkbKQ-XyGmHbR1MkzlYD4x1A_A4poksTZCsv5q2AA6xlHLo3-w_TcG3DS2dvDQOiXEnmVjQ/s1600/images%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrX9HHu0mdeZ-bKSNMBJeaqb2CP11PItNHPUuFTND4jX1OC5nLB4OuDii5MnrGFTsPeKNSkbKQ-XyGmHbR1MkzlYD4x1A_A4poksTZCsv5q2AA6xlHLo3-w_TcG3DS2dvDQOiXEnmVjQ/s400/images%255B4%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Coast Express</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Brian Burke was the GM of the Canucks in 2000 and the
Canucks had the 2<sup>nd</sup> pick in the draft. Somehow Burke cooked up a
deal where the team would also have the 3<sup>rd</sup> overall pick and he
chose the Sedin brothers, Henrik and Daniel.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvJNgX7VSpFUvaUiVDC48-7_vamyy1aXyDJftXDr0-hxWfnWi95D_5LBHA3KM1hYumUY8IP1EeqUYO9CdGSeLfvB5zS4OS7twOFEaXikCt6u4ECJh4n4hQw4jCLhLB_YB57JTuKWxeqA/s1600/imagesC2D1VM4T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvJNgX7VSpFUvaUiVDC48-7_vamyy1aXyDJftXDr0-hxWfnWi95D_5LBHA3KM1hYumUY8IP1EeqUYO9CdGSeLfvB5zS4OS7twOFEaXikCt6u4ECJh4n4hQw4jCLhLB_YB57JTuKWxeqA/s400/imagesC2D1VM4T.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">18 year old Sedin Bros</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For the first several years the Sedin brothers were 2<sup>nd</sup>
line players and got better and better as time went on. By 2006 they were both
leading the team in scoring. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCxQjljI66CP5PlY9XH5IeQd6etP9NdryHGhTGoMLoD-LgLMFE89p8YcuHjBa1R-kVK_nlISHyu1VJu1qdHOeHmtXUe5gNE0zlMM0YCGZP0nFxLl7mRSeWIm9v5Vll1o7iVmgrknpnkk/s1600/imagesXSSFJOX3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCxQjljI66CP5PlY9XH5IeQd6etP9NdryHGhTGoMLoD-LgLMFE89p8YcuHjBa1R-kVK_nlISHyu1VJu1qdHOeHmtXUe5gNE0zlMM0YCGZP0nFxLl7mRSeWIm9v5Vll1o7iVmgrknpnkk/s400/imagesXSSFJOX3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alain Vigneault</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Also in 2006 Alain Vigneault became the new Canucks
coach. He would direct the team to 7 ensuing winning seasons peaking in the
2010-2011 season when the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup
finals which went to 7 games. Young shit disturbers, mostly from the Vancouver
suburbs, decided to riot and loot stores. A few cars were also burned. So much
for the “mellow” West Coast eh? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUmtAdJPup2zgD_eBvraaXUmtjIiSsVlk0iAuE41QOnYPtvqAWARZ2ev-xT71o44fJRYjdXmQice5obCqUfddZIb2FFoIUK2P9UgmS1NR4z-i_PJJ0GZkoH0n-N4uSlZ4uoknXoT4syI/s1600/imagesXAWGHW4U.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="279" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUmtAdJPup2zgD_eBvraaXUmtjIiSsVlk0iAuE41QOnYPtvqAWARZ2ev-xT71o44fJRYjdXmQice5obCqUfddZIb2FFoIUK2P9UgmS1NR4z-i_PJJ0GZkoH0n-N4uSlZ4uoknXoT4syI/s400/imagesXAWGHW4U.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Would it have been worse if the Canucks won?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Gillis Years</span></b></span></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSyoueV_GH6t46qirNHAustoiXFTJymwxiaZbA18gtKCBtl5AV0dQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image result for mike gillis hockey" border="0" class="rg_ic rg_i" data-src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSyoueV_GH6t46qirNHAustoiXFTJymwxiaZbA18gtKCBtl5AV0dQ" height="234" jsaction="load:str.tbn" name="l7loN8g-VSZjlM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSyoueV_GH6t46qirNHAustoiXFTJymwxiaZbA18gtKCBtl5AV0dQ" style="height: 172px; margin-top: 0px; width: 293px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Gillis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2008 player agent Mike Gillis convinced the Canuck’s
owner to let him run the team. One of Gillis’s clients was Markus Naslund.
Among Gillis’s first moves was not resigning Naslund and Morrison. Instead
Gillis tried to sign former Maple Leafs star Mats Sundin to a 2 year 20 million
dollar deal. Sundin eventually signed for a partial year for 8 million dollars.
He scored 9 goals in 41 games that year.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One of Gillis’s best deals was getting offensive
defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from San Jose for next to nothing. Gillis also
signed goalie Roberto Luongo to a 12 year 64 million dollar contract. That
contract would be a killer in the coming years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the 2010-2011 hockey season the Canucks had the best
record in the NHL and Gillis was given the manager of the year award. And then
things started to come apart for him. Young goalie Cory Schneider became the #1
goalie and Luongo became the back-up. Gillis signed Schneider to a 3 year 12
million dollar contract. Luongo wanted out of Vancouver in the worst way even
though he had a no trade clause. Trading a guy with 9 years left on his big
contract wasn’t going to be easy.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbcpD5VZrKrwWLgpAubhFfvblZpak6GedvB4zlYYSRSR1tpD4K83Q51HGEbpWMwDKqW0OPTeSWX1UqA_8ua8bDZHm7lYwo5xCqWhs59Hy9HLuZeCTHpTyTXXpM-zhpAh2c3CD_6YOzbc/s1600/imagesSB2NPT13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbcpD5VZrKrwWLgpAubhFfvblZpak6GedvB4zlYYSRSR1tpD4K83Q51HGEbpWMwDKqW0OPTeSWX1UqA_8ua8bDZHm7lYwo5xCqWhs59Hy9HLuZeCTHpTyTXXpM-zhpAh2c3CD_6YOzbc/s400/imagesSB2NPT13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corey Schneider and Roberto Luongo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Unable to make a trade for Luongo, Gillis shipped Schneider
off to New Jersey for their first round pick who turned out to be Bo Horvath. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Vigneault was fired in 2013 and John Torterella became
the new coach. “Torts” only lasted 1 year and it was a fiasco. The team won 1
more game than they lost. The Sedin twins combined for 27 goals and 2<sup>nd</sup>
line center Ryan Kesler wanted to be traded. A young Eddie Lack and Luongo were
now sharing the goaltending duties. The Sedins were in the first year of their
new 6 year contracts that paid them each 7 million dollars a year.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMByocr2IG7XzQzR9Hs6CLV2d_TaV_k4SKEv37fdKrGhJyZuTOHgfneGjul4Vld50VbI7w2aoEt_50qQ1nAZkXE0PCrsbO9mdqDOikIF4VXYUD5ed4DI2uyVJq4_2Fx02x0Gado-njWus/s1600/imagesYPVILIXR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMByocr2IG7XzQzR9Hs6CLV2d_TaV_k4SKEv37fdKrGhJyZuTOHgfneGjul4Vld50VbI7w2aoEt_50qQ1nAZkXE0PCrsbO9mdqDOikIF4VXYUD5ed4DI2uyVJq4_2Fx02x0Gado-njWus/s400/imagesYPVILIXR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Tortorella</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In March of 2014 Luongo was finally traded. He was sent
to the Florida Panthers in exchange for goalie Jacob Markstrom. The Canucks are
still on the hook for part of Luongo’s salary.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In April of 2014 Gillis was fired.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Linden/Benning Years</span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhBemI90XkPmERsl0Kdn7EQXLDheImZFYz2itCh73QH_kfuxfNhQTZJYYUQM_Hv0X614MmHgPHl-4gj5FNbE9dbPIln1CSimDBk4c89XYLd6vzXIrUT_3B6KFGUzGYIRa3aWr6GrcsDc/s1600/imagesRIRQ3I0W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhBemI90XkPmERsl0Kdn7EQXLDheImZFYz2itCh73QH_kfuxfNhQTZJYYUQM_Hv0X614MmHgPHl-4gj5FNbE9dbPIln1CSimDBk4c89XYLd6vzXIrUT_3B6KFGUzGYIRa3aWr6GrcsDc/s400/imagesRIRQ3I0W.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor Linden and Jim Benning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After firing Gillis, the owner of the Vancouver Canucks,
Francesco Aquilini, hired former long time Canucks player Trevor
Linden as president. Gillis and Linden weren’t the best of pals and Linden
stayed away from the Canucks during the Gillis years.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Personally, I thought Linden was overrated as a hockey
player. His goal scoring ability ended 8 years into his NHL career. In the next
12 years he never scored 20 goals in a season. They used to call that kind of
player a “journeyman”. On the upside Linden knew a lot of the players personally
throughout the league because he was the head of The Player’s Association.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Linden hired former Canuck teammate Jim Benning to be the
new GM. Benning had been the assistant GM in Boston.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqKLkdBNAh9bhMkaCLDnBHSRLVuB0zgAxsTePuBaJyburYtgCQDjxojqkzSun_lHoGlbiUdgj7UzzUJWrqH7zfFbU4q07gHX-6EHkOYSdZQ-6luDRCShVbZIcCGPv3Ys4Enre9E6vrcQ/s1600/imagesZ3JHPT58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqKLkdBNAh9bhMkaCLDnBHSRLVuB0zgAxsTePuBaJyburYtgCQDjxojqkzSun_lHoGlbiUdgj7UzzUJWrqH7zfFbU4q07gHX-6EHkOYSdZQ-6luDRCShVbZIcCGPv3Ys4Enre9E6vrcQ/s400/imagesZ3JHPT58.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan Kesler</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Long time Canuck center Ryan Kesler could see the writing
on the wall as to the Canucks future. The Canucks were going to have to go into
a rebuild mode. Kesler forced Benning’s hand and Kesler was traded to the
Anaheim Ducks for center Nick Bonino and defenseman Lucas Krajceck.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Realizing that the Canucks couldn’t rely on Jacob
Markstrom ,who they received in the Luongo trade, as their main goalie, Benning signed reliable Ryan Miller to a 3 year
18 million dollar contract. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy7DIt3oetMzrs2J3C0-B1HYLhsBIn3O3L8tKMTV9FmFrqhvjQWqtOAqiA00VTzCk9MQkn2ZvqfnUBpgGQ_epGOVGjW9Eag-s8rvZgQxtIpNsALQJKZTNBThsQWcFTALLw7w5bbCpT7U/s1600/imagesFNBIGNLP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy7DIt3oetMzrs2J3C0-B1HYLhsBIn3O3L8tKMTV9FmFrqhvjQWqtOAqiA00VTzCk9MQkn2ZvqfnUBpgGQ_epGOVGjW9Eag-s8rvZgQxtIpNsALQJKZTNBThsQWcFTALLw7w5bbCpT7U/s400/imagesFNBIGNLP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan Miller</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A combination of poor scouting and not having a high
draft pick because the Canucks had a string of good years previously, meant
that there wasn’t much in the system in the way of a new exciting player
joining the team.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Canucks didn’t have a draft pick in the first 3
rounds of the 2010 draft and of the 6 players they chose, 1 player played 1
game in the NHL. The 2011 draft was another flop. 2 marginal players in the
2012 draft, Brendan Gaunce and Ben Hutton, eventually made the team. The
Canucks used the 9<sup>th </sup>overall pick in the 2013 draft that they got by
trading goalie Cory Shneider to New Jersey to take Bo Horvath.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvNuYx12Xz3nspfkviUTCaPTeiNWp5pgbywDfxiF3GXr9pAi7_b_TVbEiTlntm2EZxM-dur58fb6cKUiziIy1_4FyqgKccI_RXN9gcM7cKZkiYC1RCNbWfXgkhaji7y8cX07cRLuX06I/s1600/images%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvNuYx12Xz3nspfkviUTCaPTeiNWp5pgbywDfxiF3GXr9pAi7_b_TVbEiTlntm2EZxM-dur58fb6cKUiziIy1_4FyqgKccI_RXN9gcM7cKZkiYC1RCNbWfXgkhaji7y8cX07cRLuX06I/s400/images%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bo Horvat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2014 draft saw 4 Canucks drafts make the NHL
eventually. The #6 overall draft pick, Jake Virtanen, is the only player still
with the team. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBSIWN0oTNJWnNyVr2Kndf6mfyqoRSyXvH8975sZ-wVe2DLIYNWxBq-PSkeJ2gKiGFbMETnjtHtMEfz6T2iQLHZDwjigFopFOXmDbPM1sMbvdN-MVOLfFMkI-dDcY8z-d4YYpZgzCY_Y/s1600/images0S060ZRX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBSIWN0oTNJWnNyVr2Kndf6mfyqoRSyXvH8975sZ-wVe2DLIYNWxBq-PSkeJ2gKiGFbMETnjtHtMEfz6T2iQLHZDwjigFopFOXmDbPM1sMbvdN-MVOLfFMkI-dDcY8z-d4YYpZgzCY_Y/s400/images0S060ZRX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake Virtanen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Long time minor league coach Willie Desjardins was brought
in to direct the 2014-2015 team. Goalie Ryan Miller stood on his head some
nights and there were just enough of the old regulars to carry the team to a
winning season. Free agent Radim Vrbata helped out with 31 goals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeNMBifqM1kyoFwBMi21tHfxc1i__KM1NVKYOUVX7d0rm3p4NUE90n68XXbEQVdhD7yKNtFkD0RiimslEFUxAIfpBF1vQWQ0QdfA76jkYxqXeVz9_gMQvgO3cWENLnwgXk2gRDQkqP5c/s1600/images%255B9%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZeNMBifqM1kyoFwBMi21tHfxc1i__KM1NVKYOUVX7d0rm3p4NUE90n68XXbEQVdhD7yKNtFkD0RiimslEFUxAIfpBF1vQWQ0QdfA76jkYxqXeVz9_gMQvgO3cWENLnwgXk2gRDQkqP5c/s400/images%255B9%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willie Desjardins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Linden and Benning didn’t seem to know whether to rebuild
the team totally or do some patching up by signing free agent veterans. With
nothing to speak of on the farm they started to work around the edges. Veteran
defenseman Kevin Bieksa was shipped off to Anaheim for a 2<sup>nd</sup> round
pick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They acquired forwards Swen
Baertchi and Marcus Granlund from Calgary as reclamation projects. The team
didn’t get anything for defenseman Dan Hamuis in free agency. Veteran Chris
Higgins was so bad that he was sent to the minors after playing in more than
700 NHL games.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Free agent Loui Eriksson was signed to a 6 year 36
million dollar contract and a Canucks first round prospect, Jarred McCann, was
traded to Florida for defenseman Erik Gubranson. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Canucks dropped to 7 games below .500 in the 2015-2016
hockey season and to 13 games below .500 in the 2016-2017 season. 2 long time
Canuck veterans, Alex Burrows and Jannik Hanson, were traded away for young
prospects Nicolai Goldobin and Johnathan Dahlen. By this point the Sedin
brothers and defensemen Alex Edler and Chris Tanev were the only Canuck players
left from the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup run. The one bright spot for the team was
rookie Brock Boeser scoring 4 goals in 9 games at the end of the season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Willie Dejardins was fired as coach in the summer of 2017
and Travis Green was promoted to Canucks coach from their farm team in Utica,
NY. Green. Green played close to 1,000 games in the NHL.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQk5qN1cSbiFihioZPdeS9lqkLYLvyl44YwA3PuK5tAe0ELU-lgvI2l6sD_P19dQB87lUDfqTk15YzMkqkn_SfEd0BEsmi9IzyRPMQVZMZftyk47vnldfjs2x9Fnmd2BtNvQwJoLXfE0c/s1600/imagesFIM7PS0M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQk5qN1cSbiFihioZPdeS9lqkLYLvyl44YwA3PuK5tAe0ELU-lgvI2l6sD_P19dQB87lUDfqTk15YzMkqkn_SfEd0BEsmi9IzyRPMQVZMZftyk47vnldfjs2x9Fnmd2BtNvQwJoLXfE0c/s400/imagesFIM7PS0M.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coach Travis Green</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">With nothing much down on the farm in Utica to promote to
the Canucks, GM Benning went out and signed 5 free agents, forwards Sam Gagner
and Thomas Vanek, defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Derrick Pouliot, and back-up
goalie Anders Nillson. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatoOE5DNZB6lgMoIKLJYHxl1nbVmrW_mYcm6tw_bdc66MjVA2XW-TISeL4yuK70wZriUIyBn7vyM7eJgusZS6iceCRiPYGuoNGiiFEGG_-69ruCS2ou4DDwvWCvUbtbJfropkyMl-w8I/s1600/images9ZR3X0WV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatoOE5DNZB6lgMoIKLJYHxl1nbVmrW_mYcm6tw_bdc66MjVA2XW-TISeL4yuK70wZriUIyBn7vyM7eJgusZS6iceCRiPYGuoNGiiFEGG_-69ruCS2ou4DDwvWCvUbtbJfropkyMl-w8I/s400/images9ZR3X0WV.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Vanek</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It was pretty obvious that the Canucks were pretty thin
on defense. Before the 2017-2018 season had even started monster Russian
defenseman Nikita Tryamkin (6’7” 265 lbs.) notified the team that he wouldn’t
be coming back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraxF_LkiWHHQeXEVihrfmNmvBVvg7LTDYGzRMd4CSO_zLC39WV1QqtOobwTBkRQ3fnse6saDPyAiVmxxXC47Gn-MwelNUd2LVNUpjt54UcS4Gx4NZvt1NidWK9poZmN8sxL3c7DJPDfM/s1600/imagesR2WG93YU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraxF_LkiWHHQeXEVihrfmNmvBVvg7LTDYGzRMd4CSO_zLC39WV1QqtOobwTBkRQ3fnse6saDPyAiVmxxXC47Gn-MwelNUd2LVNUpjt54UcS4Gx4NZvt1NidWK9poZmN8sxL3c7DJPDfM/s400/imagesR2WG93YU.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nikita Tryamkin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The surprise at the beginning of the 2017-2018 season was
the play of veteran shit disturber Derek Dorsett who had 7 goals in the first
20 games. And then his career was over due a severe neck injury. For some odd
reason coach Green sat out Brock Boeser for the first 2 games of the season.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraPlenWj-1SF0HwASglOCP8ACpCrJQRvZyOR0dcECs2AnaS7RGApURqCpXoCrf1BF1LuacmK4oN4rzdJdEwSTk1e_pVn9U2dtcc9tAEm0NAmrXFQmi4uqmT-0jHdBwSE7f_DW3xWNZAU/s1600/imagesHKEWJPZE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraPlenWj-1SF0HwASglOCP8ACpCrJQRvZyOR0dcECs2AnaS7RGApURqCpXoCrf1BF1LuacmK4oN4rzdJdEwSTk1e_pVn9U2dtcc9tAEm0NAmrXFQmi4uqmT-0jHdBwSE7f_DW3xWNZAU/s400/imagesHKEWJPZE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derek Dorsett</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Canucks started to totally fall apart not long after
Dorsett’s injury. Long term injuries happened to other key players on the team
like Horvat (22), Baertchi (29), Eriksson (32), Sutter (20), Granlund (29),
Tanev (41), and Gulbranson (30). Only 2 Canucks have played in every game this
year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The one bright spot on the Canucks this year was the play
of sniper Brock Boeser. Unfortunately he was injured 3 times this year
including a season ending one which took him out of contention for the rookie
of the year trophy. He scored 29 times in 62 games. He has scored 33 goals in
the 71 NHL games he has played.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_12G-KDBHUETdxnBpwhKPebXbi2b18J_czUzBJXkf6zQklxuxUhJk0hZDInvILGmaVf4DIu23o3iA9vJ1ebvgb2c1LDm3HhZHoYJpcIB-JYi9nlYVTT_FCX7o_pCeXpEJuT3_NRArkOc/s1600/imagesDNK63I2L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_12G-KDBHUETdxnBpwhKPebXbi2b18J_czUzBJXkf6zQklxuxUhJk0hZDInvILGmaVf4DIu23o3iA9vJ1ebvgb2c1LDm3HhZHoYJpcIB-JYi9nlYVTT_FCX7o_pCeXpEJuT3_NRArkOc/s400/imagesDNK63I2L.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brock Boeser</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Boeser also proved that he isn’t just a one trick pony
with his wicked shot. It is pretty clear that like other elite players he
understands the game better than most and knows where to go on the ice and can
make great passes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Many predict that Boeser will become the poster boy for
hockey in Vancouver. His off-ice character is quite admirable. He once took a
mentally challenged girl to her prom. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The trade deadline came and went and the Canucks dealt
Thomas Vanek, who had a productive season in Vancouver, go to Columbus for
veteran Jussi Jokenen and prospect Tyler Motte. Neither of these players will
probably be with the Canucks next season. Brendan Leipsic was picked up from
Las Vegas in exchange for Canucks minor league defenseman Phillip Holm.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATgj21jzjDnQLvhG8Fbgpvm6qNBE_ghF9XNEV1ErHVw8rhE8wLbliRjKTSv7p1TMGNWUxeyxBHQgyyGRXjGiYdgbeCw4XHPZNYTxRwnHPaKDjPznKzK5o3dcUFFYATzZT6n9NRCC2Wvw/s1600/images547V5LA9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATgj21jzjDnQLvhG8Fbgpvm6qNBE_ghF9XNEV1ErHVw8rhE8wLbliRjKTSv7p1TMGNWUxeyxBHQgyyGRXjGiYdgbeCw4XHPZNYTxRwnHPaKDjPznKzK5o3dcUFFYATzZT6n9NRCC2Wvw/s400/images547V5LA9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brendan Lypsic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Hockey has been so bad in Vancouver this year that
scalpers are asking for a lot less than the ticket’s values.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The only thing diehard fans are interested in now, in the
last 6 or 7 games of the year, is how well the leading scorer in American
college hockey, Adam Gaudette, does in his early audition to make the team next
year.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Rating
The Management, The Players, And Is There A Brighter Future?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Management:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">GM
Jim Benning</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> has done a decent job of drafting in most
cases and has stockpiled a number of young prospects with scoring ability
including<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam Gaudette, Ellias
Petterson, Kole Lind, and Jonathan Dahlen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The teams best defenseman prospect is Olli Juolevi. For
some reason the European prospects are allowed to play in men’s leagues
overseas instead of for the Canucks’s farm team in Utica.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Canucks have a very decent goalie in Utica in
Thatcher Demko and a promising goalie prospect in junior player Michael
Dipietro.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnRrim5UBg_urROXDKbMnF5ZDGcDBV0KXARwRL7WxA2l61O7GkkyOzLQjDRz75bMRKCaSuhtBXOnvnOTxVBswQiM_rKFLc_m9tv8ZgpRprW10MBW02c8wgR8Vsm6T3sFVPKFZF_DCSD4/s1600/imagesQEJ4FXXP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="251" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnRrim5UBg_urROXDKbMnF5ZDGcDBV0KXARwRL7WxA2l61O7GkkyOzLQjDRz75bMRKCaSuhtBXOnvnOTxVBswQiM_rKFLc_m9tv8ZgpRprW10MBW02c8wgR8Vsm6T3sFVPKFZF_DCSD4/s320/imagesQEJ4FXXP.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thatcher Demko</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The team desperately needs an offensive defenseman with a
big shot. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Benning appears to be a lot less astute at acquiring
players through free agency or trades. Imagine explaining to your boss that you
have signed free agent Loui Eriksson for 6 years and 36 million dollars and
that Eriksson has scored a total of 21 goals in his 2 years with the Canucks?
Often injured Defenseman Erik Gudbranson has 3 goals and 11 points in his 2
seasons in Vancouver and Benning recently signed him to a 3 year 12 million
dollar contract. What was the sense in trading center Nick Bonino for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>center Brandon Sutter and then giving Sutter
a 5 year contact for 22 million?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJDM38fHQoUE5NOKVPkLeBvOt0GMUooHrzGBPLQfCJtBkq489kRq_aVgn-FHfZ07eBx1bJjSvw3BpQQP8qIqEaYQWr8dqWh5sSwrLu3jiJFiXGDpHzVjZR2wYYfn7EyWp46vJZHalEkU/s1600/imagesHBZPNPE7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJDM38fHQoUE5NOKVPkLeBvOt0GMUooHrzGBPLQfCJtBkq489kRq_aVgn-FHfZ07eBx1bJjSvw3BpQQP8qIqEaYQWr8dqWh5sSwrLu3jiJFiXGDpHzVjZR2wYYfn7EyWp46vJZHalEkU/s400/imagesHBZPNPE7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brandon Sutter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">To be fair, Benning hasn’t had a lot to work with and limited
assets to make a trade with. On the other hand he got a new contract even
though the Canucks have been close to the bottom in the NHL for the past 3
years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Coach
Travis Green</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a bit hard to figure out at times. From
the start of his first year as coach he has made it known that players have to
earn their ice time. Sounds simple enough but what he really seems to mean is
“younger players” and not the vets who have big contracts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Two of those borderline players are Nicolay Goldobin and
Reid Boucher. Both spent a lot of time with the Canucks’s farm team in Utica
this year. Both players aren’t great defensively but Boucher is pretty good on
the fore check. Boucher scored 25 times in 45 games for Utica this year. He’s a
goal scorer who I think should have been on the power play from the time he was
called up. Boucher is 24 and Goldobin is 23. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9MVuJFwEuNYvhPTuyEb2NA8WvILyLt-SfU_lmtlyf0Q1KMEWxnnrOhEkMscFTdvDdC-WMMj5pe7F6QaL_tSQu_4Gxt487Z3h8bT1ilHAODKJNGZwSPTrOzOrT4okM63tAAefv4Ks4DE/s1600/imagesRIY3RTRC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9MVuJFwEuNYvhPTuyEb2NA8WvILyLt-SfU_lmtlyf0Q1KMEWxnnrOhEkMscFTdvDdC-WMMj5pe7F6QaL_tSQu_4Gxt487Z3h8bT1ilHAODKJNGZwSPTrOzOrT4okM63tAAefv4Ks4DE/s400/imagesRIY3RTRC.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reid Boucher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA-0k5iI0GM8_sSXkdMtBGTAJaSqE-QHEy_Y0N1q_eMO7nws6K5-VaMF40uVAOFxHeZRQeFGjD2zi7txqa6aqCqH3rt2mDDw3Uf9-bXpDO3gYPm8mvnrDo55NbXJNjbzR-1oFujcHxcc/s1600/imagesSKI3PHWB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA-0k5iI0GM8_sSXkdMtBGTAJaSqE-QHEy_Y0N1q_eMO7nws6K5-VaMF40uVAOFxHeZRQeFGjD2zi7txqa6aqCqH3rt2mDDw3Uf9-bXpDO3gYPm8mvnrDo55NbXJNjbzR-1oFujcHxcc/s400/imagesSKI3PHWB.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicolay Goldobin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">With all the injuries to the Canucks this year, Green
often didn’t have a lot of options as to would and wouldn’t play. 4<sup>th</sup>
line center Nick Dowd with his 3 goals this year got a lot of playing time and
it is unlikely he will be with the Canucks next year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Current Roster</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Sedin Twins….</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Sedins are finishing off the 6<sup>th</sup> year of
their 42 million dollar contracts this year and have decided to wait to the end
of the year to tell the team whether or not they are coming back. 14 million
dollars a year is a lot of money to have to pay two players. They have always
been a package deal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Sedins have always been a class act. Several years
ago the Sedins donated 1.5 million dollars of their salary to the BC Children’s
hospital without any fanfare. P.J. Subban, on the other hand when he was with
the Montreal Canadiens, donated about 300 thousand dollars of his own money to
the Montreal Children’s Hospital and never bothered to correct fans and
reporters that he didn’t actually donate 10 million dollars.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Sedins have been Canucks for 17 years now and both
have played over 1,000 games in the NHL. It is time for them to go. Yes they
are still putting up close to 50 points a year but they aren’t what they used
to be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They were never fast skaters to begin with and have
gotten slower and slower with the passing years. They have started to take a
lot of hooking penalties trying to keep up. Of the 2, Daniel can still score a
bit but Henrik has lost any scoring touch he once had. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Neither of the brothers is very good at checking. Often
it seems that they are afraid to meet opposing players head on by the boards
and they choose to slide in backwards to check so they can avoid any potential
face injury. It is hard to take control of the puck when your back is turned to
it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s NHL is geared towards speed. The Sedins don’t
have that. At this point in the season Henrik has 3 goals and Daniel 21. 8 of
Daniel’s goals have come on the power play which means for 14 million dollars
the Sedins have scored 16 goals between them at even strength. This is not a
good deal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Opinions on the Sedins future are split in Vancouver. It
is highly unlikely that the Canucks will make the play offs next year and even
if they did the Sedins aren’t going to lead the team anywhere. It is time to
move on and play the younger guys as far as I’m concerned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Forwards:
</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Brock Boeser and Bo Horvath are definitely long term
Canucks. After these guys, things get a little thin at the forward positions.
Jake Virtanen has speed and size along with a decent shot. Goldobin is “iffy”
as is Reid Boucher. Baertchi also has some skill. Sutter is s decent shut down
player.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpraeR8y7Rvi7C52iBji6e9rG-MNBURu-d30Kfl6CkZuLDHI8pHjy0_mOYZzcQhgCTI5rNCAKlNoaLYEzRJtlU2e_jcmDpECfLie108LfZWMdqyBDMOWD26ziCIBZXGGKb9IRchBQ0-M/s1600/imagesPALC0H1L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="303" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpraeR8y7Rvi7C52iBji6e9rG-MNBURu-d30Kfl6CkZuLDHI8pHjy0_mOYZzcQhgCTI5rNCAKlNoaLYEzRJtlU2e_jcmDpECfLie108LfZWMdqyBDMOWD26ziCIBZXGGKb9IRchBQ0-M/s400/imagesPALC0H1L.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sven Baertchi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The team is stuck with Eriksson and his 6 million per
year for 4 more years contract as they are with Sam Gagner and his 3.15 mil
deal for 2 more years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg2iI8ku7WyWXxADsIZbYoF356_f388sSVRTs42myrLXKzZ90dM7W4gz3OYD0-l26PFneFu9QdZIT2rQeejCFydtA3u31JzzksiA6RpTuQ6GQincbtdIiKyGksdu-cCXQA9255BEDOi8/s1600/images4T5ANEVE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg2iI8ku7WyWXxADsIZbYoF356_f388sSVRTs42myrLXKzZ90dM7W4gz3OYD0-l26PFneFu9QdZIT2rQeejCFydtA3u31JzzksiA6RpTuQ6GQincbtdIiKyGksdu-cCXQA9255BEDOi8/s400/images4T5ANEVE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loui Eriksson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVcLsmlSlG1qveSKg4s-kmEBoNFgr_KUrXp-6mT3o-E83IkDDLTXVx7LJxVKbyQHis_ScAk1Y6rmjuLC3ABY5RjxqIgOGuRGfxar9KfQ1ojYdS9aFxESDLvf4dGSebe2ZKIg8nurybR4/s1600/imagesVIYM71YQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="262" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVcLsmlSlG1qveSKg4s-kmEBoNFgr_KUrXp-6mT3o-E83IkDDLTXVx7LJxVKbyQHis_ScAk1Y6rmjuLC3ABY5RjxqIgOGuRGfxar9KfQ1ojYdS9aFxESDLvf4dGSebe2ZKIg8nurybR4/s400/imagesVIYM71YQ.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam Gagner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Forwards on the bubble for next hockey season: Goldobin,
Boucher, Archibald, Leipsic, and Granlund.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Forwards who I think should move on or sent to the
minors: Gaunce, Motte, Jokinen, and Dowd.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Defensemen:
</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Alex Edler is getting on in years and too much has been
expected from him. Lately he has been playing about 25 minutes a game. Regular
shifts against other teams top lines, power play time and killing penalties
have worn him out at times. He hasn’t had much support on the back end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZehxftBf-eqOKX8VV_CPjkbRm8kFQMCMKhT4YwGo6_Fvhde4oQM63DPlYpt5FKOFXBL3oib5ld3MmsEobtM-C3G-swsL5cEYMAvHqZi5f0xZriIHFiIAJQJ-Uowh8ozpO7qu15XSk9o/s1600/imagesFK11F2GH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZehxftBf-eqOKX8VV_CPjkbRm8kFQMCMKhT4YwGo6_Fvhde4oQM63DPlYpt5FKOFXBL3oib5ld3MmsEobtM-C3G-swsL5cEYMAvHqZi5f0xZriIHFiIAJQJ-Uowh8ozpO7qu15XSk9o/s400/imagesFK11F2GH.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex Edler</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The often injured Chris Tanev is the other “senior”
defenseman. Defensively he is great but has almost no upside offensively. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkRJF_3nALSdOYFtF0pPrNAG46NMcmz4Z4CPJRRPbaEOn1oqGyc-DgXwv3u-hubg9XlfAa_kSLVHmQwJHRytQKvcfvTX0kstZ0UR7LwO-7rCwclBKhe2hNM90zMkynvPid1UOZuvjr88/s1600/images%255B3%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="277" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkRJF_3nALSdOYFtF0pPrNAG46NMcmz4Z4CPJRRPbaEOn1oqGyc-DgXwv3u-hubg9XlfAa_kSLVHmQwJHRytQKvcfvTX0kstZ0UR7LwO-7rCwclBKhe2hNM90zMkynvPid1UOZuvjr88/s400/images%255B3%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris Tanev</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Free agent signees Derek Pouliot and Mike Del Zotto have
puck moving capabilities but aren’t great defensively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_3KaMlN2yw4TWC2H0sEHZebsM9x5HR4dSs0h7l6ePauap8EEtpqmnwkoLh85lMCRr1Q7mzWjk7Th42XtSlnz47h3yZTizizRGTnOUu-5Sa0tSs-pXE5c3sZpD-9hw_F4wdRwebqibC0/s1600/imagesBR44A2YK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="167" data-original-width="302" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_3KaMlN2yw4TWC2H0sEHZebsM9x5HR4dSs0h7l6ePauap8EEtpqmnwkoLh85lMCRr1Q7mzWjk7Th42XtSlnz47h3yZTizizRGTnOUu-5Sa0tSs-pXE5c3sZpD-9hw_F4wdRwebqibC0/s400/imagesBR44A2YK.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Troy Stecher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Troy Stecher is hard worker but often seems undersized up
againt opposing forwards. Ben Hutton has been benched several times this year
and his play seems to have dropped off.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDEPm-tI-RLm6SGRDitg0rqFVIGaMtg6YtjOZi0NpVfA0bWCp3wO9g9jyX444V8eXItzperUyY8IBof_xmV7q1n8AY1twv7DPn6WWALen-o4LScQga7Dv680dLFAxNWQr-pHewSOpMpA/s1600/images1VYLDCFW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDEPm-tI-RLm6SGRDitg0rqFVIGaMtg6YtjOZi0NpVfA0bWCp3wO9g9jyX444V8eXItzperUyY8IBof_xmV7q1n8AY1twv7DPn6WWALen-o4LScQga7Dv680dLFAxNWQr-pHewSOpMpA/s400/images1VYLDCFW.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric Gulbranson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Eric Gulbranson actually has a heavy shot but doesn’t play on
the power play. His best asset is his size. Spare defenseman Alex Biega is at
best a good spare part.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Goalies:</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQdLX4dX8yqbqEcQwCie04n3qlVSUnjT4pzqA2Nqi4dnj5wBEwQ_6Br6GVvp-Tdh0x_erz4K6AiGxo7RAf5XVSfubFmldUa0Kq9Mec7VzhOAf9YFM7KiJm4HZd6XhiclvLdXdQ4nyA6E/s1600/images%255B5%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQdLX4dX8yqbqEcQwCie04n3qlVSUnjT4pzqA2Nqi4dnj5wBEwQ_6Br6GVvp-Tdh0x_erz4K6AiGxo7RAf5XVSfubFmldUa0Kq9Mec7VzhOAf9YFM7KiJm4HZd6XhiclvLdXdQ4nyA6E/s400/images%255B5%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob Markstrom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Canucks goalies Markstrom and Nillson are both big
guys at 6’6”. Both have the habit of letting in soft goals, often at the
beginning of games. They are also both 28 years of age. Markstrom is clearly
the better of the 2 and has 2 years left on his contract. Nillson has 1 year
left on his contract.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Armchair
Quarterback.........</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Draft</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This year’s draft has a number of good young players
available. Like all other bottom dwelling teams in the NHL, the big prize would
be landing Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlen. The Canucks desperately need 1 or
2 grade A defencemen including one who can run the power play.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It is very hard to get a top 4 defensemen in a trade.
Edmonton had to let star player Taylor Hall go to get defenseman Adam Larsson.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are 3 other defensemen rated in the top 10 in this
year’s’ draft. One of them is only 5’9”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As I see it there are a couple of ways the Canucks could
go if they don’t get the #1 pick in Dahlen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they pick 2<sup>nd</sup> or higher they
could go with a forward like Brady Tkachuk who will play in the NHL for sure.
They might also pick up one of 3 defensemen in Adam Boqvist, Jared McIsaac, or
Bode Wilde if they find themselves picking 4<sup>th</sup> or higher.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Canucks may also get a chance to get something from
another team with a top draft pick by backing off a forward and choosing a
defenseman who isn’t rated as high as that forward.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If the Canucks have the 2<sup>nd</sup> pick I would take
6’3” winger Brady Tkachuk. 3<sup>rd</sup> pick 6’1” Filip Zadina. 4<sup>th</sup>
pick I would pass on Russian winger Andrei Svechinov. The Canucks have not had
a lot of luck with Russians. 4<sup>th</sup>/5<sup>th/</sup> or 6<sup>th</sup>
pick they should take the best defenseman available.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a good chance that whoever they draft will have
a shot at making the Canucks next year if they draft 1 to 5.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Free
Agency</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are some possibilities this summer for the Canucks
in free agency. At 27 John Tavares is a proven star. It is unlikely that he
wants to go another team other than the Islanders. If I was Canucks management
I would pitch him at 10.5 million per year for 7 years. Players like this just
don’t come around. That would be 3.5 million less than the Canucks are now
paying the Sedin twins. Tavares is a guy a team can be built around.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Canucks should have enough goal scorers in the system
and the only other free agent forwards I think they might consider are Josh
Bailey and James Van Reimsdyk.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are a few decent defensemen available including John
Carson.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Making offers to free agents other than Tavares should
have 2 requirements, that the players be under 30 years of age and the offered
contracts should be no more than 4 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Changes
Over The Summer And Next Year?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Goalies:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The team may have to go out and find a more capable
back-up goalie and eat Nillson’s contract or send him to the minors. Possibly
Thatcher Demko could be the new back-up and challenge Markstrom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Defense:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Something has to be done with the team’s defense. A defensemen
who can pound the puck would be a good start.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately both Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher didn’t get
any grooming in the minors. Hutton has the size but makes a lot of bad
decisions on the ice. Stecher doesn’t have the size but has a lot of tenacity.
It may be time to ship Hutton somewhere else or send him down to Utica for
seasoning if he clears waivers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXgQcw_V31rechFTQilKWogLByx7z7W2oRYPL6DeNz8H6flY33u72_rarOrgtOrsWf2UVAbs8OutxaxMRqEKeocf9ICaHfZf4MOsqIAJvCa4cLWGPptmkw0T1e0e0PT6mf0IZ253iHlg/s1600/imagesD2ENAE0Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="314" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXgQcw_V31rechFTQilKWogLByx7z7W2oRYPL6DeNz8H6flY33u72_rarOrgtOrsWf2UVAbs8OutxaxMRqEKeocf9ICaHfZf4MOsqIAJvCa4cLWGPptmkw0T1e0e0PT6mf0IZ253iHlg/s400/imagesD2ENAE0Z.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Del Zotto</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mike Del Zotto has 1 more year on his contract at 3
miilion per and Derrick Pouliot is a restricted free agent this summer. I would
resign Pouliot. He’s only 24.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gulbranson at 4 miilion a year for the next 3 years isn’t
going anywhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Alex Edler is 31 and has 1 year left on his contract. He still
has some miles on him but the team needs another offensive defenseman to help
run the power play.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Chris Tanev has 2 years left on a no trade contract. He
is sound defensively but has little upside offensively. Also gets hurt a lot.
It might be an idea to see if he would wave his no trade deal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">29 year old Alex Biega is signed for 2 more years. A 7<sup>th</sup>
or 8<sup>th</sup> depth defenseman. Ashton Sautner is just 23 and has looked
good defensively in the 4 games he has played for the Canucks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Hutton and Pouliot may be on the outside looking in or
traded depending on what other defensemen the Canucks can upgrade to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">THIS
JUST IN…..THE SEDIN BROTHERS WON’T BE COMING BACK NEXT YEAR</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This changes a whole lot of things including freeing up
14 million dollars annually in cap space. It also means that there will be
several positions at forward open for competition next fall. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are a number of forwards that will make the team
simply by their existing contracts including Sam Gagner, Loui Eriksson, and Brandon
Sutter. Sutter is a competent shut down center who can kill penalties. Gagner
and Eriksson make 9 million a year between them and their contracts would be
hard to move.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On the bubble: Nicolai Goldobin, Reid Boucher, Jussi
Jokinen, Darren Archibald, Tyler Motte, Brendan Leipsic and Marcus Granlund.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Should be waved or sent to the minors: Brenden Gaunce and Nic Dowd.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Core forwards from this years team: Brock Boeser, Bo
Horvath, Sven Baertchi.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Jake Virtanen needs to be signed to a new contract this
summer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Training camp this fall: The Canucks have a boatload of
prospects at the forward positions including Kole Lind, Adam Gaudette, Elias
Petterson, Jonah Gadjovich, Jacob Strukel, Adam Gaudette, Jonathan Dahlen and Oli Juolevi.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITKjRtgZHWwn0wSrOArNuJU_WPdnJi8adNLgtmHVOEMDuoUegDozpwaiIZ-07YoQPJQ0REBBtEIArI9qwbYTK6d5bwSkVO4V25gnZWAzF8dGSJW-VA2IEyxiF2qojoUVcvycjQNxasEw/s1600/imagesFM4HOOA6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="271" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITKjRtgZHWwn0wSrOArNuJU_WPdnJi8adNLgtmHVOEMDuoUegDozpwaiIZ-07YoQPJQ0REBBtEIArI9qwbYTK6d5bwSkVO4V25gnZWAzF8dGSJW-VA2IEyxiF2qojoUVcvycjQNxasEw/s400/imagesFM4HOOA6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kole Lind</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzR26TDjYa0r2RZZWo1mvsdgF-Cc66uH-hH_Ml2wVrk1VE7ZcSEbvn2ilyhHCYABIo94Qc-osL2SPeWqDb-qkqL5ZlmDLoZ5B30w5fyD9X3XqUO1VzCBrMHsLFDJwwMdteJZmADqbDlIA/s1600/imagesBMEAMSLR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzR26TDjYa0r2RZZWo1mvsdgF-Cc66uH-hH_Ml2wVrk1VE7ZcSEbvn2ilyhHCYABIo94Qc-osL2SPeWqDb-qkqL5ZlmDLoZ5B30w5fyD9X3XqUO1VzCBrMHsLFDJwwMdteJZmADqbDlIA/s400/imagesBMEAMSLR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam Gaudette</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbg5U9gdkkt-likCekaXor8MSnKujzHIi2AUCL7GySm8EoJQUW_wvA3GbPbNKotH7AjVUQCBdPmJGD4Bq9E1mR3E6FltrQ-SfGK7HuxNV3X8HTQesTlS-CBdpciEqLOshb08vUHR5mY44/s1600/imagesOVH95TWG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbg5U9gdkkt-likCekaXor8MSnKujzHIi2AUCL7GySm8EoJQUW_wvA3GbPbNKotH7AjVUQCBdPmJGD4Bq9E1mR3E6FltrQ-SfGK7HuxNV3X8HTQesTlS-CBdpciEqLOshb08vUHR5mY44/s400/imagesOVH95TWG.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonah Gadjovich</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdJ8gl3KP_OBnF_jMwEL-3wu61DMkdsVmTAZl1kH3XImpcRn1fjlsof-1EAY8sM6ij5vFISdMLASOzYpsBuObW0kndwugZW_hbQXDv8laDtj4Ao4Cfit4m83M1r0EQHvOss0dXWjVxZs/s1600/imagesF0T7NFDP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdJ8gl3KP_OBnF_jMwEL-3wu61DMkdsVmTAZl1kH3XImpcRn1fjlsof-1EAY8sM6ij5vFISdMLASOzYpsBuObW0kndwugZW_hbQXDv8laDtj4Ao4Cfit4m83M1r0EQHvOss0dXWjVxZs/s400/imagesF0T7NFDP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Dahlen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4GuQUjHc_qY6Is62D33b1rJXc3YGMRelUT7J8vRmKKL3nFp0NGbPVR3uT4qx5WnOshXA7y6AjFiksDVPH-CZ27L7IM_3z-Y9obPG23-CLLS0QjcaBbzDj-lm60X3R1mBNZONsKvUaco/s1600/imagesZCVRVIW8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="257" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4GuQUjHc_qY6Is62D33b1rJXc3YGMRelUT7J8vRmKKL3nFp0NGbPVR3uT4qx5WnOshXA7y6AjFiksDVPH-CZ27L7IM_3z-Y9obPG23-CLLS0QjcaBbzDj-lm60X3R1mBNZONsKvUaco/s400/imagesZCVRVIW8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oli Juolevi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQgpLojZSn2XZGvDd14d9gD96X9aX58rtd_mnjqT44EgX08P_5sMJBoLgUIm8PjOavHU8MJn_YMht-DvAKqgZwcKN8JrMcQVi_u8RxGY3aMk3u3BT-Gl_iNMNh2rzv9ebEseo5a4agrg/s1600/imagesGN5FMZ2M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="258" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQgpLojZSn2XZGvDd14d9gD96X9aX58rtd_mnjqT44EgX08P_5sMJBoLgUIm8PjOavHU8MJn_YMht-DvAKqgZwcKN8JrMcQVi_u8RxGY3aMk3u3BT-Gl_iNMNh2rzv9ebEseo5a4agrg/s400/imagesGN5FMZ2M.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elias Petterson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prediction
Of What The Canucks Will Look Like After Training Camp This Fall</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are 22 players on an NHL team including 2 goalies.
Markstrom is in for sure but the Canucks may need to look for a more competent back-up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Defense: Edler, Del Zotto, Tanev, Stecher, Pouliot,
Sautner, Biega, and a free agent. Oli Juolevi starts season in Utica. If their
#1 pick is a defenseman other than Rasmus Dahlen, he too starts in Utica, Dress
6 or 7 defensemen per game.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Fowward lines: Boeser, Horvat, Baertchi……Lind, Petterson,
Goldobin…..Virtanen, Gaudette, Gagner…..Archibald, Sutter, Eriksson….Lepsic,
Dahlen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s see what happens!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A special salute to the Sedins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Go Jets!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-55888426723179989092018-01-22T22:34:00.000-08:002018-01-22T22:40:05.260-08:002018: New Index<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RwSE2uJyEdTvg-s4HNowIn-y97vOxpMZU7Qx-VGnpNwcDurnTBFyuLgwAIDUjQvYlLllbIRkuK-J7QIuhUd9mwmDfW1P44ZtWMZIMQUZmAuH5tvs8MDPf_h87l_fnD35aISWikKYrz8/s1600/tumblr_m9fksxjNCC1qav5oho1_500%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="465" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RwSE2uJyEdTvg-s4HNowIn-y97vOxpMZU7Qx-VGnpNwcDurnTBFyuLgwAIDUjQvYlLllbIRkuK-J7QIuhUd9mwmDfW1P44ZtWMZIMQUZmAuH5tvs8MDPf_h87l_fnD35aISWikKYrz8/s400/tumblr_m9fksxjNCC1qav5oho1_500%255B1%255D.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: yellow; color: #002060; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;">New
Index</span><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background: yellow; color: #002060; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Faster Way To Find My Stories</span><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">I
thought that there must be a better way for people to find my stories easier on
this blog. This is what I came up with<span style="color: #002060;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">First
I broke the stories down into categories. For instance: Stories about growing
up in Montreal.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Each
story in a category has a date when it was written.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Make
a note of the story and date and then go to the front page of the blog.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Look
for the list of years and click on the year when the story you are interested
was written and then scroll through the months until you come to the month the
story was written…..and voila!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Hope
this helps.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Growing
Up In Montreal In The 50s And 60s</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Willingdon
School….May 21, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Great Grocery Store Robbery….May 21, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Remembering
Frank Crabbe….May 22, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Bomb (Le Bombe)….May 25, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- N.D.G,
Montreal….From The 1950s to the 1960s….May 25, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- West
Hill High School, Montreal Quebec….June 5, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Expo
67….October 7, 2012</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Working
In Montreal 1964-1970….October 7, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Un
Autre Cinqante S’il Vous Plait….Montreal Nightlife 1964-1970….October 13, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Confessions
Of A 1950s Child TV Addict….December 30, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Browns….May 14, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Those
High School Dances 1962-1964….January 16, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Some
Of The Best Things I’ve Ever Eaten In Montreal And Other Places….June 25, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Down
And Out In Montreal….August 22, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Hampstead,
Quebec….February 14, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Montreal
Trivia Quiz For Old Farts….December 5, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Montreal
Trivia Quiz For Old Farts Answers….December 12, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Monkland
Village 50 years Ago….November 6, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Last
Visit to Montreal 2012</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- West
Hill High, Montreal 2012….July 30, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Willingdon
School. Montreal 2012….July 30, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- 4590
Harvard Avenue….July 31, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Goodbye
Montreal….September 13, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Other
Places In Quebec</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Ste
Margeurites Station….May 21, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Chateauguay,
Quebec….May 21, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Noyan,
Quebec….May 21, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Georgeville
and Stanstead Quebec And Lake Memphremagog….September 22, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Nymark’s
Lodge, St. Sauveur, Quebec….May 22, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Places
In Canada Where I Spent Some Time</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Banff
Springs Hotel 1971….April 14, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Toronto
1970-1972….March 5, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Vancouver,
BC</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Benndorf-Verster….June
3, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- On
Being Electrocuted….January 2, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Expo
86….March 28, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- My
Toyota Celica GTS Sports Coupe….April 17, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Bowen Island Saga….March 27, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Bowen Island 32 Years Later….July 12, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Vancouver
Island</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
West Coast Trail 1994….April 14, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Walking The Dog….July 13, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Florencia
Beach July 2013….August 20, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Lost
At Sea….Oct. 18, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Shelby:
First Pics….Nov. 11, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Outdoor Murals of Chemainus, BC….October 8, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Vancouver
Island: A Summer Paradise….March 13, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Summer 2013 On Vancouver Island….August 27, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Summer So Far And Seeing Chilliwack Again….August 18, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Kayaking
Vancouver Island 2014….September 11, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Starbucks Experience….October 22, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Trout
Fishing Mid Vancouver Island….July 11, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Port
Alberni BC 1974….March 21, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Fanny
Bay, BC….March 30, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Climbing
Mount Benson….August 8, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Travelling
In The U.S.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- On
The Road In 68’….June 2, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- On
The Way To Ernest Hemmingway’s….February 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Pine Bluff Lodge Redux….July 26, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-Plattsburg,
New York….May 22, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Seattle
And Northwestern Washington State….December 15, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Motoring
West….September 27, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Oregon….June
8, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Bucket
List: Grand Canyon Part 1….October 26, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Photos Of The Grand Canyon….November 3, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Trip Home To Vancouver Island From Grand Canyon….December 4, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Manzanita, Oregon And Nehelam State Park….September 9, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Mexico</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Puerto
Vallarta 1980….January 28, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Mayan
Riviera-All Inclusive….February 12, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Club
Med….January 12, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Rethinking
Mexico….February 23, 2014</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Sports</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Baseball
Memories….May 22, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Golf….January
22, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Jean
Beliveau…December 12, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- 1960-1961
Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks….April 6, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Gone
Fishing….April 6, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
CFL (Canadian Football League)….August 1, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- A
Brief History Of The Montreal Alouettes And Football In That City….August 10,
2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Dark Side Of Sports….April 25, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Riding
The Iron Lung….January 10, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Old
Time Hockey-The Original 6 And Before….December 5, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Tennis….January
30, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- My
First 20 Years Of Being A Vancouver<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Canucks Fan….December 25, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Ali….June 21, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
The P.K. Subban Deal</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Music</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Gimme
Some Of That Rock And Roll Music….July 7, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Jazz:
My Take On It (Part 1)….April 12, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- The
Yale….April 13, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- A
Little Love On A March Night In Nanaimo….April 27, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
David Bowie….January 24, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-Buzzed
Out On YouTube….August 7, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Whatever Happened To Folk Music….August 14, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Politics</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Chris
Hayes….June 1, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- My
Political Rant: US Election….October 15, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
The Awful Progressive Liberals….October 14, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
The Batshit Crazy American Right….October 10, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- JFK….November
22, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- US
Politics: Obamacare….April 4, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Communism….June
10, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-I’m
Voting For Justin Trudeau….October 15, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
American Clusterfuck….April 25, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
The Day America Proves It Isn’t Totally Insane….November 7, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Trump Part 1….March 19, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Trump Part 2….March 31, 2017</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Miscellaneous</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Hot
Dogs….And Other Sausages….November 3, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Train
Stories….December 15, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Hippies….January<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Cartoon
Memories….December 16, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Playboy
Magazine….November 18, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- I
Am An Atheist….May 11, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- France….May
28, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Gay
Today?....July 14, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Black
And White Movies….June 14, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Is
It Just That I’m Getting Old?....July 17, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Facebook And Nostalgia Aren’t Always A Good Mix….May 2, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">- Whistler,
BC….February 24, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-Late
Night Talk Shows….April 14, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Hornby Island….August 27, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Blog Update….October 10, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Pickers….November 7, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Chance Meetings….February 22, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-Taking
A Break….February 8, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
And So This Is Christmas?….February 22, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Planting Trees….November 6, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">-
Road Trip Back East With Cooper….May 28, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "script mt bold"; font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%;">Ever since I took the Evelyn Woodhead sped riddin’
course, my riddin’ has improved 100% and also my “comprension’ has incrissed
won-der-full-lee. Don’t forget to tell your friends you heard it here first on
Roller Derby.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "script mt bold"; font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%;">Cheech & Chong 1973<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-74851569843329484832017-08-14T12:24:00.003-07:002017-10-02T16:53:31.291-07:00What Ever Happened To Folk Music?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinazNY3dy0WGxK0CeDG82qSmO18CHt7V8WpciKxc2CLlCbd6kmqqFvmMv9yi80wRte6JO3of_lItqgWAAUZNTFGPu6_3tQH7yqSRhEmmC-tY4sebLC6vM-bhfken4eJSOAqaUp2kEy188/s1600/imagesLUGGUKIV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="276" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinazNY3dy0WGxK0CeDG82qSmO18CHt7V8WpciKxc2CLlCbd6kmqqFvmMv9yi80wRte6JO3of_lItqgWAAUZNTFGPu6_3tQH7yqSRhEmmC-tY4sebLC6vM-bhfken4eJSOAqaUp2kEy188/s400/imagesLUGGUKIV.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This story is about folk music, what it is or was about
and some of its history. Right up front, I don’t claim to be an expert on folk
music. It is an intricate subject with a lot of moving parts. Some of this
story is about things I remember personally and some of it is stuff I had to
research. I expect to meander a bit but not get off track too much. Hopefully
some readers will find something interesting along the way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When I think about it, I probably haven’t seen live folk
music in over 45 years. I’m 70 years of age now. The last time was quite likely
back in the early 1970s in a little town called Brackendale which is just north
of the small city of Squamish off of the highway to Whistler, BC. I remember
driving up there with some other people on a wet winter’s night. I also recall
an old church on the east side of Vancouver that featured folk singers on
Sunday afternoons around the same time.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkcKRO28Cb1DyeRcfKgTvgFKGeI4OeARKZjmFTOJA6-c6k_RL2OZ4E1cJQ-a1JRqXJr1xgl0vO3XfNkZ1kkpnlD9ob8kkFS6Y86Az7MvtYsSC6_E40xMdoPfWgCmxUrODHsaHJK-hZyk/s1600/PosterAug17%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="612" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkcKRO28Cb1DyeRcfKgTvgFKGeI4OeARKZjmFTOJA6-c6k_RL2OZ4E1cJQ-a1JRqXJr1xgl0vO3XfNkZ1kkpnlD9ob8kkFS6Y86Az7MvtYsSC6_E40xMdoPfWgCmxUrODHsaHJK-hZyk/s400/PosterAug17%255B1%255D.gif" width="242" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Out of curiosity I went on line and it turns out that the
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Brackendale Art</span></b>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Gallery</span></b>
has been around since 1973 and aside from displaying the works of BC artists it
has also showcased evenings of folk, bluegrass, other music, and poetry readings for over 4 decades. In
May of this year folk singer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Shari Ulrich</span></b> appeared on stage along with
rocker <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Barney
Bentall</span></b> and their bluegrass group. Shari Ulrich is also part of a
folk singing trio called UHF that includes the lead singer from the rock band
Chilliwack, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Bill
Henderson</span></b>, and folksinger <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Roy Forbes</span></b> formerly known as Bim. My guess is that
some of these folks are looking for their roots in music, remembering the days
when making music was often about enjoying the company of likeminded people and
making any money from playing with longtime friends these days is just a small bonus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Personally, I find it kind of interesting, the number of
musicians from back in the day that chose the west coast of Canada to spend the
latter part of their lives. The late Montreal folk singer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Penny Laing</span></b> spent her final 10 years
on The Sunshine Coast. (If you are Canadian you probably remember the TV series
The Beachcombers. A lot of it was filmed in that area.) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Valdy</span></b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Shari Ulrich</span></b>, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Randy Bachman</span></b>
all owned homes on Salt Spring Island near Victoria, BC. at one time. One of
Phil Collin’s ex-wives lives there too. Shari Ulrich grew up in San Rafael,
California, Randy Bachman grew up in Winnipeg, and Valdy was born in Ottawa.
Ex-Brit <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Long
John Baldry</span></b> lived in Vancouver for years before passing away. Blues
artist <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Jim Byrnes</span></b>
settled in Vancouver years ago after growing up in St. Louis, Missouri. Former
Irish Rovers singer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Will Millar</span></b> lives by a little lake near Lake
Cowichan on Vancouver Island. He’s 75 or 76 years old now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk music was part of my musical journey in life. I’ve
never been the kind of person who could devote myself totally to one thing and
forget about everything else. Maybe I was a bit of a whore over the years when
it came to music? If I thought what I was listening to was catchy or
interesting that was good enough for me, no matter the genre. I would kind of
store the good stuff away in the back of my mind and revisit it from time to
time when the mood suited me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve always had a soft spot for the times long ago when I
was sitting in some little club somewhere in downtown Montreal watching people
strumming acoustic guitars and singing folk songs. There’s something intimate
about a small room where music is being played. Is it just my imagination but
didn’t some of those places have empty Chianti bottles with candles sticking
out of them and red checkered tablecloths on the tables?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I think the reason I stopped going to folk clubs in my
early twenties was because I didn’t think they were the easiest places to meet
(pick up?) women which was more of a priority to me than listening to some
tunes. I may have had similar political and societal beliefs as the folky types
but I wasn’t about to fake being a hippie. Wearing an old army jacket wasn’t my
style and the closest I got to being a university student was a few night
courses one year.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4d005f; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk Music Pre 1950</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The word “folk” is derived from the German word “Volk’.
Volk means “people” in German. A Volkswagen literally means “people’s car”. If
you didn’t know this before, now you do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Every country in the world has its own unique folklore
and stories that are told through songs. In Canada and the US folk songs date
back to when Europeans first came to North America. Some of the early folk
songs came from English minstrels who wandered the English countryside from
town to town busking in the streets for a few coins. There were also songs that
became popular in British and Irish taverns hundreds of years ago. Some of the
songs were a bit on the ribald side or humourous. Other than the very wealthy,
most people worked at jobs 6 days a week at least back then with little financial
compensation. Singing popular ditties (short simple songs) and quaffing a few
ales took the edge off of some pretty bleak lives.There were times in English
history when men of meager resources were kidnapped off the street and forced
to work on ships and songs were made up about their ocean travels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prior to the 20<sup>th</sup> century most people who
immigrated to the US and Canada settled on the Eastern Seaboard. Both countries
had mostly agrarian economies and most of the people lived in rural areas some
distance away from the big cities. Making a living off of the land was a
challenge and often not very financially rewarding. A lot of the working class
back then never got past grade school. Being illiterate was quite common. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Music was the one thing that poorer people could create
themselves that would break up the regular drudgery of their lives. Dances were
organized throughout the year and all that was needed was a fiddle or two to
stir up the crowd. Songs were made up and usually the lyrics were about
something local that everyone had some familiarity with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Slaves in the US, particularly in the Deep South, created
spiritual and gospel music to assuage their dreary lives. “Michael, Row the
Boat Ashore” was first sung by ex-slaves at the beginning of The American Civil
war. Different regions in Canada and the US had their own unique folk music. In
Canada there were the songs about seafaring that originated in Nova Scotia and
the later to be province of Newfoundland. There were French Canadian folk songs
in Quebec. In Louisiana there was local Creole and Cajun folk music.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps the heart of American folk music was in the
Appalachia area of the US deep in the Appalachian Mountains which run south
from New York State through Pennsylvania, The Virginias, The Carolinas,
Kentucky, Tennessee, and into Mississippi and Alabama. Most of the inhabitants
of the area were either of Scotch or Irish background. A good part of this
countryside of the US has seen poverty dating back at least 200 years. The
Industrial Revolution that started just after The Civil War led to coal mining
and short lives for many who worked in that industry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Poverty can stimulate musical creativity to some extent
and working poorer people found new and different ways to add instruments with
other sounds. Washboards, jugs, and spoons were implemented. Guitars, banjos,
and fiddles were the main instruments. Pianos were very expensive and they
weren’t very mobile. I’m not 100% sure about this but I think the reason drums
were not part of the music was because many whites associated drums with
something that came from Africa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Songs got passed on by word and mouth and over time the
words would be changed somewhat from the original version. A lot of musicians
couldn’t read or write so they had to rely on their memories. Some songs had
religious overtones. A number of tunes came from The Civil War and often
derided either the North or South. Basically it was all storytelling and
folklore. Eventually the music started to get categorized. There was folk
music, blues music, bluegrass music, and country music. I may be wrong but I
think it is easier to identify a musical style when it is played at a faster
tempo than it is when a ballad is being sung. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the common threads in earlier folk music was the
identifying of different classes in society. Rich people didn’t work on farms,
in factories, in mines, or on the railroad. The rich had their operas and
orchestras, their servants, lived in mansions, and often had more money than
they knew what to do with. Working people may not have had a pot to piss in but
they had their own kind of music that couldn’t be taken away from them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some folk kind of songs that are over 100 years old
include I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, Buffalo Gals, Dixie, Grandfather’s
Clock, Clementine, Casey Jones, and Blow the Man Down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The record player and the radio had a huge impact on the
availability of music to the masses. Not everyone could afford these devises
but even really poor people knew somebody who owned a record player or a radio.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It wasn’t until the 1930s that some people decided that
it might be a good idea to chronicle folk music for posterity. One of the first
to do so was a guy named <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">John Lomax</span></b> who was born in 1867. He was a
life-long academic and in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century got involved with
Texas folklore. He was fired from his teaching job in 1917 when he was 50 years
old and moved to Chicago where he became friends with the writer and poet <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Carl Sandburg</span></b>.
Sandburg wrote an anthology in 1927 called the American Songbag. He may have
been one of America’s first urban folksingers as he often played his guitar
while reciting his poems. Lomax along with his son recorded a lot of American
folksingers in the 1930s including a back musician named Leadbelly.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6f5ey9SIcUVVLHhzQTn_Y8UKsrx1PfBj78h-UNXD117AQHEmGJHAikJ3F5RCsx12H67_Fy-ubq-l5e60zpqkL2yirZs5yV_aYuDMIlyZTMCszDK3vtgzDJt7kTYB3zpn7h042i0YJn1o/s1600/imagesGZYMI2MG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="254" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6f5ey9SIcUVVLHhzQTn_Y8UKsrx1PfBj78h-UNXD117AQHEmGJHAikJ3F5RCsx12H67_Fy-ubq-l5e60zpqkL2yirZs5yV_aYuDMIlyZTMCszDK3vtgzDJt7kTYB3zpn7h042i0YJn1o/s320/imagesGZYMI2MG.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leadbelly</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Leadbelly</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> was born in Louisiana in 1889 and aside from
singing, he played the guitar, accordion, piano, and lap steel guitar. His birth
name was Huddie Ledbetter. He was both a blues and folk artist. When he was
about 21 he wrote a song about the sinking of the Titanic. A good part of his
earlier years were spent in prison. He had a pretty volatile temper. He once
killed one of his relatives in a fight over a woman. The Lomaxes recorded
Leadbelly’s signature song Good Night Irene in 1934. In the late 1930s he moved
to New York City where he was to spend most of the rest of his life. He had a
radio show for a while and toured Europe. He kind of became the elderly
statesman of folk music.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9zr-U-jl5vFxkGg0mTCDfip3h_kQWjN5gpDR-qd2k5PkNYvlrmckv-aBD81i8It8uL8XTrHjw8mZ1ZLb53WMHMCC1r0kRtoGKCNg-0pnyDLN8ljrxEoi4rY0U5qWCU_dzC7FF1nSn08/s1600/imagesXDNDSRQ4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9zr-U-jl5vFxkGg0mTCDfip3h_kQWjN5gpDR-qd2k5PkNYvlrmckv-aBD81i8It8uL8XTrHjw8mZ1ZLb53WMHMCC1r0kRtoGKCNg-0pnyDLN8ljrxEoi4rY0U5qWCU_dzC7FF1nSn08/s320/imagesXDNDSRQ4.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh White</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Josh White</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> was a contemporary of Leadbelly’s and they
sometimes appeared on stage together. White was 25 years younger than
Leadbelly. He was also an actor on radio, on Broadway, and on film. During The
Great Depression he became good friends with the US president, FDR. He wrote a
lot of civil rights protest songs and was the first black singer to give a
command performance at the White House. He was the first black recording artist
to sell a million records. The song was called Sucking Cider Through a
Straw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>White was a huge influence on
other folk singers who became big names in the 1950s and 1960s. He died in
1969.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Great Depression was tough times for most Americans
and Canadians. Inequities and suffering in America became more political
through folk music in the decade of the 30s. A lot of people were looking for
answers as to how life could become better for the average Joe. One of the
answers some thought was to have more socialism in government. FDR created
something called The WPA during The Depression to get people back to work. The
WPA (Works Project Administration) wasn’t just about building roads and
national parks, it also included creating jobs for artists and musicians.
Between 1935 and 1941 the WPA employed more than 8 million Americans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most Americans didn’t know much about Communism in the
late 1930s and early 1940s. Russia was a far away country. Many leftists in the
US at the time, thought that collectivism was something that might work in the
US and improve conditions for the working man. There was a lot of pro Russia propaganda
in the US during WW2 promoting Russia as an ally.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Woody Guthrie</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Woody Guthrie was born in 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. He
was named after US president Woodrow Wilson. Guthrie's mother was
institutionalized with Huntington’s disease when he was 14 and his father was a
Ku Klux Klan member. It was around this time that Guthrie learned how to play
the harmonica. His father was also a failed businessman who had invested in
real estate. In 1929, the first year of The Depression, Woody dropped out of
high school and moved to Texas where his father was working trying pay off his
debts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Guthrie married his first wife when he was 19 and they
had 3 children together. The Dust Bowl hit Texas hard and Guthrie decided to
head out to California in search of work. He left his family behind. At times he
travelled with the Okies (Oklahomans) who were also headed to the same destination.
He learned how to play the guitar and fiddle and started writing songs about
his travels.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Eventually he found work performing on air at a Los
Angeles country radio station and earned enough money to send for his family.
Around this time he met actor Will Geer (the grandfather in the TV series The
Waltons) and writer John Steinbeck. Guthrie hung out with Communists and Socialists
although he never actually joined the Communist Party. For a period of time he
did write for a Communist newspaper. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, the radio
station owners decided that that they didn’t want to be perceived as Communist
sympathisers and Woody and others were out of a job. Guthrie briefly returned
to Texas and then accepted an invitation from Will Geer to come and live in New
York.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Greenwich Village in New York City was an area where
Bohemians, artists, musicians, and people with left wing political views often
chose to live because of the vibrancy of the community and the low rents.
Guthrie settled in. In 1940 he wrote This Land Is Your Land. He felt his song
better described his feelings about America than Irving Belin’s patriotic God
Bless America.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Guthrie first met Pete Seeger in 1940 and they soon
became friends. He also met <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Carter Family</span></b> who had been singing folk songs
since 1927. Many years later country singer Johnny Cash would marry one of the
Carter’s daughters, June, after the family had turned their musical interests
more to country music. Guthrie also had a lot of contact with John Steinbeck
and he performed at a number of Steinbeck’s fundraisers including one to aid
farmworkers. Leadbelly was another new friend and they sometimes busked
together in bars in Harlem.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Guthrie started hosting a New York radio program in 1940
and was paid $180.00 a week which was a fair amount of money at the time. He
sent for his family in Texas. His radio job didn’t last long and he resented
being told what songs to sing. He quit the job, bought a new car, packed up the
family, and headed once again out to California. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1941 after a brief stay in Los Angeles, Guthrie moved
the family north to Oregon and he got a job as the narrator of a documentary
film about the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River. The
producers of the film had second thoughts about Guthrie’s left leaning politics
and reduced his role in the film. He wanted to go back to NYC but his wife was
having none of it. Their marriage was basically over.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete Seeger had formed a folk protest singing group in NYC called
The Almanac Singers and Guthrie wanted to be a part of it. The group performed
at concerts they called “Hootenannies”. By this time WW2 was raging in Europe.
Not wanting to be drafted and engaging in combat, Guthrie joined the US
Merchant Marine and spent close to 2 years travelling back and forth across the
Atlantic. He also married for the second time. After his discharge he and his
family moved to Mermaid Avenue on Coney Island near NYC. This may have been his
most prolific time writing songs. He and his new wife had 4 children together,
one of them being future folksinger Arlo Guthrie. Woody Guthrie was a mentor in
folk music <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">to</span><span style="color: red;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ramblin’ Jack</b></span>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Elliott</span></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>and Elliott in turn became a mentor to many future
folksingers including Bob Dylan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By the late 1940s, Guthrie’s health had started to
decline and his behavior became more and more erratic. In 1952 he was diagnosed
with Hodgkin’s Disease. A year or two later his arm was burned in a campfire
accident and he was never able to play the guitar again. He was in and out of
hospitals for the last 10 years of his life and died in 1967 at the age of 55.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Guthrie was a prolific songwriter. His legacy includes
songs like This Land Is Your Land, So Long It’s been Good To Know Yuh, Worried
Man Blues, Frog Went A-Courtin, Greenback Dollar, and Mule Skinner Blues.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete Seeger</span></b><br />
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<strong><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete Seeger was born in the Manhattan area of NYC in
1919. His father was a Harvard trained composer and musicologist. His mother
was raised in Tunisia and she trained at The Paris Conservatory of Music before
immigrating to America. She was a concert violinist and later taught at The
Julliard School of Music. Seeger’s father was an outspoken pacifist during
World War 1. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete Seeger’s parents divorced when he was 7 years old
and in 1932 his dad married one of his students. Her name was Ruth Crawford and
she was deeply interested in American folk music and created musical
backgrounds for some of Carl Sandburg’s poems. 4 of Pete Seeger’s half siblings
became folksingers in their own right. One of them, Mike Seeger, was a founding
member of a folk group called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The New Lost City Ramblers.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">At the age of 17 in 1936 Seeger joined The Young
Communist League and from 1942 until 1949 he was a member of The American
Communist Party. In 1941 he started performing with the folk group <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Almanac Singers</span></b>.
Others in the group included Woody Guthrie, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Cisco Houston</span></b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Lee Hays</span></b>.
Hays would later co-write the song If I Had a Hammer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMz2AEYYZGwqnt9QjH3BVQCy_Xo8j3rNgz71XjXY1KgqHNWzLR3ErPnkgx-lxienM2rEXW0zMiVd6DXD1M5AgCw2FwcMK8piL0124pWBSoeQIKs9iVgbIU4jCpYiQYrxDvHersOzsbB4/s1600/AlmanacSingers%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="618" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMz2AEYYZGwqnt9QjH3BVQCy_Xo8j3rNgz71XjXY1KgqHNWzLR3ErPnkgx-lxienM2rEXW0zMiVd6DXD1M5AgCw2FwcMK8piL0124pWBSoeQIKs9iVgbIU4jCpYiQYrxDvHersOzsbB4/s640/AlmanacSingers%255B1%255D.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1939 Seeger met a woman named <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Toshi Ohta</span></b> at a square dance in New
York City. She was born in Germany and her father was Japanese and her mother
was an American living in Europe. Her father was living in exile partly because
of his translating the works of Karl Marx into Japanese. She married Pete
Seeger in 1943. She produced a number of documentaries about civil rights and
was a dedicated environmentalist. For a short period of time in the late 1940s
she and Pete lived in a log house they built together overlooking the Hudson
River that didn’t have electricity or running water. She was very active in
researching American folk music history. She helped set up The Newport Folk
Festival in the late 1950s and has been credited for helping to discover black
folksinger Mississippi John Hurt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete and his wife had 3 kids together. Later on in life
Toshi was instrumental in getting the Hudson River cleaned up. She and Pete
were married for almost 70 years. She died in 2013 at the age of 91.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete Seeger was drafted in 1943 and spent the next 2
years of WW2 in the Pacific theatre. He never rose above the rank of private.
Most of his time in the services was spent entertaining the troops. Years later
when he was asked what he did in the war he said “I strummed my banjo.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most people back in the 1930s and 1940s who were involved
with folk music had far left ideals. Some were sympathetic to Communism. Some
lived their lives in a communal fashion sharing food and housing with others of
similar beliefs. Most sided with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. The
lines between socialism, collectivism, and communism were often blurred. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There were some basic things that people who leaned to
the far left stood for and against. They believed in equal justice for all and
the rights of working people. They were against racism and segregation. They
believed that women had a contribution to make to society. Most wanted no part
of any wars unless there was no other choice. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">With so many people unemployed and hard up against it
during The Depression many Americans (and Canadians) looked hopefully to
changes in how their societies worked. FDR and his New Deal were very popular. A
lot of people had a lot of time on their hands to rebel against “the
establishment”. The US’s involvement in WW2 changed a lot of American’s
thinking. The country got focused on winning the war at all costs and when the war
ended in 1945 America was the most powerful country in the world. Service
people in general who came back from the war were far more interested in making
up for lost time than they were in social causes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1939 the USSR Communist dictator Joseph Stalin signed
a nonaggression pact with Hitler and the Nazis. The Russians quickly took
control of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. By the end
of WW2 the Red Army also occupied Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and
Eastern Germany. In 1946 Winston Churchill coined the term “iron curtain” to
describe the Soviet bloc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Soviet Union was the new threat to world peace and
the word “Communist” had a new and more frightening meaning to most Americans.
The American political right and “Corporate America” in general began
associating the threat of Communism with Socialism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In hindsight Pete Seeger and others should have been more
aware of the atrocities and genocide that the Soviets were involved in from the
1920s through the 1940s. It is a bit surprising that many on the left in the US
took so long to recognize that Communism was a failed political ideology that
created poverty and hardship and denied people their individual freedoms.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4d005f; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk Music: The 1950s</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="color: #4d005f; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvrkfJq3cS6DzNec0b0VHEpjuoriYW5xwneDCHhsdw7iNCMpsL5pTmEngu3p12fsj62xtfIR2VPOhnQYD-kPaJMyG7rDKZRDsyOBd-UxOBztM2OXYdtIIUjljaoKAVW9fZ-c9chGU8Xo/s1600/imagesMK6E9STP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="209" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvrkfJq3cS6DzNec0b0VHEpjuoriYW5xwneDCHhsdw7iNCMpsL5pTmEngu3p12fsj62xtfIR2VPOhnQYD-kPaJMyG7rDKZRDsyOBd-UxOBztM2OXYdtIIUjljaoKAVW9fZ-c9chGU8Xo/s320/imagesMK6E9STP.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Weavers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Weavers</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> were a folk group that was formed in
NYC in 1948 by Pete Seeger and others. In 1950 they had a hit tune with
Leadbelly’s song Goodnight Irene. They also recorded songs like Kisses Sweeter
Than Wine, Rock Island Line, and On Top of Old Smokey. Two other songs they
sung later became hits for others with some reworking. Wimoweh morphed into The
Lion Sleeps Tonight and The Beach Boys changed the name of the song The Wreck
of the John B to The Sloop John B.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Weavers’s manager was well aware that the early 1950s
was not a good time to market political songs particularly if they had anything
to do with Socialism. The early 1950s were the height of “the red scare” and a
number of right wing American politicians were very concerned that America was
being infiltrated by Communists. After being convicted of spying for the Soviet
Union in 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were both executed via the electric
chair in 1953. The threat of Communism was a serious business.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A Republican senator from Wisconsin named Joseph McCarthy
first gained notice for a speech he made in 1950 about Communists in America.
The House of Un-American Activities (HUAC) was formed in 1938 in the US to
fight those who were living in the US and undermining the US government with
foreign ideological political beliefs. McCarthy used HUAC to investigate those
he thought had allegiances to the Soviet Union. Two of his assistants were Bobby
Kennedy and lawyer Roy Cohn who was at one time a mentor to Donald Trump.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the late 1940s Hollywood blacklisted a number of
writers, directors, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>actors, and singers
who seemed to be Communist sympathizers, most notably screen writer Dalton
Trumbo. There was a publication called Red Channels that named names of those
who were thought to be “Commies”. The list included Ring Lardner Jr., Lillian
Hellman, Stella Adler, Lee J. Cobb, Will Geer, John Garfield, Dashiell Hammett,
Burgess Meredith, Arthur Miller, Dorothy Parker, Edward G. Robinson, Artie Shaw,
and Judy Holiday. Singers <span style="color: red;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Paul Robson, </b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">
Lena Horne, and Burl Ives</span></b><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">were also on the list.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Burl Ives</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFzKaWzm0KxBO4BkrtxTYONBLppt0OgMq7XtPpkY-QYsrSRokp34qaUTnbEyU61euOHWXUUwj0qXQh2ghjkbB0OoLQMJxy4C29C7rTsRWlKrAH6b3lIGbJ9I-5vgp73mrkHDXgAJZhWi4/s1600/imagesEE1IJ1ZX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFzKaWzm0KxBO4BkrtxTYONBLppt0OgMq7XtPpkY-QYsrSRokp34qaUTnbEyU61euOHWXUUwj0qXQh2ghjkbB0OoLQMJxy4C29C7rTsRWlKrAH6b3lIGbJ9I-5vgp73mrkHDXgAJZhWi4/s320/imagesEE1IJ1ZX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Folksinger Burl Ives was born in Jasper County, Illinois
in 1909. In the 1930s he quit college and started roaming around the US doing
odd jobs and playing his banjo and singing for donations on street corners.
Eventually he ended up in New York in the late 30s at The Julliard School. In
1940 he began his own radio show where he sung folk songs. Two of the songs he
sang back then were Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn) and his version of The Big
Rock Candy Mountain. Ives became friends with Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and
other folksingers who had settled in NYC. In 1949 Ives had a hit song with
Lavender Blue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ives was drafted into the army in 1942 and switched over
to the air force where he entertained the troops as part of Irving Berlin’s
This Is The Army. He was discharged in 1943, probably because of weight
problems. For a few months in 1943 he lived with actor Harry Morgan who was the
older doctor in the TV series MASH 30 years later. Ives started acting in the
late 40s but still maintained his singing career.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1952 he was asked to appear before HUAC and explain
any connections he might have had to American Communists. He had been
blacklisted. Instead of taking the 5<sup>th</sup> or refusing to answer
questions about his personal life, Ives cooperated. People on the left,
particularly in the folk community, suspected that he had named names. After his
testimony his name was removed from the blacklist and he went on to very
successful career in the movies and selling records.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the 1960s Burl Ives switched over to singing country
and pop music and had hit songs with Funny Way of Laughing, Mr. In-Between, and
A Little Bitty Tear. He was also known for his Christmas songs including A Holly
Jolly Christmas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">41 years after testifying in front of HUAC Burl Ives and
Pete Seeger were reunited on stage at a benefit in NYC. Ives was in a
wheelchair and the two of them sung Blue Tail Fly. Seeger may have thought let
bygones be bygones but many in the folk community never forgave Ives. Ives died
at the age of 85 at his home in Anacortes on the coast of Washington state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The decade of the 1950s was a conservative time in
America. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was president from 1952 until 1960. For
much of the decade folk music kind of went underground. Many Americans watched
Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Orchestra on TV on Saturday nights. Minorities
were seldom seen on TV. When rock and roll came along in the mid-50s many
conservative parents were reviled. For the most part teenagers that got revved
up about rock music didn’t care what colour skin the musical artists had. All
they cared about was if they liked the sound or not.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Harry
Belefonte and Odetta</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCFhUMxLo-hJ263WlF4afueLFG0JNyu10FI3UjZBpcBCM1-zwb7nSbhjbMrqrUxEtMrioFkYPIo-_goK6tvYf1zWLFMhhmDh0nILTNmn_9xxpIjoVJZVo0QEl7xFiubyyqTuHWMynDco/s1600/imagesE51C5R9X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="226" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCFhUMxLo-hJ263WlF4afueLFG0JNyu10FI3UjZBpcBCM1-zwb7nSbhjbMrqrUxEtMrioFkYPIo-_goK6tvYf1zWLFMhhmDh0nILTNmn_9xxpIjoVJZVo0QEl7xFiubyyqTuHWMynDco/s320/imagesE51C5R9X.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Radio was the #1 source for music and included cross over
country tunes, crooners, novelty songs, instrumentals, and rock and roll. In
the mid-1950s Harry Belefonte, a black man, started to get a lot of radio
airplay with his Caribbean folk music like The Banana Boat Song. The signature
lyric of that song was “Day-o!” Today “Day-o” is sometimes blasted on the PA
system at hockey games to rev the crowds up. My guess is that most hockey fans
don’t have a clue where that sound came from.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBMMZSdFZKVA8VQMwQrCgkKggS97Pxukry5RO6zyjLqR-9NzskNEnLShHmC1WCouiiMAdsORxQ6Mx43eC3HbjVdLjIyA6fiyuLSO_6-iU0eBlNNvclgHO5-OF9mxjWWytZpLnYzrnzZA/s1600/imagesU9FQ3R0V.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="252" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBMMZSdFZKVA8VQMwQrCgkKggS97Pxukry5RO6zyjLqR-9NzskNEnLShHmC1WCouiiMAdsORxQ6Mx43eC3HbjVdLjIyA6fiyuLSO_6-iU0eBlNNvclgHO5-OF9mxjWWytZpLnYzrnzZA/s320/imagesU9FQ3R0V.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odetta</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A black female folksinger named Odetta who was born in
Birmingham, Alabama in 1930 was also starting to be noticed. She also sung
blues and jazz tunes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Subculture</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A subculture was developing in America in the 1950s It
was labeled The Beat Generation. The word “beat” meant beaten down and not a
musical beat. Adherents were called beatniks. Writer Jack Kerouac and poet Alan
Ginsberg were some of the leaders of this mostly underground movement. San
Francisco and NYC became the hubs for people of this persuasion. A number of
small cafes and coffee shops opened up that catered to folk music and jazz fans.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwn3ki1rD87jBKPRp2bANgEQiWuXuaiBtbjDuQmy1nnTEOk8d2tY4MUwvrFOfuBMt4aH40Lfgx8wJILXhtSu3Ey5d_drwPHmnTYxU2x3AnjznvyvrmN_OP4HT3CB_ImAUgjKwyKW8LrU/s1600/imagesQXC4PNGO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwn3ki1rD87jBKPRp2bANgEQiWuXuaiBtbjDuQmy1nnTEOk8d2tY4MUwvrFOfuBMt4aH40Lfgx8wJILXhtSu3Ey5d_drwPHmnTYxU2x3AnjznvyvrmN_OP4HT3CB_ImAUgjKwyKW8LrU/s400/imagesQXC4PNGO.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In NYC some of the more notable venues for folk and jazz
were The Village Vanguard, The Bitter End, Café Wha, and The Gaslight Café. Most
of these café like places were located in Greenwich Village.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> Dave Van Ronk</span></b>
and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Rambin’ Jack
Ellliot</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>played these clubs
along with folk groups like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Tarriers, The Journeymen, and The Rooftop Singers</span></b>.
Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie performed at some of these clubs as did a number
of black folk music players from the US South like Sonny Terry and Brownie
McGhee. Perhaps the most notable night club that catered to folk music in San
Francisco in the 1950s was The Hungry i. Glenn Yarbrough, later of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Limeliters</span></b>,
got his start there as did The Kingston Trio. The Journeymen which included <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Scott MacKenzie</span></b>
and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">John
Phillips</span></b> were the house band for a period of time. MacKenzie had a
big hit in 1967 with his song San Francisco. “If you’re going to San Francisco
be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.” Phillips would later form the group
called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Mamas
and the Papas.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It was sometimes difficult to label a song as being a
folk song. It seemed to depend upon what the artist(s) considered the music to
be. Country, bluegrass, and blues music could at times be thought of as folk
music. The country group <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Browns</span></b> had a number of songs that sounded like
folk songs including their tune The Three Bells. Other songs from the 1950s
that sounded like folk songs were <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Billy Grammer’s</span></b> Got to Travel on, <span style="color: red;">Hank <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Snow’s</b></span>
I’ve Been Everywhere, and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Tennessee Ernie Ford’s</span></b> Sixteen Tons. Just to name
a few.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Kingston Trio and Tom Dooley</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylcyCY3J2RMrZr1Ky3tbc1bJZ3hCHLPOkONtRg_V33Tzbzo-0dV8LhWLn7kXN244-zSDH6aqb8h__9Nr9ysd_g1GL2nQK4vSd_w9C0QFCnSAcaxSUMNAGtNLlIizJJP2K2T1PF0Lbup0/s1600/images%255B3%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="208" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylcyCY3J2RMrZr1Ky3tbc1bJZ3hCHLPOkONtRg_V33Tzbzo-0dV8LhWLn7kXN244-zSDH6aqb8h__9Nr9ysd_g1GL2nQK4vSd_w9C0QFCnSAcaxSUMNAGtNLlIizJJP2K2T1PF0Lbup0/s320/images%255B3%255D.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1958 the Kingston Trio came out with a song called Tom
Dooley. It was a huge hit and reached #1 on the charts. The song dated back to
1866 and was about the murder of real woman in North Carolina. Folk music
purists were not thrilled about the Kingston Trio. They often thought that
their interpretations of folk standards were too sleazy and commercially
devised. The group sold over 8 million records in the next 3 years and made
millions of dollars. Nobody in the history of folk music up until then had ever
been that financially successful. There was a new interest in folk music
particularly on college campuses across the US. In their first few years of
success the Kingston Trio stayed totally away from protest songs or songs with
left wing political points of view. In some ways they were kind of folk music
“lite”.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Newport Folk Festival</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56c96AfmqEOwytpOfNRk6MLzL6sK3mLC3WzHohQE51Qg6BELrW14s-ezCqdlOxsP3USx8MBUvZfe00Ath6sy4ALwMyw52gBao3ICgjjQlU6OHvx3h3iojX4yxwaN46pHnoN9wmFCuMgQ/s1600/imagesD7P93A9K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56c96AfmqEOwytpOfNRk6MLzL6sK3mLC3WzHohQE51Qg6BELrW14s-ezCqdlOxsP3USx8MBUvZfe00Ath6sy4ALwMyw52gBao3ICgjjQlU6OHvx3h3iojX4yxwaN46pHnoN9wmFCuMgQ/s400/imagesD7P93A9K.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Newport Folk Festival was founded in 1959 and had on
its board folk singers like Pete Seeger, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Theodore Bikel,</span></b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Oscar Brand.</span></b> Pete Seeger, Odetta,
The New Lost City Ramblers, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Memphis Slim</span></b>, Josh White, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Clancy Brothers</span></b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Brownie McGhee,
Sonny Terry, Bo DIdley</span></b>, Oscar Brand, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Earl Scruggs, Tommy Makem</span></b>, the
Kingston Trio, and Joan Baez all performed on stage during the 2 day event.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #d419ff; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Montreal: Mid to latter 1950s</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I can’t recall the
years exactly, I believe it was grades 4,5 and 6 when I was 9,10 and 11 years
of age and attending Willingdon Elementary School in Montreal. Around 1956-1958?
Aside from getting a fairly heavy dose of religion, which wasn’t listed as a
subject on our report cards, we were also introduced to a variety of music
including black spirituals and regional folk music. </span></i></b></div>
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<i><strong><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I find it a bit
strange that I can still recall most of the lyrics to those songs 60 years
later. We sang French songs like Frere Jacque and Au Clair De La Lune,
Alouette,and Bonhomme, Bonhomme, and spiritual songs like Go Tell It On The
Mountain and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. One year we learned the lyrics to Drill
Ye Tarriers Drill. We even got </span><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">into some folk songs
from The Maritime provinces on the eastern seaboard of Canada including The
Squid Jigging Ground.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Oh…..this is the place
where the fishermen gather<o:p></o:p></strong></span></i></div>
<strong></strong><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>With oil skins and
boots and Cape Ann’s battened down<o:p></o:p></strong></span></i></div>
<strong></strong><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>All sizes of figures
with squid lines and jiggers<o:p></o:p></strong></span></i></div>
<strong></strong><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>They congregate here
on the squid-jiggin’ ground<o:p></o:p></strong></span></i></div>
<strong></strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>I didn’t realize it back then but this period of time was probably my introduction to folk music.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></i></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk Music: The 1960s</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">With the success of the Kingston Trio’s Tom Dooley song
in 1958 a number of college types went out and bought acoustic guitars. Stella
and Gibson and the more expensive Martin were popular guitar brands at the
time. Some formed groups and harmonizing was often an integral part of their on
stage presentation. Their sound was kind of like a combination of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Four Preps</span></b>
mixed with traditional folk music. These clean cut guys weren’t exactly welcomed
with open arms by folk purists.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Two of the college groups that achieved success at the
beginning of the decade were <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Brothers Four </span></b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">and</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> The Chad Mitchell Trio</span></b>. Both groups started out
at Washington State campuses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTViKtrs5II4se9iiU0VTe6FGIoCsAp8gTgU4dnmYFvMcTNLNZd0ELgS4zyaxKLqLA2aMzrnwILKGstJcHU6dg6r6nCIPMuN7b9VBjfdOTqLBj7rPSQ36r5T5BHwyS8Nuj3wC2LPXSL0/s1600/imagesT9YE7Q8A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTViKtrs5II4se9iiU0VTe6FGIoCsAp8gTgU4dnmYFvMcTNLNZd0ELgS4zyaxKLqLA2aMzrnwILKGstJcHU6dg6r6nCIPMuN7b9VBjfdOTqLBj7rPSQ36r5T5BHwyS8Nuj3wC2LPXSL0/s320/imagesT9YE7Q8A.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brothers Four</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A place called Gerdes Folk City opened in January of 1960
in Greenwich Village. Bob Dylan had his first professional gig at this club in
April of 1961 supporting blues artist <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">John Lee Hooker</span></b>. Bob Dylan debuted his song
Blowing In The Wind and met Joan Baez for the first time at Gerdes. Blues/folk
artist <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Doc
Watson</span></b> often played the club as did Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
Peter, Paul, and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel, and Judy Collins all played gigs at
Gerdes early in their careers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Bob Dylan</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1941 and grew
up in Hibbing, Minnesota. His birth name was Robert Zimmerman. He has
attributed the poet Dylan Thomas as the source for his new last name. Dylan had
a number of bands in high school and they mostly played covers of Little
Richard and Chuck Berry rock songs. He has said his switch from rock to folk
was because he wanted to create more serious music with deeper thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Dylan quit college and set off for NYC in 1961. His
musical idol was Woody Guthrie who was in failing health in a hospital in New
York at the time. They quickly became friends and through Guthrie Dylan met
“the old guard” of folk music. People like Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Dave Van
Ronk, and Pete Seeger.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A guy named Albert Grossman became Dylan’s manager in
1962. Grossman had put the trio of Peter, Paul, and Mary together the year
before. Bob Dylan didn’t exactly have a smooth voice. It sounded nasally and
took some getting used to. In some ways he sounded a bit like a hipster or
street hustler when he sang.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Early on it became quite obvious that he was a prolific
songwriter. Many of his songs were covered by other musical artists. A lot, not
all, of folk songs in the past before Dylan were “little ditties”. His songs
always had depth. He was a wordsmith who could create a theme that would make
the listener wonder what was coming next. There was also a rawness to his
words. Something else that was evident about Dylan early on was his cynicism of
the status quo. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Basically Dylan turned folk music on its head. Baby
boomers could identify with him because he was close to their age. He wasn’t an
old Commie. Here’s a list of just some of the songs Dylan wrote and sang in the
1960s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Blowing In The Wind, The Times They Are A-Changing, Like
A Rolling Stone, Lay Lady Lay, It Ain’t Me Babe, Mr.Tamberine Man, Positively 4<sup>th</sup>
Street, Maggie’s Farm, It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, Subterranean Homesick
Blues, Rainy Day Woman, I Want You, I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A TV Show Called Hootenanny</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk music peaked in popularity in the US around 1963
when a TV show call Hootenanny went on the air in April of that year. At one
point it was the second most popular US TV show just behind Ben Casey. As many
as 11 million Americans watched the show each week. That’s a hell of lot more
people than in some small café in Greenwich Village.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The original host was NYC radio talk show guy Jean
Shepherd who wrote the hilarious classic, A Christmas Story. Shepherd was
quickly replaced by Jack Linkletter, a son of 1950s TV game show guy Art Linkletter.
The show was great exposure for both old time folksingers and others just
breaking into the business. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some of the newer folk artists included <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The New Christy
Minstrels</span></b>, The Limeliters, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Judy Collins, The Smothers Brothers</span></b>, The
Journeymen, and Ian & Sylvia. Country Music, to some extent, was also
evident on the show and Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, Hoyt Axton, and Flatt
& Scruggs all made appearances.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The dress style for men on stage at the time was sportsjackets
and ties, cardigans, or big sweaters. Women always wore dresses on stage and
often had bee hive hairdos. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Civil rights and world peace were the big issues on
campuses at the time and some students had taken part in marches and
demonstrations. This isn’t to say that all of the students at the time were
into social issues. Phone booth stuffing and spring break at Fort Lauderdale
were other things that got many of them excited.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Martin Luther King was the leader of the Civil Rights
Movement and Dr. Spock and Bertrand Russell were notable activists in the “Ban
the Bomb” movement. The peace symbol which was first used in the UK in the late
50s started to be seen on posters on American campuses in the early sixties.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Cold War was at its height and there was a nuclear
standoff between the US and the USSR about Cuba in 1962. The producers of
Hootenanny would not allow Pete Seeger on their show unless he recanted his
Communist leanings from the past. Joan Baez never appeared on the show as a
sign of respect for Seeger.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Joan Baez</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Joan Baez was and is kind of the first lady of folk
music. She was born on Staten Island, NY in 1942 and her father was the
co-inventor of the x-ray microscope. Her father was born in Mexico and her
mother was from Louisiana. Joan grew up as a Quaker which influenced her
pacifism in life. He father worked for UNESCO and the family lived in a number
of countries while she was growing up including Iraq, Spain, France, and the
UK.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She was 13 years old when she first saw Pete Seeger which
helped stir her interest in folk music. She got herself a Gibson guitar and
learned all of Seeger’s songs. Her first concert was in 1958 in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Her breakthrough was her appearance at the first Newport Folk
Festival in 1959. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Joan Baez presented herself as someone who really cared
about social issues and those feelings were reflected in almost every song she
sung. Her voice was as clear as a bell and she never varied from that. She didn’t
have a whole slew of hit songs and didn’t write much of the stuff she sung. In
some ways she was the serious side of folk music. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For a few years in the early sixties Bob Dylan and Joan
Baez were a couple. Dylan was initially interested in Baez’s younger sister
Mimi who was also a folk singer. Before Joan Baez got involved with Dylan her
most noted songs were Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream and We Shall
Overcome. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her biggest selling album was
Diamonds And Rust. She is still performing at the age of 76.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Peter, Paul,
& Mary</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The trio was formed in
1961 and was composed of Peter Yarrow (tenor), Paul Stookey (baritone) and Mary
Travers (alto). The group was created in a similar way that The Monkees were
years later. There was a casting call. Dave Van Ronk was considered for the
group but was rejected because it was thought he didn’t have enough commercial
appeal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most of Peter, Paul,
& Mary’s success was due to recording other folk artists songs including If
I Had A Hammer, Lemon Tree. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leaving On A
Jet Plane, 500 Miles and Bob Dylan’s Blowin In The Wind and Don’t Think Twice,
It’s Alright. Their manager was also Dylan’s manager so they had a instant
source of good material.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The lyrics for their hit
Puff The Magic Dragon were based on a poem written by a college friend of Peter
Yarrow’s. Yarrow wrote the music. Apparently the song has nothing to do with
marijuana.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The trio broke up in
1970 after Yarrow was arrested and convicted of making sexual advances towards
a 13 year old. Yarrow was later pardoned by President Jimmy Carter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The group got back
together from time to time in the ensuing years. In some ways they kind of became
the elder statesmen (and woman) of folk music. Mary Travers died of cancer in
2009 at the age of 72. Yarrow and Tookey still continue to tour together from
time to time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Limeliters</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Limeliters were
formed in 1959 and were made up of Alex Hassilev, Lou Gottlieb, and Glenn
Yarborough. “The Limeliter” was a name of a club that Hassilev and Yarborough
owned in Aspen, Colorado.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They were known for
singing rousing folk songs like There’s A Meeting Here Tonight. They didn’t
have much success at recording hit songs and for the most part stayed authentic
to their folk roots.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After being together for
about 6 years, Yarborough decided to go solo. He had an amazing voice.
Yarborough made no secret about the fact that folk music was financing a number
of sailboats that he owned and lived on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They weren’t totally
folk purists. They did some commercials for Coca-Cola and L & M Cigarettes.
Some older readers might remember the “Things go better with Coca-Cola, things
go better with Coke” commercials.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the 1970s the group,
including Yarborough, started doing “reunion” tours. Gottlieb died in 1996 and
Hassilev retired. Yarborough died in 2016 at the age of 86. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Irish Guys</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When folk music first
became popular in the late 1950s and in the early 60s there were a number of
Irish folk singers who were often on the bill. For some reason some of them
liked to wear white cable knit sweaters when on stage. Tommy Makem and The
Clancy Brothers were probably the most notable.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A group called The Irish
Rovers was formed in Canada in 1963. They were all immigrants to the country.
For several years in the 1970s they had their own TV show in Canada. Their
biggest hit was The Unicorn song. It was written by former Playboy cartoonist
Shel Silverstein. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mariposa Folk
Festival</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Mariposa Folk Festival was founded in Orillia,
Ontario, north of Toronto in 1961. “Mariposa” means butterfly in Spanish and
was the fictional name of a town Canadian writer and humourist <span style="color: red;">Stephen Leacock</span> used in his short stories. Back around
1915 Stephen Leacock was the most widely known English speaking humourist in
the world. Kind of like Canada’s Mark Twain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The festival was banned after 3 years in Orillia due to
too much vandalism and public drunkenness. The festival moved around for a few
years and there were a number of years when there was no festival at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Over the years Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Joni
Mitchell, Pete Seeger, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bruce Cockburn, Jann Arden, The Bare Naked Ladies, and Serena
Ryder have all made appearances at one time or another at the festival.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Competing For
Listeners And Fans</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk music for most Americans and Canadians back in the
early to mid 1960s was never really at the top of the pile. At best it was an
add-on to other popular music like country, rock, and pop music when it came to
popularity. Most teenagers at the time preferred music with a fast tempo that
they could dance to, often tunes that had a sax blasting away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Between 1960 and 1965 it was only occasionally that a
folk song would break through and make the Billboard Top 100 charts. Here is a
list of some of those tunes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Greenfields and Greeen Leaves Of Summer…The Brothers
Four…1960</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Michael…The Highwaymen…1961</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Where Have All The Flowers Gone…Kingston Trio…1962</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If I had A Hammer…Peter, Paul, and Mary…1962</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Walk Right in…Rooftop Singers…1962</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Cotton Fields…The Highwaymen…1962</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Four Strong Winds…Ian And Sylvia…1963</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Green, Green…The New Christy Minstrels…1963</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Puff The Magic Dragon and Blowin’ In the Wind…Peter,
Paul, And Mary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">1963</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">500 Miles…Bobby Bare…1963</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We’ll Sing In The Sunshine…Gail Garnet…1964</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t Let The Rain Come Down…Serendipity Singers…1964</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Today…The New Christy Minstrels…1964</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Eve Of Destruction…Barry McGuire…1965</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Like A Rolling Stone…Bob Dylan…1965</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Soul music and girl groups were popular in the early
sixties and then surf music turned up. The Beatles and the British invasion
happened in 1964 and folk music to some extent was pushed into the background.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Dylan Goes Electric</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnipWaQn6nAXiktDsRK7-7vFAFkEH1egjTJEY9MfjRDMN_J3bT-Ctcl1GUdUAUqXL_JJ0BYe6uUr721C5rZ-LL5czM2C-XU64HHJ9wMCAyTrCzvUlzBZXx6Gbkb-jqog6FoAYaO_ehq4/s1600/imagesIO1F1UDV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="331" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnipWaQn6nAXiktDsRK7-7vFAFkEH1egjTJEY9MfjRDMN_J3bT-Ctcl1GUdUAUqXL_JJ0BYe6uUr721C5rZ-LL5czM2C-XU64HHJ9wMCAyTrCzvUlzBZXx6Gbkb-jqog6FoAYaO_ehq4/s400/imagesIO1F1UDV.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By 1965 Bob Dylan had become the best known folksinger
and folk song writer in America. In March of 1965 he released his fifth album,
Bringing It All Back Home. Side one featured Dylan backed by an electric band
and side two had Dylan playing acoustic guitar. On July 20<sup>th</sup> he
released his rock version of Like A Rolling Stone. On July 26<sup>th</sup>
Dylan turned up at the Newport Folk Festival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Supposedly Dylan was pissed off by some condescending
remarks the festival organizer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Neil Lomax</span></b> had made about the electric Paul
Butterfield Blues Band. Dylan’s set was sandwiched in between two lesser known
traditional folk acts. Dylan performed his rock version of Like A Rolling Stone
and he and Mike Bloomfield played electric guitars accompanied by Al Kooper on
organ.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are mixed reports as to how the crowd responded to
Dylan’s going electric. There certainly was some booing but it also seems that
there was some cheering. After a bit of a break Dylan sang Mr. Tambourine Man
and It’s All Over Baby Blue while playing an acoustic guitar. As they say, the
crowd went wild after his performance. He didn’t appear at the Newport Festival
for another 37 years.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Birth Of Folk Rock</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhis2sJDSMBXfWGsDPThcUZrC3mqC2dNzUFxFwk5b5ESWZh7jbKu2i7XFqeNicyLacQfixx3SFCmP1XbaztHZdjKT_85kQYGMcgzoGxj1w9u0j-iOPXbL4ad0NXB7vzUG7tD3K0SXHkb74/s1600/imagesUK06TF6M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhis2sJDSMBXfWGsDPThcUZrC3mqC2dNzUFxFwk5b5ESWZh7jbKu2i7XFqeNicyLacQfixx3SFCmP1XbaztHZdjKT_85kQYGMcgzoGxj1w9u0j-iOPXbL4ad0NXB7vzUG7tD3K0SXHkb74/s320/imagesUK06TF6M.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Bob Dylan wasn’t the first person to use electric guitars
in performing folk music. Tex/Mex singer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Trini Lopez</span></b> had been doing it for a few years. He
took folk standards like Lemon Tree and If I Had A Hammer and sped up the
tempo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A band called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Byrds</span></b> was formed in the fall of 1964. The
original 5-piece band had David Crosby as a member and Jim McGuinn, who later
changed his first name to Roger, was the lead singer. In January of 1965 they
recorded a single, Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man. Sort of. The only band
member to take part in the recording was McGuinn. Terry Melcher, Doris Day’s
son, produced the record and brought in “The Wrecking Crew” to get the sound he
wanted. One of the musicians who took part was<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <span style="color: red;">Leon Russell.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Byrds released Mr. Tambourine Man in April of 1965.
It went to #1 on the US charts. They followed that song up with Dylan’s All I
Really Want To Do in June of 65’ and Pete Seeger’s Turn,Turn,Turn In October of
65. In 1966 they released 8 Miles High, a “stoner” tune if there ever was one.
It was one of the first “psychedelic” rock tunes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Byrds kind of spawned other folk rock groups like The
Mama’s & The Papas, The Lovin Spoonful, “the British Bob Dylan” Donovan,
The Turtles, and Buffalo Springfield.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Montreal
Folk Scene: 1960s</span><br />
<span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial black";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeswISCSvn7Kn5UvvSo6reopHT99hYXfJwR96fvTdglYlWbjp_ngrDhXNi5df4nOyIB30SjwfgGZLfC-s0Mw906zHCsMRkNnlmIy1-Ro5CUydsGmiXFe_BC4nS4WXxIGXFm9Z3Q4kvRE/s1600/imagesK82FWR86.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="161" data-original-width="307" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeswISCSvn7Kn5UvvSo6reopHT99hYXfJwR96fvTdglYlWbjp_ngrDhXNi5df4nOyIB30SjwfgGZLfC-s0Mw906zHCsMRkNnlmIy1-Ro5CUydsGmiXFe_BC4nS4WXxIGXFm9Z3Q4kvRE/s400/imagesK82FWR86.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Just a a short walk
away from the front gates to McGill University on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal
there used to be a small nightclub</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">called</b></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Café Andre</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">on Victoria Avenue. It
was a 3 story building that probably dated back to the 1920s or earlier. The
hands-on owner was a Mr. Racicot who appeared to be in his late fifties, wore
glasses, and had sandy grey hair. My guess is that the Café Andre (also known
as “The Shrine” as a reference to well known in Montreal catholic Brother
Andre) had been a student watering hole dating back to the 1940s.</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I first walked into
the joint in 1964. I was 17 years old at the time and looked younger. The Café
Andre was one of those places that looked the other way when it came to asking
for ID. I was once carted off in a paddy wagon for under aged drinking at the
café.</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The café was on the
ground floor and you had to walk through 2 doors to get into the place. The 2
door deal was so the weather (snow) wouldn’t come rushing in. The bar was the first
thing one noticed, It had about a dozen stools. There were 5 or 6 two seat tables
(deuces) along the walls. At the far end of the bar was an archway that led to
a bigger room that sat about 50 people. There was about a 10 foot wide kind of
stage for the entertainers. Upstairs, for a brief period in the mid sixties,
there was a disco. The Montreal rock group Mashmakhan were kind of discovered at the disco.</span></i></b><br />
<strong><em><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial";"></span></em></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HhasD7tHtd9YHm2ORewZqTbmilvCkH5tt61LWGhWHi0zOv8RmQLHDohUoigvlPtuJwQQfZ8_qxfqL42D4fAtsiGtq-GaThe0VQKEOKGjjoKZACyvfOqKAbyK2QQcaCy4hMi1izO6jOU/s1600/images8I1CER4E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HhasD7tHtd9YHm2ORewZqTbmilvCkH5tt61LWGhWHi0zOv8RmQLHDohUoigvlPtuJwQQfZ8_qxfqL42D4fAtsiGtq-GaThe0VQKEOKGjjoKZACyvfOqKAbyK2QQcaCy4hMi1izO6jOU/s400/images8I1CER4E.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A trio of folksingers
called</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Raftsmen</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #002060; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">were the “house band”
back in 64. At the time they were playing acoustic instruments. They later went
electric and added a 4<sup>th</sup> member from NYC named Jake I believe. I can
recall some of the songs they sung including Yellow Bird, The Kingston Trio’s
Scotch And Soda, and Canadian folksinger Oscar Brand’s Something To Sing About.
They also sang a Jamaican song called The Big Bamboo which had funny sexual
connotations. </span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I vaguely remember a
group called All The King’s Men who also played the Café Andre.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I remember leaving the
Café Andre one night drunk and 3 of us going home on a red Honda 90cc
motorcycle.</span></i></b><br />
<strong><em><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial";"></span></em></strong><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGZe3yDDG5GqGkyQf_C0GKNuQWwy_3q1_efpVQTGBdbj-8YLDOGnYOf0soF226Mht4BKsKZP9M-cxYWcz-7rPfRusqicxr4OECv7k5sx_IKgRm2Wn8F6zp3zfXf8Uv4hQOlj4UM5vofI/s1600/penny-lang%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGZe3yDDG5GqGkyQf_C0GKNuQWwy_3q1_efpVQTGBdbj-8YLDOGnYOf0soF226Mht4BKsKZP9M-cxYWcz-7rPfRusqicxr4OECv7k5sx_IKgRm2Wn8F6zp3zfXf8Uv4hQOlj4UM5vofI/s320/penny-lang%255B1%255D.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny Laing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Penny Laing</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">was a big deal in the Montreal folk scene for the
last half of the 1960s. For a time she was so popular that on weekends there
would be long line-ups to see her at the Café Andre. I’m not sure if I ever
actually saw her sing. Date night and cover charges didn’t fit my budget at the
time.</span></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">From what I’ve read
about her, she kind of missed the boat a few times in her career as far as
making some really good money out of her singing.</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">She had one son
who was fathered by American folk/blues artist</span></span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Dave Van</span></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Ronk</span></b>. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">She died in
Medeira Park, BC at the age of 74 in 2016.</span></b></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"></span></b></span></i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuK48sFkcZAH70GrGBeXlMtmITFglcp1q-E_l8IXCGLBZRYi6W7j2eoc3kBtIPKFrA2-B22DhlJ9q4y8XXDIC4QfI1RWDJNFBNpQ5eQfG6TfIUx1A_ZzC3TYE7Vz1oLBq27jC-zbbDm0/s1600/gary_eisenkraft%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuK48sFkcZAH70GrGBeXlMtmITFglcp1q-E_l8IXCGLBZRYi6W7j2eoc3kBtIPKFrA2-B22DhlJ9q4y8XXDIC4QfI1RWDJNFBNpQ5eQfG6TfIUx1A_ZzC3TYE7Vz1oLBq27jC-zbbDm0/s1600/gary_eisenkraft%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Eisenkraft</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gary Eisenkraft</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">grew up on the west side of Montreal in the
district of NDG. For those who like small details, I believe he either lived on
Beaconsfield or Hingston Avenue near Cote St. Luc Road. At the age of 15 he
quit high school and headed south to the US and became active in The Civil
Rights Movement. He learned how to play the guitar and played some gigs at folk
music hangouts.</span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1964 at the age of
19 he opened a nightclub in Montreal called The Fifth Amendment on Bleury
Street. He would later own 2 other clubs, The Penelope and The New Penelope. In
the 4 or 5 years Gary Eisenkraft ran his clubs he introduced Montrealers to a
who’s who of blues and folk artists, a number of which who were soon to become
household names.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s the short
list…..Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Dave</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Van Ronk</span>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Bruce Murdoch</span></b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Sonny
Terry & Brownie McGee, Tim Hardin,</span> <span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">Paul Butterfield Blues Band, James
Cotton Blues Band, Frank</span></b><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Zappa</b></span>,
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Mountain
City Four</span></b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">and Bob Dylan</span></b><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s a tough business
running a nightclub and music trends can change very quickly. Gary Eisenkraft
shut his last Montreal club down in 1968. He moved to the US and to the warmer
weather that he apparently preferred. He lived in Hawaii for a bit of time and
spent the rest of his life taking care of a piece of land he owned in Northern
California. He died in 2004 at the age of 59.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">About a year ago I had
coffee here in Nanaimo where I live with a guy from Montreal. He said he was a neighbor of
Gary’s when he was in high school. The guy’s parents were away on a winter
vacation and Gary asked the guy to put somewhat up at his house for a few days.
It turned out to be a young Gordon Lightfoot. Apparently they didn’t share any
chit chat.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">My own sighting of
Gordon Lightfoot in Montreal was while working on construction in 1966 at Expo
67. We were eating lunch outside of The</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Western Canada Pavilion and a crew was filming Lightfoot walking along
a still dry canal with a guitar over his shoulder.</b></span></i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Yellow Door/ La Porte Jeaune</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">was and is (occasionally) a coffee house in an old
building on Aylmer Street about a block away from the McGill campus. It opened
its doors in 1967 and like other Montreal coffee houses was a bit of a haven
for American draft dodgers.</span></b></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;"></span></b></span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHFNy3zfAGna7RL6r8jiH_p1tazzXbyvCfZrD3bAdi092FKHGe5K4E0hJ2LXX17BMvE0N0O8HCz8V2SagSfpGre6mzf-8xsbPaD3ngwKuD9EcKlg0qkOYTh7N5a321xvOekKoSMppCuM/s1600/IMG_5994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHFNy3zfAGna7RL6r8jiH_p1tazzXbyvCfZrD3bAdi092FKHGe5K4E0hJ2LXX17BMvE0N0O8HCz8V2SagSfpGre6mzf-8xsbPaD3ngwKuD9EcKlg0qkOYTh7N5a321xvOekKoSMppCuM/s400/IMG_5994.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">All in all I was
probably in the place no more than about 6 times in the late 1960s. The room
where poets and folk singers did their stuff was</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">downstairs in
the basement. A McGill student I knew</span>,</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Bill Russell</span>,</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">who was from
Louisiana, played a few gigs at the Yellow Door in 1969. Back then he had a
keen interest in Cajun music. Bill has stayed with folk music his whole adult
life and performed at the Yellow Door in June of this year.</span> <span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">From what I can
gather Bill has been a bit of a “purist” when it comes to folk music. I believe
he has written and recorded a number of children’s songs in both English and
French and occasionally does the “calling” at square dances.</span></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For a number of years
The Yellow Door has been involved in a number of urban causes including
connecting with the inner city elderly and growing vegetables that they give
away.</span></i></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zMwhH_5C1TIPscLoO01o-RZnusDkQhJh_S0bV4qtCyPkDTCkoplx3YiFFwnsq3Cbwa2WJwcW8kc2f6zJT4295NYSzrJ6ahPcBR7n1aQi66S2yJWlK_2ivo6V1ENKVd6lYKhNwnom7F4/s1600/imagesNX1XG0N9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="292" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zMwhH_5C1TIPscLoO01o-RZnusDkQhJh_S0bV4qtCyPkDTCkoplx3YiFFwnsq3Cbwa2WJwcW8kc2f6zJT4295NYSzrJ6ahPcBR7n1aQi66S2yJWlK_2ivo6V1ENKVd6lYKhNwnom7F4/s320/imagesNX1XG0N9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Other notable hangouts
in Montreal in the 1960s for folkie and hippie types</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">were</span></b>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The Seven Steps,
The Swiss Hut, The Limelight, and The Café Prague</span><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">. A lot of university students from Sir George
Williams (now called Concordia)</span></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #00439e; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">also hung out
at</span></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">The
Stanley Tavern.</span></b></span></i><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Yorkville, Toronto</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwDtaRJaS3Ox10mnLzd3wPO3k8KNYbY3EfOwLQMWK0G68mxtiJn9oF398UsB_d-JMdRQs-ChpA4rb377G4GL_Fqe8pqpvK2GFt4N34JU02TJ8kooA3bz689ueP5oIBmN6JBX_A8McR0U/s1600/g1m5hvz2.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x549%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="850" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwDtaRJaS3Ox10mnLzd3wPO3k8KNYbY3EfOwLQMWK0G68mxtiJn9oF398UsB_d-JMdRQs-ChpA4rb377G4GL_Fqe8pqpvK2GFt4N34JU02TJ8kooA3bz689ueP5oIBmN6JBX_A8McR0U/s640/g1m5hvz2.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x549%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Toronto had its own folk
stuff going on in the 1960s and a lot of it was centered around a “Bohemian”
area of the city called Yorkville. It was kind of like New York’s Greenwich
Village. The big deal for many Canadian folk singers back then was to get a gig
at </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Riverboat
nightclub</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">. It had a 120 seats.
Other folkie places in the area included </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Mynah Bird</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The</span></b><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pennyfarthing</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">,</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> and </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Purple Onion</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
(Canada’s Purple Onion).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SiYwcxGcLPE9s3awyjualeq-znF-isl0WyY0YDn1hSqDb45CUNdx28WRO3AR1fImMjvcGszDvxiF25tXXKSDy39r_Vxnl0Jh4e2K-BetnKTVWMFD1FD6XeQwKij9Lqumtls8Fxk2ZcA/s1600/images6W73QHJ5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="270" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SiYwcxGcLPE9s3awyjualeq-znF-isl0WyY0YDn1hSqDb45CUNdx28WRO3AR1fImMjvcGszDvxiF25tXXKSDy39r_Vxnl0Jh4e2K-BetnKTVWMFD1FD6XeQwKij9Lqumtls8Fxk2ZcA/s320/images6W73QHJ5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murray MacLaughlin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Vxhku7eDVuEF_duvES8nAVrHOWToYZhbQHqpsYBXrXMips4iQiwOZJoe9vNAh4C24K7iSH6tvqbILhlQbvqKeEb2T7g60FK0NZTfDp_g8YfzX6GPbZyAAAuhEAD6dXhRw9R9T5jctfI/s1600/imagesFKELUEBO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Vxhku7eDVuEF_duvES8nAVrHOWToYZhbQHqpsYBXrXMips4iQiwOZJoe9vNAh4C24K7iSH6tvqbILhlQbvqKeEb2T7g60FK0NZTfDp_g8YfzX6GPbZyAAAuhEAD6dXhRw9R9T5jctfI/s320/imagesFKELUEBO.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canadian folk artists </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Murray MacLaughlan</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, <span style="color: red;"><strong>Bruce
Cockburn</strong></span>, Ian & Sylvia and Neil Young too, all played the Yorkville coffee
houses. Americans Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, and Tom Rush also made
appearances.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I have to confess that
although I was living in Toronto in the early 70s I had almost no familiarity
with Yorkville. We were chasing women in discos like The Studio and The Coal
Bin or hanging out at The Jarvis House at the time. My loss.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One place in the
Yorkville area that I did have some familiarity with was Rochdale College. It
was an experimental communal college with free tuition and was housed in a
large apartment style building on Bloor Street. We bought pot there several
times on our way home from work. A couple of guys with jackets and ties like we
wore were looked upon as being a bit suspicious by the denizens of the
building.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Oscar Brand</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wsb8PbgrjtbZc5QBEFa4oxcBqSVb0MYrtk2d-unPinUgVRWmq0nHtlSEuY6bLEUqpo7RUgv3lYVvIUk2yjbZlcDMyCZZ8eKPdEEOTkech0XhylUoD9eUkOTFtATe0B4tEJSUin6AmNY/s1600/imagesVVM3VWX6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wsb8PbgrjtbZc5QBEFa4oxcBqSVb0MYrtk2d-unPinUgVRWmq0nHtlSEuY6bLEUqpo7RUgv3lYVvIUk2yjbZlcDMyCZZ8eKPdEEOTkech0XhylUoD9eUkOTFtATe0B4tEJSUin6AmNY/s320/imagesVVM3VWX6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar Brand with Joni Mitchell</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Oscar Brand was born to
a Jewish family in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1920. His family moved to the US when
he was 7 and most of his schooling was in NYC. His radio career began in 1945
and over the years he introduced a number of folk artists to the American
public.. He was a prolific song writer and one of his tunes in the early 1950s,
A Guy Is A Guy was a #1 hit for Doris Day in 1952. For most of his early time
on radio he wasn’t paid a cent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He became active in
writing children’s songs and wrote music for a number of commercials including
for Log Cabin Syrup and Cheerios. At one time he was on a Communist black list
in the US but he never was one. He had a squeaky clean image and a keen sense
of humour. He once wrote a book titled “How To Play Guitar Better Than Me.”
Unbeknownst to many, he also wrote a number of risqué songs early in his
career. He was one of the organizers of the first Newport Folk Festival in
1959.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">From 1963 to 1967 he
hosted a Canadian TV show called “Lets Sing Out”. Guests included a young Joni
Mitchell, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, and The Clancy Brothers. The series was exported
to the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Brand also wrote a song called Something
To Sing About. Lyrically it was quite similar to Pete Seeger’s This Land Is Your
Land in that it described different areas of Canada instead of the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Oscar Brand was on US
radio for over close to 70 years. He died at the age of 96 in Great Neck, NY in
2016.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Travellers</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0j14ljb58PESRn1W7DBjEU3eAYDL2s71HhdeBfS40my-TWEkWYUkYROfs1cF4l4cHHAB9iozJEotKh3wFGBXy-gzFksBd_Qps_QV_RwU193a0V4AhbzU4zBcsfxNRcvakewVEzGwWrI/s1600/imagesEZ4TQ48O.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="227" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0j14ljb58PESRn1W7DBjEU3eAYDL2s71HhdeBfS40my-TWEkWYUkYROfs1cF4l4cHHAB9iozJEotKh3wFGBXy-gzFksBd_Qps_QV_RwU193a0V4AhbzU4zBcsfxNRcvakewVEzGwWrI/s320/imagesEZ4TQ48O.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Travellers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Travellers were a
folk singing group that was formed at a Jewish camp near Toronto in 1953. Their
politics were certainly to the left. In 1962 the Canadian government invited
them on a tour to the USSR. One of their members, Joe Hampson, married Sharon
Hampson of kid’s songs group Sharon, Lois, & Bram fame. The Travellers’s most
noted song was their version of Oscar Brand’s Something To Sing About. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ian & Sylvia</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc2CDVjvsl_IGRJFf2rgk2wcK79-iljY3RHlJk-gAxa41i2EvKoQeor0Ye5eR5-qLIvjSHkjTG98bc7gi_jqqMUic5NOLiihj7I0CZ1GrWJSWQA7HLrNNhvKUP2Jis3dmCWW-WvpajQQ/s1600/imagesJZ3MC0BL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc2CDVjvsl_IGRJFf2rgk2wcK79-iljY3RHlJk-gAxa41i2EvKoQeor0Ye5eR5-qLIvjSHkjTG98bc7gi_jqqMUic5NOLiihj7I0CZ1GrWJSWQA7HLrNNhvKUP2Jis3dmCWW-WvpajQQ/s320/imagesJZ3MC0BL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ian Tyson was born in
Victoria, BC and Sylvia Fricker was born in Chatham, Ontario. (Baseball Hall of
Famer, pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, also came from Chatham.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ian Tyson initially wanted to be a rodeo
rider. The couple met in Toronto in the late 50s and formed a duo in 1959. They
started appearing at clubs in the Yorkville area.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By 1962 they were living
in NYC. Peter, Paul and Mary’s manager became their manager too. They appeared
at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival and got married in 1964. A song called Four
Strong Winds, written by Ian, became a big hit for them and others in 1963.
Sylvia wrote a song called You Were On My Mind in 1962 and it became a big hit
for a band called We Five in 1965.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ian wrote the song
Someday Soon and </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Judy Collins</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> had a
hit with it in 1968. Another classic tune he wrote was Summer Wages.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1969 they formed a
back-up band called The Great Speckle Bird and moved to ranch in Southern
Alberta. Ian hosted a Canadian musical TV show from 1971 to 1975 with Sylvia as
a sometimes guest. The couple divorced in 1975 but appeared on stage together
several times over the following decades. They had one child together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By the 1980s Ian had
turned his attention totally towards cowboy country music. He suffered
irreversible damage to his vocal cords in 2006 and cut back on touring. He is
83 now and still lives on his ranch. Sylvia began a solo career after her
divorce and was still recording albums as late as 2011.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gordon Lightfoot</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9D7Ry12HVKXPdFYjI0ec-MIBi-aVMOFS2376shPfDqkdvZcpfwfnefjA2ih1u2b4cDGD3UXdSQD1ubrqPm5qaXgaZUKHjL4Oyl8DDKVWi2o-MT1wp3ksNsfMARgxx4UeWpI_4LPxphY/s1600/ctlcover%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="811" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9D7Ry12HVKXPdFYjI0ec-MIBi-aVMOFS2376shPfDqkdvZcpfwfnefjA2ih1u2b4cDGD3UXdSQD1ubrqPm5qaXgaZUKHjL4Oyl8DDKVWi2o-MT1wp3ksNsfMARgxx4UeWpI_4LPxphY/s320/ctlcover%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gordon Lightfoot was
born in Orillia, Ontario in 1938. He was a boy soprano in a local church choir
and later studied music at McGill University in Montreal and at the University
of Toronto. He moved to California in 1958 where he studied jazz composition
and orchestration. He moved back to Toronto in 1960 and became part of a large
singing group that made some appearances on a Canadian TV show called Country
Hoedown. He started recording in 1962 and began being noticed in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He travelled and
performed in Europe in 1963 and appeared at The Mariposa Folk Festival in 1964.
He developed a reputation as a songwriter and many of his songs were recorded
by Peter, Paul, and Mary and others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Lightfoot’s career
really took off when he was signed by Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, in
1965. In 1966 he released his first album which included notable songs like I’m
Not Saying, For Lovin’ Me, Early Morning Rain, and Ribbon Of Darkness. He
became an international star. In 1967 he was commissioned by the Canadian
government to write a song honouring Canada’s 100<sup>th</sup> anniversary. He
came up with The Canadian Railroad Trilogy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As the 1970s rolled
around Lightfoot didn’t slow down in his writing and singing. Here’s a list of
just some of his tunes he popularized in the 70s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If You Could Read My
Mind-1970</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">You Are What I Am-1972</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Sundown-1974</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Rainy Day People-1975</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Wreck Of The Edmund
Fitzgerald-1976</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By the 1980s Lightfoot’s
music was sometimes categorized as “adult contemporary”. He was still writing
songs but by this time the newer ones weren’t getting as much exposure,
particularly on the radio. In the 1990s he returned to his acoustic roots.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2002 Lightfoot
started experiencing health problems and he was sidelined for long periods of
time. No matter his illnesses he soldiered on. He was still writing songs and
performing. In 2015 he went on tour in the UK. He is currently on tour in
Canada and the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gordon Lightfoot is now
78 years of age. There are few that would argue that he isn’t a national
treasure in Canada.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Was It Really Folk Music?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Simon & Garfunkel</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Simon and Garfunkel<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">were
childhood friends who grew up in the NYC area. They got their first recording
contract at the ages of 15. They called themselves Tom & Jerry which was
also the name of two cartoon characters, a cat and a mouse. Originally they
modeled themselves on the rock and rollers The Everly Brothers.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Simon graduated from
university in 1963 while Garfunkel was still at Columbia in NYC. Folk music was
a big deal in 63’ and they decided to go in that musical direction. They
started playing clubs in Greenwich Village like Gerde’s Folk City. Between 1963
and 1964 Simon wrote The Sound Of Silence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">No longer Tom &
Jerry, they released their debut album called Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. in 1964.
The album only sold 3,000 copies and Simon moved to England for about a year.
Simon returned to the US and spent 1 more semester at university before
returning to the UK. He wrote I Am A Rock during this period.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Back in the US a Boston
disc jockey had a got a hold of a copy of Simon & Garfunkel’s Sound Of
Silence and the tune became very popular on Eastern Seaboard college campuses.
By January of 1966 the song had sold over a million copies. The duo followed up
with Like A Rock and Homeward Bound.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The album songs
Scarborough Fair and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, And Tyme were released in late
1966.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Simon and Garfunkel
first parted company in 1971. There is little doubt that Simon, particularly as
the songwriter, was the more creative of the two. Garfunkel had a great singing
voice and once did an amazing solo cover of I Only Have Eyes For You.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They would get back
together every several years including at a huge concert in Central Park in
1981. Apparently part of what pissed Simon off about Garfunkel was his
cigarette and pot smoking and lack of interest in learning new lyrics.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s list of some of
their more notable songs over the years…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Homeward Bound, Sound Of
Silence-1965</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I Am A Rock, The
Dangling Conversation, A Hazy Shade Of Winter-1966</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">At The Zoo-1967</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Scarborough Fair, Mrs.
Robinson-1968</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Boxer-1969</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Cecilia, El Condor
Pasa-1970</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After Simon’s split with
Garfunkel, Simon started to experiment with different kinds of music
including reggae, a cappella, zydeco, and mbaqanga. For years he just kept
producing hit after hit including the following…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mother And Child
Reunion, Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard-1972</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Kodachrome-1973</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">50 Ways To Leave Your
Lover-1975</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Still Crazy After All
These Years-1976</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Slip Sliding Away-1977</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Late In The Evening-1978</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Graceland, You Can Call
Me Al-1986</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Diamonds On The Soles Of
Her Shoes-1987</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The genre of music Simon
and Garfunkel are associated with is folk rock. Some folk purists never gave
this kind of music much credibility. Creatively and lyrically Simon was miles
ahead of most of them when it came to expressing himself in my opinion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Bobby Darin</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Bobby who? Yes he was
slick and often corny but in his 37 years on the planet he showed that he could
cross over from pop to country and folk music almost effortlessly. He had a
particular talent for finding good songs to sing, some of which he wrote
himself.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The first song Darin
ever recorded was Rock Island Line in 1956. 10 years later in 1966 he recorded
two of </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Tim
Hardin’s</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> folk songs, If I Were A
Carpenter and Lady Came From Baltimore. He also wrote A Reason To Believe. One
of Hardin’s biggest hits was A Simple Song Of Freedom that was written by Bobby
Darin. Hardin died young at the age of 39 from a heroin overdose.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">To say that Bobby Darin
was never a folksinger would simply be wrong. Just because a person drove taxi
at one point in their life doesn’t make them only a taxi driver.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Buffy
Saint-Marie</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Buffy Sainte-Marie was born on a First Nation’s reserve
in Saskatchewan. She was later adopted and grew up in Massachusetts. In the
early sixties she spent a considerable amount of time playing coffee houses in
Yorkville and Greenwich Village.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She wrote the protest song Universal Soldier in 1963. A
lot of her songwriting reflected her ancestry. In a 2008 interview she claimed
that she was blacklisted in the 1970s because of her protest songs. At one
point in her life she was married to a surfing teacher in Hawaii.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Buffy Sainte-Marie is 76 now and still performs from time
to time. Her last record release was in 2017.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Judy Collins</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Judy Collins was born in Seattle, Washington and spent
the first 10 years of her life there. Her father was a blind musician and the
family moved from Seattle to Denver, Colorado.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She studied classical piano and made her public debut at
the age of 13. She became fascinated by folk music and started playing guitar
when she was 16. She appeared on the Hootenanny TV show in 1963.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She was friendly with the “Yippie” leaders Abby Hoffman
and Jerry Rubin and once wrote a song about Che Guevera. She was the subject of
the Steven Stills composition Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most of her recording success was in the late sixties
with songs like Both Sides Now, Someday Soon, Chelsea Morning, and Turn. Turn.
Turn. She’s 78 years of age now and lives in Manhattan with her second husband.
A life-long activist, she still performs occasionally.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk Music: 1970-1975</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By 1970 it was becoming
harder and harder to identify who was and wasn’t a folksinger.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Joni Mitchell</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> was
born in Fort MacLeod, Alberta in 1943. She grew up mostly in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from an early age was
an artsy type who liked painting and writing poetry. She taught herself how to
play guitar from a Pete Seeger songbook. By the age of 18 she had become
interested in jazz and was a fan of Miles Davis. She also liked French singer
Edith Piaf’s music. Mitchell’s first paid gig was at the age of 19 at a jazz
and folk club in Saskatoon.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After spending a year at
The Alberta College of Art in Calgary, she set off by train to Toronto at the
age of 20 in 1964. She got a day job and scrambled to find amateur gigs and
sometimes played church basements. In late 1964 she discovered that she was
pregnant by an ex-boyfriend in Calgary. She gave the baby up for adoption. She
reunited with her daughter in 1997.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She married an American
folk singer she met in Toronto named Chuck Mitchell and they moved to the US
where they began playing together. She returned to Canada and appeared on Oscar
Brand’s TV show Let’s Sing Out several times in 1965 and 1966. In 1967 she and
her husband were divorced. She then headed off to New York. Other folk artists
started recording her songs including </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Tom Rush</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, George
Hamilton IV. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Buffy Sainte Marie, Judy Collins</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, and Dave Van Ronk.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">David Crosby</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> saw
her performing at a club in Florida and she went back to California with him
where he introduced her to his music contacts. She released her first album in
1968 titled Song Of The Seagull. My guess is that most people won’t remember
any of her songs from that album. Her 2<sup>nd</sup> album, Clouds, was
released in 1969 and included Both Sides Now and Chelsea Morning.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She followed up on Clouds
with the notable albums Ladies Of The Canyon in 1970 and Court And Spark in
1974. Big Yellow Taxi, Carrie, You Turn Me On I’m A Radio, Raised On Robbery, Help
Me, and Free Man In Paris were other tunes she wrote and sang. The Court And
Spark album was her first venture into jazz and she would mingle between jazz,
folk and pop for most of the rest of her career. She did a lot of experimenting
with synthesizers and drum machines. Jazz guitarist </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Pat Metheny</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> was
once a member of her band.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For a period of time she
had some problems with her singing voice, most likely from her years as a
smoker. In 2015 she had a brain aneurysm and is taking therapy to try and
recover her voice. She’s 73 now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Out of all the icons
that have played folk music over the years, to me she was and is the most
talented. She was far more musical than Dylan or Lightfoot or Pete Seeger. Her
lyrics were truly amazing and multidimensional. She is a pure artist.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">No Labels</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By the time the 70s had
rolled around, I personally found it harder and harder to distinguish folk music from,
folk rock, blues, and country rock. A lot of artists crossed over to other
genres from to time to time, some more often than others. Here’s a list of some
of those people and songs they sang in the 70s….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZ4Q1wOvdUnStl3fXWyKYbPHl8WTthyphenhyphenlt_pYxLT_VQpU-NNLecUNv4jFpoXF7dMfYOxoFddPsWEAV7B9RDO7ZIQPzlQRxA239hhMz_EBhkdDUeoqSW1wDyFezWXR9zdO6lvvaO0R6h7M/s1600/imagesQ9L1DDDM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="278" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZ4Q1wOvdUnStl3fXWyKYbPHl8WTthyphenhyphenlt_pYxLT_VQpU-NNLecUNv4jFpoXF7dMfYOxoFddPsWEAV7B9RDO7ZIQPzlQRxA239hhMz_EBhkdDUeoqSW1wDyFezWXR9zdO6lvvaO0R6h7M/s320/imagesQ9L1DDDM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nash, Crosby, and Stills</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Crosby, Stills, & Nash</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Teach Your Children 1970, Just A Song Before I Go 1976</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Cat Stevens</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Wild
World, Peace Train, Moonshadow, Morning Has Broken…1971/72. (I once served Cat
Stevens’s back-up band breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.)</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Melanie</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Brand New
Key…1971</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Don McLean</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…American
Pie 1971</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Richie Havens</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Here
Comes The Sun 1971</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mathew’s Southern Comfort</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Woodstock 1971</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Harry Chapin</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Taxi
1972, Cat’s In The Cradle 1974</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Jim Croce</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…I Got A
Name 1972, Time In A Bottle 1973, I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song 1974</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Maria Muldaur</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Midnight
At The Oasis 1973</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Janice Ian</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Society’s
Child 1967, At Seventeen 1975</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Judy Collins</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Suzanne 1966, Both Sides Now 1968, Someday Soon 1969</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">James Taylor</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Sweet Baby
James and Fire And Rain 1970, You’ve Got A Friend 1971, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely
Tonight 1972, How Sweet It Is 1974, Handy Man, Your Smiling Face 1977, Up On
The Roof 1979</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Linda Ronstadt</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…When
Will I Be Loved 1975</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Seals And Croft</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…Get
Closer 1976</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Keith Carrradine</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">…I’m
Easy 1976</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Leonard Cohen</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aenNY-2MBROFwYdFPleg4MHc9-snREEmdJ67Pxg3rfK-CrFreEw4PTzX0L8VgmJXcBBNDjl0S18vIB_mKH4D-wIatgjHN3OR4Q-1Olei-gONz1lwWchreMd6Il9OUVdHL_p72Ex5JY8/s1600/images3OM81NJZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aenNY-2MBROFwYdFPleg4MHc9-snREEmdJ67Pxg3rfK-CrFreEw4PTzX0L8VgmJXcBBNDjl0S18vIB_mKH4D-wIatgjHN3OR4Q-1Olei-gONz1lwWchreMd6Il9OUVdHL_p72Ex5JY8/s400/images3OM81NJZ.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Leonard Cohen grew up in
the wealthy area of Westmount in Montreal. Early on he was influenced by
Montreal poets Louis Dudec and Irving Layton and had some of his poems
published as early as 1954. He attended McGill University and spent a year
studying law before moving to NYC and spending a year at Columbia University.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">His father died when he
was 9 years old and left him a modest trust and he never had to experience
being a “starving artist”. He wrote his first book Spice-box Of Earth in 1961.
He spent most of the sixties writing books including Flowers For Hitler in 1964
and Beautiful Losers in 1966.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Not having a lot of
success with his book writing, Cohen decided to tackle folk music and moved to
NYC in 1966. For a while he was a fringe member of artist Andy Warhol’s crowd. Cohen
had written a poem called “Suzanne” and singer Judy Collins had a hit with it
in 1966. She also encouraged Cohen to sing his own songs on stage. In 1967 he
released his version of the song Suzanne.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Suzanne was followed by
Bird On A Wire and So Long, Marianne a few years later. He started touring in
1970. Somewhere along the line he gave away the rights to the song Suzanne,
supposedly in a document he did not read. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Cohen did a lot of
experimenting in his life including taking LSD and investigating various
religions and beliefs. He was also a peace activist.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the mid to late 1980s
Cohen wrote and sang several songs that got the public’s attention, including
Dance Me To The End Of Love, Hallelujah, and First We Take Manhattan.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If he wasn’t before, by
the 1990s Cohen was like a senior sage who had become kind of weather beaten
looking in appearance. He started wearing a fedora in his on stage appearances.
It was obvious that he had experienced a number of relationships with women in
his life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He always had a deep
gravelly voice that added to his mystique. He died in California in 2016 at the
age of 82.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">John Denver</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGPNKyc0FBV9x1FO0SPMHi2FsF0ouQ2Y-VkdxOUHzZhNtkf6v9qdeTJUTJK8jdIDoJS0li4Fbo_NTogz6JUKM39UPlLHdHSM9ifOP5kgh9bQzI4YE-bw2A8juqZxs69SWoF3RrBeBNdA/s1600/imagesY8CGS923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="253" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGPNKyc0FBV9x1FO0SPMHi2FsF0ouQ2Y-VkdxOUHzZhNtkf6v9qdeTJUTJK8jdIDoJS0li4Fbo_NTogz6JUKM39UPlLHdHSM9ifOP5kgh9bQzI4YE-bw2A8juqZxs69SWoF3RrBeBNdA/s320/imagesY8CGS923.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Possibly more than anything else, John Denver is probably
remembered for his over the top exuberance. He was born in Roswell, New Mexico
in 1943. (Roswell is famous for an alleged UFO incident in 1947.) Denver’s
father was a military pilot and the family moved around the US several times
while John Denver was growing up. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He started playing guitar when he was 11. While still in
high school and living in Texas he stole his father’s car and took off to
California hoping to get into the music business. His father caught up to him
and brought him home to finish high school.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Denver started singing in LA folk clubs in 1963 and in
1965 replaced Chad Mitchell of the folk singing trio. A few years later Denver
went solo. He wrote Leaving On A Jet Plane in 1966 and it became Peter, Paul,
and Mary’s biggest hit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In his lifetime John Denver released somewhere around 300
songs, 200 of which he wrote himself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">His biggest hits were…Take Me Home Country Roads 1971,
Rocky Mountain High 1972, Sunshine On My Shoulders 1973, Annie’s Song and Back
Home Again 1974, Thank God I’m A Country Boy and Calypso 1975.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For most of his adult life he was an activist and got
involved in various causes including world hunger, the environment, the poor,
AIDS, and alternative energy. He was good friends with President Jimmy Carter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">His dad taught him to fly and he owned a number of small
planes in his lifetime. He died in a small plane crash in 1997. Because of a
number of DUI’s he wasn’t legally flying at the time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He may have been hokey at times but he sure did a lot of
good in his life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #00439e; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Folk Music: 1976 To The Present</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There has been a lot of
water under the bridge since 1976. Many folk singers who were a big part of the
folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s are no longer with us.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Once in a while over the
last 40 years a tune or two would come out that echoed the days when folk music
was once riding high. Tracy Chapman had a few songs that did that with Talking
About A Revolution. Give Me One Reason. and Fast Cars in the 80s and 90s. For
the most part folk music seems to have gone underground over the years. Today
it seems to be mostly played in places like church basements by folk purists.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Every now and then PBS
would air a folk music reunion. I saw one the other day that was performed in
2006 and featured Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, and Peter, Paul, and Mary. Mary
and Pete Seeger (at 94) have since passed on.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The older one gets, the
more obvious it is that nothing stays the same. Apparently Hip Hop has passed
Rock and Roll as America’s favourite music. Very few kids these days have folk
songs on their iphones.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Protesting today is
often quite different than it was 50 years ago. There are no protest songs
about Trump that I know of. A few years ago Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
organized a march on Washington, DC. One of the rules was that no signs were
allowed. What the fuck?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On the plus side all the
old folk stuff is easily available on YouTube. It was interesting times back in
the day. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On a personal note I
would like to add that I’ve always been impressed about the activists over the
years who have put their money where their mouths were and tried to make the
world a better place. Sometimes it was through the songs they sung while other
times it was restoring rivers or helping feed the poor. It was and is all good.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Money And Folk Music</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The majority of people
who have played folk music over the years never got wealthy from it. It’s a
tough world out there! Money counts. I’m sure there are some out there who
think Joan Baez is about as pure as person can get. She’s worth about 12
million dollars and owns a few homes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Personally I believe
that almost everyone has a price, particularly when it comes to politics. When
you come down to it we are almost all interested in our own welfare first. The
bigger names in folk music could always do a few concerts to replenish their
bank accounts. It seems to me that the others who wanted to continue their
lives connected to folk music often got a lot of support from their friends and
learned to live fairly modest lives.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There is something that
I have found a bit confusing over the last 30 years or so. I’ve seen a lot of
live jazz in that time and quite often there have been younger people, some
even in their teens, performing. A lot of older guys who once played in garage
rock bands or even professional rock bands seem to have gravitated to blues
music. I never see anyone anymore playing folk music. I’d go if I knew where to
go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Apologies For
Some Folks I Left Out</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I only had so much room
here and as is it is I almost turned this story into a book. Here are just some
of the others I may have missed that also made a contribution to folk music
over the years....</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, Jimmy Rogers, Robert
Johnson, Son House, Cisco Houston, Doc Watson, The Foggy Mountain Boys, Lee
Hays, Tim Hardin, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Tom Rush, Gale Garnett, John Prine,
Emmylou Harris, and a long list of groups, trios, and quartets.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Canadian
Content</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canadian folk musicians
and singers were a huge a part of the folk music revival in the 1960s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Denny Doherty</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> was
from Halifax and </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Zal Yavnosky</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> was
from Toronto. Before Doherty gained fame with The Mamas And The Papas and
likewise Yavnosky with The Lovin Spoonful, both were part of a folk group
called We Three, later The Mugwamps, along with Cass Elliot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gordon Lightfoot, </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Murray MacLaughlin</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Dan Hill</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, and </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Bruce Cockburn</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> all grew up in Ontario.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswdn5qfkcsdMAi5QJ23drrAbwzAO4rUczIN3UabtWTT3uTnBNy1Bzm9r6O0i-_7lwbwt2gb7tsP2IGrwB2viLBUfdCMyJh3Z6yIzTUH0xx8YsvbBcUUJx_C4mvqWiuqnNmE7w6-F-qMk/s1600/imagesAETG8PV9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="254" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswdn5qfkcsdMAi5QJ23drrAbwzAO4rUczIN3UabtWTT3uTnBNy1Bzm9r6O0i-_7lwbwt2gb7tsP2IGrwB2viLBUfdCMyJh3Z6yIzTUH0xx8YsvbBcUUJx_C4mvqWiuqnNmE7w6-F-qMk/s320/imagesAETG8PV9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The McGarrigle Sisters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Penny Laing and Leonard
Cohen were both from Montreal. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesse</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Wincheste</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">r lived in Montreal for a while too as an
American draft dodger. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The McGarrigle Sisters</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> grew up in St. Sauveur about 40 miles north of Montreal.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKkJQA46YgFpKdDbI6JLPFV83S517HqQnzVFtmk47xtKjVluyDaSyXxwB20UJzIUVR_z8YVxvtpOtW3MgtN7tWqsfur4fd9aLuNMQ-m6EFFDeqdfP97NWFTcv-evSH7A3spZoHTHVW2U/s1600/imagesIRN8M5S7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKkJQA46YgFpKdDbI6JLPFV83S517HqQnzVFtmk47xtKjVluyDaSyXxwB20UJzIUVR_z8YVxvtpOtW3MgtN7tWqsfur4fd9aLuNMQ-m6EFFDeqdfP97NWFTcv-evSH7A3spZoHTHVW2U/s320/imagesIRN8M5S7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil Young</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Neil Young</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> spent a lot
of his growing up years in the Winnipeg area of Manitoba. Fred Penner, the
children’s songwriter also grew up in Manitoba. A guy named </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Rick Neufeld</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> wrote a song called Moody Manitoba Morning.
A group from Montreal called </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Bells</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> later
recorded it. Sometime around 1968, while working as waiter on the CN trains, I
heard Rick Neufeld sing the song in a passenger car. Freaked me out when I
later heard the song on the radio.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ian Tyson was born in
Victoria, BC but spent most of his adult life living on a ranch in Alberta. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Leon Bibb, Roy Forbes, Allison
Crowe, Tom Northcott</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Sherry Ulrich</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, and </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Valdy</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> have all
called BC home.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Buffy Ste. Marie was
born in Saskatchewan but grew up in Massachusetts, Joni Mitchell was born in
Alberta but spent most of her childhood in Saskatchewan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Stompin’ Tom Connors</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> was from New Brunswick.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Rita McNeil</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> and </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Anne Murray</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, aside from Denny Doherty, were also from
Nova Scotia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">My Recommended Favourite Folk Songs Short
List</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some might not consider
some of these tunes to be folk songs but what the hell.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Raised On Robbery…Joni
Mitchell</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Four Strong Winds…Ian
& Sylvia</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Bet On The Blues…Jon
Denver</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Hallelujah…Leonard
Cohen</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Scotch And
Soda…Kingston Trio</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Someday Soon…Judy
Collins</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-At Seventeen…Janis Ian</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Stewball…Peter, Paul
and Mary</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Old Man…Neil Young</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Early Morning Rain…Gordon
Lightfoot</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-A Man Of Constant
Sorrow…Foggy Mountain Boys</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Stars Fell On
Alabama…Jimmy Buffet</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-This Land Is Your
Land…Woodie Guthrie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Coldest Night Of The
Year…Bruce Cockburn</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-If I Had A Hammer…Pete
Seeger</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Positively 4<sup>th</sup>
Street…Bob Dylan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Last Thing On My
Mind…Tom Paxton</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Homeward Bound…Simon
and Garfunkel</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Something To Sing
About…Oscar Brand</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Summer Wages…Ian Tyson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-39062311209880370192017-06-17T03:23:00.001-07:002017-06-17T09:36:26.390-07:00A Tale Of 2 Country's Health Care Systems<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXF94TRVhKWllD7k1LN0xthaH8l3eV-0ENuqiQnWXEPHxKWz_QJVwKIIz6fADxXEokDKdTkBlOPMAfPcUf221RsFnt7wTRUYlgxt8_MrAu1SeSvdCjzVj7JR_HM3lHV9HfI7PBHhucmuY/s1600/imagesU8IUPPM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXF94TRVhKWllD7k1LN0xthaH8l3eV-0ENuqiQnWXEPHxKWz_QJVwKIIz6fADxXEokDKdTkBlOPMAfPcUf221RsFnt7wTRUYlgxt8_MrAu1SeSvdCjzVj7JR_HM3lHV9HfI7PBHhucmuY/s400/imagesU8IUPPM2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Right now American Republican weasels in the Senate are
discussing among themselves how to get their new health care plan for America
passed. Although 5 million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than Donald
Trump, Democrats are not allowed to participate in the discussions. Everything
is happening behind closed doors in total secrecy. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPd0j-nRtSqthr3x48JOEjJ6gQxhMZd_ndborBuzk5DyEMpnkYZXhCJnkwtyfQYIsErcenzolTGyhiLGE7xfedVD9XcKHMEjfgx-QIxdqlT0nN5u7H5MY_XhBGqStJOzMFLmch-YnLKg0/s1600/19224910_10156016157627908_1610357667253366229_n%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPd0j-nRtSqthr3x48JOEjJ6gQxhMZd_ndborBuzk5DyEMpnkYZXhCJnkwtyfQYIsErcenzolTGyhiLGE7xfedVD9XcKHMEjfgx-QIxdqlT0nN5u7H5MY_XhBGqStJOzMFLmch-YnLKg0/s320/19224910_10156016157627908_1610357667253366229_n%255B1%255D.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On May 4<sup>th</sup> the Republican dominated congress
managed to ram through their healthcare plan (American Health Care Act or AHCA)
which includes a total repeal of the Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as
Obamacare. The margin of victory was just 4 votes, 217-213. Every Democratic
congressperson voted against the bill as did 20 Republicans. The bill now moves
to the US Senate where Republicans have a slim majority over the Democrats.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The bill was passed in Congress without anyone knowing
what the total costs are going to be. A previous version of the bill was scored
by the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and they predicted that 24 million
Americans will lose their healthcare coverage in the next several years because
of the bill.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Numerous groups in the US with a stake in healthcare
voiced their disapproval of the Republicans plan. Almost all of these groups
including the AARP with 37 million members have no particular political
affiliation. The AARP is a group of seniors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Other groups who opposed the Republican healthcare bill
include the following.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The American Medical Association which has a membership
220,000.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The American Hospital Association which represents 5,000
organizations and 37,000 individuals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The American Nurses Association with millions of
members.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The American Academy of Pediatricians which represents
66,000 pediatricians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The American Cancer Society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The American Diabetes Association.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The American Lung Association.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The March of Dimes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The National MS Society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The National Organization for Rare Disorders.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNURIzuZmUneU6NG7q3Y8kvRcsFiWYVnc4Z_vqi6AxdO2MsbNAsXyRqHA7Czum6bjU73obPgN62AxfqelqM5qbCWQcWc9iuRNNAmz8Op_PydKU2CkNarGnTi30A5wCNIij1bSuFJfl3k/s1600/american-healthcare-act%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNURIzuZmUneU6NG7q3Y8kvRcsFiWYVnc4Z_vqi6AxdO2MsbNAsXyRqHA7Czum6bjU73obPgN62AxfqelqM5qbCWQcWc9iuRNNAmz8Op_PydKU2CkNarGnTi30A5wCNIij1bSuFJfl3k/s320/american-healthcare-act%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Pushing
Through Something Most Americans Don’t Want</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Recent American polls show that Obamacare is not as
unpopular as Republicans claim. 55% of Americans now like Obamacare. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Only 17% of Americans (almost all Republicans) like the
Republican’s health care bill. The vast majority of Americans would like
Obamacare to continue with adjustments made so that the plan works better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A great number of the people who have benefitted from
Obamacare are in fact Republicans.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">What
Is In The Republican Shit Sandwich Health Care Plan?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Basically the bill is an assault on the most vulnerable
in the US including the elderly, people with low incomes, the handicapped, and
those with pre-conditions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The bill is testament that Republicans don’t think that
their fellow citizens are worth much as human beings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Cuts to Medicaid amount to 839 billion dollars.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The elimination of heath care subsidies amounts to 663
billion dollars.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Individual states can now decide whether those with
pre-conditions have any protection from drastic increases in their premiums. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-There will no longer be any fine for anyone who chooses not
to have health care insurance. Younger people and others can just revert to
turning up at emergency rooms in hospitals when they become sick and stick
taxpayers with their bills.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-All taxes that helped fund Obamacare, including billions
from the very wealthy, will no longer be applicable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Insurance companies will again be allowed to sell low
value plans with very high deductibles and co-pays.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-It is estimated that at least 24 million Americans will
no longer have health care insurance. It is expected that 25,000-50,000
Americans will die each year because they don’t have insurance coverage. Many
more will declare bankruptcy after trying to pay their medical bills. Some will
lose their homes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-It will be legal for insurance companies to put lifetime
caps on their customers. In theory, a baby born with defects would no longer be
covered by insurance once the expenses go over the cap.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-In most cases women will pay more for health care
insurance than men. Being pregnant will be perceived as a pre-condition.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Funding for special education in schools for handicapped
children will be cut dramatically.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The wealthy and American corporations will receive over
600 billion dollars in tax breaks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Planned Parenthood which is visited by over 3 million
Americans annually would no longer receive any federal funding.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Medicaid expansion would be completely halted by 2020.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-There is little doubt that a number of hospitals in more
rural areas will be forced to close if this bill is enacted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnE0IDKD8phEOX_G-XlyxjdP3hdcXbr9LgIJTMU87K_QdJKkZL-M5MT6Ckl3epNe-MYuJHa4vswwUX_lkqRTABffcsE5fIohpuW8Tz4XM-DvMFhYIJp9YRmxRePneUuDFMYPOClCPtex0/s1600/imagesL143D2FT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnE0IDKD8phEOX_G-XlyxjdP3hdcXbr9LgIJTMU87K_QdJKkZL-M5MT6Ckl3epNe-MYuJHa4vswwUX_lkqRTABffcsE5fIohpuW8Tz4XM-DvMFhYIJp9YRmxRePneUuDFMYPOClCPtex0/s400/imagesL143D2FT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Deep Hatred For Obama And The Republican Party’s Distain For Americans Who
Aren’t Wealthy</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most Americans are aware that there are flaws in
Obamacare. Obamacare is based on the health care plan that former Massachusetts
Republican governor Mitt Romney implemented more than a decade ago.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most Republicans recognize Obama as a complete socialist
even though he was far from being that. In Obama’s 8 years in office the rich
got wealthier and wealthier, new jobs were added to the US economy each month
for almost 7 years. In total, 14 million new jobs were created in Obama’s time
in office. GM and the big banks were bailed out and are thriving today. The
stock market soared. None of this sounds like a president hell bent on turning
the US into a totally socialistic country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are a number of right wing Americans who were
totally repulsed that a black man was sitting in the oval office. The leader of
the Senate for 6 of Obama’s 8 years, Republican Mitch McConnell, made it
totally clear that his party would never cooperate with Obama or the Democrats
on anything whatsoever. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Obamacare was a compromise on Obama’s part. It wasn’t
universal health care or user-pay. The health care insurance companies were
still providing the insurance and the pharmaceutical companies could still
charge whatever they wanted for their drugs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Still the end result was that over 20 million more
Americans had health care coverage who didn’t have it before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s brief list of some of the benefits Obamacare
provided.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Young adults could stay on their parent’s plan until the
age of 26.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Insurance companies could no longer impose lifetime caps
on their customers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Insurance companies could no longer deny coverage to
those with pre-conditions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Worthless plans with high deductibles and co-pays could
no longer be sold by insurance companies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-People with low incomes could receive government
assistance in paying for an insurance plan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Women could not be charged more for health care
insurance then men.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-It improved Medicare for seniors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The general plan of the Republican Party is to totally
destroy everything and anything that Obama was in favor of. It’s mostly older
wealthy white men who get a hard on about this destruction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After the bill barely squeaked through Congress, the
Republicans in the house were absolutely giddy. They were all laughing and back
slapping one another. Someone got the bright idea about chartering some busses
so they could go over to the White House and share their victory with President
Trump. One thing that was very evident at the photo-op was just how few women
were seen standing with the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, and Trump.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsmzuWgIVyjGzTfIo0SJbbZiGlH742wgu4bDG8pvP2siMM9AGQvonuTrwNx7ntm4LrtKg5YHXe0AuFSnfvEF8D82c9ktQeoGJhgl-FBeWPG-9M_-DQEFacsHym01G3dLvzXUv8AFiwkA/s1600/images%255B3%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsmzuWgIVyjGzTfIo0SJbbZiGlH742wgu4bDG8pvP2siMM9AGQvonuTrwNx7ntm4LrtKg5YHXe0AuFSnfvEF8D82c9ktQeoGJhgl-FBeWPG-9M_-DQEFacsHym01G3dLvzXUv8AFiwkA/s400/images%255B3%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Clearly a number of Republicans hadn’t read the bill
before it was presented. All they needed to know that is was going to kill
Obamacare.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On the evening of the bill Trump got together with the
Prime Minister of Australia. For some odd reason Trump took it upon himself to
praise Australia’s health care system not seemingly being able to understand
that that country has universal care funded mostly by their federal government
through general taxes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Look At Some American Demographics</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are about 340 million people in the US. They have a
constitution that claims they believe that “all men are created equal” which as
a statement lacks any reality. When The Constitution was written around 1776
slavery was totally legal in the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">46% of the world’s personal wealth is in the US but as a
country it also has the biggest income disparity among its citizens. Money
equals status, plain and simple. Politics are controlled at the local, state, and
national level by corporations or wealthy people with special interests. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The average US household income is a bit over 50K per
year. This figure is deceptive because it is an average based on every American
household including those who are more affluent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Around 50% of Americans live pay day to pay to pay day
and have less than $1,000.00 in the bank. 51% of Americans make less than
$30,000.00 a year. 46 million Americans live below the poverty line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">60% of American workers get their health care insurance
through their employer. The average cost for health care insurance for a family
of 4 in the US is about $12,000.00 annually. Clearly, the majority of Americans
can’t afford to pay these costs out of their own pockets. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Over 70 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid and
over 50 million are enrolled in Medicare.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Medicare is funded from 3 sources: general tax revenues
41%, payroll deductions 38%, and beneficiary premiums 13%. Payroll deductions
are split evenly between the employer and employee. They each pay 1.45% of the
pay check total. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Healthcare spending through private insurance and
entitlement programs amounts to close to 16% of the US’s economy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It is estimated that 1 in 2 Americans has a
“precondition” when it comes to health care. Heredity and aging are two of the
more significant factors. 1 in 3 Americans can expect to have some form of
cancer in their lifetimes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Brief History of Universal Healthcare </span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODl-hbmlKBQ07g_LtJf35nu07NBY_QvC5FNfcS48lC-efCo_dbLdtWcnoKSC7p6kPxeOcs0Xonlee3cUNtIw0Fhj3_5YrEyRwOb5s0NI11vkWL-ShPgXpWzz1SI5-4zA4iuirc8hVhJE/s1600/universal+health+care%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="800" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODl-hbmlKBQ07g_LtJf35nu07NBY_QvC5FNfcS48lC-efCo_dbLdtWcnoKSC7p6kPxeOcs0Xonlee3cUNtIw0Fhj3_5YrEyRwOb5s0NI11vkWL-ShPgXpWzz1SI5-4zA4iuirc8hVhJE/s640/universal+health+care%255B1%255D.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Countries in blue have universal health care.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Providing health care coverage for an entire country is
and was a major task. Every industrialized country in the world, other than the
US, decided that their governments would be the main suppliers of
health care. The reasons for this were pretty simple. As a not for profit
entity costs could be kept down. Additionally every citizen would have the same
access to health care with the ability to pay not being a consideration.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A number of countries started off with small steps in the
early part of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. In 1911 in the UK about 1/3 of
British wage earners were covered by The National Insurance Act. The Russian
Empire established a similar system in 1912. Japan introduced an employee health
insurance law in 1927. By the 1930s most European countries were experimenting
with universal health care. Between 1939 and 1941 New Zealand implemented
universal health care in small steps. Australia followed suit a few years
later.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After WW2 European countries in particular started
embracing universal health care, The UK in 1948, Sweden in 1955, Norway in
1956, Iceland in 1956, Demark in 1961, and Finland in 1964. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Implementation of universal was gradual in countries like
France, Germany, and Canada. It wasn’t until 1972 that all Canadians were
covered. One of the last countries to change to universal health care was
Israel in 1995.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Today the US is the only major country in the world that
doesn’t guarantee its citizens the right to health care.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The general definition of “universal health care” is that
health care coverage is provided to each citizen on an equal basis and it is
paid for by taxes. Usually coverage includes pretty well everything most people
would see a doctor for including life threatening illnesses. It also prevents
people from having to use up their life savings trying to pay their medical
bills. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some countries include eye and dental care in their
universal health care while other countries don’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most countries with universal health care also allow
private insurers to sell “extended benefits” which often includes things like
prescription medications, vision care and prescription eyewear, dental
procedures, visits to specialists and therapists, emergency medical travel
coverage, and semi-private or private hospital room stays.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some countries with universal health care allow private
clinics to operate and perform surgeries but the patients have to pay for the
procedures themselves generally. It is an expensive way of getting immediate treatment
but it eases the pressure a bit on government run clinics.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
Does The US Have Private Insurance Run Health Care When Every Other 1<sup>st</sup>
World Country Has Universal Health Care?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s complicated. The 3 main reasons universal healthcare
never became part of the American fabric are that most doctors were against it,
Corporate America saw it as an enormous threat to profits, and the Republican
Party historically has never been in favor of any kind of entitlement program
that would provide benefits to most Americans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Doctors</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Being a physician in the US is the highest paid
occupation in the country. The medium base salary per year is $180,000.00.
Becoming a doctor is an expensive proposition both in time and education costs.
8 years of college are followed by several years of interning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One just has to look at old movies to understand that
doctors have always been one of the pillars of every American community. Most
often they were among the wealthiest people in town. Up until the late 1950s
most family physicians (general practitioners) made house calls with their
little black bags. Patients got personalized care but travel time reduced
profitability for the doctors. It became quite evident that it was far more
efficient in managing doctors’ time for the patient to come to the doctor
instead of the other way around.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There are several reasons that most American doctors and
the organization that represents them, the AMA (American Medical Association),
have never wanted to see Universal healthcare implemented. They didn’t want the
government interfering in how they made their living for starters. They also
were in fear of a government run healthcare system paying them less for their
services.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Most people have a natural tendency to trust doctors.
Doctors know things that many of us don’t, things that could affect our quality
of life. These assets don’t necessarily translate to mean that they are smarter
than other people about all other things. They are just as capable as the rest
of us in having screwed up lives.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes there are doctors who aren’t in it for the money but
they are rare. Not many wake up in the middle of the night feeling guilty about
overcharging for their services. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">FDR wanted to introduce universal healthcare to the US
during the Great Depression. The AMA convinced him that he was taking too big
of a bite out of the US’s way of doing things and FDR decided to settle on all
the other progressive programs he was introducing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After WW2, President Harry Truman tried to reintroduce
the US to universal healthcare. The AMA killed Truman’s attempt by spending the
most money up until that time lobbying against it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1993 Hillary and Bill Clinton made an attempt to
reform healthcare in the US. It wasn’t universal healthcare. The term
“universal healthcare” can be blurred at times. People in other countries,
other than the US, recognize universal healthcare as federal government run
healthcare. In the US universal healthcare sometimes means that every citizen
has access to healthcare insurance which is like having access to buy a car. It
doesn’t mean much when you can’t afford to buy the car.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Corporate
America and Healthcare</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Up until the 1950s most Americans paid for medical
expenses out of their pockets. In the late 1920s a few privately owned
hospitals offered pre-paid programs. Patients who bought these plans could only
use the hospital offering the plans. By the 1930s this type of healthcare had
morphed into a corporation called Blue Cross.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">During WW2 some American defense contractors, including
Kaiser (inventors of the Jeep), began offering health insurance to their employees
as a way of keeping workers with their companies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1946 The National Mental Health Act was passed under
President Harry Truman. In 1951 the IRS declared that group premiums paid by an
employer were tax deductible expenses. It opened the door for 3<sup>rd</sup>
party insurance companies to become the primary providers of access to
healthcare in the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The average American doesn’t read the financial pages in
newspapers nor do they pay much attention to corporate mergers. For the past 60
years Healthcare insurance companies have been buying one another out. The end
result is that today 5 big healthcare insurers and their subsidiaries control
the vast majority of the US healthcare insurance marketplace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#1 Wellpoint has 70 million customers. 1 out of 9
Americans gets their healthcare insurance through Wellpoint.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#2 United Healthcare also has close to 70 million
customers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#3 Aetna has 40 million customers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#4 Cigna has 12 million customers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#5 Humana has 11 million customers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Slightly over 200 million Americans get their healthcare
insurance through the big 5. Altogether about 215 million Americans are on
private insurance programs. What these numbers mean is that only about 15
million people buy their healthcare insurance from corporations other than the
big 5. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Healthcare insurance companies in the US have anti-trust
exemption. The only other business entity to have this status is professional
baseball. When 5 companies own over 80% of a marketplace it is no longer a free
market.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-About 62 million Americans get their healthcare through
Medicare.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-About 52 million Americans get their healthcare through
Medicaid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-About 15 million Americans get their healthcare through
military programs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It is estimated that at least 20 million Americans have
no healthcare insurance coverage at all. Before Obamacare, that number was
closer to 40 million Americans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Republican Party and Socialism</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Republican Party as a group does not hide their bias
towards Corporate America. They firmly believe that big business is always the
solution for a better America. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For over 40 years between just after WW2 until “Glasnost”
in the late 1980s Communism was thought to be the biggest threat to America. It
had spread through Eastern Europe with a number of countries being taken over
by the Soviet Union. The “Domino Theory” and the Viet Nam War was fought under
the pretense of Communism spreading across South East Asia. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Republican and some Democratic politicians often tied
Communism to Socialism as all Communist countries had socialistic programs.
Many Americans became convinced that socialism and Communism were one in the
same.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrvx5d1-N6I6U_06KeuaPom_6yNPCJxalNx2DOZdPIH6r8je1nD25mE10-Ohy0p36HNo-ZMiofGY2OxOf6c_4FpwG_mGpEXHjBLQoyD9vD9fqiR29duqYyMt67ShGUg2-DS1F66CVeYY/s1600/imagesBSJEC0WH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="345" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrvx5d1-N6I6U_06KeuaPom_6yNPCJxalNx2DOZdPIH6r8je1nD25mE10-Ohy0p36HNo-ZMiofGY2OxOf6c_4FpwG_mGpEXHjBLQoyD9vD9fqiR29duqYyMt67ShGUg2-DS1F66CVeYY/s640/imagesBSJEC0WH.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Written by a woman who received US government assistance in her final years.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A number of Americans were not capable of understanding
that entities like the police and fire departments and the armed services were
all socialistic entities.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Part of the Republican mantra has always been that the
government should have as little participation in citizen’s lives as possible.
This of course was just pure crap. Republicans have always been more than
willing to extract as much profit as they can out of the state and federal
governments, often to the detriment of the average taxpayer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Ronald Reagan wasn’t the first Republican to encourage
Americans to have a distain for government, particularly the federal
government, but he probably more than anyone else, made it fashionable in right
wing circles.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For all the Republican talk over the years about people
pulling themselves up by the bootstraps to succeed on their own, it is kind of
interesting that career Republican politicians like Speaker of the House, Paul
Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, haven’t spent 5 years
between them working in the private sector.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, all socialistic
programs, have had a profound effect on millions and millions of American’s
lives. This includes millions of Republicans. It isn’t arguable. It is fact.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">State
Rights</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Something that Republicans commonly talk about is “State
Rights”. It’s mostly propaganda. The Republican premise is that each US state
should know what is best for their constituents. First of all, if all Americans
are of equal value, then laws in general should be the same in every state. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Criminal penalties should be the same, speed
limits should be the same, etc., etc. About a month ago a guy in Louisiana was
sent away for 18 years for having 18 joints in his possession. This wouldn’t
have happened in Oregon or New York.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“State Rights” are just a form of divide and conquer. 19
US states, all run by Republicans, refused to take part in Medicaid expansion
through Obamacare. The effectiveness of Obamacare was undermined from the
outset. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Many Republican politicians have been on record as
stating that it is unfair for people who are doing well financially to have to
subsidize those that aren’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The 10 poorest states in America are Mississippi #50,
West Virginia #49 (coal mining country), Arkansas #48, Kentucky #47, Alabama
#46, Tennessee #45, Louisiana #44, New Mexico #43, South Carolina #42, and
Oklahoma #41. Each one of these states is run by Republicans who have no
problem receiving subsidies that come from taxpayer’s dollars from other more
successful states.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The biggest Republican state in America is Texas. Over 5
million Texans have no health care coverage at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Myth That Medicare and Medicaid are Entirely Socialistic Entitlement Programs</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By the way Republicans describe things one might think
that entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid are “Commie” plots to suck
up taxpayer’s dollars. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Medicare and Medicaid provide countless opportunities for
capitalism and privately owned businesses to get their slices of the pie. The
following is just a partial list of goods and services Medicare and Medicaid
purchase from the private sector……</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Hospital beds, ambulances and other vehicles, TVs, linen,
cleaning products, food products, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, office
products, kitchen appliances, pots and pans, dishes and cutlery, office
furniture, etc., etc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They employ nurses, doctors, specialists, lab
technicians, maintenance people, security, electrical and mechanical
contractors, ambulance drivers, cleaning people, accounting people, supervisory
staff, orderlies, elevator repair people, and on and on. Most belong to unions
and most make pretty decent livings and pay a fair amount of taxes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Republican Myth That the US Federal Government Screws Everything Up</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and a wide range of
other entitlement programs have benefitted American citizens for decades now
but there are other things that were researched, invented, and funded by the
federal government that have given many opportunities to those in the private
sector.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Decades ago the US federal government built a number of
dams that still today provide electricity to millions of Americans. President
Eisenhower used federal funds to build the Interstate Highway System.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">America won the “space race” and put a man on the moon in
1969. Between NASA, the US Defense Department, and other federal agencies,
science and research using government funds helped create a vast number of
inventions that have had a profound impact on the US’s economy. Microchips, the
internet, bar codes, smart phones, touch screen technology, ballistic missiles,
GPS, vaccines, weather apps, Velcro, and even baby formulas are just some of
the advances that came about through federally funded sciences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eaYCr2oZNu6qbpVv9QZHG1rXU4XvZAAcm43J-XbCu_CpnSDnqmWZHPC5RL5X1Jk-s7V4Fma1Q17i1BWzOGwKtSled6C3KHfaMSWwPDu9fJwTeji_hNCgcj0y-TeFaPATjJ7u281nOGY/s1600/images0SM9G37P.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="223" data-original-width="226" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eaYCr2oZNu6qbpVv9QZHG1rXU4XvZAAcm43J-XbCu_CpnSDnqmWZHPC5RL5X1Jk-s7V4Fma1Q17i1BWzOGwKtSled6C3KHfaMSWwPDu9fJwTeji_hNCgcj0y-TeFaPATjJ7u281nOGY/s400/images0SM9G37P.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfAqs0SGe11EXjOL0gBcj9OjGxy75nrzs0dBzJwbpwxQtjUNmBnXdKujK1n-AWfE8Febvra1g_3_Rr0wsrcfccCd2xIMV8OWAcO1DR_s7r2-eaAP7thsDBzKYM8vUquNPxCYIJsHMsQM/s1600/imagesE1XRLLE0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="256" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfAqs0SGe11EXjOL0gBcj9OjGxy75nrzs0dBzJwbpwxQtjUNmBnXdKujK1n-AWfE8Febvra1g_3_Rr0wsrcfccCd2xIMV8OWAcO1DR_s7r2-eaAP7thsDBzKYM8vUquNPxCYIJsHMsQM/s400/imagesE1XRLLE0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Letterman about to bounce onto Velcro wall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Look At Canada’s Healthcare System</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Early
History</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canada has a population of about 36 million people. Every
one of its citizens has basic healthcare coverage. In Canada healthcare is
considered to be a right, not just a privilege.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the middle of the Canadian prairies there is a
province called Saskatchewan that is known for its wheat production. In 1944 a
young Baptist minister named Tommy Douglas was elected premier of the province.
Douglas was a member of the CCF Party which years later morphed into the NDP
(New Democratic Party). The NDP has always been a progressive left wing
political group. It’s interesting that as a Canadian Baptist minister, Douglas
was totally to the left when most American Baptists are mostly to the far
right.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhze2L8RD4fx-ogOegUx4NvDCPqcq1OAXvn3KZzekHcz2QynUVgdTFs0Y6LXFChXG8JvE0aJJPZdtFXfSoM1mX9qRrpv7rD73wCFMpfcps1ctJrFAGctS61F4vNbsBS5XinilRwKGqzxYg/s1600/images256WW98X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="287" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhze2L8RD4fx-ogOegUx4NvDCPqcq1OAXvn3KZzekHcz2QynUVgdTFs0Y6LXFChXG8JvE0aJJPZdtFXfSoM1mX9qRrpv7rD73wCFMpfcps1ctJrFAGctS61F4vNbsBS5XinilRwKGqzxYg/s640/images256WW98X.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tommy Douglas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Douglas’s party won 5 provincial elections between 1944
and 1962. Over those years his party introduced the first publicly owned auto
insurance service, the unionization of public service employees, the first
program in North America to offer free hospital care to all of its citizens,
and created a number of crown corporations (provincially owned companies).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Tommy Douglas’s #1 concern was the creation of Medicare.
When he first tried to introduce it, most of the province’s doctors went on
strike. It wasn’t just the Saskatchewan medical establishment that went after
Douglas, it was also the Canadian and American medical establishments too. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1962 Douglas became the national leader of the NDP in
Canada. His successor in Saskatchewan, Premier Woodrow Lloyd, launched
universal healthcare in the province in 1962. In 1958 another Saskatchewan
politician, a Conservative named John Diefenbaker, who was Canada’s Prime
Minister at the time, promised to contribute 50% of the costs to any province
that came up with their own provincial medical plan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In all of Canada’s history, from confederation in 1867
on, only two parties have run the country, the Liberals and the Progressive
Conservatives who later became the Conservatives. After the Saskatchewan
“experiment” proved to be successful, a Liberal federal government led by Prime
Minister Lester B. Pearson and supported by the NDP Party, introduced The
Medical Care Act in 1966 allowing each province to set up their own universal
healthcare system. In 1984 the Liberals passed The Canada Health Act which
prohibited user fees and extra billing by doctors.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS71ZVqWvgshiKWu4CKOCE6h8VJuhgODsDwurcukhEyCK6A72l7JMK-x0ZnWmNZS-OZq55ZbkjOBJTuPNxgjjzhtKF-RLkFIoS9lCexzeOBAR4FZRVQ6jjcrhn2Jrh0e31YYV0OYejK7s/s1600/images7QOMSDJI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="327" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS71ZVqWvgshiKWu4CKOCE6h8VJuhgODsDwurcukhEyCK6A72l7JMK-x0ZnWmNZS-OZq55ZbkjOBJTuPNxgjjzhtKF-RLkFIoS9lCexzeOBAR4FZRVQ6jjcrhn2Jrh0e31YYV0OYejK7s/s640/images7QOMSDJI.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Tommy Douglas never became Prime Minister of Canada and
his NDP Party has never run Canada’s government.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2004, 18 years after his death, in a national TV
contest, Tommy Douglas was voted Canada’s “greatest Canadian” of all time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvYELeeckH3ClpciB59bBCjxNJ8HMuouIo7wKtHl6MRoPQYQvvwTejh_EpWg2x5vBqePSevWla8M7SgFX0Eo_GmnJ0FIvU57KOqmSnBtcXQh899kMb7L0QV_als07cawsuYmMP1etmzQ/s1600/Physiciansx660-646x700%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="646" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvYELeeckH3ClpciB59bBCjxNJ8HMuouIo7wKtHl6MRoPQYQvvwTejh_EpWg2x5vBqePSevWla8M7SgFX0Eo_GmnJ0FIvU57KOqmSnBtcXQh899kMb7L0QV_als07cawsuYmMP1etmzQ/s400/Physiciansx660-646x700%255B1%255D.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doctors don't do too badly with socialism in Canada.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">How
Canada’s Universal Healthcare Is Financed</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Health care in Canada is funded at both the federal and
provincial levels. The financing of health care is provided via taxation both
from personal and corporate income taxes. Additional funds from other sources
like sales taxes and lottery proceeds are also used by some provinces.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario also charge health
premiums to supplement health funding, but such premiums are not required for
health coverage as per The Canada Health Act.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Typical premiums in the past in the provinces that have
them are about $100.00 per month for an individual and about $250.00 per month
for a family of 4.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">What
Kind Of Coverage Do Canadians Get With Universal Health Care?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prescription drugs, dental care, and vision care are not
covered. Many Canadian companies and governments offer extended medical
benefits through companies like Canadian Blue Cross.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Apart from extended benefits Canadians have zero contact
with insurers. They also have zero contact with any form of government when it
comes to health care coverage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Every Canadian is issued a health care card. In the
province of British Columbia a health care card can be combined with a driver’s
license.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Universal health care in Canada does not have user fees
like deductibles or co-pays. Coverage is also portable. If one quits their job
or is fired they don’t lose coverage. Canadians are free to move around the
country and receive the same coverage no matter which province they decide to
move to, Canadians can walk into a clinic or hospital anywhere in the country
and not pay a dime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canada is no different than other countries in that the
older people get, by and large, the more medical problems they are likely to
have. It’s a great expense no matter what form of health care is being
implemented, insurance run health care or universal health care.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Any Canadian who finds themselves with a life threatening
illness like cancer immediately goes to the front of the line and gets
immediate attention. Other medical procedures can take some time to be taken
care of. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Getting an MRI or Cat scan can take 2 weeks to 90 days.
The medium wait time for elective or non-urgent surgery is 4 weeks. A 2016
study showed that 30% of Canadian patients had to wait 4 weeks to see a
specialist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Wait times can be an inconvenience, particularly for
those that need to go back to work. Attempts are being made to streamline the
system. A lot of tests that doctors used to do are now performed by labs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In most cases Canadians can get in and see a a doctor
within days and they can also get immediate attention at a local hospital or by
going to a walk-in clinic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One of biggest benefits of Canada’s universal health care
is peace of mind. Canadians don’t go bankrupt trying to pay medical bills. They
know that if they are facing a drastic medical problem that they will be taken
care of immediately.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canada also has privately run medical clinics like Cambie
Surgery in Vancouver. They are quite willing to charge high fees for things
like hip and knee replacements. The costs are strictly out of pocket for those
that decide to use their services, usually people who are very well off.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prescription
Drugs In Canada and the US</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Prescription drug prices in Canada are controlled by the
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to an extent but Canada has the second
highest prices for name brand medications in the world. About 10% of Canadians
have trouble paying their prescription drug costs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Compared to Canada, US drug prices are totally abusive.
Many Americans, particularly older ones, purchase their prescription drugs
on-line from Canadian vendors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the US pharmaceutical companies can set prices as they
please. A prime example of Americans being abused is a product called EpiPen.
An EpiPen injects a dose of epinephrine, otherwise known as adrenaline, to
treat extreme allergic reactions. The product has been marketed since the
1970s.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Since 2007 the price of a two-pack of EpiPen in the US has
gone from $94.00 to $609.00, an increase in cost of 500%. In Canada the same
product is sold for 65% less. The CEO of EpiPen is the daughter of Democratic
West Virginia senator Joe Manchin.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Comparing
US Health Care and Canadian Health Care</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#
1…..Insurance Slavery</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In a lot of cases in the US, health care through an
insurance corporation can lock an employee to an employer. It can stop them
from quitting their jobs, starting their own businesses, or moving to a part of
the US with a better economy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Once a person leaves a company that is providing them
with health care insurance they are on their own. They no longer have the
purchasing power that large businesses do. Often the biggest concern is losing
coverage for a family member with a pre-condition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In Canada every citizen is always covered whether they
are employed or not. They can move to the other side of the country if they
want and receive the same uninterrupted benefits.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#2
Who Does The Health Care User Answer To?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the US the insurer dictates what and what not is
covered. Should a person find that they are in need of extensive medical care
they may find that their plan does not cover certain things. With co-pays and
deductibles it is very difficult to determine what the final out of pocket
costs are going to be until the bills come in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In Canada there are no co-pays or deductibles for
starters. Canadians don’t have to answer to insurance companies or any form of
government when visiting a doctor or clinic or having an operation. There are
no bills coming in the mail.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#3
Bankruptsies</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The #1 reason for personal bankruptcies in the US is not
being able to pay medical bills. These kind of bankruptcies are almost unheard
of in Canada.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">#4 Costs</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the US the cost of a major operation can vary
dramatically. In some states procedures can cost 3 or 4 times more than other
states. Sometimes there are drastic differences in prices in hospitals just a
few miles apart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The drug Harvoni cures hepatitis C. It costs $10,000
more in the US than anywhere else in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-The cancer drug Avastin costs 9 times more than the same
drug in the UK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-An MRI in the US costs twice as much as Switzerland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-A day in the hospital in the US cost $5220.00. In Spain
it costs $420.00.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-An appendix operation in Australia cost $12,000.00 less
than in the US.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I could go on and on with the cost comparisons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The US has the highest cost of healthcare per individual
in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the US insurance premiums are adjusted every year.
Americans can’t lock themselves in at a set price for several years. Premium
prices from the insurers increase every year and the only time in decades that
that has slowed down was with Obamacare.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canadians, on the other hand, don’t have yearly price
increases for their health care.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Waiting
Lines</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canadian citizens do have to wait at times for some
medical procedures. Many Americans have to wait too. Once the patient has seen
a doctor and it is decided that they need an operation it still has to be
approved by an insurance company which can often take some time to be approved.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Health
Care Outcomes</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canada is ranked 30<sup>th</sup> in the world and the US
is ranked 37<sup>th</sup> when it comes to health care system performance. The
overall health of Canadians has them ranked at 35<sup>th</sup>. Americans are
ranked 72<sup>nd</sup>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Life expectancy in Canada is 2-1/2 years longer than the
US.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The US has a much higher infant mortality rate than
Canada.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The US has significantly higher rates of obesity than
Canada does.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The suicide rate in the US is much higher than in Canada.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">US
Heath Care Insurance Corporation’s Bullshit About Canadian Health Care</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">American health care insurance lobbyists commonly use 2
arguments to refute the effectiveness of universal health care in Canada. They
make Canada’s waiting times sound like people are lined up around the block.
And then there is the classic “If Canada’s health care system is so good, why
do so many Canadians come to the US for medical procedures?” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The truth is that only a fraction of 1% of Canadians use
America’s health care system in any given year. Most are tourists who have
become ill while travelling in the US. Sometimes very wealthy Canadians will go
to specialized clinics in the US to get the absolute best treatments. Former
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien was operated on at the Mayo Clinic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Another argument used against Canadian health care is
that we are taxed to death. Close to 2 million Canadian travel to the tropics,
including Mexico, every winter. Apparently they didn’t get the memo about their
high taxes.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Some
Final Notes</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Canada, like every other country on the planet,
definitely has some health care challenges in the coming years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It may not be the nicest thing to say but a large number
of Americans are pretty gullible and stubborn. Many of them are easily
distracted by religious dogma and corporate and political propaganda.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Many can’t get their heads around the fact that the US
has lost 3 major wars in the last 60 years. Many never gave it a 2<sup>nd</sup>
thought that almost all the 9/11 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. Many haven’t
figured out that is mostly poorer Americans who go off to fight in foreign
wars. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Close to 63 million Americans voted for Donald Trump and
the Republican Party in the last election. Other than possibly the unfunded
Medicaid Part D that was introduced by George W. Bush, the Republican Party
hasn’t done anything to improve middle class or poor American’s lives in the
past 50 years.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Understanding the benefits of universal health care
verses American insurance companies providing health care should be a no
brainer but it often isn’t. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">At this point in time it is hard to see any light at the
end of the tunnel when it comes to health care costs in the US.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There is, however, one possibility. California is talking
about having their own state run universal health care plan. With a population
of over 40 million people they have enough people to make it work. Perhaps as
Saskatchewan in Canada was the Petri dish for universal health care over 60
years ago, California may be the testing ground in the US?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-13414530092773986922017-05-02T09:04:00.000-07:002017-05-03T07:11:51.735-07:00Facebook and Nostalgia Aren't Always A Good Mix<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEims01cNBdQRlTbx236JYOBSkxF1SRNh1I5l2MUDQepL4d3VV_fUCVUnIdUYXZy59W7p0hEQJGQO6umYP38l230ypfxZgBw5bw0gdqvtqaQ0relanQm7x3ewAj646wBxh8m1pyyZfryDpY/s1600/Types+of+people+who+use+facebook+funny+Which+category+do+you+belong+to%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEims01cNBdQRlTbx236JYOBSkxF1SRNh1I5l2MUDQepL4d3VV_fUCVUnIdUYXZy59W7p0hEQJGQO6umYP38l230ypfxZgBw5bw0gdqvtqaQ0relanQm7x3ewAj646wBxh8m1pyyZfryDpY/s640/Types+of+people+who+use+facebook+funny+Which+category+do+you+belong+to%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I can’t recall when I first joined Facebook. It was
probably about 6 or 7 years ago. At the time my daughter suggested that it
might not be my thing and that this type of communication was more viable for
younger people who had to be in on the latest gossip. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I quickly discovered that retirees like me who had
Facebook pages either had a running patter with a wide variety of friends or
they rarely offered any comments on anything whatsoever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I found reconnecting with someone I knew years ago
interesting to a point but those conversations were almost always via e-mail
and not through Facebook. Swapping old stories only had a certain shelf life in
most cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t have the kind of personality that I want to be
everyone’s friend. I can’t remember ever “friending” anyone on Facebook. I
ignored most friend requests, particularly people I wasn’t familiar with. I got
rid of, if that’s the right term, people who were overtly religious or right
wing politically. Why would I want to put up with their strong opinions when I
totally disagreed with them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">At this point you might be asking yourself why I even
bother with Facebook at all? My answer to that is that I like a number of the
feeds I get like The Alternet, Huffpost, I Love Vancouver Island, and the
Vancouver Canucks. Every now and then I find something interesting that one of
my Facebook friends has commented on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m a curious kind of person. I tend to delve into
something if I find it interesting. I want to know more. The internet provides
that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other hand I get bored with repetition and inane
comments like “I never went there.” on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So….I’m going to cut to the chase here….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As a person who is about to turn 70 in the next few
weeks, I’m as interested in nostalgia as much as the next guy. I’ve written
quite a few stories about growing up in Montreal and other places I spent time
at years ago. I’ve always tried to be as factual as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A few years ago I discovered a Montreal nostalgia
Facebook page called Montreal Memories. At first I found it interesting but
after a while it felt like topics were being recycled and recycled and it
became boring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">One day a gal from Montreal wrote that she had bought a
1920 Montreal phone book at a used book sale. My grandfather immigrated to
Canada around the year 1900 from the UK and I was curious if his name was in
the phone book. I went back and forth with the book finder a few times and she
told me that my grandfather’s name was indeed in the phone book. It was pretty
neat to find that out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The next thing I knew our conversation was erased from
Montreal Memories. I was really pissed. It was an innocent conversation that
wouldn’t offend anyone. Why would someone erase it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">If this was the way they ran things I didn’t want to be a
member. There was no explanation as to what rule or rules I had broken. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">After I quit I did some research on Montreal Memories.
The site founder, Barry Zbar, apparently is a retired accountant who has lived
in Toronto for the past 30 years. I don’t think I’ve ever met an accountant who
wasn’t a bit anal including one I used for years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It didn’t take me long to discover a number of other
people who were once Montreal Memories members that weren’t exactly thrilled
with Mr. Zbar’s treatment of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I decided to just move on. If I wanted to scroll though
old pictures of Montreal every once in a while I could do so without being a
member on a number of other Montreal nostalgia Facebook pages like Montreal
Then and Now. Montreal Memories wasn’t the only game in town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A few months ago I started to get feeds from Montreal
Memories on my Facebook page. I wasn’t sure why? To be honest all those
Montreal Facebook nostalgia sites sounded the same to me. It turned out someone
had “sponsored” me without asking if I was interested. It was an honest mistake
on his part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">What the hell I thought. I’ll play this out for a
while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe add to the conversations a
bit? I started noticing lists of rules and warnings that Mr. Zbar placed
frequently on his site. He seemed to have a distain for other Facebook pages
like his. It started to sound like his version of remembering Montreal’s past
is the only real version. Not so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The vast majority of Montreal Memories members are older
people, mostly over 60 years of age it seems. I get it that most of these
people don’t like people fighting over politics or religion on Facebook. That’s
quite understandable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Everything about Montreal back in the day wasn’t always
good times for everyone every day. Things were certainly simpler but as kids
what did we really know about the world? Fantasy and reality are 2 different
things. The real reality is that most of us moved away from Montreal.
Personally I didn’t move away because of any French issues. I wanted to travel
and once I discovered BC I didn’t want to live anywhere else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">To be honest I think some people who grew up in Montreal
are living in a kind of blurred Peter Pan world. Surely the 50s and 60s
couldn’t have been the only interesting years in their lives? I for one don’t
want to spend my final days on this planet being reminded about where I grew up
on a daily basis. It is nice to reminisce once in a while but I don’t see any
benefit of being totally fixated on the past<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the point in my story where it might get touchy
but I’m going to take a stab at it anyway. According to Mr. Zbar’s rules, religion
or politics are not to be discussed on Montreal Memories. There seems to be an
exception if it involves Israel or being Jewish. There is something a little
messed up about this. I don’t see other people on Montreal Memories identifying
their religious backgrounds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are a few other comments about some of the stuff I
have read and seen on Montreal Memories over the past while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-An article with death statistics about Viet Nam. Isn’t
what happened there and in the US and Canada a divisive political issue?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-An article about how easy kids have it today compared to
50 years ago. At one point the story condones caning kids as way of disciplining
them when they were out of order. Weird shit!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Photos of The Rifleman TV series from the 1950s. To me
old TV programs weren’t always great. A lot of them were absolutely terrible.
The Rifleman lived on a ranch outside of a small town in the old west with his
son Mark. He wasn’t a law officer. Still Chuck Connors managed to kill well
over a hundred men with his rifle in the series run. Weird shit! “Hey Dad, are
you going to be killing someone tomorrow?” “Good night son.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-Another article on smoked meat. Really? Montreal has
smoked meat? Who knew?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-A photo of some armed Israelis in front of a wall for
Israel’s National Memorial Day. Isn’t this a political statement? There are many
Canadians who don’t agree with some of Israel’s policies including building
settlements on “occupied” land. The chances of having this viewpoint being expressed
on Montreal Memories? Zero! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">-When you post a photo of BBQ chicken and say Chalet BBQ is still the best....that's called ADVERTISING.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m way too old to be going out of my way and picking fights.
There are only a few things that get me riled up. I get it that we all don’t
think the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So….every once in a while I would comment on something I
saw on Montreal Memories. I was mindful of coming across as a know it all and
totally stayed away from correcting people when they were misinformed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">A few weeks ago I got a friend request on Facebook from a
guy named Irving Silverman. I believe he is one of the Montreal Memories
administrators. Why he wanted to friend me was a bit of mystery. Maybe he liked
some comments I had made?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I decided to accept Mr. Silverman’s request. A week later
I sent him a short note about how I have a blog (this one) and that I have
written a number of stories about growing up in Montreal in the 50s and 60s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Mr. Silverman later replied that he had looked at my
blog, noticed some Trump bashing stories, and that he didn’t have time to read
a whole blog to find a few things about Montreal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I wrote Mr. Silverman back that I had no apologies for my
Trump bashing and that he could easily find my Montreal stories by scrolling
through the story titles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">He wrote back that he didn’t have a lot of patience for
sifting through stuff but noticed some stories on Montreal trivia and hockey. He
sounded a bit dismissive. I wondered why I had bothered to offer a connection
to my Montreal stories to him and decided to “unfriend” him. I’m not about
chasing readers or being “friends” with people I don’t care for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s the deal. I’ve written about 35 different stories
that relate to growing up in Montreal. By far the most popular story is one I
wrote 5 years ago about the Montreal community of NDG. Over 7,000 people have
read the story so far and I’m still getting 150 new reads each month. There are
65 comments on the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Altogether over 96,000 people have read my stories since
I started the blog. These days I kind of write when I want to without any
deadlines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Back to Montreal Memories. A few days ago I posted a
paragraph on Montreal Memories about some 1960s rock bands in Montreal. I
thought that what I wrote had some interesting details that others might not
know about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There was nothing offensive in any way in what I wrote.
Within a few minutes of posting I was getting “likes”. Within an hour there was
12 “likes”. Pretty good I thought, I was entertaining some folks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I checked back again about 15 minutes later. My little
story had been removed. What kind of prick would do that I thought? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">So….if the Montreal Memories administrators are reading
this, here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">TWICE now I have had stuff I’ve written deleted from
Montreal Memories. Those 2 entries and any comments I’ve made on your site have
never been rude, insulting, or negative. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The only conclusion I can make is that you enjoy the
power you have to decide on your site what is and what isn’t acceptable even
when nothing objectionable has been written. Power sometimes goes to people’s
heads. Your list of rules is often contradicted by what you let be posted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s just a damned Facebook page! You may have convinced
many that you are about fairness and reason but to me you just come across as
bullies. You don’t own Montreal’s history and stories!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">You can….kiss my ass!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It is safe to say I won't be buying an overpriced Montreal Memories mug for $20.95 that the administrator is selling. </span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-67269444638664530292017-03-31T15:58:00.002-07:002017-03-31T15:58:52.341-07:00TRUMP PART 2<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMg5G7KjnwSMZxJS95PE2RSdkkODitnq5UcrGrnUFR9OtdejN6gI5UIbjtbgv8id4uBIXYlELPPAcZgDi6RGWcSszbHiQYW6oTI1YJe8svHl9smMMUhpvaz_59DHtOa374lWKi3Gfr1M/s1600/imagesFJOWQZ3N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguMg5G7KjnwSMZxJS95PE2RSdkkODitnq5UcrGrnUFR9OtdejN6gI5UIbjtbgv8id4uBIXYlELPPAcZgDi6RGWcSszbHiQYW6oTI1YJe8svHl9smMMUhpvaz_59DHtOa374lWKi3Gfr1M/s400/imagesFJOWQZ3N.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Dateline: March 26, 2017</span><br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">How Trump Spent His Time Between Being Elected And
His Inauguration</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">For starters he spent a lot of time watching TV according
to his Tweets.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In Trump’s acceptance speech he promised to work hard at
uniting the country. How did that work out? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It was no big surprise that Trump couldn’t stop bragging
about his election win. If anyone thought he was going to pivot and become a
more serious politician (as in being an adult) they were wrong. He was still
using Twitter every day and ranting about petty things.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Almost immediately the guy who was supposed to head
Trump’s transition team, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, was ousted in a
coup. A decade ago Christie had sent Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner’s father
off to a federal penitentiary for criminal activities. VP Mike Pence took over
Christie’s duties.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It didn’t take long for Trump to get into some spats with
some other world leaders including the Prime Minister of Australia who Trump
hung up on during a phone call and the President of Mexico who Trump tried to
browbeat. Trump also made the US’s NATO allies nervous. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Candidates for cabinet positions filed into Trump Tower
to be interviewed by Trump. Some who had condemned Trump before the election
looked like they were begging, including Mitt Romney. It soon became pretty
obvious that Trump was going to nominate the most extreme Republicans he could
find to fill the cabinet posts.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">During the transition Trump flew off to a few rallies to
get a reaffirmation of the devotion of his followers. It was like he was still
running for president.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">With the inauguration coming up, Trump and the
Republicans were struggling to find grade A entertainers to perform at the
inauguration balls. The best they could do was <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>16 year old singer Jackie Evancho who had
competed on the TV show America’s Got Talent. The irony in her accepting the
singing job at the inaugural of the Republican president is that Ms. Evancho’s
sister is transgender. President Obama had passed a law protecting transgender
kids in schools across the US. One of the first things the Republican congress
did was kill that law and let the states decide how to treat transgender kids
in schools.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5r5MwKXWSxczoO8xXi6DZH7pEOl8spRYqMTwUXcsCwJI1Gce9hdIIlty8R7M40XuVNUAmNCKqyERxD32CqeiHUHujQFfU7J6XXLrzVoSD4JzTVXiVvr1fBAFvUEik3xcCkGwJls0SF0/s1600/slider3trump_b3i6w%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5r5MwKXWSxczoO8xXi6DZH7pEOl8spRYqMTwUXcsCwJI1Gce9hdIIlty8R7M40XuVNUAmNCKqyERxD32CqeiHUHujQFfU7J6XXLrzVoSD4JzTVXiVvr1fBAFvUEik3xcCkGwJls0SF0/s400/slider3trump_b3i6w%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trump being sworn in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump bragged that more people came out to his
inauguration than ever before. Photos of Obama’s first inauguration clearly
proved that Trump was greatly mistaken.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s Inner Circle</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There have been some constants and some morphing in Trump’s
inner circle of advisors from the time he first decided to run for president.
He dismissed 2 of his campaign managers, Paul Manafort and Corey Lewandowski,
before settling on Kellyanne Conway. At the beginning of his campaign it looked
like Trump was getting a lot of advice from Newt Gingrich and former New York
mayor Rudy Guiliani. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">vanka Trump (Scary)</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSMcuBrN5wK32hNHNlTtwSs4OccDJapsJs6g-fO0a_H00f6d29CMzt7L2IhqIIKDjIn6aF4KFVv18ApZQDNzdhXYY2014OuRjzjjDF8cn81JUx1EDot_LIcP3_kCZUxOqALrHDOTYrfU/s1600/imagesFWYDI7YU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSMcuBrN5wK32hNHNlTtwSs4OccDJapsJs6g-fO0a_H00f6d29CMzt7L2IhqIIKDjIn6aF4KFVv18ApZQDNzdhXYY2014OuRjzjjDF8cn81JUx1EDot_LIcP3_kCZUxOqALrHDOTYrfU/s400/imagesFWYDI7YU.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s daughter Ivanka is closer to him than anyone
else. They totally adore each other. Like her father, she grew up wealthy and
joined the family business. She is often presented as a very smart
businesswoman. Apparently her acumen wasn’t missed by her businesses in 2016 as
she spent long periods of time on the campaign trail with her dad.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">For some strange reason (not really) Ivanka Trump is known
as Ivanka Trump even though she has been married to Jared Kushner for 8 years
and has 3 children with him.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">At one point Donald Trump attacked the department store
chain Nordstrom’s for dropping Ivanka’s line of products as if people should
have to buy her stuff because he is the president. Nordstrom’s sells sneakers
for as much as 500 dollars and more and sometimes they have a person playing a
grand piano while shoppers wander about. I know this because I’ve seen it first
hand at their flagship store in Seattle. This isn’t a place most Americans can
afford to shop at.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Ivanka has White House security clearance and now has a
second floor office. She still has no official title.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Jared Kushner (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuGC9Gwq1B3qlhZ8OInPuc86H__56RzEn_1t0qIwJ-6cAmtmAHwdmVi7xA9nziFE4CdFuAgMz5g39RsNgvDabWyBACMhe7ZIGm-i0VbgQI4cmH-xAo0gLUJr1TZdqQg4_iMk7r89zf_A/s1600/imagesJ6OXDI8Q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuGC9Gwq1B3qlhZ8OInPuc86H__56RzEn_1t0qIwJ-6cAmtmAHwdmVi7xA9nziFE4CdFuAgMz5g39RsNgvDabWyBACMhe7ZIGm-i0VbgQI4cmH-xAo0gLUJr1TZdqQg4_iMk7r89zf_A/s400/imagesJ6OXDI8Q.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Jared Kushner is a wealthy Jewish NYC based real estate
developer. Like his father in-law he grew up wealthy and joined the family
business. His father often donated money to the colleges Jared attended. His
father also raised money to build Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Kushner has been at Trump’s side since Trump decided to
run. One has to wonder how he managed to run his business empire while being
away for close to a year. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Kushner has no political experience at all other than
being a part of Trump’s campaign. On January 22<sup>nd</sup> he was sworn in as
Senior White House Advisor. He and his wife and kids now own a home in
Washington, DC.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump put Kushner in charge of brokering a
Palestinian-Israeli peace deal. Both Kushner and his wife Ivanka frequently sit
in on key meetings at the White House and private conversations with foreign
leaders.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Kushner, his wife Ivanka, and their kids are Orthodox
Jews and they don’t work on Saturdays. Recently Kushner and Ivanka took their
family on a ski vacation to Aspen during spring break. Kushner was on the
slopes while Donald Trump was trying to push through the Republican healthcare
bill.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A few days ago Trump put Kushner in charge of reinventing
the way the federal government does business and being the primary contact for
foreign leaders.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Kellyanne Conway (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWK3-eG4ADf03ymNqN4vpdO-tpVkt4FeHL8qhnTyJ26dOEkwjJxL9r-Kje6gSMjSGUjvDghoNmKa8YnCvEMv1muuPz_R7AivXFygIjEIX4TH3-J2mV8ddfx0W_a9ZNMHuQKLHVe0HTfek/s1600/images6SPBUSFU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWK3-eG4ADf03ymNqN4vpdO-tpVkt4FeHL8qhnTyJ26dOEkwjJxL9r-Kje6gSMjSGUjvDghoNmKa8YnCvEMv1muuPz_R7AivXFygIjEIX4TH3-J2mV8ddfx0W_a9ZNMHuQKLHVe0HTfek/s400/images6SPBUSFU.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Before Conway became Trump’s campaign manager she worked
for Ted Cruz. When she was with Cruz she claimed that Trump was extreme and not
a conservative. Like her or not she was an asset in getting Trump elected.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Once Trump got elected Conway started to go off the
rails. She called the lies told by Trump and the White House “alternative
facts”. At one point she made up a story about “The Bowling Green Massacre”.
There was no such thing. She also pitched Ivanka Trump’s clothes brand on TV.
Ms. Conway told so many lies that TV networks started to refuse to have her on
as a guest.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A pro-life advocate, Ms. Conway recently confessed that
in her younger years she had driven more than one friend to a hospital to have
an abortion and in fact helped pay for the procedures.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">General Mike Flynn (Extremely Scary)</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxY-GgcSvEREZWnHhpwgGHamI0HDxMIBVpOxKLGd6ULY_raLR5c4UDQKlhMjXnvJeeN7UJcbi0K6YYMzN6V9fiqT5ZmUwVIZCgvXk6uq1iI3z_86hYTdmr4-hrr9_Z4oNTbNiNWz7yZ3E/s1600/images79V6CF5E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxY-GgcSvEREZWnHhpwgGHamI0HDxMIBVpOxKLGd6ULY_raLR5c4UDQKlhMjXnvJeeN7UJcbi0K6YYMzN6V9fiqT5ZmUwVIZCgvXk6uq1iI3z_86hYTdmr4-hrr9_Z4oNTbNiNWz7yZ3E/s400/images79V6CF5E.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Flynn joined the Trump campaign in February of 2016 as
Trump’s chief military advisor. He had previously been a general in the Obama
administration but was dismissed for being a disruptive manager with weird
ideas.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In 2015 Flynn attended a gala in Moscow and gave a paid
speech. At that time Flynn and his son were running a consulting business that
included working and lobbying for foreign clients including Turkey.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Flynn’s son Michael is a total crackpot and a creator of
“fake news”. He’s the guy that created the bullshit story about Hillary Clinton
running a child prostitution ring out of a pizza parlor. Michael Flynn was so
off the wall that he was fired from the Trump transition team.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A number of times during Trump’s campaign Flynn would
lead the crowds in chanting “lock her up”, revving up their hate for Hilary
Clinton.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">At the end of December 2016 President Obama had 35
Russians sent home from the US and applied other sanctions against Russia after
it was proven that Russia had interfered in the US’s election process. Russia
did not retaliate.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In early February of 2017 General Flynn denied having
talks with the Russians in December of 2016 about the removal of the sanctions
once Trump was inaugurated. Vice President Mike Pence backed him up but it was
later found out that Flynn had lied to him. Flynn’s 24 day tenure as National
Security Advisor was the shortest term in the 63 year history of the office. He
gave his resignation on February 13, 2017. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Steve Bannon (Extremely Scary)</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOczpF0iLBHOkDFZFVcogPLld9zn_N-dRjrcumlPL8-bVWYUxJQAQPMStLaASKpCtP4EjpNZUAzdUoWQ8wv7dXBJ8f8vUxJT8tsbjKxs1TFjtaRyU3qa2B8H9vDYKbk-Ohf8qzGUByzAo/s1600/imagesU6DB3T6X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOczpF0iLBHOkDFZFVcogPLld9zn_N-dRjrcumlPL8-bVWYUxJQAQPMStLaASKpCtP4EjpNZUAzdUoWQ8wv7dXBJ8f8vUxJT8tsbjKxs1TFjtaRyU3qa2B8H9vDYKbk-Ohf8qzGUByzAo/s400/imagesU6DB3T6X.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The scariest person in Trump’s inner circle is Steve Bannon,
the former chairman of Breitbart News, a far right website that has commonly
been recognized as the home of the “alt-right”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Bannon believes that the US is going to go to war with
China in 5-10 years. This might explain why so many who are close to Trump want
to have stronger ties to Russia. He also claims that godlessness is weakening
the West. He has stated a number of times that he wants to destroy the
Republican Party. Strange as it may seem, he also claims to be against the
wealthy and Corporate America. He has told a story about when he was working
for Goldman-Sachs that he realized that those he worked with were closer to
people who live in places like Berlin and Moscow than they were to Americans
living in places like Kansas and Colorado. Actually that does make some sense.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Bannon is flat out a White Supremacist and racist. He is
somebody the world should know a lot more about because he is leading Trump
into a pretty dark future. To get a better idea of who Bannon is, I suggest
reading an overview of one of his favourite books, The Camp of the Saints.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Tier 2 In The White House</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">These are some of secondary people in Trump’s White
House.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Vice President Mike Pence (Extremely Scary)</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZCQHS6VFOYfm1E28m5WTCajLs6kQqvYA5lv94oRIV435PgATF-4waYusq46aQyFi7xy1AVO2CokuyOuFnLNepgRyni95c_4VFsin7JQ7hGso5mo6IRx34ux9EcN3_pIJbm3eDKCCLWg/s1600/images44962DHG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZCQHS6VFOYfm1E28m5WTCajLs6kQqvYA5lv94oRIV435PgATF-4waYusq46aQyFi7xy1AVO2CokuyOuFnLNepgRyni95c_4VFsin7JQ7hGso5mo6IRx34ux9EcN3_pIJbm3eDKCCLWg/s400/images44962DHG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Before Pence was chosen to be Trump’s running mate Trump,
Trump’s daughter and two older sons, and Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner
visited Pence and his family at Pence’s home in Indianapolis, Indiana. Pence
was the governor of Indiana at the time and his approval rating was well below
50%. As a devout Christian, Pence spent public tax dollars trying to implement
a program that would “degay” gay people.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It has been said that it was Kushner who convinced Trump
to go with Pence. He was kind of the perfect fit with lots of contacts to
Republicans in the Senate and House. Most important though was that he is very
loyal and could be lead about very easily.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It is doubtful that Trump ever asks for Pence’s advice.
He’s just a useful tool. Trump knew that General Flynn had lied to Pence and
didn’t let Pence know he knew for more than 2 weeks. That’s not a lot of
respect for the 2<sup>nd</sup> in command.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The optics of how little Trump thinks of Pence can often
be seen at bill signings at the White House. Once Trump has signed a bill he
takes the pen and gives it to Pence over his shoulder without looking at Pence.
It is a subtle kind of thing but it speaks volumes.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Sean Spicer (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCRW8hKk3P37p0v6-PQett9C_m8GaaXf5D2JYbNiVtIBv6cXftXScZHaom8C95ZmStcAce7rcngACVAIExhPrZYUaVUh7zjhc_lDyaSMozn2ENUSk5zyxiqpMlT-jdwLcAfLkiD1TTNk/s1600/images4VWCDUT5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCRW8hKk3P37p0v6-PQett9C_m8GaaXf5D2JYbNiVtIBv6cXftXScZHaom8C95ZmStcAce7rcngACVAIExhPrZYUaVUh7zjhc_lDyaSMozn2ENUSk5zyxiqpMlT-jdwLcAfLkiD1TTNk/s400/images4VWCDUT5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Spicer is both the White House spokesperson and the White
House attack dog. He seems to spend most of his time explaining that Trump
didn’t mean something he has said. Spicer is a pushy kind of guy and petty at times.
During his time as spokesperson the main stream media has been blocked from
some press conferences. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Reince Priebus (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Priebus is Trump’s White House Chief of Staff. He used to
be the Republican National Committee chairman. As Chief of Staff he is the
gatekeeper to the White House. Reportedly Trump is not thrilled by Priebus’s
influencing him to hire Sean Spicer. Priebus has close ties to the Speaker of
the House Paul Ryan and they are both from Wisconsin.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A betting person might guess that both Spicer
and Priebus will be not around 6 months from now.</span><br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Stephen Miller (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Miller is just 31 years of age. He is Trump’s main speech
writer. At one time he was Michele Bachmann’s press secretary. If you think
Sarah Palin is looney, Bachmann is loonier still. Miller also worked for
current Attorney General Jeff Sessions. During Trump’s campaign, Miller was
often the warm-up act throwing the red meat at the crowds.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A few weeks ago Miller went on all of the Sunday morning
political TV shows and his basic message was that as president Trump can do
whatever he wants and he shouldn’t be questioned about whatever he chooses to
do or say.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s Cabinet
Appointments</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Rogues Gallery of
Billionaires, Major Political Donors, Denizens Of Wall Street, And Friends of
Russia That Trump Selected to “Drain The Swamp”.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">About half of the members of Trump’s cabinet are from the
American Deep South.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Jeff Sessions-Attorney
General (Extremely Scary)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">As a senator from Alabama Sessions was one of the first
from the Republican establishment to endorse Trump. A short man with a thick
southern accent he is kind of the poster boy of a southern “cracker” to many
left leaning Americans. His middle name is Beauregard.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">He is the ultimate Republican conservative. As a senator
he wanted to ban same sex marriage, voted for the Iraq war, was and is against
legalized pot and of course Obamacare.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In 1986 he was nominated by President Reagan to be a
district judge. 4 justice department lawyers who Sessions worked with stated
that he commonly used racially offensive remarks. Martin Luther King’s widow
wrote a letter opposing his nomination and in the end he didn’t get the job.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Over 1,400 law professors signed a letter asking the Senate
to reject his nomination. It was to no avail. Sessions was appointed Attorney
General after a vote of 52 for and 47 against in the Senate on February 9<sup>th</sup>,
2017.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">During his confirmation hearings Sessions told Democratic
senator Al Franken that he did not have any communications with the Russian
government prior to his appointment. This was later learned to be a lie. He had
private meetings with Russian government officials at least twice.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">On March 2, 2017 Sessions “recused” himself of being
involved in any investigations of Trump’s campaign being connected to the
Russians. Basically Sessions is now “damaged goods” in that as the person
holding the highest legal office in the US he can’t be involved in a major
legal investigation.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Rex Tillerson-Secretary of State (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL9_jDIEPNjrSxV9zMxCCi4up4qpn8qMrFhccMjUT44xz08Z4qcT-SGshyIW4GgTU8eo8M4aINQnhbcZXW_X1NLyaV3NPe30bM2gLgbfRaMUJN9CB-WhxNMCOMZNempC0Hp_47ViPrj8/s1600/imagesOVMK56GS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL9_jDIEPNjrSxV9zMxCCi4up4qpn8qMrFhccMjUT44xz08Z4qcT-SGshyIW4GgTU8eo8M4aINQnhbcZXW_X1NLyaV3NPe30bM2gLgbfRaMUJN9CB-WhxNMCOMZNempC0Hp_47ViPrj8/s400/imagesOVMK56GS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tillerson with Putin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Before becoming US Secretary of State Tillerson was the
CEO of Exxon/Mobil. He had direct ties to Russian President Vladamir Putin and
they knew each other well. Exxon/Mobil and the Russian government were
co-investors in oil drilling in the Arctic.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Tillerson was totally opposed to the sanctions President
Obama had placed on Russia at the end of 2016 for their interfering in the US
election process.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Tillerson has donated over a half a million dollars to
the Republican Party in his lifetime.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In 2013 he was awarded “The Order of Friendship” by
Russian Premier Putin.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In NIMBY fashion he actively opposed fracking near his
home in Irvin, Texas.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Recently Tillerson stated they he never wanted to be
Secretary of State and only took the job because his wife thought he should.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">He rarely talks to the American press and travels the
world with only 1 reporter, a writer for a right wing blog.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Betsy Devos-Secretary of Education (Very Scary)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span></b>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Devos grew up in Michigan, the daughter of a billionaire
auto parts supplier. She married a billionaire herself who is an heir to the
Amway fortune. In her lifetime she has donated close to ½ a billion dollars to
the Republican Party. Devos’s brother, Erik Prince, is the founder of
Blackwater USA, a private military services contractor. (sometimes called mercenaries).</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Almost 90% of American children attend public schools.
Neither Devos nor her children ever went to a public school. She hates public
schools and has spent years trying to redirect tax payer’s dollars away from
them towards vouchers for private and charter schools.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Poverty plays a big role in why a number of American
students, particularly minorities like blacks, have a hard time passing exams.
Most Americans wouldn’t argue with poorer kids getting more scholarships. What
Ms. Devos doesn’t address is the obvious, and that is many Americans grow up in
really stupid environments where parents often consider bright people to be
snobs and eggheads. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The US by and large is a very gullible country. The
things that many of them believe are totally shocking including a lot of
religious nonsense. Knowledge requires research and time and many Americans are
too lazy to make the effort. If you are 18 years of age and can’t name the vice
president but came name a number of the 7 dwarves you are simply not very
bright. That’s not the teachers fault. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Part of her plan in funding private schools with taxpayer’s
dollars is to have the Christian faith taught in grade schools and high
schools.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Steve Mnuchin-Secretary of The Treasury (Very
Scary)</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mnuchin was a hedge fund manager at Goldman Sachs for 17
years. In 2009, along with some partners, he bought a number of failed banks
that were in receivership for below their market values. In the next few years
his company foreclosed on over 16,000 elderly clients who had reverse
mortgages.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Ben Carson-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Carson is a retired neurosurgeon and amazingly dumber
than a bag of rocks. He is the lone black person in Trump’s cabinet. For a
number of years he was a pitchman for a pharmaceutical corporation that
marketed dietary supplements. The corporation was fined 7 million dollars for
claiming its products could cure autism and cancer.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In 2015 he decided to run for president and for a short
period of time was the front runner among the Republicans. It didn’t last long.
Republican voters got past his very slow talking speaking manner and realized
that he was totally Looney Tunes.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A deeply religious man and a 7<sup>th</sup> Day
Adventist, he claimed the pyramids were built to store grain. He said that
gayness must be a choice because prisoners who are raped in prisons come out
gay. He thinks that Obamacare is worse than slavery. Recently he said that
black slaves who came to America were low paid immigrants.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A while back he stated that he shouldn’t be a cabinet
member because he knows very little about politics or managing a large group of
people. It didn’t seem to change Trump’s mind about appointing him.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Wilbur Ross-Secretary of Commerce (Very Scary)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Ross is a billionaire and is known as “the king of
bankruptcy”. In 2014 Ross paid 81 million dollars to settle a suit brought
against him by shareholders in a merger he had engineered. In August of 2016 he
was forced to reimburse investors 11.8 million dollars and fined 2.5 million
dollars by the Security and Exchange Commission.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The man is basically a crook.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Tom Price-Secretary of Health and Human Services
(Extremely Scary)</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Contrary to Price’s and the Republican’s opinions about
Obamacare, as of the end of February 2017, more Americans have a favourable
opinion of Obamacare than those that don’t. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The pre-existing health condition part of Obamacare and
allowing children to be part of their parent’s health care plan were never
Republican ideas.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Price is and out and out con man. When asked if anyone
who currently has Obamacare will lose their health care coverage, his answer is
that he would like to see everyone covered and have “access” to the Republicans
plan. It is like him saying that he would like everyone to have “access” to
buying a new car. It doesn’t mean much when you don’t have the money to pay for
one.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I will write more on the Republican Health Care Plan
later in this piece.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Linda McMahon-Administrator of Small Business
Administration</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhin65-tBm4lOl8VjWgzoSG2Vh4RmaMbKE51TSfeuDqA-UTHAH84Vi45T-a4iyFeLZFdAc-c0q-SDDOFRWMU_q6bNjB_MpW1Kz3hBiwXwm3AH2kFuspN9NIjaUCDfjGLl0FE8sF4NC8rVM/s1600/imagesO1OLL42C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhin65-tBm4lOl8VjWgzoSG2Vh4RmaMbKE51TSfeuDqA-UTHAH84Vi45T-a4iyFeLZFdAc-c0q-SDDOFRWMU_q6bNjB_MpW1Kz3hBiwXwm3AH2kFuspN9NIjaUCDfjGLl0FE8sF4NC8rVM/s400/imagesO1OLL42C.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">McMahon is the wife of Vince McMahon, and both were
owners of the World Wrestling Federation. She twice ran for public office and
lost. At one point, 10 years after they married, the couple was so broke that
they lived on food stamps and filed for bankruptcy.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The McMahons have donated over 5 million dollars to a
Trump charity.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It is widely known that almost all professional wrestlers
use steroids. More than 100 of them have died before their time in the past 20
years. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Ryan Zinke-Secretary of the Interior (Scary)</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Zinke is a former Navy Seal. On his first day in office
he rescinded a law that banned the use of lead in fishing tackle or bullets on
national wildlife refuges.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Rick Perry-Secretary of
Energy (Scary)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vv-_G2ygAQteBiJjiAC1hfT-GkaRjMI26zzFrBhW6vx6D3LiwpaTe8-7k67ZL8CVQwxWh9KJ5EDpY_6TEVrm5nZNgH9H7QcGcRZSx-L1TM9FvXDYBCdfR9ogVa1LthXGBKzTN2cwCl0/s1600/imagesFVPZMQGH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2vv-_G2ygAQteBiJjiAC1hfT-GkaRjMI26zzFrBhW6vx6D3LiwpaTe8-7k67ZL8CVQwxWh9KJ5EDpY_6TEVrm5nZNgH9H7QcGcRZSx-L1TM9FvXDYBCdfR9ogVa1LthXGBKzTN2cwCl0/s400/imagesFVPZMQGH.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Perry is a former governor of Texas and twice ran for
president of the US. For a number of years he owned a hunting camp called
“Niggerhead”. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In in his 1<sup>st</sup> run for president he said he
would get rid of 3 government agencies but had a brain fart and couldn’t recall
the 3<sup>rd</sup> one. It turned out to be the energy agency which he is now
the head of.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Elaine Chao-Secretary of Transport (Not Scary)</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Elaine Chao is married to Senate Majority leader Mitch
McConnell. She served 8 years as George W. Bush’s Secretary of Labor. She was
born in Taiwan.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">James Mattis-Secretary of Defense (Not Scary)</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mattis is a retired Marine general. His selection as
Secretary of Defense received almost unanimous approval by both the Democrats
and the Republicans. He is considered to be an intellectual by many and has
over 1000 books in his personal library.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">David Shulkin-Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Not
Scary)</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Shulkin was unanimously confirmed to his current
position. He has a medical background in both the private and public sectors.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">John Kelly-Secretary of Homeland Security (Scary)</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Kelly is a retired Marine Corps general. One of his sons,
also a marine, was killed in Afghanistan. There were only 11 Democratic
objections to his appointment in the Senate.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mike Pompeo- Director of
the CIA (Scary)</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Pompeo is a former congressman from Kansas who had
financial backing from the Koch brothers. He doesn’t believe in climate change.
32 Democratic senators voted against his appointment.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Nikky Haley-US
Ambassador to the United Nations (Not Scary)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ12ROOXu2Bix75V9OYhcj6h5rd8-VGgaHtIdlbJCX0ASJgpUngmR4m3C6qMKBezAd3HCVpFlU0s-6tph39RmkOK7FWEIzg5Rx9EYI8V4Ll5mYKqgTCODRxvIG-V_gEOa5NjvmOT93X8c/s1600/images1RV7HPJY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ12ROOXu2Bix75V9OYhcj6h5rd8-VGgaHtIdlbJCX0ASJgpUngmR4m3C6qMKBezAd3HCVpFlU0s-6tph39RmkOK7FWEIzg5Rx9EYI8V4Ll5mYKqgTCODRxvIG-V_gEOa5NjvmOT93X8c/s400/images1RV7HPJY.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Haley is the former governor of South Carolina. Her
parents imigrated from India to Canada before moving to the US. During the
Republican primaries she first backed Marco Rubio and after he dropped out she
changed her allegiances to Ted Cruz. She described Trump as “everything a
governor doesn’t want in a president”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Scott Pruitt-Administrator of The Environmental
Protection Agency (Very Scary)</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Pruitt rejects the scientific consensus on climate
change. As Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma he was suing machine
going after anyone he felt threatened oil producers and other polluters. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mick Mulvaney-Director
of the Office of Management and Budget ( Very Scary)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEoHXldSu8XwJXgHSa9Hqk2dtk2ap7x7NgfVCNYJhEBmdcnbqcxRmj4goD72-YxG4llVvPYIZlj0SINlKVEyqKTUuBsKngcSG2NNE41oNcvusMdo4LEt88emZMwLtWIdpL8dVFyW4ijg/s1600/imagesOKO8YK60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEoHXldSu8XwJXgHSa9Hqk2dtk2ap7x7NgfVCNYJhEBmdcnbqcxRmj4goD72-YxG4llVvPYIZlj0SINlKVEyqKTUuBsKngcSG2NNE41oNcvusMdo4LEt88emZMwLtWIdpL8dVFyW4ijg/s400/imagesOKO8YK60.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mulvaney is a former congressman from South Carolina. In
hearings on his appointment it was revealed that he failed to pay $15,000.00 in
taxes for a nanny he employed. He also earned over 5 million dollars on a real
estate development deal that was mostly funded by public tax dollars.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Sonny Perdue- Secretary of Agriculture (Scary)</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Perdue is a former governor of the state of Georgia. For
many years he was a Democrat. While he was governor he was personally involved
in a number of land deals in Georgia which made him millions.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Republican Controlled House and Senate</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Democrats lost control of the Senate in the last election
and now the Republicans control all 3 branches of the US federal government
including The White House. The only minor restriction they have is that
sometimes 60 votes are needed in the Senate to pass bills.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Paul Ryan-Speaker of the
House</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtsiRPr6gRFJV5ozns1unMVyLFdHADNnvPVcjdIAP95ftt59geU8xsVsd4i2QN68alstRbOg4zcg3r-Mho6b2zH-7cyZWXtOPNtaeR3M5MDKJwD12doUTodlizRNT-qWDkSBBKFImrXY/s1600/imagesUIDZYE1K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtsiRPr6gRFJV5ozns1unMVyLFdHADNnvPVcjdIAP95ftt59geU8xsVsd4i2QN68alstRbOg4zcg3r-Mho6b2zH-7cyZWXtOPNtaeR3M5MDKJwD12doUTodlizRNT-qWDkSBBKFImrXY/s400/imagesUIDZYE1K.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Ryan is a huge Ayn Rand fan. He is a career politician
with almost zero business experience. His main goal in life appears to be to
completely destroy every entitlement program in the US. He is the chief
architect of repealing Obamacare. Any political reform concept he has ever
presented always includes more tax breaks for the very wealthy. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">During his 13 years in Congress he attempted to pass 70
bills and was successful twice, once in the renaming of a post office and the
other lowering a tax on arrow shafts.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Like other Republicans before him who claimed to be
fiscally responsible, every budget he has presented involved increasing the US
national debt considerably. He doesn’t even make an attempt to curb the US
military costs.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">He has gone all in on killing Obamacare as have the rest
of his party. He clearly has no compassion for the less fortunate but what is
equally disturbing is that he doesn’t seem to have a clue what insurance is and
how it works. He doesn’t understand that healthy people, who often get sick
later in life, compensate for older people who are now sick. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Ryan could hardly control his giddiness when Trump was
elected president. Now he could do just about anything he wanted without it
being vetoed by Obama.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The first thing the Republican run Congress tried to do
in 2017 was try and gut the ethics Committee. When that proved unpopular they
moved on to trying to sell off federally owned land. This too didn’t go
anywhere when the Republicans realized that nobody wanted to buy public land
and pay taxes and buy insurance when they could use that land for free. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I will write more on Ryan in regards to the Republican
Healthcare plan later in this piece.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mitch McConnell-Majority Leader of the Senate</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial black";"></span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Like Paul Ryan, McConnell is a career politician. His
political career goes all the way back to 1964. His main claim to fame has been
as an obstructionist to anything President Obama wanted to do. Right wing
Supreme Court Justice Anton Scalia died in February of 2016 and McConnell
blocked Obama from replacing him even though Obama had almost a year left in
his presidency.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">McConnell is one of two Republican senators representing
the state of Kentucky. The other is Rand Paul who is a libertarian. Kentucky is
one of the poorer states in the US. It ranks 47<sup>th</sup> in household
incomes.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Over 400,000 Kentuckians get their health care through
something called Kynect which is basically a part of Obamacare. Kentucky is one
of the most federally subsidized states in the union. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Tobacco and coal mining are still significant parts of
Kentucky’s economy, 2 products that cause considerable health problems.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s Russian
Connection?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In July of 2015 Trump stated that he didn’t think John
McCain was a hero because he had been captured during the Viet Nam War. Trump
went on to say that he preferred heroes who weren’t captured. His statement
didn’t seem to bother Trump’s fans one iota. I believe it may have been the
turning point when Trump realized he could say just about anything negative
about America and not get any significant blow back. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Throughout his campaign Trump praised Russian Premier
Putin as a great leader. He wasn’t the first Republican president to express
admiration for Putin. Years ago Bush Jr. said he looked into Putin’s eyes and
said he saw a man who was straightforward and trustworthy.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Even after 17 American intelligence agencies asserted
that the Russians had interfered in the US election process including hacking
the Democrats, Trump wasn’t buying any of it. After NBC’s Matt Lauer stated
that Putin is a murderer Trump responded by saying “You think we don’t have our
own killers?”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In August of 2016 Trump said that Russia was not going to
go into the Ukraine. He didn’t seem to understand that the Russians were
already there.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There are several theories as to why Trump has avoided
saying anything negative about Russia. Currently the FBI, Congress, and The
Senate are investigating Trump’s connections to Russia and their interference
in the US election.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Here are a few of the theories…..</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#1 It could be as simple as the Russians having
information that they can use to blackmail Trump. Perhaps there are photos of
Trump and his friend, financier and registered sexual offender, Jeffrey
Epstein, attending parties with underage girls?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#2 Trump has been influenced strongly by Steve Bannon and
his worldview. As I stated before, Bannon believes that the US and China will
go to war with each other in the next 5-10 years. It is quite possible that
Bannon believes that the US could use a powerful ally in fighting either the Chinese
or Muslim countries. Russia is a predominantly white country. Former KKK leader
David Duke also believes Russia could be a key ally in the future. Russia has
had its own internal problems with some Muslims who make up 12-15% of their
population.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Here’s some math. There are 340 million people in the US,
144 million people in Russia, 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, and 1.4 billion
people in China. The white guys are outnumbered by a ratio of about 6 to 1.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Fighting Muslims in Afghanistan in a costly long term war
had a lot to do with the break-up of the Soviet Union.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#3 Follow the money. Years ago US banks stopped lending
Trump money after his casinos went bankrupt. He then got some financing through
the German Deutsche Bank. This bank operates in over 70 countries worldwide.
Over the years this bank has paid billions in fines for illegal business
practices including money laundering for the Russian oligarchs.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea has some
similarities to the tax haven countries in the Caribbean. For years now Cyprus
was where the Russian oligarchs laundered their money. Trump’s new Secretary of
Commerce, Wilbur Ross, was at one time the vice chairman of The Bank of Cyprus.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It is doubtful that Trump has ever met Putin in person.
He has, however, had direct dealings with the Russians. Several years ago Trump
bought a property in Florida for 40 million dollars. 2 years later he sold the
property to a Russian oligarch for 100 million dollars making a profit of 60
million dollars.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s own son, Donald Jr, claimed that at one time that
Russian money was pouring into Trump investments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gLcGMxA3XnuIs8oz-LcAjBbiDysX06Ti9JksJ1Pe75hylWkhdyTLVn2UQaULoKWRSTD_5FYoKzbwnRV-sRYBJHVJb6TwELsXgwB_EdT55pP97Ih4DDU_gCaxA-Fii-zVogH5plBYTXg/s1600/imagesW4KL0HZU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gLcGMxA3XnuIs8oz-LcAjBbiDysX06Ti9JksJ1Pe75hylWkhdyTLVn2UQaULoKWRSTD_5FYoKzbwnRV-sRYBJHVJb6TwELsXgwB_EdT55pP97Ih4DDU_gCaxA-Fii-zVogH5plBYTXg/s400/imagesW4KL0HZU.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Manafort</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Paul Manafort is an American lobbyist who has represented
a number of foreign dictators and at least one guerilla leader. It has been
reported that he received close to 13 million dollars for his services
representing a pro-Russian Ukrainian president who later fled his country. Manafort
became Trump’s second campaign manager in April of 2016. He resigned in August
of 2016 and his duties were taken over by Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In August of 2016 the Republican platform was softened in
the condemnation of Russia for annexing The Crimea and the sending of Russian
troops into Ukraine. In December of 2016, then president Obama kicked 35
Russian diplomats out of the US in response to the Russians interfering in the
US election. Putin and Russia did not retaliate.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqyEtkiPvGuseUB2kfMyU1L7SOuhAyZsD1MB22gn-BEqJGaSj2EI7IaqFh4-ssmIuWzB_2FQ3SukbN_8NZaPGFVU7_WHEn1MQ1mL08exRxTvTsfLbAwh-hTCtSQyVKkvMmsccNN3HKuDs/s1600/imagesHZWXHE1C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqyEtkiPvGuseUB2kfMyU1L7SOuhAyZsD1MB22gn-BEqJGaSj2EI7IaqFh4-ssmIuWzB_2FQ3SukbN_8NZaPGFVU7_WHEn1MQ1mL08exRxTvTsfLbAwh-hTCtSQyVKkvMmsccNN3HKuDs/s400/imagesHZWXHE1C.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julian Assange</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">WikiLeaks was founded in 2006 by Australian born Julian
Assange who is also its chief spokesperson. He is currently living in political
asylum at the Equadorian embassy in London. England. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">For the past 10 years WikiLeaks has hacked into various
governments and businesses in a number of countries around the world. Quite
often they have jeopardized private information about people who are not
politically active but merely ordinary citizens. It seems WikiLeaks thinking is
that the end justifies the means and collateral damage is not their concern.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">What seems to have changed in the past year or two is
that WikiLeaks seems to have altered its worldview and that they are picking
winners and losers with the winners commonly being the Russians. Recently the
CIA was exposed by them with details of how they spy and gather data. There
hasn’t been any data produced by WikiLeaks on the activities of the KGB, the
Russian oligarchs, or the inner workings of the Republican Party.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There is also something called Guccifer 2.0 that seems to
have hacked the Democratic headquarters and passed along data to WikiLeaks. The
Russians claim that Guccifer 2.0 is a lone hacker while many in the West
believe it is an arm of Russian intelligence.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So far the list of Trump’s associates and advisors who
have communicated with the Russians or done business with them includes Roger
Stone, Paul Manafort, Rex Tillerson, Wilbur Ross, Jeff Sessions, Carter Page,
Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, and Rick Gates.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Many in the US media and the left believe that the reason
Trump has never shown his tax returns he because they believe he is deeply in
debt to Russian businessmen. If Trump has lied to the IRS he could find himself
in jail. The IRS usually doesn’t mess around about taxes.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Russia has a lower per capita income than China does and
China has 10 times the population. Why all the interest in Russia by a number
of Trump’s associates? It certainly isn’t trade. Russia accounts for .2% of all
of the US’s imports annually and .1% of the US’s exports annually. Trump’s
friends have recognized that since Putin came to power there have been over 150
new billionaires created when there was none before. The oligarchs have
hundreds of billions of dollars that they need to get laundered. Any piece of
that is a nice chunk of money.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Trump Timeline Since He Was Elected President</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 20<sup>th</sup>: Issues executive order to scale
back parts of Obamacare. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 21<sup>st</sup>: 4 million people around the
world protest against Trump in The Women’s March. Trump claims that his
inauguration was attended by the most people ever. Facts prove him wrong. He
attacks the media.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 23<sup>rd</sup>: Claims that Mexican illegals
cost him the popular vote. Trump withdraws the US from the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 24<sup>th</sup>: OK’s the Keystone Pipeline and
the Dakota Access Pipeline.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 25<sup>th</sup>: Issues an executive order to
start building a wall at the Mexican border.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 26<sup>th</sup>: Suggests that import tax of 20%
will be added to Mexican goods to pay for wall. Mexican president cancels
meeting with Trump.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 27<sup>th</sup>: Suspends the travel of people
from 6 Muslim countries to America including Iraq.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 28<sup>th</sup>: Speaks to various world leaders
by phone, gets into fight with Australian Prime Minister.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 29<sup>TH</sup>: Tweets about other things while
US Seals go on raid in Yemen. One Seal dies in attack.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 30<sup>th</sup>:<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Signs an executive order to reduce all federal regulations and fires acting
Attorney General, Democrat, Sally Yates.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">January 31<sup>st</sup>: Nominates Neil Gorsuch to fill
empty spot on Supreme Court.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheU0NySJNfpRv0GqV_YHLfmPLDoKj5K-ln7RUBS4v2sK7RNqGWV_6EGeFRdlpYplDXkBYnkVLxUVNGGxddURRcJQ0aIfjX479z7RzsLEoymCmhnYrkmMZdXPWwhcbEbGuEtcWwBYVjft8/s1600/imagesXUZKBROE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheU0NySJNfpRv0GqV_YHLfmPLDoKj5K-ln7RUBS4v2sK7RNqGWV_6EGeFRdlpYplDXkBYnkVLxUVNGGxddURRcJQ0aIfjX479z7RzsLEoymCmhnYrkmMZdXPWwhcbEbGuEtcWwBYVjft8/s400/imagesXUZKBROE.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 1<sup>st</sup>: Goes to Dover Air Force Base for
the arrival of dead Seal’s body from Yemen.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 2<sup>nd</sup>: Speaks at national prayer breakfast.
He warns Israel about new settlements on West Bank.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 3<sup>rd</sup>: Orders reviews of Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Senior federal judge blocks
Trump’s temporary immigration ban.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 4<sup>th</sup>: Appeals judge’s block.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 5<sup>th</sup>: More appeals on judge’s block.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 6<sup>th</sup>: More appeals on judge’s block.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 7<sup>th</sup>: Betsy Devos is confirmed as
Secretary of Education 51-50. Vice President Mike Pence casts deciding vote. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 8<sup>th</sup>: Jeff Sessions is confirmed as
Attorney General by Senate 52-47.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 9<sup>th</sup>: Signs 3 executive orders
regarding law enforcement.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 10<sup>th</sup>: Meets with the Japanese Prime
Minister who stays at Trump’s Florida resort for the weekend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzCV0K7zG3pVAuXUDOI9Ie9YxsuS-rYmt5L2TsT3nvsKxMdjuX1PqIH2oxoj0SZm08bBCSOhHv-PzzfNbXwvb6sHVtdxAPOM4aPmHznKFCJ4OVHJ6i7dIFOOAWTQ8vmZCwcGW2t76L9c/s1600/imagesEWRJLA0Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzCV0K7zG3pVAuXUDOI9Ie9YxsuS-rYmt5L2TsT3nvsKxMdjuX1PqIH2oxoj0SZm08bBCSOhHv-PzzfNbXwvb6sHVtdxAPOM4aPmHznKFCJ4OVHJ6i7dIFOOAWTQ8vmZCwcGW2t76L9c/s400/imagesEWRJLA0Z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 11<sup>th</sup>: Plays golf with Japanese Prime
Minister.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 13<sup>th</sup>: Meets with Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau. One of Trump’s chief advisors, General Michael Flynn,
is asked to resign after lying to VP Pence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCZsCBlrocinmdSzjpUVpqxGWYXqUG2mteAvK9GcE2dB1_ooLsppEgG1dhuWWDidwIcI069-cFo1CN3NuRW6uN7FD7hwmmvdA54Rj_A_rw6BrUPwlkyFIhA16dehEE-MMYuGw9yB77fw/s1600/imagesXPLTSQGI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCZsCBlrocinmdSzjpUVpqxGWYXqUG2mteAvK9GcE2dB1_ooLsppEgG1dhuWWDidwIcI069-cFo1CN3NuRW6uN7FD7hwmmvdA54Rj_A_rw6BrUPwlkyFIhA16dehEE-MMYuGw9yB77fw/s400/imagesXPLTSQGI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 14<sup>th</sup>: The Senate confirms Linda
McMahon as Administrator of the Small Business Administration.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 15<sup>th</sup>: Meets with Israeli Prime
Minister at White House.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 16<sup>th</sup>: Goes on a 105 minute rant at a
press conference. Calls out the press repeatedly, accusing them of being
dishonest.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 17<sup>TH</sup>: Visits Boeing plant in South
Carolina on way to a weekend in Mar-a-Lago. Scott Pruitt is approved as
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 18<sup>th</sup>: Holds rally in Melbourne,
Florida, and about 9,000 attend. His crowds are getting smaller.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 21<sup>st</sup>: Visits the National Museum of
African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. He announces 15,000 new
positions in immigration enforcement.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 23: Meets with a dozen manufacturing CEOs. 6 of
Trump’s staff have to leave White House after failing FBI background checks.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 24<sup>th</sup>: Bars a number of news
organizations from a press briefing. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 26<sup>th</sup>: Trumps first choice for Secretary of
the Navy turns down Trump’s offer.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 27<sup>th</sup>: Proposes spending an additional
10% (54 billion) on the military while cutting back on expenses for The State
Department and The EPA. 120 retired generals and admirals sign a letter
criticizing his plan.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">February 28<sup>th</sup>: Trump makes his first speech to
Congress and uses a teleprompter. Avoids rambling and going off topic as he
usually does in his speeches.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 1st: The Justice Department confirms that Attorney
General Jeff Sessions met twice with a Russian ambassador during Trump’s
campaign. Sessions had denied meeting any Russians at any time.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 2nd: Sessions recuses himself from any
investigations into Russian interference in US election. Ben Carson and Rick
Perry confirmed. White House confirms that Trump’s son-in-law met with Russians
in December 2016.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 4<sup>th</sup>: Trump accuses Obama of bugging
Trump Tower. Sparse crowds attend Trump rallies around the US, some with as few
as a dozen people.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 5<sup>th</sup>: Former Director of National
Intelligence, James Clapper, says there is no evidence of Trump Tower being
wiretapped.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 6<sup>th</sup>: In a reworked executive order to
ban Muslims coming to America, Iraq is removed from the previous list.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 8<sup>th</sup>: Formal drafting of the repeal of
The Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare) begins. House Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform informs Trump that he is not allowed to erase Tweets as
they are part of government records. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 9<sup>th</sup>: Trump meets with US bankers and
pledges to remove a number of financial restrictions that prevent recklessness
on the part of the banks. 6 US states challenge Trump’s Muslim countries travel
ban.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 10<sup>th</sup>: Trump and Jeff Sessions order the
resignation of 46 US attorneys from the Obama administration. Trump’s friend
Roger Stone admits to communicating with hacker Guccifer 2.0.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 13<sup>th</sup>: White House spokesperson Sean
Spicer claims Trump’s tweet about Obama wiretapping Trump was misinterpreted
and that Trump meant the Obama administration.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 16<sup>th</sup>: Trump administration releases a
preliminary draft of the 2018 budget.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGe7srYv_JphPxRwzV3PpXD4pdcmvazhx507aNpbpZv_gZRbQhaQQSngaE7qd7XOxtsME2JaHlXHzGZPIgGbalJYUaa5FzE9ZFRL4zxZjUMPTPiIp4tbxYNCh-azdfSht5-IvhA_F545A/s1600/images%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGe7srYv_JphPxRwzV3PpXD4pdcmvazhx507aNpbpZv_gZRbQhaQQSngaE7qd7XOxtsME2JaHlXHzGZPIgGbalJYUaa5FzE9ZFRL4zxZjUMPTPiIp4tbxYNCh-azdfSht5-IvhA_F545A/s400/images%255B4%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trump and Angela Merkel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 17<sup>th</sup>: Trump meets with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel at White House. Trump refuses to shake her hand.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 19<sup>th</sup>: German defense secretary rejects
Trumps assertion that Germany owes money to NATO.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 20<sup>th</sup>: Trump holds a political rally in
Louisville, Kentucky.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">March 21<sup>st</sup>: The repeal and replacement of
Obamacare goes down in flames and the vote on the bill is cancelled due to lack
of support from various factions within the Republican Party.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Ryan/Trump Healthcare
Bill Failure</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Health care is 20% of the US economy. The new Republican
healthcare bill (American Healthcare Act) was designed by Republican House
leader Paul Ryan with virtually no input from Donald Trump. The bill broke a
number of promises Trump had made when he was campaigning including covering
everyone with much lower premiums, avoiding Medicaid cuts, spending more money
on opioid abuse treatment, and not hurting the very poor.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Congressional Budget Office, which is directed by a
Republican, stated that as many as 24 million people would lose health care
coverage under the Trump/Ryan plan. Part of the bill includes a 600 billion tax
cut that would only go to households with more than 200K income annually.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Ryan and The Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Tom
Price, claimed that the new bill would slash the federal budget by 134 billion
dollars, an amount that is only about 2% of the US’s national debt.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It was pretty clear that Trump had no understanding of
how America’s health care works. What was clear is that he and Ryan wanted to
kill Obamacare and replace it with their bill very quickly with hardly any
debate. They tried to jam their bill through Congress in just 17 days.
Obamacare took about 10 months to get passed.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It was pretty obvious from the outset that the bill was
going to cause a lot of grief and pain to millions of Americans, particularly
lower income types and those that are over 50 years of age. A 60 year old could
see their premiums quadruple.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Only 17% of Americans thought that the Ryan/Trump plan
was a good idea. Neither Trump nor Ryan cared a whit about what the other 83%
thought. They were determined to serve up their “shit sandwich”.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Republican politicians were getting hammered at town
halls by their constituents, including many who had voted for Trump. Their
phones were ringing off the hooks with complaints about the new bill. A number
of Republican politicians were getting nervous about losing their seats in the
2018 mid-term elections.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hLKXrHa7O9oam3yC9Bw69X_xM7pNNqTfGwUQfDkE4vYtvsstVfr68_8LVqnR3GB8qYx5R017Lj8PQkwrdOz_ek37f_Dc9VwKUuRXDOY1nEoQmpB4OtDsW4sN5DFMjtgR9XOL9G6D1rM/s1600/imagesRM825VYS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hLKXrHa7O9oam3yC9Bw69X_xM7pNNqTfGwUQfDkE4vYtvsstVfr68_8LVqnR3GB8qYx5R017Lj8PQkwrdOz_ek37f_Dc9VwKUuRXDOY1nEoQmpB4OtDsW4sN5DFMjtgR9XOL9G6D1rM/s400/imagesRM825VYS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freedom Caucus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">What really killed the bill more than anything else was a
secretive group of about 36 far right Republican congressmen who call
themselves The Freedom Caucus. There is no official count of how many members
there are. They are the same people who had John Boehner replaced as Speaker of
the House. The Freedom Caucus didn’t think Ryan’s bill went far enough. They
wanted more draconian measures in the bill and referred to Ryan’s bill as
Obamacare 2.0 or Obamacare Lite.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">What is forgotten by some is that the Ryan healthcare
plan was split into 3 parts and what was being jammed through congress was just
the first part. All 3 of the parts also had to be approved by the senate where
Republicans only have a few seats as the majority.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The end result of this fiasco is that Trump doesn’t have
as much power as he thought he had. He has flopped as the great deal maker he
boasted he was. Things Trump thought would be easy like his plan to spend 1
trillion dollars on rebuilding the US infrastructure and financial reform could
be quite difficult to achieve now that it has been proven that there are some
in his party who are willing to stand up to him.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s Budget</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">You may or may not know what the Heritage Foundation is.
It is an American right wing think tank that was founded in 1973. At the time
they thought Nixon was far too liberal. Nixon expanded Medicare in 1972 and if
he hadn’t been thrown out of office he might have passed a healthcare bill
similar to Obamacare. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Heritage Foundation has influenced Republican
politics for close to 40 years. In Reagan’s first year in office 60% of The
Heritage Foundation’s proposals were either implemented or initiated. Their
basic beliefs are as follows....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Conservative public policies.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Free enterprise.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Limited government.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Individual freedom.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-American values.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Strong national defense.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">One could argue with their basic beliefs. There is no
free enterprise when a limited number of major corporations control whole
industries like healthcare insurance. Limited government really means that
businesses can get away with almost anything without any legal jeopardy.
Individual freedom sounds good but many Americans don’t experience it. American
values really means being Christian or Jewish and believing in god.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s budget blueprint has The Heritage Foundation
written all over it.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In simple terms what Trump (and The Heritage Foundation)
is proposing is increasing the funding for the Defense Department by 10% (54
billion dollars), increasing the cost of Homeland Security by about 7% (2.8
billion dollars), and increasing the cost of Veterans Affairs by about 6%.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In order to pay for the above, Trump plans to slash
spending in a number of federal bureaus. Here is a list of some of the cuts.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) -31.4%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-US Aid -28.7%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Agriculture -20.7%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Labor -20.7%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Health and Human Services -17.9%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Commerce -15.7%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Education -13.5%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-The State Department -30%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span>The Republican Congress cut back on State Department expenses when Obama was in office. One of those cuts resulted in the American ambassador in Benghazi having no military protection.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-HUD (Housing and Urban Development) -13%</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Hundreds and hundreds of federal programs will no longer
exist. Thousands of federal employees will lose their jobs. Here’s a brief list
of just some of the programs that will be terminated and will no longer receive
government financing.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- PBS and NPR (National Public Radio).</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- The National Endowment For the Arts.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- Meals On Wheels.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- Home Energy Assistance (helps pay heating for lower
income families in the winter).</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- The elimination of 400 million dollars used to pay for
nursing training.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- A program that helps poor people pay rent.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- Aid for poor college students.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- After school and summer programs.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- Nutrition for kids in developing countries.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- Emergency food assistance.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">- The Legal Services Corporation which provides legal
services to low income families.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Although Trump’s budget cuts education costs for public
schools it increases government funds for private and charter schools.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">If Trump gets his way millions of Americans, particularly
the poor, are in for a lot of misery. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The blueprint for Trump’s proposed budgets reflects a
deep paranoia by Trump. 54 billion more dollars would be spent on defense and
the military annually amounting to a total of about 655 billion. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Apparently Trump is oblivious to the fact that the US is
lousy at winning wars with ground troops. Iraq. Afghanistan, and Viet Nam were
all “disasters”. Spending billions on defense isn’t going to change those
losses. Yes the US has some technologically superior weapons compared to a
number of third world countries but what is the US going to do when those
countries become efficient at using drones too.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump really knows very little about the world. Basically
what he is planning to do is restart the arms race. It’s a blind ambition with
serious consequences. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Summation</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I’m a Canadian. Some who read this story might ask why I
should care about what goes on in the US. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Like many other Canadians my age (69) I grew up with rock
and roll. We watched the same TV shows and went to the same movies as our
neighbours to the south did. Many of us have fond memories of road trips to the
US as kids.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">At times we were a bit befuddled by the overfriendliness
we witnessed in American stores. Americans seemed to be more zealous
entrepreneurs than us Canadians. Would any of us create a Santa Claus Village
in Upstate New York and call the area the North Pole?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsvJAvCb9LVZ1Z9u3oJ2fqvhci0Zry87hy58h4mYc2jIBqZv1_Om-jC_xAQZzR_c-Eva0NBLEB8DLVj2UqbQkFU6OVpeBPQhUTVnxTeSEBrgnBDS1_uuYQK4pPVD-V9GtmSaIiMGu9wM/s1600/imagesHNMKX3Z1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsvJAvCb9LVZ1Z9u3oJ2fqvhci0Zry87hy58h4mYc2jIBqZv1_Om-jC_xAQZzR_c-Eva0NBLEB8DLVj2UqbQkFU6OVpeBPQhUTVnxTeSEBrgnBDS1_uuYQK4pPVD-V9GtmSaIiMGu9wM/s400/imagesHNMKX3Z1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">We watched America come apart in the 1960s. There were 3
assassinations in 1 decade. The Viet Nam War split the US down the middle.
Racism was still prevalent particularly in the US south. Hippies and pot scared
the crap out of conservative America.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIFcR-LN3hkgys7DvEzG5OTD6tauRs747NhErhz6ZletdheJZQCGKwEUKJwdjlh3aFJxAHhoNHLIFlff_lu6KInf4PofkjD3CBJLZe8aEZf8mCZKK6igU7Bc4lqIC-w04mWZsMmyKX-4/s1600/imagesTWLQCNLI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIFcR-LN3hkgys7DvEzG5OTD6tauRs747NhErhz6ZletdheJZQCGKwEUKJwdjlh3aFJxAHhoNHLIFlff_lu6KInf4PofkjD3CBJLZe8aEZf8mCZKK6igU7Bc4lqIC-w04mWZsMmyKX-4/s400/imagesTWLQCNLI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In the middle of the 1960s President Lyndon B. Johnson
introduced The Civil Rights Act, public broadcasting, Medicare, and Medicaid.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There were still some Republicans around like Rockefeller
and even Nixon who were open to some progressive ideas. That started to change
when Reagan became president. His trickle-down economics never worked but
Republicans today are still pushing the same bullshit.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The US seemed to flip flop about every 8 years or so from
a Republican president to a Democratic one. 9/11 was a reset in America. Air
travel became a whole new experience. The US found itself mired in wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, two countries that had nothing to do with 9/11. In 2008, in
Bush Junior’s last year in office, the US went into the tank and America saw
its biggest decline in employment since The Great Depression. Most of the US’s
banks had to be bailed out with taxpayer’s money and it looked like the end for
GM and Chrysler. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6IsZ0oETxSnGhoZBWufkkqJ8vPlWxpSOvNfYUHQI_V2VknM_w6tyJn4AufoRs9w-btNyaxoL3sshrDPgOQ39Ib7EUo2qzqmsz1UAYcn0w-qUEYggRUkMMsCwTD5faWadcIn5GR067Dg/s1600/imagesA4Q73BDW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6IsZ0oETxSnGhoZBWufkkqJ8vPlWxpSOvNfYUHQI_V2VknM_w6tyJn4AufoRs9w-btNyaxoL3sshrDPgOQ39Ib7EUo2qzqmsz1UAYcn0w-qUEYggRUkMMsCwTD5faWadcIn5GR067Dg/s400/imagesA4Q73BDW.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">America elected its first black president. The Republican
Party, as a whole, refused to cooperate with Obama in any way. Still the
economy was revived, the stock market soared, and steady job growth continued
in each of Obama’s 8 years. GM and Chrysler were thriving again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxMGsAiTo6SzIo-TlgnVm-I9O4jU1owkE-HMz0BMDYAJJhI6rdj8wuzmEOPj51FsIMp16EgraCmWcGBv3V_MT78Fce79gXSPbwQK5rngfvIrBMvAnTZdDtagvyoX0tGZYbw6fpy6KDh4/s1600/images4KF6QQ9G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxMGsAiTo6SzIo-TlgnVm-I9O4jU1owkE-HMz0BMDYAJJhI6rdj8wuzmEOPj51FsIMp16EgraCmWcGBv3V_MT78Fce79gXSPbwQK5rngfvIrBMvAnTZdDtagvyoX0tGZYbw6fpy6KDh4/s400/images4KF6QQ9G.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">For decades now the Republican Party has not hidden its
bias towards corporate America and the very wealthy. America’s poor and middle
class would be hard pressed to come up with anything the Republican Party has
done in the last 50 years that has benefitted them.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Flags wave on front lawns and front porches across the
US. It’s a nationalistic thing. Indeed America is a great country but a closer
look quickly reveals that it often isn’t great for everyone. Americans are
often not in the same boat. The armed services are made up mostly of young
people who had few economically sound choices in life. Many come from small
towns where industries have departed. No politician in America is ever going to
tell a dead soldier’s family “I’m sorry your son and daughter wasted their life
in a war where we achieved nothing.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtPfa5D6unAI56ONx5LItPx1W0p8JV3OIBEzqvOgTisTBheQRiNzxBYU1MPAJ-44lA2flyj6XhutboI6DlD0PUwuA5E7UhFFZwC-3LskwhL1F3Meij3LNhGJ7zi71KJjkigAhxdYAxv8/s1600/imagesLYITG5YV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtPfa5D6unAI56ONx5LItPx1W0p8JV3OIBEzqvOgTisTBheQRiNzxBYU1MPAJ-44lA2flyj6XhutboI6DlD0PUwuA5E7UhFFZwC-3LskwhL1F3Meij3LNhGJ7zi71KJjkigAhxdYAxv8/s400/imagesLYITG5YV.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">50% of Americans live pay check to pay check and have
less than $1000.00 in the bank. Over 43 million Americans live in poverty. On
the other side of the ledger, the past 40 years have seen an enormous amount of
wealth shift from the middle class and the poor to the top 10% earners in the
US. Taxes on the rich have been slashed over and over again by Republican
presidents. A reasonable person would ask why very rich people should need to
become richer and richer on the backs of their fellow citizens. 1% of the
population of the US owns 40% of the nation’s wealth.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Giving more wealth to the very rich is the Republican
way. Basically it is just greed. To distract from their greed Republicans
create fear and nobody has been better at doing that than Donald Trump, fear of
terrorists, fear of religious beliefs being under attack, fear of illegal
immigrants, fear of gays, fear of minorities, fear of guns being taken away, and
fear of legalized abortions.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In 2016 54 Americans lost their lives to Muslim American
terrorists. 49 of the 54 lost their lives in a massacre at a nightclub in
Orlando, Florida. No Americans were killed by foreign born terrorists in the
US. Of the 7 Muslim countries that Trump tried to ban people coming to America,
not one person from any of those countries had committed a terrorist act in the
US in the last 50 years. On average more than 12,000 Americans are shot to
death each year. On a per capita basis that’s about 51 times more than in
Canada.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">America has enough wealth and resources for the whole
population of 330 million to live comfortably and enjoy their lives. Trump and
the Republican Party don’t think that way. As they say….the proof is in the
pudding. Here’s a partial list of what Trump and the Republicans have done to
middle class and poor Americans since Trump’s inauguration.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump talks about the US being ripped off in trade deals.
Why then has the stock market been soaring for years and Corporate America
making record profits? Why has everyone else’s wages remained stagnant for
years while CEOs are making far more than they ever have?</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The US is living in bazaar times when it comes to their
president and the federal government.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-First president in 40 years not to show his tax returns.3
times now the Republican Congress has voted down Democrats requests that Trump
show his returns.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trump’s wife doesn’t live in the White House.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in law Jared Kushner
have offices in the White House and are chief advisors although neither has any
political experience.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trump takes every weekend off and often spends the two
days at his Mara Lago resort in Florida where he sometimes mixes with guests.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Has played golf 13 times in his first 9 weeks in office.
He said he wouldn’t play golf when he was president.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Starts firestorms regularly through his tweets.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trump has had verbal fights with the press, foreign
leaders, and some in his own party. Nothing is too petty for him to comment on
including the ratings for The Apprentice.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Lies every time he gives a speech.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Said he would “drain the swamp” as president. Instead he
appointed billionaires, lobbyists, and carpet baggers.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Broke a number of promises and tried to jam a terrible
healthcare bill through Congress without knowing everything that was in the
bill.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trump’s Muslim ban excluded countries he has done
business with.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Rescinded The Clean Water Act.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trump administration and campaign being investigated for
ties to Russia interfering in the US election by the FBI, Congress, and the
Senate.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-EPA chief refuses to ban pesticide linked to brain
damage in children.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-States are now allowed to defund Planned Parenthood.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Congress rescinded Obama’s executive order on overtime
pay.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Congress voted against internet privacy allowing
internet providers to sell their customer’s traffic records to advertisers and
others.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Congress approved coal mining on federal land.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trump produces blueprint for new budget. Severe cuts to
many government agencies and the elimination of others that many US citizens
rely on.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A week or so ago I saw a segment on ABC News where a
reporter visited a small coal mining town in either Kentucky or Tennessee. A
couple in their late 50s or early 60s was interviewed. The husband is a former
coal miner who now has Black Lung Decease. He can barely talk and he breaths
through an inhalator. His wife has diabetes and a heart condition. Together the
drugs keeping them alive cost over $12,000.00 per month.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Because of their low income of about 20K per year between
them, they managed to get healthcare coverage through Obamacare. They both
voted for Trump. Without Obamacare the husband would be dead in no time if
Trump’s healthcare bill got passed. It’s very likely she would follow him not
much long after. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The couple didn’t seem to have any guilt about receiving
benefits of more than a 100 times what they had paid into Obamacare. Although
Trump could have been responsible for their early deaths, both of them said
they still liked Trump and would vote for him again. Some folks just aren’t equipped
to deal with logic!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Prediction: Trump is impeached in next 6 months and some of his henchmen end up in the Crowbar Hotel.</span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
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<br /></div>
<h2>
</h2>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-59374827078740584052017-03-19T11:10:00.003-07:002017-03-22T21:43:36.614-07:00TRUMP PART 1<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznrP_Mpg4HrAus3zcHu2U2-yF9QGidgLJtxWBRIiK2tQPBH_utv7_-XPvUmbf4x6VilOXjDvQgVc3kGeFIiuRdPOazD6k4kSXuQ7ThH_YtvAjaCqixrYsKgyt21F7GknZfZ3c6bTs6_M/s1600/imagesR6REHH17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznrP_Mpg4HrAus3zcHu2U2-yF9QGidgLJtxWBRIiK2tQPBH_utv7_-XPvUmbf4x6VilOXjDvQgVc3kGeFIiuRdPOazD6k4kSXuQ7ThH_YtvAjaCqixrYsKgyt21F7GknZfZ3c6bTs6_M/s400/imagesR6REHH17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Hello
again. It has been a while. I haven’t posted a story on my blog for over 4 months.
If you thought about my absence at all you may have wondered if I had just
given up. I haven’t. I needed some time for reflection.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Another
reason for my lack of enthusiasm about writing in the last few months is that I
was out of commission with a bad case of the flu for quite a while. Anti-biotics
seems to have cleared that up.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Like
many others I was totally floored by the election of Donald Trump in the US. I
wondered about writing about this complete asshole. After all, I’ve never
received any comments pro or con on things I’ve written in the past about American
politics. Putting together a story on Trump wasn’t easy. He has said and done so
many awful things over the years it impossible to cram them all into a story. I
ended up with over 40 pages on Trump and decided to break it into two parts.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I
know that many of my readers prefer stories about growing up in Montreal 60 years
ago. I still have a few of those to tell and I plan to post one in the next few
months about the close to 2 years I spent at Weredale House, which was also
known as The Boy’s Home of Montreal, in the early 1960s. I’ve put it off for
years now. The time has come. </span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The
following is my general writing plan for 2017….</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#1 up
next is story comparing the Canadian and American healthcare systems. I think I’ll
stay away from writing about politics after this submission for the rest of the
year.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#2 is
a story about the decline in the interest in folk music.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#3
will be a story about my time at Weredale House in Montreal.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#4 is
about some remembrances of the small town of Gull Lake, Saskatchewan where I
got married in 1981, the same weekend as Chuck and Di.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Thanks
for reading my “stuff”.</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The American Election</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Hillary Clinton</span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It is hard to estimate how many Americans voted for
Hillary Clinton simply because she wasn’t Donald Trump. No matter which way one
cuts it, it was a lot. Although she lost the election and the electoral vote
306-232 to Trump, she did receive close to 3 million more votes than Trump did.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There are lots of reasons why the majority of Americans
don’t like Hillary Clinton. Just her being a Democrat is more than enough for
most Republicans. Her base seems to have been the Democratic Party
establishment (the money raisers) and a number of older women and some younger
women who wanted to see a woman become president in their lifetimes.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The sad truth is that she wasn’t very inspiring to most
men. Her pant suit wardrobe looked tired and dated. When she raised her voice
in speeches she sounded like a scold. She came across as someone who was out of
touch with the times and not at all authentic. Often when she was at a rally
she would wave enthusiastically at someone off camera in the crowd. You knew
she was connecting with someone with influence and not just some average
person. Some older Democrat women liked to tie men's dislike of Hillary to sexism. The fact is a lot of those men would have voted for Elizabeth Warren in a heartbeat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiSqM6YNtfUQPnmPSRbkFLFn1qtqdeFTuEdrFyMN-_GeRpZm0kKE0J6SgZdZFk6zYvWsou1i_UABVK9TJo87QkbnIBia5s-kQxxBUbd85vNHXblq7YP59xODvvZX3dt_2h2LXPIYndVI/s1600/images64QTKQDH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiSqM6YNtfUQPnmPSRbkFLFn1qtqdeFTuEdrFyMN-_GeRpZm0kKE0J6SgZdZFk6zYvWsou1i_UABVK9TJo87QkbnIBia5s-kQxxBUbd85vNHXblq7YP59xODvvZX3dt_2h2LXPIYndVI/s400/images64QTKQDH.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Hillary voted for the war in Iraq and it took her forever
to come around on gay marriage. Over the years it never seemed that she was
capable of forming opinions herself without testing the waters. She was always
consistent in her support of women’s rights but that is just one issue. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There was never any doubt that Hillary and her husband
had used their political careers to secure their financial independence. Most
in her party didn’t mind her and Bill being paid millions for writing books. It
was the selling out to Wall Street and Corporate America that bothered them.
The fact that she wouldn’t reveal what was in the private speeches she had
given was chilling. It turned out that she was presenting herself in different
ways to different people. She certainly wasn’t the populist she claimed to be.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Benghazi stuff that the Republicans dragged her
through was pure bullshit but her usage of private e-mails to conduct
government business mixed with personal matters was sheer arrogance. She
thought she was above certain protocols.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Democratic primaries became a race between Hillary
and the avowed socialist Bernie Sanders. It wasn’t quite the cakewalk she
expected. She won 34 contests and received close to 17 million votes. Sanders won
23 contests and received just over 13 million votes. Perhaps the most notable
statistic was that that Hillary won the nomination with only 55% of the popular
Democratic vote, not exactly a resounding endorsement.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Up until Hillary got the nomination there was very little
of anything new that she was offering other than a general continuation of
Obama’s policies. When Bernie started picking up states the writing was on the
wall. There were shades of Obama becoming more popular than her 4 years before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjNh1uRx01oq2Wy0W3w9GAlGhI8XI-3Ha3Ch1RBdHdacRGsNfjy_QUnV0krrT1a1-rj3o6-X0JJmOV5Nge_cN7w2CrMYzUTcMbAQXTNIO7ZAKFwjYLkGgYwnfXUDNub2Q8hqr0TlRRZ8/s1600/imagesTENIQ4V6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjNh1uRx01oq2Wy0W3w9GAlGhI8XI-3Ha3Ch1RBdHdacRGsNfjy_QUnV0krrT1a1-rj3o6-X0JJmOV5Nge_cN7w2CrMYzUTcMbAQXTNIO7ZAKFwjYLkGgYwnfXUDNub2Q8hqr0TlRRZ8/s400/imagesTENIQ4V6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bernie Sanders</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The chairperson of the Democratic National Committee was
a woman named Debbie Wasserman Shultz. As a congresswoman from Florida, she
voted against medical marijuana and stricter regulations for pay day loan
lenders. She was no liberal. It was pretty obvious to the Bernie Sanders’s wing
of the party that she wasn’t impartial and favoured Hillary Clinton.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mrs. Clinton locked up the Democratic nomination but knew
that without the Bernie voters she didn’t stand a chance of becoming president.
Many Bernie supporters vowed to stay home or vote for an independent. Some of
them did.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Hillary Clinton realized that she was going to have to do
some adapting to appease Bernie’s followers. Debbie Wasserman Shultz was
removed from her position in the Democratic Party and replaced by Donna Brazile
who was certainly not a progressive.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Instead of picking a progressive as her running mate to
appease the 13 million that had voted for Bernie, Hillary chose the forgettable
moderate Tim Kaine. She did, however, start adopting some of Bernie Sander’s
platform.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Hillary Clinton grew up in a Republican family. She once
worked for Republican presidential hopeful Barry Goldwater. Social issues in
the 1960s changed her political allegiances. Bill Clinton was first elected
governor of Arkansas in 1983 and for the last 33 years Hillary, including her
time as senator and Secretary of State, has been a political animal spending
most of her time with political wonks and the powerful within the Democratic
Party. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0HPhaiYOo8vvWnU2zp1xELqwqolwNnt9n77o09wuruL-08bgDdxvpRiz956b9fMMvhA2WwRQaJJS3A_EHm-FU5oBDExai2cWAxPap3HgVcdCxzYzjZ0FeIxTMb39pw1F5PQu2Byg15I/s1600/imagesQALOZMXM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0HPhaiYOo8vvWnU2zp1xELqwqolwNnt9n77o09wuruL-08bgDdxvpRiz956b9fMMvhA2WwRQaJJS3A_EHm-FU5oBDExai2cWAxPap3HgVcdCxzYzjZ0FeIxTMb39pw1F5PQu2Byg15I/s400/imagesQALOZMXM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Clintons at Trump's wedding.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In a lot of ways she is a traditionalist and thinks in
terms of the way things used to be. Here’s an example. At 69 years of age she
recalls going to college and at one point taking out a college loan. Back in
those days a summer job and living at home could get a student a basic college
degree. Tuition was often less than $1000.00 a year. Today the average cost per
year for tuition alone is over $12,000.00 a year.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Bernie Sanders’s plan was to provide free tuition for a
basic 4 year degree. Hillary’s plan was to reduce interest charges on college
loans. The current US student loan debt is 1.3 trillion dollars. She just
doesn’t get it.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had 3 debates and by
most accounts she won them all. At that point it looked like it would be smooth
sailing for her on her path to the presidency. There were, however, a few flies
in the ointment. Trump and the Republicans had painted her as being a
congenital liar and many in her own party felt the same way. WikiLeaks hacked
the National Democratic headquarters and there was a constant drip of behind
the scenes petty infighting in the Democratic Party. Anyone who was impartial
had to wonder why the Republican headquarters wasn’t also hacked.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It soon became quite evident that the Russians were
interfering in the US election. There was no way Hillary was ever going to cozy
up to Putin and the Russians. Trump was another matter. 17 US intelligence
agencies claimed that not only had the Russians interfered with the US election
aimed at Hillary Clinton but they also spread disinformation and created “fake”
news.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Right wing websites were also making up shit. They were
still making up crap even after the election was over. Perhaps one of the
wildest claims was that Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring out of a
pizza parlor in Washington, DC. One day a Trump follower turned up at the pizza
joint with a gun and fired off several shots.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Traditionally in the US, employees and directors of the
FBI and the CIA do not voice their political viewpoints. Employees of these
agencies are not tied to political wins and losses and many serve a number of
presidents.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">About 2 weeks before the election, the FBI director,
James Comey, a Republican, took it upon himself to hold a press conference to
state that the file on Hillary Clinton’s e-mails was not closed and she was
still under investigation because the FBI hadn’t yet reviewed the e-mails that
were sent and received by her chief of staff. The FBI is not supposed to inform
the American public about who they are investigating. A week later Comey cleared
Mrs. Clinton but the doubts and the damage was done. It just made more people
distrust her honesty.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The Big Night</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There is a 3 hour time difference between the east coast
and the west coast of the US. The first projections in the election were called
at about 7:30 pm EST. The small state of Vermont went to Clinton and Kentucky
went to Trump. West Virginia, where they had been promised a revival of the
coal industry by Trump, also went for Trump. At about 8 p.m. Clinton picked up
Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. At about 9
p.m. EST Trump picked up North Dakota and the huge Republican state of Texas.
At 9:30 p.m. EST 7 swing states were too close to call including Pennsylvania,
Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Other uncertain states at 9:30 P.m. EST included
Virginia, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin,Minnesota, Nevada, and Utah. The first
real shock came at about 10:20 p.m. EST. Ohio, a larger state, went for Trump.
Shortly after 11:00 p.m. EST Virginia went for Clinton, easing the pain of the
Dem loss of Ohio a bit. It was short lived victory for Clinton as Florida also
went to Trump moments later. The writing was on the wall.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">By 11:15 p.m. EST Trump had received 222 electoral votes.
He only needed 48 more electoral votes to become president. 3 states were going
to make the difference in who would be the next president, Pennsylvania,
Michigan, and Wisconsin. At about 11:30 p.m. EST Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania
had dwindled to less than 2,000 votes and less than 20,000 votes in Michigan. It
was too little and too late for the Dems.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Tears could be seen on the faces of people at planned
Democratic victory parties. Very few Democrats or Republicans expected this
result never mind almost all of the political pundits. Trump’s followers were
over the moon. They had battled the political establishment in both parties and
won. It was soon going to be pay-back time.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump ended up with 306 electoral votes to Hillary’s 232.
That’s a margin of 74 electoral votes. Hillary lost Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania
by a total of 80,000 votes. Had she won those states she would have been
president. Those 3 states were worth 46 electoral votes. Trump’s total of 306
electoral votes less 46 electoral votes would have amounted to electoral 260
votes. Hillary’s 232 electoral votes plus 46 electoral votes would have
amounted to 278 electoral votes. She needed 270 electoral votes to win.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYpG-BOusqxFmpHXFiMHAEEJRT_cCE8fQA36zHeGQEdHq_TN7cwBMnqmHpNlc1h5EcaAKpZQxRJtDY5aJ97QQAB3jVY019ZW3ZcXeeQTS-tU_1-LBThIn2Y-75qHGfnKbMHCuIlPAZZM/s1600/th62ESEZX4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYpG-BOusqxFmpHXFiMHAEEJRT_cCE8fQA36zHeGQEdHq_TN7cwBMnqmHpNlc1h5EcaAKpZQxRJtDY5aJ97QQAB3jVY019ZW3ZcXeeQTS-tU_1-LBThIn2Y-75qHGfnKbMHCuIlPAZZM/s400/th62ESEZX4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Donald Trump</span><span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7cTKPAsXUMmfhKYzY58d5LBBwc9jbh9vGKQX90mNgiypfyepuvShheWt5d5eynJqnq8aMUH-q1fHdMLGPIcPL8KQ3VzDDpahzFV3p_WGcJsNDSe0NrjhnHVQFgM42RLyGTS7EKprNkw/s1600/imagesORZ2TXV2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7cTKPAsXUMmfhKYzY58d5LBBwc9jbh9vGKQX90mNgiypfyepuvShheWt5d5eynJqnq8aMUH-q1fHdMLGPIcPL8KQ3VzDDpahzFV3p_WGcJsNDSe0NrjhnHVQFgM42RLyGTS7EKprNkw/s400/imagesORZ2TXV2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A Few Notes On The
Biggest American Con Artist Of All Time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial black";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">One thing most Americans can agree on is that there has
never been anyone like Donald Trump in American politics. He certainly is
different things to different people. Nobody in American politics has ever
provided the public with such outlandish statements and opinions.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There are many things that Trump has said over the years that
would have cratered any other politician. Many have tried to figure out what
makes him tick and how he thinks. What some would see as childish and petty,
others see as unfiltered honesty. Honest he isn't.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Here are some of my thoughts about Trump.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#1 <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Just Why Did Trump Decide To Run For
President?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">He will be 71 years of age in a few months. Everyone at
his age is aware of their mortality. There are not a lot of folks in their
older years who have hang gliding as a hobby. Trump knows he only has so many
years left. Like a lot of other old farts he has a lot of opinions and believes
he has the answers to everything. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump has known fame for most of his adult life. He
deeply needs to be acknowledged and desperately wants to prove that he is
smarter than everyone else. He demands respect and nothing makes him angrier
than when he doesn’t get it and he is angry a lot of the time.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The golf courses, the luxury hotels, the branding of his
name, were old hat in some ways. To a large extent, his kids were looking after
those enterprises. Americans could avoid him and his business endeavors if they
chose to if he had remained a civilian but they couldn’t avoid him if he was
president. What he could now do and say could have a lot of impact on the lives
of everyone in the US and in other countries around the world. By becoming president
there was now no way that they could deny him the attention he desperately
craves.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Another thing that should be remembered is that Trump
doesn’t drink or smoke. Aside from business and golf his main other interest as
an adult was chasing attractive women, mostly models from Eastern Europe, and
getting laid. Those days are long gone. He hasn’t got game anymore. His looks
are gone. He hasn’t got that to sell and as result he has decided to get his
ego flattered in other ways. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#2
Intimidation Using Lawyers</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump is a NYC guy. Back in the “disco” days of the 1970s
and early 1980s one of Trump’s best friends was a New York Lawyer named Roy
Cohn. Roy Cohn was a “fuck you” kind of guy. Back in the 1950s he was Senator
Joe McCarthy’s red baiting right hand man. That McCarthy was shamed and shunned
by his own party didn’t bother Cohn at all. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Cohn taught Trump to never admit to be wrong
and to never apologize for anything in life, ever. He also showed Trump how the
threat of a lawsuit could wither adversaries. Over the years Trump would use
lawyers on many occasions to wear out those he had disputes with. Before he
died in 1986 of AIDS, Cohn personally handled a number of Trump’s court suits
including one against the federal government for over 100 million dollars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu01ms8VsAqqvDqVTp9O4Lt8ZkTW-9V1IqAtpaksS3GgDZ7T30evBd04Ga3Z9NXTcCEvWZMC3Ir4xMUEg9ToZf2zcXio8PHWoI3vxPRseg40UezzV-xO1EmlZtvmWFxhvaUuoxGKDJSo0/s1600/imagesIZ7CZQ1X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu01ms8VsAqqvDqVTp9O4Lt8ZkTW-9V1IqAtpaksS3GgDZ7T30evBd04Ga3Z9NXTcCEvWZMC3Ir4xMUEg9ToZf2zcXio8PHWoI3vxPRseg40UezzV-xO1EmlZtvmWFxhvaUuoxGKDJSo0/s400/imagesIZ7CZQ1X.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trump and Roy Cohn, McCarthy and Roy Cohn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In his lifetime, Trump has been sued over 3,500 times.
That’s a lot. Most people who sue do so as a last resort. Once lawyers are
involved the people that are doing the suing, even if they win, are never going
to get anything near 100% of what they are owed. Lawyers always take a huge
cut. Whether they win or lose their cases they still lose.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In 1990 Trump and his first wife, Ivana, were mixed up in
a messy divorce. She filed a deposition claiming that Trump had forcibly raped
her and pulled out some of her hair in 1989. She later recanted. In 1993 a guy
named Harry Hurt published a book about Trump called “Lost Tycoon: The Many
Lives Of Donald Trump”. At the time, Trump was experiencing financial setbacks
and wasn’t the big deal he is today. Not a lot of people read the book even
though Hurt wrote about the rape in detail. Trump threatened to sue Hurt but he
never did. One would think that suing a person who falsely accused them of rape would be an easy slam dunk.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Early in Trump’s presidential campaign the story about
the rape came up again briefly. Trump’s lawyers claimed that a man can’t be
charged with raping his wife in the state of New York. This isn’t true. They
also threatened to sue into oblivion anyone in the media who repeated the rape
story. It worked. The story has never been mentioned or referenced on any
television program since.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump’s present wife, Melania, is currently suing the
British owned newspaper, The Daily Mailer, for 150 million dollars for their
printing that she was once a paid escort (prostitute). Her lawyer is the same
lawyer used by Trump’s pal and tech billionaire Peter Thiel to sue into
bankruptcy the website Gawker. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#3
No American Politician Has Told As Many Lies As Trump</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Well before Trump’s first speech in his presidential run
where he lied and claimed Mexico was sending rapists to the US, Trump was
publicly lying about many other things. He has never stopped. The problem is
that he tells so many lies it is hard to remember them all. Lying Ted and Lying
Hillary couldn’t hold a candle to him.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Here’s a bit of a refresher….</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-He claimed to have won the most electoral votes since
Ronald Reagan. Bush Jr., Bill Clinton, and Barak Obama all received more electoral
votes than Trump.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-He claimed Hillary Clinton gave 20% of the US’s uranium
to the Russians. Canada owns the rights to 20% of the US’s uranium and Mrs.
Clinton had nothing to do with the transaction.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-He took credit for Wal-Mart creating 10,000 jobs when
that decision was made in October 2016. Almost all of the jobs are very low
paying.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-He repeatedly criticized Obama for playing golf and said
when he was president he wouldn’t touch a golf club. Trump played golf 6 times
in his first 30 days in office.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcGNxPTnplOnRgTNCvphMUEwYBYASUICEHu3Y_PfUv9NwdhFL-nKynl_31n2eGJKnB53q6jnrWpG9XW1LoxJEgh9INKJzzBJzjwOQLfJZT9VXE5HyfauRHybJs0QLNLBKhOOQs3hmCfc/s1600/imagesZSEVPVY1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcGNxPTnplOnRgTNCvphMUEwYBYASUICEHu3Y_PfUv9NwdhFL-nKynl_31n2eGJKnB53q6jnrWpG9XW1LoxJEgh9INKJzzBJzjwOQLfJZT9VXE5HyfauRHybJs0QLNLBKhOOQs3hmCfc/s320/imagesZSEVPVY1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed illegal voters were bussed into New Hampshire on
election day. Not true.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed the US murder rate is the highest it has been in
47 years. The reality is it is near historic lows.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed that the delay in having his whole cabinet in
place is the longest in US history because of stalling tactics by the Dems. Obama didn’t have his first cabinet in
place until the end of April 2009. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Made it sound like Obama and the US government gave a
gift to Iran of 150 billion dollars when the truth was that it was Iranian
money frozen in American bank accounts.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed to be against the war in Iraq from the
beginning. He didn’t have anything bad to say about the war until 17 months
after it started.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed 3 million illegals voted in the election. Not
true.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed he had been on the cover of Time Magazine more
than anyone else. Trump was on 15 covers, Nixon 55 covers.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed he had the biggest crowd ever at his
inauguration. It wasn’t even close to Obama’s first win.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed Muslims partied on rooftops in New Jersey after
9/11. Not true.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed he never said Japan should also have nuclear
weapons. Not true.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Denied he mocked a disabled reporter. The tape says he
lied.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed Hillary wanted to abolish the 2<sup>nd</sup>
Amendment. Not true.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed Hillary invented ISIS with her stupid policies.
ISIS predated Mrs. Clinton's time as Secretary of State.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed the US is the highest taxed nation in the world.
Not true.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Claimed 93 million Americans were out of work. Not true.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">This is just a brief example of the hundreds of lies
Trump has told the American public in the last 2 years.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#4
Trump The Businessman Who IS Going To Save America?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglShTUUrDFGWvZ5h0INSgINhtBwX4sWEtYrAbyCkuvRdQnVjTZUH4NOlwdNwSCxPWsXgS4qh_QWg36CJB4KgJ5VgrZWRJK_NhCq3_jjR-S2rkLhnZNYOM1gr4iGbS4NNp_7JuMyeVMX-w/s1600/imagesI5GOBG4Q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglShTUUrDFGWvZ5h0INSgINhtBwX4sWEtYrAbyCkuvRdQnVjTZUH4NOlwdNwSCxPWsXgS4qh_QWg36CJB4KgJ5VgrZWRJK_NhCq3_jjR-S2rkLhnZNYOM1gr4iGbS4NNp_7JuMyeVMX-w/s400/imagesI5GOBG4Q.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Americans are never going to know how successful Trump
has been in business because he won’t let anyone see his tax returns.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There is, however, evidence that he wrote off losses of
close to 1 billion dollars in 1 year and by his own admission was at one point
over 3 billion dollars in debt. The record shows that he ran all kinds of
businesses that failed including his casinos in Atlantic City. It got so bad
that no American bank would lend him any money.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">His whole business career has evolved around providing
some kind of luxury for the very wealthy including very expensive hotels and
products. Nothing in his world, including those who he spends time with, has
any connection to middle class America never mind the poor. He has no history
of being charitable at all in his life. Everything has always been about him
alone and his quest for more wealth.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Now, in his early seventies, he is a man of the people? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_X3wzUl6TCHDxItA2tXWVfj-C2k9qmdsJzzloRYQNGHIAHRtO3SNmMUoBmWxHOGx0jJIrOt7wxskcGVXf7QjGszco04NPaAguj1WtcFAvL9sQi3n8lzUKwbqLrxZ5EhYNnQjK1snjMQQ/s1600/images013SX2LS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_X3wzUl6TCHDxItA2tXWVfj-C2k9qmdsJzzloRYQNGHIAHRtO3SNmMUoBmWxHOGx0jJIrOt7wxskcGVXf7QjGszco04NPaAguj1WtcFAvL9sQi3n8lzUKwbqLrxZ5EhYNnQjK1snjMQQ/s400/images013SX2LS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">He has a long history of screwing around those he has
done business with. Basically what he has done is steal money from them. He
calls it negotiating. If other people had handled their finances the way he has
in not paying his debts, they would have found a bailiff’s notice on their
residence and tow truck in the driveway.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">These days Trump
doesn’t finance the buildings anymore, other people do and Trump’s management
team runs the place after having his name slapped on the place.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The buildings Trump puts his name on can take more than a
year to build. Architects, engineers, and labourers are the folks who actually
do the building. When the job is completed Trump and his kids turn up for the
ribbon cutting. The architect usually doesn’t participate in the ribbon cutting
and Trump and his kids give themselves all of the credit. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump is so full of shit businesswise that he takes
credit for writing a book called The Art Of The Deal like it is the bible for
successful business people. He didn’t write the friggin book, a ghostwriter did
who later condemned Trump as a petty person who couldn’t concentrate on
anything.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Forbes Magazine estimates Trump’s current wealth to be
about 3 billion dollars and not the 10 billion he claims. A number of his
buildings, including the one he lives in, have lost some of their value in the
past year.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#5
The Out Of Control Egomaniac</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">In the game of poker there is something called “the tell”
where one player can pick up on another player’s idiosyncrasies. Donald Trump
is like a cornucopia of “tells”, most of which are very childlike. We don’t often
see a grown man pout but Trump does. It is one thing to disagree with others
but Trump stoops to name calling and cruel descriptions of those he doesn’t like
including mocking their appearances. If he finds a perceived weakness in
someone he doesn’t like he will relentlessly bully that person. What grown
adult does that? He can’t stop bragging about himself and often takes credit
for things he had no significant part in. Sometimes, when most of the country
is sleeping, he is tweeting away demanding attention. He needs an immediate
reaction. He also has an extremely short attention span and often gets into
rants not related to the topic at hand. One of his most notable traits is his
vindictiveness. He sincerely wants to hurt those he dislikes. He rarely is one
to move on and avoid the petty unless of course those he has conquered are
willing to bow and scrape. Even then, he often needs to humiliate them one more
time as he did with Mitt Romney.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoU8v-g-NeZ8gbl7lV5Xf1W_tWNxxb85v3I81XsdS7qP4ZcP2812m4G5s2wrVlzvR8iWRKvuUvKTPBJGfvMJ9ql3LcfWWTiL66hf6-TvppeVzrsbFmitY4x0qjnyc52jX4l9Ai7iScSI/s1600/thD8IAM4P3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoU8v-g-NeZ8gbl7lV5Xf1W_tWNxxb85v3I81XsdS7qP4ZcP2812m4G5s2wrVlzvR8iWRKvuUvKTPBJGfvMJ9ql3LcfWWTiL66hf6-TvppeVzrsbFmitY4x0qjnyc52jX4l9Ai7iScSI/s400/thD8IAM4P3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romney and Trump</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump is more of a lazy person than he is stupid. He has
no desire to deal with the complex at all and there are many complexities in
the world. He is quite willing to live his life connecting the dots and erasing
them when they aren’t convenient. He is like the poster boy for narcissism.
It’s me, me, me, 24 hours a day. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">How
Did Trump Ever Manage to Become President?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">First of all he had a distinct advantage over the
competition in his own party. He had years and years of being media savvy.
Whether you liked him or not he was often must see TV because he was totally
unpredictable. One way or another he was guaranteed to shock his audience.
Other Republican presidential aspirants paled in comparison. When he was with
them on stage he was always the center of attention. They didn’t stand a
chance.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It’s not a big secret who makes up most of the Republican
Party. It’s right wing Christians, gun lovers, people who consider any form of
socialism to be communism, racists, White Supremacists, and a number of people
from small town and rural America who dislike big city liberals who they
consider to be snobs. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There are something like 90 million Evangelicals and about 72 million Catholics in the US. That’s almost half the population.
Almost all Evangelicals are Republicans and about half of Catholics are
Republicans and most are for one specific reason, abortion. They simply won’t
vote for any politician who is pro-choice, period.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNbW0Twrda_C27ZPvfFEqKRIPYS51qbr90wwPOSJC3knzvRl2ZZYiZyWqTFcauqrD-sDmt6RSohcXYKycARCl3LCsatIkIBWynat_YAn1YCnvGMPCDRrfDcdm6aG2P_9tA5LguFp3ZCw/s1600/images1J6XV0I6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJNbW0Twrda_C27ZPvfFEqKRIPYS51qbr90wwPOSJC3knzvRl2ZZYiZyWqTFcauqrD-sDmt6RSohcXYKycARCl3LCsatIkIBWynat_YAn1YCnvGMPCDRrfDcdm6aG2P_9tA5LguFp3ZCw/s400/images1J6XV0I6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">When Trump was running for president he did what many
other Republican presidential hopefuls have done in the past. He pretended to
be a religious person even though he had no personal history of ever being
religious. 3 marriages? Meetings were set up with the Evangelical leaders at
Trump’s penthouse and he visited Jerry Falwell University. He got the
Evangelical votes and they got to see the nomination of a right wing Supreme
Court judge who could be instrumental in seeing Roe v Wade overturned and the
end of legalized abortions in the US.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump stoked the fears of NRA members claiming that the
Democrats wanted to take their guns away even though Democrats have never
attempted to do that. What Trump was doing was fomenting divisive politics, us
and them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump recognized that racism is still a big component in
America. He is a racist himself. While it is true that outspoken racists are
not around in big numbers, they still influence millions of others. For some,
being an outright racist can be bad for business. Nobody wants to lose half of
their customers because of their racist beliefs. It’s much easier for them to
let somebody else be their spokesman.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So…Trump had the anti-abortionists, the NRA, the
anti-socialists, and the racists clearly behind him. Altogether they still
didn’t amount to enough people to get him elected. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump decided early on in his presidential run that he
was also going to represent “the forgotten Americans”, the people that were
living mostly in Middle America, many of whom had seen plants closed near where
they lived and well-paying jobs lost. Trump was going to protect them and make
things right again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xf3LUC6viDPr1rCbmc7w4OeVKOcVmgWARdRx4vcICgZwsKLQGz1Hf_5jsXh5WhfOSS70DLvyJDUMDoLY481ozqYFa5_2ZNJBXxtnwCXx81S2ir8UtSXIk7diDnSx7CAt06zfnvbxBoc/s1600/images5Z9DKEZ0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xf3LUC6viDPr1rCbmc7w4OeVKOcVmgWARdRx4vcICgZwsKLQGz1Hf_5jsXh5WhfOSS70DLvyJDUMDoLY481ozqYFa5_2ZNJBXxtnwCXx81S2ir8UtSXIk7diDnSx7CAt06zfnvbxBoc/s400/images5Z9DKEZ0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abandoned plant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">None of gullible who bought this horseshit ever seemed to
wonder that it was other very rich men like Trump who had sent their jobs overseas
in the first place. Still, without these people, Trump would never have become
president.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">What
Were The Main Concerns of The American Voter, Including<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Democrats, Republicans, and Independents?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I found this list somewhere on the net a few months ago
and wrote it down.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-The economy.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Terrorism.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Foreign policy.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Health care.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Gun policy.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Immigration.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Social Security.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Education.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Supreme Court nominations.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Treatment of minorities.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Trade policies.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-The environment.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">-Abortion.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Some of these main concerns were shared by all voters
while others were more in line with political parties. For instance,
Republicans tend to be more concerned about immigration while Democrats tend to
be more concerned about the environment.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">What
Were The Major Promises That Trump Made?</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Much of what Trump wants to do will require billions and
billions of dollars including building the wall, expanding the military, and rebuilding
the US infrastructure. Who is going to pay for it when he plans to slash taxes?
The obvious place to find some of the money is by cutting entitlement programs
and other services provided to the American public by the federal government.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#1
Build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The estimated cost of the wall is somewhere around
between 15 and 25 billion dollars. About 34 million Mexicans and Americans
cross the border every year through customs. Those that walk into the US across
dessert like areas are a small % of those that enter the US illegally. The US
has a huge appetite for Mexican drugs. Most of those drugs come into the US
hidden in vehicles.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#2
Get rid of Obamacare and replace it with something “terrific” that is much less
expensive</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">.</span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Before Obamacare, otherwise known as the ACA (Affordable
Healthcare Act), insurers could sell virtually worthless plans to those that were hard pressed to come up with the money to pay for insurance. The huge co-pays and deductibles made these plans unusable for the most part.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">People who bought their own insurance could be turned away by the insurers if they had -pre-conditions. Many insurance policies had lifetime caps on how much money they would fork out. Children over the age of 21 couldn't be covered by parent's policies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Most Americans get their healthcare insurance through
their employer. The next big group is mostly older people, disabled people, and single mothers receiving Medicaid or
Medicare, Obamacare was set up to cover self-employed people who aren’t part of
group buying power, younger people who are buying insurance for the first time,
poorer people, and those that the insurance companies wouldn’t provide their
services to due to pre-existing conditions.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Every Republican in the Senate and the House has voted to
repeal Obamacare over and over again. It’s political philosophy kind of thing.
They see Obamacare as creeping socialism from the left with the idea that it
would morph into single payer, something the insurance companies don’t want. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The #1 reason for personal bankruptcy in the US is not
being able to pay medical bills. The many grief-ridden stories of people
suffering because of lack of complete medical coverage leaves most Republicans
as cold as a stone. They have their ideology that they aren’t going to break
with. Many Republicans also want to erase any trace of Obama ever being
president.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A Republican congress has had more than 6 years to come
up with an alternative to Obamacare. Whatever it is that they eventually decide
on, if implemented, millions of Americans are going to feel a lot more pain in
their lives.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#3
Rebuild the country’s aging infrastructure</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump wants 1 trillion dollars to rebuild the US
infrastructure. On the surface it is a good idea but is should have been
implemented 8 years ago but most Republicans wanted no part of it partly
because they didn’t want Obama to get credit for it.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There is almost no chance of a Republican congress being
willing to add the cost to the national debt. Cutting social programs seems far
more likely a way of finding part of the funding. Chances are that an
infrastructure program will not help much as far as employment goes in rural
areas and small towns. Most of the rebuilding needs to be done in larger
cities.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The US is going to find itself with a lot of more toll highways and roads run by private enterprises.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#4
Protect America from Terrorism.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Close to 99% of Americans killed in the US by foreign
terrorists died on 9/11. Recently Trump tried to put a temporary stoppage of
people coming to America, for whatever reason, from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen,
Somalia, Syria, and Sudan. No terrorists from any of these countries have ever
killed anyone in the US.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even including
9/11, Americans have less than 1 in 3 billion people chance of being killed
by a terrorist from these countries. Chances of falling out of bed and dying
are greater.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#5
Strengthening the military.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump plans on spending billions on the military
including many new nukes. Currently the US has about 3700 nukes. To put this
into perspective, if only 100 US nukes were used, the fallout would block out
the sun for decades and the earth’s temperature would rapidly decrease. That’s
just for starters.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The US currently spends close to 600 billion dollars on
the military each year and Trump wants to add another 54 billion to that
number. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, North
Korea, and the US all have their own nukes. Belgium, Italy, Germany,
Netherlands, and Turkey all share nuclear weapons. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">North Korea is a rogue state run by an insane guy. There
is no way the US ever wants to go toe to toe with this country because their
leader is crazy enough to start pushing buttons.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Russia and China are two other countries that the US doesn’t
want to mess with. The Russians know they can do whatever they want in Ukraine and
Crimea and that the US isn’t going to step in. For the time being China is more
interested in exporting products they make to the US and other countries than
they are in taking over other countries.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">It is not in the US’s best interest that all Americans
have good well-paying jobs. Many in the armed forces are there purely based on
economics. Without these financially challenged soldiers the US would be forced
to implement a draft.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There isn’t a lot of enthusiasm from most Americans to
get the US involved in new wars. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Viet Nam for that
matter, didn’t end well. Basically Trump’s spending an additional 54 billion
dollars on the military is about trying to scare other countries. People in war
torn countries could give a crap about another new US aircraft carrier.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#6
Wipe out ISIS.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. They are
mostly spread out over Africa, The Middle East, and Asia. Only a small % of
them are radicalized but that small % is a significant number. It is possible
to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq but even if that happens there are a number of
other countries they can go to including Yemen and Somalia.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The reality is that Muslims are deeper into their
religious beliefs than American Christians are. Christians don’t set aside time
to pray 5 times a day like many Muslims do. Less than 50% of American
Christians attend church each week. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">There are radical Muslims who are willing to sacrifice
their lives for their beliefs by strapping a bomb to their bodies. It is
virtually unheard of for a Christian to do the same thing.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Every time Trump craps on Muslims in general or innocent
Muslim civilians are killed by American forces in their home countries, the
hatred for Americans and the West expands. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#6
Drain the swamp in Washington, DC.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump loaded up on billionaires, big Republican donors
with agendas, and Wall Street brokers to make up his cabinet. He also brought
in a number of aggressive generals. This is hardly draining the swamp.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">7 Bring jobs back from China, Mexico, and
elsewhere</i></b>.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The export of American jobs didn’t start in the last few
years. It has been going on for 3 decades at least. Some American companies
like Apple never manufactured their products in the US. It’s a bottom line
thing for Corporate America. Overseas workers can be hired for a fraction of
what American workers are paid and without having to pay any costly benefits. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The average monthly job growth rate when Obama was in
office was over 100K per month. More and more jobs are temporary contracts and
part time work. It isn’t just the number of jobs that are created it is how
much they pay. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">What Trump never talks about is how jobs have shifted
from one US State to another and driven down wages. For example, Tennessee is
the US’s 6<sup>th</sup> poorest state. Mechanic technicians who work in auto
plants in Tennessee average 38K per year in pay. That probably isn’t bad for
workers who were without jobs for years, but it is nowhere near the average US
household income of 52K.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Another thing Trump never addresses when it comes to jobs
is the fact that automation is going to replace more and more jobs in the
coming years. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Trump made a big to do about stopping Carrier from
shipping jobs to Mexico. The reality is he only prevented some Carrier jobs
from going south, for the time being.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#8
Grow the nation’s economy by at least 6%.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">6%
is a pretty big stretch. Rebuilding the US infrastructure will certainly create
more jobs but most of those jobs will be temporary and not long term. If per chance the economy grew by 6% where would that profitability
go? The obvious answer is most of it would go to Corporate America and their
shareholders. Raising wages is never something Republicans encourage. The proof
is that the stock market has been soaring for years now yet wages have hardly
increased.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#9
Reduce the 19 trillion dollar national debt.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">This one is easy. You can’t cut taxes all over the place
and have enough tax revenue to pay for all the things Trump plans to do.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#10
Get rid of The Consumer Protection Act.</span></i></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Just how much proof does the American public need that Corporate America, and for that matter small businesses, are quite capable of swindling them? Aside from the major US banks having to get bailed out in 2008 with public tax dollars, they have been fined billions of dollars since then for illegal practices with not one person going to jail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">American car manufacturers and foreign car makers in the US have frequently buried serious faults in their vehicles. Many mining operations are operated in unsafe conditions. The list goes on and on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">What could go wrong if there were no protections against these bastards at all? A lot!</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">#11
Reduce the corporate tax to 15% and cut personal taxes on the wealthy.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The record shows that Corporate America has been making
record profits over the last 6 years and more and more wealth has gone to the
top 1% while working people have not seen any financial benefit. It is a bit
confusing to hear Republicans complaining about taxes being a huge roadblock to
prosperity when Corporate America has been making money hand over fist.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A number of American corporations don’t pay any taxes at
all and certainly none pay the 35% current rate. Tax accountants have a number
of ways to reduce taxes on wealthier Americans.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The Reagan idea of "trickle down economics" has never worked. Anyone who believes it has, is simply an idiot.</span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
UP NEXT:</h3>
<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
Trump Part 2</h2>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
The Trump rogues gallery cabinet, his inner circle, the Russian connection, and all the scary stuff from Trump and company since he was inaugurated.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
I expect to have Part 2 posted in 7-10 days.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
Once again, thanks for reading my stuff.</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-84013256237541979532016-11-07T23:38:00.005-08:002016-11-09T01:21:55.743-08:00November 8th, 2016….The Day America Proves That It Isn’t A Totally Insane Country<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6P9iuVCQZnhHf4qlHG0ENn-EHJ1PDUYUM1Bf7tJ1TwMJNrjQpx92kFL_xANR7fav8U5Nlq5YaYTeveDGqD0n534x5rDTA9fEJB6MQJGJAKjXMSnu8X3TyMUU_AN-1JNJqo7IUBy1pQrg/s1600/imagesQQ7KEZ7C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6P9iuVCQZnhHf4qlHG0ENn-EHJ1PDUYUM1Bf7tJ1TwMJNrjQpx92kFL_xANR7fav8U5Nlq5YaYTeveDGqD0n534x5rDTA9fEJB6MQJGJAKjXMSnu8X3TyMUU_AN-1JNJqo7IUBy1pQrg/s400/imagesQQ7KEZ7C.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-RV93Fib3nOwwR4oPwRx3cPMqymIU4gj9h5QIHvmqPPB_AHm8rDuL6qPQbg9KVibxYbHgCZ0qBCw7Y7VaB4SzWB-WlrTyuoUpgw9tVaqbYZtN-ncuNzIs_xQMd1bZQ2DuDQpOdbnlxw/s1600/imagesT274AE7S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-RV93Fib3nOwwR4oPwRx3cPMqymIU4gj9h5QIHvmqPPB_AHm8rDuL6qPQbg9KVibxYbHgCZ0qBCw7Y7VaB4SzWB-WlrTyuoUpgw9tVaqbYZtN-ncuNzIs_xQMd1bZQ2DuDQpOdbnlxw/s400/imagesT274AE7S.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I just
managed to squeeze this piece under the wire. Tomorrow there will be a lot of
fingers crossed around the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial;">November 8th.....Boy was I ever wrong. I was counting on 55% of Americans not being totally fucking nuts!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By the time
you read this the US election will probably have already happened. My
prediction is Hillary Clinton will win with about 330 electoral votes, 60 more
than the 270 she would need to become president. Millions of Americans on the
right will be very pissed off. I also believe that the Democrats will retake
The Senate by 2 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>seats. Congress will
still be controlled by the Republicans and they will do anything they can to
make things uncomfortable for Mrs. Clinton. They may even try to impeach her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What The Last Republican President,
George W. Bush, And The Republican Party Did To America</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Donald Trump
and other Republicans have predicted that the US will come apart at the seams
if Hillary is elected. Their followers agree. Obama will be leaving office with
a popularity rating of around 55% after 8 years in office. George W. Bush had a
popularity rating of 32% when he left office and no Republican wanted to be
seen with him when the 2012 election was held.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many
Americans have short memories when it comes to the George Bush Jr. years. He
went to war with Afghanistan and Iraq when all but 1 of the 9/11 terrorists
came from Saudi Arabia. The invasion of Iraq was based on bullshit that Saddam
Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The total cost of the wars is
somewhere between 4 and 6 trillion and it was just added on to the US national
debt. On the insistence of Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, and Cheney, Bush had the Iraqi
army disbanded and without jobs they formed Al Qaeda which later morphed into
ISIS.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bush introduced
tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporate America that they didn’t need.
Between this loss of government revenue, spending on Homeland Security, and the
huge costs of the wars, Bush increased the US national debt by over 100%, about
5.7 trillion dollars in his time in office. He also left a legacy of continued
debt for things like the costs of taking care of the wounded and
psychologically damaged war veterans. Bush also introduced something called
Medicaid Part D that wasn’t funded. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bush put a
guy named Michael Brown in charge of a federal department called FEMA. FEMA was
responsible for helping people out who had been hit by natural disasters.
Brown’s previous experience had been in breeding Arabian horses. Hurricane
Katrina hit New Orleans and FEMA’s response to it was slow and mostly
ineffective. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The real shit
hit the fan in 2008, Bush’s last year in office. Republicans have always
believed in as few regulations as possible when it comes to business. The stock
market crashed, the major banks had to be bailed out because of risky
practices, major US auto makers were teetering on bankruptcy, hundreds of
thousands of people lost their jobs and many also lost their homes. It was the
greatest US economic downturn since the Great Depression. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimordDqmRQkIxPyvIEjOM8afq2G7X4Ctrb-coQUsrWZYe9H4jXOZgpBUgPgpNmBr3Cc2iU0FujP7aF-SrvSY31OZnXcFEFJy9E-Dk6hbxi0MWaLcrF4EV1SYsMc2ehkhygRYKIKiceZVU/s1600/imagesUXMNZ2ZJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimordDqmRQkIxPyvIEjOM8afq2G7X4Ctrb-coQUsrWZYe9H4jXOZgpBUgPgpNmBr3Cc2iU0FujP7aF-SrvSY31OZnXcFEFJy9E-Dk6hbxi0MWaLcrF4EV1SYsMc2ehkhygRYKIKiceZVU/s320/imagesUXMNZ2ZJ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Obama And Repairing America<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When Obama
became president the US in 2009 the country was hemorrhaging over 100,000 jobs
a month. The banks and the auto makers had to be bailed out. Fixing the US
economy was not something that could be done instantly. There were huge costs
including extending unemployment benefits. During Obama’s close to 8 years in
office more than 9 million new jobs were created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unemployment is now under 5%. The US is now
almost oil independent. US car companies have seen record sales. The stock
market has gone through the roof. More than 20 million more Americans now have
health care coverage. On top of all this the US national debt has been
decreased by 1 trillion dollars.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What hasn’t
seen dramatic increases are worker’s pay cheques. No president can force
businesses to pay their employees more nor can they prevent corporations from
shipping jobs overseas. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Obama had to
work with one arm behind his back. For the last 6 years Republicans have
controlled Congress and for the last 2 years they have controlled the Senate.
One would be hard pressed to think of 1 thing the Republican Party has done for
the middle class or the poor in the US. Perhaps Medicaid Part D but then again
it wasn’t funded. Republicans are against bills about increasing the minimum
wage or equal pay for women. A number of Superior Court seats have been left
empty for years because Republicans refuse to accept a Democratic president’s
nominees. One of the biggest roadblocks the Republicans have laid out is the
refusal to consider a bill where the federal government would invest in the
rebuilding of the US infrastructure. One would think that would be a no brainer
considering interest rates have never been lower. It would work for the private
sector in providing goods and services and employ millions more people for at
least a decade, many in areas of the country where good jobs are hard to find.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Obama pulled
most of the US troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. He also had Bin Laden
killed, something that George W. Bush became disinterested in doing. The US
armed forces no longer have to try to hide body bags coming back to their
shores. Gay soldiers no longer have to pretend that they aren’t gay.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJ5cgXwqBp9EOYfBfz-Or2k_FFguTmGBiLsfh-X6NTyRvlDtlAR6SZFe4ZhOYzV99SmzuS10YM2QuXfJC34KPCf3MUA1uW1baR8r0IwtjGsRoZWVEAG6twx5hyebsBuEnoUykZRTBu9I/s1600/imagesX2O6LXQE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJ5cgXwqBp9EOYfBfz-Or2k_FFguTmGBiLsfh-X6NTyRvlDtlAR6SZFe4ZhOYzV99SmzuS10YM2QuXfJC34KPCf3MUA1uW1baR8r0IwtjGsRoZWVEAG6twx5hyebsBuEnoUykZRTBu9I/s640/imagesX2O6LXQE.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Gloom and Doom From Trump And The
Republican Party?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When you are
a party that insists on always giving the very rich and corporate America more
and more tax breaks, even the dumbest American might figure out that this is
not helping him or her. Distractions are needed. Fear works. The truth doesn’t
matter. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Tell the
American public that the Dems want to take their guns away. Say that their
religious beliefs are under attack. The abortion issue and being against them
(whether they believe it or not) automatically gets most of the votes from the
94 million Evangelicals living in the US. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Blaming
minorities for problems in the US works has been a tried and true way of
getting the Archie Bunker types on the Republican’s side. Every general
election cycle the Republicans bring up voter fraud even though the evidence
shows that only 30 or so individuals have been prosecuted for voting more than
once out of 1 billion votes cast in the US in the last 10 years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The way
Republican politicians describe America’s current and future fortunes is that
the country is totally falling apart. It isn’t. .</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump Blaming The Media?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump and the
Republican Party love to blame the “liberal” media for being biased against
conservatives. It’s just pure bullshit. Most Americans don’t follow the news on
a daily basis and those that do tend to watch NBC, CBS, and ABC nightly news.
These 3 networks are generally neutral unless Trump says something absolutely
crazy. NBC, CBS, and ABC all have Sunday morning news programs like Meet The
Press. If anything. Republicans are more than equally represented on these
programs. Arizona Republican Senator John McCain has been on more of these
political TV shows than anyone else.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">FOX News is
100% biased towards the Republican Party. MSNBC is believed by many to a
liberal response to FOX. The 3 liberals on MSNBC are Rachel Maddow, Chris
Hayes, and Lawrence O’Donnell and each has a daily weekday 1 hour program. Morning
Joe is a 3 hour morning TV show on MSNBC with Republican Joe Scarborough as the
host. Republicans are well represented on Joe’s program. In fact Donald Trump
was getting about ½ hour free of daily air time for months on end before he
became totally repugnant. Regular Republican panelists on MSNBC include
Republicans Michael Steele, Hugh Hewitt, William Kristol, Steve Schmidt, Mike
Murphy, and Nicole Wallace. Trump surrogates get daily exposure on MSNC and
Trump’s pals Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich, and Rudy Gingrich have all made
frequent appearances on the cable news network.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5pkLgs8wo3NUN0WRsUGjF1clQSIw_3qk5mkGy-eFYtE7fm0BR0uk98GQI4V1uKRuB9V_kAEOabCVobMZPl7dDnY66EqjGkAweo-b-8q5SeO3m2bNgNC5gnFLvHayfz_7o7sCnZIIY-0/s1600/imagesFC5D3MCW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5pkLgs8wo3NUN0WRsUGjF1clQSIw_3qk5mkGy-eFYtE7fm0BR0uk98GQI4V1uKRuB9V_kAEOabCVobMZPl7dDnY66EqjGkAweo-b-8q5SeO3m2bNgNC5gnFLvHayfz_7o7sCnZIIY-0/s400/imagesFC5D3MCW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">CNN
historically has been like a training ground for FOX News. Many former CNN on
air personalities now work for FOX including Lou Dobbs, Greta Van Susteren,
Howard Kurtz, and John Roberts.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Talk radio in
the US is almost exclusively controlled by hosts who are dyed in the wool
Republicans. Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, and Alex Jones have
millions of listeners. It is kind of like a religious following as the same old
fears are trotted out on a daily basis justifying the hate of anything remotely
liberal. Conspiracy theories are rampant. Not trusting the federal government
is a common theme. Being that most of these programs are on in the daytime one
might wonder what kind of jobs the listeners have that allows them to listen to
the radio while they are working.</span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEujt5bdEdoyWr4jlG8QJDC3lK20TrJtVI1i648SSMtTc9jMocl8yfGfPczdc2C7JIHHplkm6BMpghcxYrAylkKufqq6LnlKCfFZ_lGx_tGBLQ_Tr4gbQ5ran_zF324rsWAHv5uUM9G0/s1600/imagesZT8CP0FB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEujt5bdEdoyWr4jlG8QJDC3lK20TrJtVI1i648SSMtTc9jMocl8yfGfPczdc2C7JIHHplkm6BMpghcxYrAylkKufqq6LnlKCfFZ_lGx_tGBLQ_Tr4gbQ5ran_zF324rsWAHv5uUM9G0/s400/imagesZT8CP0FB.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Pretty well
every hate group in the US is run by people that vote Republican from clandestine
militias to the KKK. The internet is crawling with right wing websites
including Breitbart News and The Drudge Report. Right wingers often use
Facebook to espouse their political beliefs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To say the
left controls the media is just pure bullshit. Part of being a Republican is to
feel like they are victims.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Really Dumb Americans</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0maeM40seByoa3YcdDTdD5w6jKNat5HjuAY0z9Qy2lvLiNqVZR9xDTqswhIX2VuXNGent-4ZmgKc6Y92q3wbJk5yQ6f4lizcnnO0MEBHy5v5if2N5dYl6Hsu_MtMu8RkxkFIS4EzT1mM/s1600/caitlinupton%255B1%255D.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0maeM40seByoa3YcdDTdD5w6jKNat5HjuAY0z9Qy2lvLiNqVZR9xDTqswhIX2VuXNGent-4ZmgKc6Y92q3wbJk5yQ6f4lizcnnO0MEBHy5v5if2N5dYl6Hsu_MtMu8RkxkFIS4EzT1mM/s400/caitlinupton%255B1%255D.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Americans by
and large like to brag about their country<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.
</b>USA! USA! Less than 50% of Americans have passports and most Americans have
little interest in any country but their own. They are not a people in general
that likes to apologize for anything, Republicans in particular.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-One has to
wonder, if Americans are supposedly so very patriotic, why is it that only 57%
of them bothered to vote in the 2012 general election? Apparently spending an
hour or two once every 4 years to line up and vote is too heavy a burden for
them to shoulder. And it isn’t that voters are always restricted to 1 day to
vote. They can vote early if they care to in many states.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Over the
years both Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno have interviewed people on the street and
asked them questions that any high school student should be able to answer and
most often they have either the wrong answer or can’t answer at all. One would
think they would be embarrassed about being ignorant but they aren’t. For some
reason they think it is funny being stupid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Most
Americans won’t admit that their country has lost wars in Viet Nam.
Afghanistan, and Iraq. Commonly they explain the losses as could have, should
have, and would have. The irony is some of them say these things while wearing
running shoes made in Viet Nam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-30% of
Americans don’t believe in climate change. 53% of Republicans believe it is a
hoax. Trump has suggested it is a Chinese plot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Americans
think that having insurance companies dictate their health care is a natural
thing. Most of them don’t realize that they are dealing with a cartel with
anti-trust exemption. To many of them, universal healthcare is beyond their
comprehension. The fact that universal health care is practiced in every
country in the world with a decent economy is not something they are curious
about. In a lot of cases in the US, health care insurance eats up 1/3 of
peoples’ income.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-For some
strange reason many religious Americans believe that their Jesus is mostly
concerned about the US and the Deep South in particular, and other countries
not so much. The bible’s Jesus was a poor man who walked with the poor and
didn’t have old ladies opening envelopes and counting money in church
basements. Pastors are living in mansions with 12 bathrooms and flying around
in privately owned jets. What would Jesus say? Is he more concerned about
people in the wealthiest country in the world or the millions of kids that
starve to death in poor countries each year?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-72% of
Republicans doubt that Obama was born in the US even though Trump finally
admitted he was. Producing his Hawaiian birth certificate and the two birth
notices printed in Honolulu newspapers 55 years ago is not enough for them. Most
Republicans also believe that Obama has raised their taxes. He hasn’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-57% of
Republicans believe the Constitution should be dismantled and Christianity be
established as the national religion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-25% of
Americans don’t believe in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Most
Republicans believe Obama is a socialist. He isn’t. He hasn’t socialized any
American business. Bernie Sanders is a socialist. Obama is centrist Democrat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-The vast
majority of Americans are not capable of finding Iraq or Afghanistan on a map.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-The
Kardashians, Honey Boo Boo, Duck Dynasty, and Jerry Springer have been watched
by millions of Americans and most watchers are not disturbed about what they
see. Dying 5 year old girl’s hair and putting lipstick on their mouths and entering
these kids in beauty contests seems normal to millions of Americans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-More
Americans can name 2 of the 7 dwarves than 2 Supreme Court Justices. More
Americans can name the 3 Stooges than the 3 branches of government.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-35% of
Americans believe being gay is a lifestyle choice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-30% of
Americans don’t know what year 9/11 took place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-29% of
Americans believe that an armed revolt against the federal government makes
sense.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The list of
“stupid” goes on and on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Cowardly Religious Right</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgCaycWfR8a7zBZh6tBEIJSlS49Oso_FVteyxBpYYwXJKl1iLNLzIPVL0wN4MmfcSd-CQ8BarfEx2vB0TA6DQj6T1AVgojZHdPZ_Z05cWKge_L5n2l6DdTv-1AMJJqiZP66SI89bdXrY/s1600/ba4cb8943602b996fb33e997692ffdc9%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgCaycWfR8a7zBZh6tBEIJSlS49Oso_FVteyxBpYYwXJKl1iLNLzIPVL0wN4MmfcSd-CQ8BarfEx2vB0TA6DQj6T1AVgojZHdPZ_Z05cWKge_L5n2l6DdTv-1AMJJqiZP66SI89bdXrY/s400/ba4cb8943602b996fb33e997692ffdc9%255B1%255D.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Mike Pence, while governor of Indiana
spent money on trying to de-gay gay people. When Trump was heard on tape
talking about grabbing women’s pussies, Pence said his religion taught him to
forgive those that have sinned. Apparently his religious beliefs don’t include
forgiving Hillary Clinton or the Democrats for anything he perceives she has
done wrong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The basis of
Christianity is the 10 Commandments. One of the stranger things about
Christianity is that you can sin, be forgiven, and then go right back to
sinning again. It’s like a free pass.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The most
powerful religious entity in the US is the Evangelicals with 94 million
followers. Pastors in these churches have simply refused to call Trump out on
any awful thing he has done. Most likely it is because Trump has said he is
against abortion. 10 years ago when Trump was 60 years of age and a registered
Democrat he was pro-choice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">About the
only commandments Trump hasn’t broken on numerous times is Thou Shalt Not Kill
and Honour Thy Mother and Thy father.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The only time
anyone has spotted Trump in a church was at his own weddings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Not only has
Trump committed adultery on a number of occasions so have some of his chief
advisors including Gingrich and Guiliani.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Thou shalt
not steal has not prevented Trump from not paying taxes and stiffing investors
and contractors. Not paying people for goods and services they have provided is
simply theft.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Thou shalt
not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Trump lies on a daily business and
makes shit up about others that just aren’t factual. Statistics show that Trump
has told more lies in his run for president than any other candidate for
president in history. Hillary isn’t even close. Its chilling that he has the
nerve to call others liars.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-The not
coveting stuff. Trump has a long history of displaying jealousies. As a for
instance he wasn’t satisfied owning 1 casino in Atlantic City but had to own
all of them. The end result was he went into over 3 billion dollars of debt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Remember the
Sabbath Day. Like most Christians real or fake working on the Sabbath is okey
dokey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Christians
are expected to be charitable. Trump has a charitable foundation with no record
of helping any needy group of people. Instead he has used his foundation as a
piggy bank.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Not matter
what ugly thing that Trump has done in the last 16 months, and there have been
plenty of them, the religious right has refused to call him out on anything
including the filthy language he uses. Absolute cowards! Would these pastors
like their children to talk like Trump or emulate him?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinM4jPtoQfosYOqYqDZhVCKdazAvQF5fuSz4kgS50OnQqm0vuPDRNxGuqYQXXpV2JdHDOIseoXacQQYsLfFBVNxq-JjN2LV-WCbBfzDiRDNSyIHeKOteg_SHewLvjz6xH92tb7PQTMD-I/s1600/imagesNPGH1PB5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinM4jPtoQfosYOqYqDZhVCKdazAvQF5fuSz4kgS50OnQqm0vuPDRNxGuqYQXXpV2JdHDOIseoXacQQYsLfFBVNxq-JjN2LV-WCbBfzDiRDNSyIHeKOteg_SHewLvjz6xH92tb7PQTMD-I/s1600/imagesNPGH1PB5.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Obama and
Hillary Clinton are actually practicing Christians but the religious right
wants no part of them. There is something very strange about that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Hillary Clinton Hate Club</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLyDvBnPGbjPeveXDp6Bg4uCiSE3OkoUP7J7HlsBGYB1BEPtM5eBZyLi1fmCBf3XZNLP0vaohyphenhyphenv4t4wyy8eq4wBhPofpX8j2cr0-kPP2idjDCqQXVPeE_M-rIzfSVbiTTyYaESU5LyJA/s1600/imagesIO6DR6OY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLyDvBnPGbjPeveXDp6Bg4uCiSE3OkoUP7J7HlsBGYB1BEPtM5eBZyLi1fmCBf3XZNLP0vaohyphenhyphenv4t4wyy8eq4wBhPofpX8j2cr0-kPP2idjDCqQXVPeE_M-rIzfSVbiTTyYaESU5LyJA/s320/imagesIO6DR6OY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hating
Hillary Clinton is a fetish for most right wing Republicans. It isn’t as if she
says outlandish things or attacks others viciously. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right wingers love to think that she is
scheming woman doing awful things out of sight of the American public. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When Bill
Clinton left office in in January of 2001 he had a popularity rate of 55% in
spite of his lying to the American public about his numerous affairs. What kept
him popular wasn’t that Americans thought his adultery was a good thing but
more that the country wasn’t engaged in any major wars and the economy had been
booming for a continued length of time. Most Americans thought that Republican
prosecutor Kenneth Starr had gone too far in his investigation of Bill Clinton
when he got into semen stains and blowjobs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There was a
lot of empathy for Hillary Clinton at the time and she was parachuted into New
York State where she was elected junior senator. Like her husband Hillary often
worked with Republicans on political issues. 9/11 happened a few years after
she was elected and the loss of 3,000 lives in New York City devastated her and
her home state. She chose to listen to George W. Bush and his cronies instead
of Ambassador Joe Wilson or the Swedish diplomat Hans Blix and his inability to
discover WND in Iraq. When Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, a CIA agent, was outed
by Bush’s pals, Mrs. Clinton chose to ignore it. It seemed that it was
important to her that she didn’t look like an indecisive women when it came to
making some country pay the price for attacking the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2005 the
Clintons attended Donald Trump’s 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> wedding. Trump was a Democrat
at the time and in the ensuing years he had a lot of nice things to say about
both Clintons that included saying that she did a good job as Secretary of
State.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2008 she
decided to make a run for president and it looked like she had it in the bag.
On a broad scale it became whether the Democrats wanted to see a seasoned woman
or a younger black man in the White House. The black man won but Hillary sucked
it up. She wouldn’t have another shot at the presidency for 8 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2009 she
became Secretary of State at Obama’s request. She left that office in 2013 after
serving for 4 years. She had 3 years to prepare for next and last run for
president. Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party were well aware
of her goal. There was really good money available for ex-presidents who were
willing to give speeches to private groups and corporations and between Hillary
and Bill they made over 153 million dollars. It was legal but a bit on the
shady side considering they were selling their experience as public servants.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary had
been through a lot in her political life and she scared the crap out of the
Republicans. They hatched a plot. The Benghazi episode of 2012 where 4
Americans died in the dead of night seemed a good place to start. There would
be investigations and hearings about what happened that night that would lead
up to laying the deaths at Hillary’s feet. Historically something like Benghazi
would have been considered part of “the fog of war”. During Bush’s time as
president there had been 13 attacks on American embassies and 60 deaths without
1 single investigation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The idea was
to tie Hillary up for months on end and make her look incompetent. Altogether
there were 8 investigations. One might think that Benghazi was right up there
with Viet Nam or WW2. Ambassador Stevens’s own sister didn’t hold Hillary at
fault. She described her brother as somebody who was infatuated with the Middle
East ever since he was a boy and dressed up like Lawrence of Arabia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Mrs. Clinton
wasn’t found guilty of anything including her response to the attack on
Benghazi. The 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> most powerful Republican in Congress, Kevin
McCarthy openly admitted the Benghazi Committee was formed to discredit Hillary
Clinton.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Because of
the Benghazi investigations America became aware that Mrs. Clinton was using a
private server for her e-mails. Most Democrats and pretty well all Republicans
found this to be sheer arrogance on her part. The facts are that the FBI, the
Republican Party, nor the Russians were aware that she was using a private
server. It may have been inappropriate and risky but there is no record of her
server ever being hacked. In other words no highly confidential material ever
got into the wrong hands.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Next up on
the Republicans agenda was The Clinton Foundation. There is no record of the
Clintons personally profiting from The Clinton Foundation. They made their
money from speeches. Some of the sources that they got money for the foundation
may be a bit dubious, particularly from foreign dictatorships, but the money
all went to good causes. Yes they hired friends to run the foundation but why
wouldn’t they want it run by people they trusted?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">85% of the
funds collected by The Clinton Foundation go directly to people in need
throughout the world. It has been enormously effective are here are just some
of the things it has accomplished.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-It has
provided HIV/AIDS drugs to 11.5 million people in the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Raised 313
million dollars for R&D into new vaccines and medicines.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Helped
provide better maternal and child care to more than 110 million people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Provided
treatment for more than 36 million people with tropical diseases.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This is only
a partial list of the good works the foundation has done. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">On the other
hand Donald Trump also has a foundation. The last gift he gave to his
foundation was $35,000.00 in 2008. There is no record of Trump donating a dime
to the 9/11 charities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There is one
group in the US that particularly hates Hillary and that is white men without
college degrees. I have a theory of why this is. They probably remember a girl
or two in grade school or high school who was an over achiever and seemed like
a goody two shoes. They hated the praise the teacher gave the girl(s) and the
attention she got. Often the teacher was a woman and that just made it worse.
There are still millions of men in America who have a hard time with women
being in authority. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To combat
their fear of a woman like Hillary they will go to any lengths to bring her
down and destroy her. Some fill their Facebook pages with cartoons of her
looking like she is totally unhinged. The strange thing is that these same
people can get all warm and fuzzy about a baby, a dog, or a cat. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpSgV9v9IGijaRyzArsrWB4Uq3Q__Cx1Bd2SEYcmFGJBYX3CkD2uf3YdJU7jMbA0-sjpSUWObBHg-3M0vL_BrqB1QfKurOYcvMq6QTkbuK-5fwb6aM0BosFBt8wSBVWsLl8AnU-BQFEc/s1600/imagesEMZSKA14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpSgV9v9IGijaRyzArsrWB4Uq3Q__Cx1Bd2SEYcmFGJBYX3CkD2uf3YdJU7jMbA0-sjpSUWObBHg-3M0vL_BrqB1QfKurOYcvMq6QTkbuK-5fwb6aM0BosFBt8wSBVWsLl8AnU-BQFEc/s400/imagesEMZSKA14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Dazed And Confused?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The evidence
is there. It is often most noticeable in small towns and cities throughout the
United States, the abandoned factories with grass growing through the concrete
in the once packed parking lots, the boarded up shops with the signage long
removed. The busiest business in town now is often the local coffee shop.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There was a
time, decades ago, that if going to college wasn’t your thing or not
affordable, an American kid out of high school could get a job with a
reasonable pay cheque at a local factory or mill. Perhaps even work with his
dad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6URH5KwlIdnS_8FUi5ZS273D_Sj35MM1hYqoc-HcBpmYA5W9FBvGofBs9a-as6t89g6roh11Lx_D-hZA7vE5UCvvOCWmKIeqPVC8MFNNwftx2UeuU5gr3cdKldaAjSEzpibqDUZfREI/s1600/191go6xy47cqdjpg%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6URH5KwlIdnS_8FUi5ZS273D_Sj35MM1hYqoc-HcBpmYA5W9FBvGofBs9a-as6t89g6roh11Lx_D-hZA7vE5UCvvOCWmKIeqPVC8MFNNwftx2UeuU5gr3cdKldaAjSEzpibqDUZfREI/s400/191go6xy47cqdjpg%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are
millions of disgruntled blue collar workers across the US. Many feel they have
been left behind and they are very angry. They aren’t politicians and weren’t
born wealthy. They don’t have any power. It isn’t just the amount of industry
that has disappeared in the past 30 years it is the fear of the future. Will
they the next to get a pink slip?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">They often
don’t have many choices. If they are lucky they might be able to get a job
working for the city. They may be able to get 10 or 12 bucks an hour at Home
Depot. Some of the younger ones leave town and move to a part of the US with a
better economy. Other young people in these communities join the armed services
almost as a last resort. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Money and the
lack of it is the biggest cause of the breakup of marriages. Low paying jobs
can affect a person’s self-esteem. There often is profound bitterness and it
isn’t just about the availability of decent paying jobs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The city or
town they live in was once almost entirely white. For some time now there have
been more visible minorities living in the community. Some are Mexican illegals
whose kids are attending local schools. A lot of the illegals will work at
labour jobs for very low wages. Usually they are paid under the table in cash
and they don’t have taxes taken off of their pay cheques like people with
regular jobs do. What are they doing being in the US? They aren’t citizens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Angry people
look for ways to vent and they have found it in talk radio. Mayhem and panic
sells. There are lots of right wing radio talk show hosts who are quite willing
to fan the flames for a large disgruntled group of people. Blaming the federal
government is an easy thing to start with. Racism is another common theme.
Sometimes it is masked a bit but the angry mass can recognize the dog whistles.
The ideas that religion in the US is under attack or that Dems want to take
people’s guns away creates additional fears. Hating Hillary Clinton becomes a
passion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A lot of
these people used to be called “rednecks”. They have nothing but distain for
anything considered to be intellectual thought. Most of their tastes are quite
simple. Beer over wine, Country Music over Hip Hop, NASCAR over Formula 1,
jeans and tees over suits, Bar-B-Q over sushi, USA! USA! over humility. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">With their
fears stoked and being on the bottom rung in terms of personal success,
desperation has set in. For some violence is an option. Some have even joined
militia groups. It shouldn’t be any surprise that the KKK and other White
Supremacists are part this group that wants upheaval instead of the status quo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So why have
they decided to be part of the Republican Party? Because the Republican Party
doesn’t care how crazy their followers are as long as they are on their side.
The Democratic Party has their progressive base that wants to make America more
equitable but they have zero toleration for racists, homophobes, or
misogynists.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Dispelling The Beliefs Of The Trump
Morons<o:p></o:p></span></u></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Make America Great Again?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Just what
does this mean? What time in America’s history is better than now? Was it The
Great Depression years? Was it the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> Word War Years when thousands
of American soldiers were killed and rationing was a part of how Americans
lived? Was it the 1950s when American kids were taught to hide under their
school desks if the Russians dropped a bomb or when Jim Crow laws were still in
effect in the US South? Was it the Viet Nam years when 50,000 American soldiers
lost their lives? Maybe Trump is talking about the Bill Clinton years when the
economy was sound, the debt reduced, and most American soldiers remained within
the US?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Illegal Immigrants?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Most
Americans would agree that foreigners should not be able to enter the US
illegally. It is pretty obvious why there are 11 million and more illegal
Mexicans in the US. Even the low wages there are paid in the US, usually under
the table, are far more money than they could ever make back home. Mexicans
will often do work like picking crops that most Americans would never even
consider.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump has
been all over the place on illegal immigrants over the last several years
including stating that he didn’t want to break up families. He opened his
campaign by saying Mexico was sending rapists to the US. It was red meat for
the rednecks and they ate it up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump’s own
wife, Melania, worked illegally in the US before getting her papers. Hundreds
of illegal Polish immigrants worked on demolishing the old building that stood
where Trump Tower now stands. They were easily identifiable because they didn’t
wear hard hats. They worked 12 hour shifts and were paid so purely that many of
them lived on the site. Trump’s resort in Florida, Mar-a-lago, has hired
hundreds of foreign workers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Virtually no
American business is in any jeopardy if they hire illegal immigrants. 11
million of them aren’t sitting around twiddling their fingers. They work on
construction sites, hotels, anywhere that will use them for low cost labour. If
they get injured on the job they are out of luck as far as coverage goes. They
end up in the emergency rooms of hospitals and taxpayers pick up the tab.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Over 600.000
employers in the US use e-verify when hiring new employees. Many employers want
to know if applicants have criminal records. E-verify could be made mandatory
and the authorities could be notified if an illegal immigrant applies for a job
but the Republican run congress refuses to discuss the matter or making it a
criminal offense to knowingly hire illegal immigrants.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Republicans
have a long history of wanting low taxes for businesses and they and others
have no problem with not collecting taxes on illegal’s pay cheques. Let someone
else pay is the meme.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many illegals
that pick fruit and vegetables are only needed at particular times of the year.
Stricter laws could require them to go back to Mexico when they are not needed.
Enforcing a law like this would mean that these workers would not be able to
bring their families to the US but they could still send money home improving
their family’s lives.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Wall?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A wall works
in Israel but it is a small country. Most illegal Mexican immigrants don’t come
to the US by sneaking across barren country in the middle of the night. They
simply drive across the border or come to the US under the guise of being
tourists. There are about 350 million Mexican border crossings yearly. Trump
says that Mexico will pay for the wall and that it will be “huge”. It’s just
bullshit. If the wall was 12 feet underground, tunnels 15 feet underground
would be constructed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">American Jobs Going To Other
Countries?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Maybe Trump’s
followers don’t know what the Republican Party they are voting for stands for?
The Republican Party has always been on the side of Corporate America and the
very wealthy. Corporate America has a long history of not caring about the
American worker. Years ago the big US car company’s used to hire people to beat
up workers if they went on strike. Mine owners never cared if coal miners got
black lung. 100 years ago it was common to find 12 year olds working in mines.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The last
Republican to run for president, Mitt Romney, owned a business called Bain
Capital. One of the company’s frequent practices was to buy businesses in
financial difficulty, sell off the assets, fire workers who had been with the
company for years, and ship the jobs and equipment overseas where they could
pay the workers lower wages.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hewlett
Packard has call centers all over the world, including India, that service
their US customers. Apple i-phones are all made in foreign countries. These are
just a couple of examples. Corporate America could give a rat’s ass what
happens to people who lose their jobs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpPrTS48EioPPikZZD2Mfd23Xu_glvatF3kKMk2bqutEAy9zBURtIMkbqqSmESwfoQ6J59RFMe8O5WLJgXhqB9pw66MhcDiiTOyVc6YVVB2A5hubhnb-oW3pSwzTjOLeArMOAKLWTC-Y/s1600/images8BSBM3S3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpPrTS48EioPPikZZD2Mfd23Xu_glvatF3kKMk2bqutEAy9zBURtIMkbqqSmESwfoQ6J59RFMe8O5WLJgXhqB9pw66MhcDiiTOyVc6YVVB2A5hubhnb-oW3pSwzTjOLeArMOAKLWTC-Y/s320/images8BSBM3S3.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A US owned air
conditioner manufacturer named Carrier had 56 billion dollars in revenue in
2015. They are very profitable but decided that they weren’t profitable enough
and laid off most of their American workers and shipped the jobs to Mexico. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump says he
would stop this kind of thing if he becomes president. A president doesn’t have
the ability on his own to change how corporations run their businesses. It
would be very unlikely if Trump became president that he could get congress to
change the rules. They have been bought and paid for by corporate lobbyists.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump is also
a terrible example of keeping jobs in the US. Some of his buildings have been
built with Chinese steel. His clothing line is manufactured in China, Honduras,
Viet Nam and India. Most of his furniture line is produced in Turkey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What is a bit
confusing is that Trump’s followers blame the federal government and the
Democrats instead of the real culprits. The federal government can’t dictate
how a corporation runs its business.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Those
deserted factories that dot the American landscape and the boarded up shops on
Main Street didn’t happen overnight. It goes back 30 years ago and longer. The
local hardware store has been replaced by a Home Depot or a Lowes. The
neighbourhood drugstore has been replaced by the Walgreen’s chain. The local
coffee shop has been replaced by Starbucks. The local grocery store has been
replaced by Costco. The local clothing store has been replaced by Wal-Mart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">NAFTA has
often been cited as one of the main reasons many blue collar jobs have been
lost in the US over the past 20 years. It is estimated that close to 1 million
jobs were lost and most of them went to Mexico. Bill Clinton signed NAFTA into
law but most of the votes to get the bill passed came from Republicans in
Congress. Democrats voted against it 156 to 102. Republicans voted for it 132
to 43. In the Senate Democrats voted for it 27 to 26 and Republicans voted for
it 34 to 12.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDZt1z55W-ST9z3trWGIVUTvdKDVzgF1fls2QiaFVkSgaNi2MDhlSoSRFJmmaZmwHPlieDZOYhdWPSHL7ZIcihUY-iRLCAKrKMEF7bfRINvT6adyiUSOiet0nRv4XFFdoZo9M1GS1KbM/s1600/images4XL56MMY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDZt1z55W-ST9z3trWGIVUTvdKDVzgF1fls2QiaFVkSgaNi2MDhlSoSRFJmmaZmwHPlieDZOYhdWPSHL7ZIcihUY-iRLCAKrKMEF7bfRINvT6adyiUSOiet0nRv4XFFdoZo9M1GS1KbM/s320/images4XL56MMY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Wages have
been driven down. Wealth has shifted dramatically. In the last 30 years the
middle class has lost 30% of its wealth. The 400 richest Americans have more
wealth than 61% of the rest of Americans combined. In some ways it is like
living in the 1930s again when working people were in distress and went to the
movies and saw rich people in tuxedos and furs being driven around in
limousines. Things today are not nearly as bad as the Great Depression but
millions watch the Kardashians and the Real Housewives of whatever city and
some wonder just what value there is in people being so rich that all they seem
to do is quarrel with one another about petty things while contributing nothing
to society.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Some people
like to say that anything is possible in America. A person can sometimes rise
from nothing and become very rich. The question that needs to be asked is how
rich is enough? Is having endless riches for a few more important than the
quality of most American’s lives? It should be in country where people care
about one another but sadly it often isn’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Dems Want To Take Away American’s Guns?</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This is more
pure bullshit by Republicans and Trump. The Democratic Party has never talked
about taking people’s guns away even though there are a lot of people who have
guns that shouldn’t. What the Dems have talked about is having guns registered
so when the police go to a house on a domestic dispute that they know somewhat
what they are dealing with. The Dems are also against guns being sold on-line
or from a car trunk without the buyer and seller having to fill out a form
identifying the parties in the transaction and a background check being made.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Most
Democratic politicians are also against the sale of high powered rifles with
large clips that hold up to 100 bullets. These are the guns that have been used
in mass shootings including at grade schools and high schools all over the US.
You don’t use a rifle like this to shoot wild animals. Who has ever heard of a
home owner defending himself from a home invasion by firing off 100 shots in a
few short minutes? It just doesn’t happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">American’s Religious Beliefs are Under
Attack?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This is just
more Republican bullshit. Church leaders still have carte blanche to bilk their
followers while being tax exempt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4qwoLtpB62IoP5ncW11teNC_GQx2QcIvcUsV3LFPt56fVypga1HMLCz3l3_AuuHM5K5DXG2PJ93F4h2yKT6m6vGOrgrgxcBUhNP10IoaUZ46wYTJRFVt3Q8XsofkPGGM3VO-I05YeTk/s1600/imagesIMQ0WTMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4qwoLtpB62IoP5ncW11teNC_GQx2QcIvcUsV3LFPt56fVypga1HMLCz3l3_AuuHM5K5DXG2PJ93F4h2yKT6m6vGOrgrgxcBUhNP10IoaUZ46wYTJRFVt3Q8XsofkPGGM3VO-I05YeTk/s320/imagesIMQ0WTMG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Abortion?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump has
spoken about how an unborn baby of almost 9 months can be ripped out of a
woman’s womb. Less than 1% of abortions happen in the last trimester and they
occur either because the life of the mother is in jeopardy or because the baby
has problems that wouldn’t see it live very long or it is missing things that
are needed to sustain a normal life. Women should have the right to control
their own bodies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDgvmdOT5YYTqt3Zy-VQ1SKp63kglB-_lboK3Qzn9w9OSYiuJBGfoiDUSPehEnlfijxEhlt5p03TGP1aHNSKyR88Vl7nkhqu_BLkdPxjE4L0DPVxnHGwYV0lwZ5HTp7xI_5UtE-Uycps/s1600/images%255B2%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDgvmdOT5YYTqt3Zy-VQ1SKp63kglB-_lboK3Qzn9w9OSYiuJBGfoiDUSPehEnlfijxEhlt5p03TGP1aHNSKyR88Vl7nkhqu_BLkdPxjE4L0DPVxnHGwYV0lwZ5HTp7xI_5UtE-Uycps/s1600/images%255B2%255D.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump told
MSNC’s Chris Mathews that he thought women who have abortions should be punished.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump Speaks His Mind and Identifies
With Struggling Americans?</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnMJeflak5fa0WdrLwpjtTGHdTbF6Re3u87O74A8aLasI3CsKPYRECdwQUsf-j2WAWgvplJGQJ0dotkWid_aAet6Mih3q4f5We5rS5Sw4wUmBNEYdFs8Bx9mUk9c4bxpbmuwZc1dH1As/s1600/gallery-1462816039-donald-trump-1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnMJeflak5fa0WdrLwpjtTGHdTbF6Re3u87O74A8aLasI3CsKPYRECdwQUsf-j2WAWgvplJGQJ0dotkWid_aAet6Mih3q4f5We5rS5Sw4wUmBNEYdFs8Bx9mUk9c4bxpbmuwZc1dH1As/s400/gallery-1462816039-donald-trump-1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The only
person Donald Trump identifies with is himself and his enormous ego. Living in
an apartment filled with European art and French period furniture is not
something most Americans can identify with. There is nothing in Trump’s home that
reflects America. Average Joes and Jills don’t have their own bullshit made up
family crest either. They also weren’t born with silver spoons in their mouths
as he was.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The average
working stiff hasn’t declared bankruptcy 6 times or written off a 920 million
dollar business loss in one year. If the average working stiff went bankrupt
they would find a bailiff’s notice on their house and a tow truck in their
driveway within days.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Working
American pay taxes but Trump with high priced lawyers and accountants has avoided
paying millions in taxes. Many American families have relatives who have served
in the US military. Nobody in Trump’s family, past or present, has. The average
American doesn’t eat pizza with a fork either. What working stiff wears a suit
with a baseball cap? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Where was
Trump all those years in helping out the little guy? He left many small
contractors high and dry and didn’t pay some a dime. Some of the ones he did
pay did not receive all they were owed. Trump’s one concern all of his adult
life is getting as much wealth as he could. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The real reason
he has run for president is that he can’t get enough attention. At 70 years of
age he can’t chase women any more. He’s a jowly old fart now. Could anyone
imagine him being locked to the White House for the next 4 years? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The average
American doesn’t belong to private golf course or spend their time with
billionaires and famous people either.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">But this is
the guy who is going to lead struggling Americans to a bright future? I don’t
think so.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Obamacare?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump has
promised to kill Obamacare on day 1 if he is elected. His party agrees with
him. They promise to replace it with something much better. In 6 years they
haven’t been able to describe what it is they are offering other than saying
there would be more competition. Maybe they don’t know that there really only 6
major health care insurers in the US and that it is a cartel with anti-trust
exemption. No other American business other than professional baseball has
anti-trust exemption. They don’t compete. They just divide things up. The
biggest Us healthcare insurance company has 75 million customers. They aren’t
too worried about competition.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">World Affairs?</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4oYbNxRLyaflnmIdeSDQAPygwtsHCRsY-yFq23h5bPG9xAXWAz1JXf0GN99iL9Mi49uIH3did_ZLFT0HiYE9d-uA_rncKGP5O3CqUwU4XyWWShkY5zJ7-unlC3my681hpdTxiGXjn7I/s1600/imagesDO8R8989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4oYbNxRLyaflnmIdeSDQAPygwtsHCRsY-yFq23h5bPG9xAXWAz1JXf0GN99iL9Mi49uIH3did_ZLFT0HiYE9d-uA_rncKGP5O3CqUwU4XyWWShkY5zJ7-unlC3my681hpdTxiGXjn7I/s1600/imagesDO8R8989.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvrGIZFpm0NfERsNIYi5d3ILoUG8Qft8MeFqQ8BDsEdcV0tTaAwZekVtQH8wuE_TIRy5NKpXhUvblTN1vJrTfIFLWmMcZ9TIBjgk6_JP5sktKfxKXYkLLBE3YSh0AVCSv2eAjqEqM7Y0/s1600/imagesZM44BDVQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvrGIZFpm0NfERsNIYi5d3ILoUG8Qft8MeFqQ8BDsEdcV0tTaAwZekVtQH8wuE_TIRy5NKpXhUvblTN1vJrTfIFLWmMcZ9TIBjgk6_JP5sktKfxKXYkLLBE3YSh0AVCSv2eAjqEqM7Y0/s1600/imagesZM44BDVQ.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump says he
knows more about how to deal with ISIS than US generals. He has figured all
this out by watching his big screen TV. Trump has suggested that it might be a
good idea that Japan, South Korea, and even Saudi Arabia have nuclear arms. He
has threatened to back out of NATO. He scares the crap out of America’s allies.
Over and over he has proven that he really doesn’t know much about the world
other than where some really nice golf courses are.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the last
few weeks he has mocked the American generals for announcing in advance that
the Iraqi city of Mosul would be under siege. He can’t believe that the US
military would do this. The fact is that Mosul sits on a flat plain and it
would be impossible to hide 30,000 Iraqi troops. Many Iraqis are hostages in
Mosul so it isn’t a bad idea that they are prepared for an invasion. Maybe some
of them can hide somewhere until it is safe to come out?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He faults
Hillary Clinton for the US attacking Libya even though he once wanted to bomb
the crap out of the country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump changes
his mind on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as a regular pattern. It
doesn’t make that much difference when he doesn’t have any power but if he did
he could start a war with just a few of his crazy twitters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Remembering What Trump Has Said In The
Last 16 Months</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trying to
document the crazy things Trump has said in the past 16 months is a daunting
task. It would take up pages and pages here just listing those he has insulted.
Here are just a few of the high-lights….</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoN3cd9X6gv37mU2oBc8XN1ieZ2QaIUvapW3MsKMKZwkzjlm34CpOxPWNzECdz_e9TZY8QJeMjnXzorgdKRaIIz7lza3D_s-66mf9kz-kK4kVkbvCdQJqkoaVVPG2vsGRwz1p5izwLOM/s1600/imagesZNA9PHRU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoN3cd9X6gv37mU2oBc8XN1ieZ2QaIUvapW3MsKMKZwkzjlm34CpOxPWNzECdz_e9TZY8QJeMjnXzorgdKRaIIz7lza3D_s-66mf9kz-kK4kVkbvCdQJqkoaVVPG2vsGRwz1p5izwLOM/s400/imagesZNA9PHRU.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-89682068199937376172016-09-27T20:45:00.000-07:002016-09-27T20:46:45.332-07:00Manzanita, Oregon And Nehalem Bay State Park<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Manzanita, Oregon is about 85 miles west of Portland on
the Pacific coast. It is a small town with a population of about 750
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A 5 minute drive away or 45
minute walk away (along the beach) is Nehalem Bay State Park. Manzanita is just
off Highway 101, a road that many, including me, consider to be the most
beautiful highway in the US. Nehalem Bay State Park is about a 10 minute drive
from the 101. Up the road about 14 miles is the town of Cannon Beach with its
toney restaurants and beachfront hotels. Haystack Rock which is about 240 tall,
sits on the edge of the beach at Cannon Beach.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve been down to Oregon about 10 times now. The first
time was back in 1968. For a number of years I’ve wanted to spend a week or so
in either Manzanita or a campground close by. Last fall, on our way back from
The Grand Canyon, we discovered Nehalem State Park and we made a reservation
earlier this past summer for 7 days of camping from September 10<sup>th</sup> to
September 17<sup>th</sup>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Years ago I made it down to Oregon from Vancouver, BC in
9 hours. This time we left Vancouver Island, where we live, at about 10:30 a.m.
The ferry ride added on 2 hours. There was a bit of line-up at the US border
and traffic slowed to a crawl north of Seattle. Our plan was to find a motel in
Olympia, Washington (the state capital), get a good night’s sleep, and stock up
on some provisions the following morning at Costco. We ended up staying in
Tumwater, Washington right next to Olympia where Olympia beer used to be
brewed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I spent a night at a truck stop in Tumwater 48 years ago
back in 1968 when I hitchhiked across the US that year. I must have had 15
coffees that night and wasn’t feeling that well when the sun rose the following
morning. My guess is that truck stop probably doesn’t exist anymore. Who knows?
I wasn’t about to go looking for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On our way through Seattle we passed by the old Rainier
Beer brewery. Mickey Rooney used to do commercials for Rainier beer back in the
70s. Rainier and Olympia were both bought out by other breweries some time ago
and are no longer marketed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The trunk of our car was packed with camping gear and
other stuff and we had a big cooler in the back seat. The other half of the
back seat was reserved for our golden retriever, Shelby. The back window on his
side was often open so he could stick his head out and do that cheek flapping
thing that dogs like to do. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our general plan once we got to Nehalem Bay State Park
was to not have a plan at all. We would just wing it mostly, deciding what we
wanted to do shortly after we woke up each day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We arrived at the campground at about 2 p.m. and Linda
set up the tents while I took Shelby down to the beach for a spin. We brought 2
two person tents and Linda shared hers with Shelby. I gave a bigger tent I had
away to a charity a number of years ago thinking my camping days were over. They
aren’t apparently and for some reason I like doing it again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTleTAWOsPLgmSAoHeBfaRFoN57NHNW3HxY7X3Bk0UxVAbZUCUBBhSE8r-RGOyeGG7sKeWEZY_CAbMAFN-RwBXIgRcdNHKUrredL_dBE35Wb6mGvh8-cvePHw00r4qsISTZnOYgG574fc/s1600/108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTleTAWOsPLgmSAoHeBfaRFoN57NHNW3HxY7X3Bk0UxVAbZUCUBBhSE8r-RGOyeGG7sKeWEZY_CAbMAFN-RwBXIgRcdNHKUrredL_dBE35Wb6mGvh8-cvePHw00r4qsISTZnOYgG574fc/s640/108.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist at work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Linda and I both have fairly decent cameras and we like taking pictures. Linda is quite comfortable reading a book on the beach while I am more inclined to just sit and drink in the surroundings. While we were away Linda also did some sketching. She has done a fair amount of painting in the last few years and several of them are now in a gallery near our home.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nehalem
Bay State Park</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></strong><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfZCZdq_qaKUEJCA5drJTFRgW81nnT6a4Iar8KKCn08lmLVwL4BB-G81DUdYPchMt3LB8jQ0vKWPg0kPUWFflEZXPaJSlwegiYyLuOL2bJliGgcZL5OZloao_ad5tg6EcL4sXatYgodw/s1600/072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzfZCZdq_qaKUEJCA5drJTFRgW81nnT6a4Iar8KKCn08lmLVwL4BB-G81DUdYPchMt3LB8jQ0vKWPg0kPUWFflEZXPaJSlwegiYyLuOL2bJliGgcZL5OZloao_ad5tg6EcL4sXatYgodw/s640/072.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overhead view of 4 miles of beach.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In some ways the campground is a bit of a secret. It
isn’t one of those places you can see from the 101 Highway. My guess is that
about half the campers were from British Columbia. Some have been going to the
park for years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The park and the beach are separated by sand dunes and
the beach area is about 4 miles long. At the far end of the beach there are
horse rental places and horses on a beach are a Kodak moment if there ever was
one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoOwXIps_kqzleDz6hgeo0t6TDu3sbPMbWmi6h5rXF3JzK_eR9Uzp9AwW8TZ8KLgk9f2ERKSeJczUkNCil1bhErkKoRMCVMwsbFMjW7IVV5UNhLrRDU7X96Z_hK0dPSvyoeLqLRqBBeA/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoOwXIps_kqzleDz6hgeo0t6TDu3sbPMbWmi6h5rXF3JzK_eR9Uzp9AwW8TZ8KLgk9f2ERKSeJczUkNCil1bhErkKoRMCVMwsbFMjW7IVV5UNhLrRDU7X96Z_hK0dPSvyoeLqLRqBBeA/s640/021.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Dunes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At the end of the sand spit is the mouth of Nehalem River
where fishing for salmon is popular in the month of September. There are lots
of trails around the camp including one that leads to the river where the small
town of Wheeler can be seen across the water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskFFX8skprUXOfGpE8cDba7OPpVe97jZvc90N3V635XVGWNWGkcN6E9pvBtXOyQ6yQTPLz62unxBIFhLKFUgh3YBFWSkzUjyo6Qcbo2r5d0R2bfuqOU2cgxjTUHcgoG9jp8ceK2xf4tE/s1600/095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskFFX8skprUXOfGpE8cDba7OPpVe97jZvc90N3V635XVGWNWGkcN6E9pvBtXOyQ6yQTPLz62unxBIFhLKFUgh3YBFWSkzUjyo6Qcbo2r5d0R2bfuqOU2cgxjTUHcgoG9jp8ceK2xf4tE/s640/095.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheeler, Oregon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFt7OVcz_uS5heqs0ffLjKjC5NzisedAVTeoyLXlLbQasvygENt6j2ODK7K0FSZach67vVEJ1WcMBjtIHtT49hZkkbnBBtwmlEwx-1lrmpp_s5Q7ofdLqLcC3GHz8dQrSOe3g_H8cQwu8/s1600/036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFt7OVcz_uS5heqs0ffLjKjC5NzisedAVTeoyLXlLbQasvygENt6j2ODK7K0FSZach67vVEJ1WcMBjtIHtT49hZkkbnBBtwmlEwx-1lrmpp_s5Q7ofdLqLcC3GHz8dQrSOe3g_H8cQwu8/s640/036.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nehalem River.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPr1E1D9MNbnurWaDxcVPTakwbyrmbX8JLGReuz1SzFZwNP7b8k3TUmib1lKc6tnlEJGBQqyiucbNOkx8qb_mcOMoaXAJmfcLtbOSRsPyxTLlvcjJtv4zlGLRrYm_xN7LZC78dBL53LE/s1600/140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPr1E1D9MNbnurWaDxcVPTakwbyrmbX8JLGReuz1SzFZwNP7b8k3TUmib1lKc6tnlEJGBQqyiucbNOkx8qb_mcOMoaXAJmfcLtbOSRsPyxTLlvcjJtv4zlGLRrYm_xN7LZC78dBL53LE/s640/140.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salmon fishing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">People turn up at the park with a variety of shelters
including every kind of tent one can think of. Some come with their expensive
motor homes or long trailers. A few have remodeled old school buses. Each site
has a fresh water tap and an electrical outlet. The washroom area also has
showers. Every night one of the camp workers drives around the campground in a
golf cart with firewood for sale. It seems to me that some kind of unwritten
deal had been made by those who sell firewood. A bundle always costs 5 bucks in
or out of the park and nobody was selling a bundle for $4.75 or two bundles for
9 bucks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>The Beach At Night</strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></strong><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Shelby
Steals The Show</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is something about golden retrievers. Small kids
like them. Older people like them. I think it is because of their appearance
and demeanor. People seem to know that this breed of dog will not harm them.
(Kudos to all of those kind folks who have rescued dogs from animal shelters.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During the week that we were camping Shelby was patted by
complete strangers well over a hundred times. Possibly even 200 times. If I
took him for a walk through the campground some people would say hello to him
by name. One older couple came over just to see him. When we were in Manzanita
a guy in his car rolled down his window and yelled “You have a gorgeous looking
dog!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidX-_OmaQ0UoK3-CrCcXBftqqxlagdEOkDIAFBkx0BFyhNKv1sh2u9kULjTuywvulOiirAl7Yd_2oc12Gih8jb3aU06tjI_Z4PG388676nnn11ziRBo1JTiYowP5-DDd_vTyhAcmi7HW0/s1600/065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidX-_OmaQ0UoK3-CrCcXBftqqxlagdEOkDIAFBkx0BFyhNKv1sh2u9kULjTuywvulOiirAl7Yd_2oc12Gih8jb3aU06tjI_Z4PG388676nnn11ziRBo1JTiYowP5-DDd_vTyhAcmi7HW0/s640/065.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cannon Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dogs have to be on leash in the campground and there was
no shortage of them. I’m not a big fan of small yappy dogs or cats too for that
matter. One older couple told me about their cat taking off after opening their
trailer door and that they hadn’t seen it in days and had basically given up
hope. Small dogs seem to be a prerequisite in owning a motor home. There were a
few times that I was a bit embarrassed when someone who was walking their own
dog would come over and pat Shelby. I wondered if their dog appreciated them
giving another dog that much attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At our campsite we would tie Shelby’s leash to several
yards of nylon rope allowing him to get within a few feet of the single lane
service road. This allowed Shelby to be the unofficial greeter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3UxHunE_nvGY26-dbiePj2Y33SWCaEb_ZlCdIhhRvZCDV4_wFcV2dC-vcEDK56ojLydmxLYUnMO0CXQyChT8zf9ocmGceORxja8G6Y2QgHYW31G90ZrfOVtI2g3T8y9efjUuVtzEQUs/s1600/135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3UxHunE_nvGY26-dbiePj2Y33SWCaEb_ZlCdIhhRvZCDV4_wFcV2dC-vcEDK56ojLydmxLYUnMO0CXQyChT8zf9ocmGceORxja8G6Y2QgHYW31G90ZrfOVtI2g3T8y9efjUuVtzEQUs/s640/135.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheJeJ3d32BubVwSqZOGqQ-lNpIi6wrPDHT92NTcAXlGtk9akSxlo_cI7yGqMZ92TAi6dCd-2SmNUTx8Z8yVA-5JS9Acf_WRle-nCDxX-w1iSv2UMm4MYf4Ky5MKNCFbumuZZsp_2m3zs/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheJeJ3d32BubVwSqZOGqQ-lNpIi6wrPDHT92NTcAXlGtk9akSxlo_cI7yGqMZ92TAi6dCd-2SmNUTx8Z8yVA-5JS9Acf_WRle-nCDxX-w1iSv2UMm4MYf4Ky5MKNCFbumuZZsp_2m3zs/s640/039.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campsite.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dogs are free to roam the beach area off leash. A few
were kept on leash because they had surly dispositions. It’s hard to say
whether Shelby is more of a people animal or a dog animal. He likes everyone.
He tends to want to play with dogs his own size. Often he would run ahead of us
on the beach and greet people walking or relaxing on the sand taking in some
rays. There was just one time that his exuberance was rejected. A jogger got a
bit annoyed with him. I hope he got his Zen moments back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At one point we had a young couple with 2 year olds
camped on either side of our site and both kids gave Shelby a number of hugs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I took Shelby down to the beach 4 times the first day.
That night he started licking one of his front paws and for the next few days
he was hesitant about walking on the hot sand. We made a point of getting to
the cooler sand by the ocean’s edge as quickly as possible. A few days later he
had his mojo back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After a while it can get a bit tiresome having a “rock
star” dog. I appreciate the fact that strangers cottoned to Shelby but there
are only so many dog stories I can listen to. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Camp
Chatter</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is kind of a golden rule for Canadians travelling
in the US these days. Never discuss politics with Americans unless you are 100%
sure that their beliefs concur with yours. Right wing Americans can get pretty
hostile very quickly if they think you are a “lefty”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first couple we met had a motorhome directly across
from our campsite. They spent a lot of time reading in their lounge chairs
while taking in the sun. The husband is a retired police detective from
Victoria, BC. (I’ve never cared much for cops.) My conversation with the ex-cop
was going along fine until I mentioned that I really liked travelling in the US
but it still was America. He took that comment as a political statement and
told me not to go there. I realized that I was talking to a conservative
Canadian who is in the Trump camp. After that I just nodded when I saw them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A few days later I was talking to 3 younger people and
commented that I thought it was interesting that someone travelling around in a
125 grand motorhome along with a 50 grand car would think the US was on its way
to ruin. Belonging to a police union and getting a hefty pension is kind of a
socialist thing, isn’t it?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I talked to an Australian born guy with a leather cowboy
hat several times. He has lived in the US for around 20 years and is a
carpenter by trade. He was travelling in a VW pop up van along with his wife
and 3 boys. The boys are home schooled and the dad seemed to be somewhat overly
attentive and kind of smothering. He told me that he and his boys have surfed
up and down the US west coast. He also told me that they didn’t have a couch,
never mind a TV, at their home in Portland. He did allow his boys to read
surfing magazines. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another interesting guy we met was travelling in an old
converted school bus with murals on it. He built his own slide out extension on
his bus. We talked about folk music for a while. (I’m currently working on a
story about folk music.) He told me about his search for the perfect Martin
guitar and how he had been to the Appalachian Mountains several times to get to
the roots of American folk music. He has a lot of knowledge but unfortunately
he was kind of speedy and hardly stopped to breathe while he was talking. Our
conversation was mostly one way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve never been shy about starting a conversation with
complete strangers. I’m a curious kind of guy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it
doesn’t. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The best conversations are those
that are shared without one person trying to dominate. Socializing shouldn’t be
a pissing contest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is something a bit weird about staying at a
campsite for a week. Sometimes a neighbour would disappear while we were
sleeping or at the beach and we would discover that we had new neighbours.
There’s a lot of coming and going in a campground.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For a few days we had young couples, each with small
children, camped on either side of us. One of the couples was from Abbotsford,
BC. I asked the husband what he did for a living and he told me he did some
framing on construction sites and worked at his dad’s farm. I asked what kind
of farm his dad had and he said “a pigeon farm”. The pigeons are “squabs”
(usually eaten at around 4 weeks of age) and apparently very popular at Chinese
restaurants in the Vancouver area. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We got to know a couple from Wenatchee, Washington over a
few days, Ken and Debbie. Wenatchee is the middle of Washington State, a tree
fruit and farming area that is mostly conservative politically. We tried to
stay in the Wenatchee area last fall on our way to The Grand Canyon but the
motel rooms were all booked because of a Foo Fighters concert nearby.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ken has just retired in the past year or so and Debbie is
about a year away from doing the same. They were travelling in a pick-up truck
pulling a fair sized trailer. Ken and I got into a conversation after he came
over to dump some coffee in a waste water thingamajig that was on the edge of
our campsite and said hello to our dog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOue6Fkvs1pmKiX3g7zs5wckeEST8Rs21EhJwc1o-jqKXFB_u3ZXGA-zjfIe4w82pT-GhdLuKygQTlKcAKjh29DtLHh-XI93NImoTdzvZelsjDqlJmyg2_-KbcMN70xLmJgb3848-Qgdk/s1600/137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOue6Fkvs1pmKiX3g7zs5wckeEST8Rs21EhJwc1o-jqKXFB_u3ZXGA-zjfIe4w82pT-GhdLuKygQTlKcAKjh29DtLHh-XI93NImoTdzvZelsjDqlJmyg2_-KbcMN70xLmJgb3848-Qgdk/s640/137.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campsite.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We chatted for about an hour and Ken had some really good
stories to tell. He grew up in New Jersey and after serving in Viet Nam he
decided to travel around the US. He bought a couple of big horses in Vermont and
did some winter log hauling one year. He also drove from Vermont down to Key
West, Florida with a truckload of Christmas trees. Somehow he ended up in Idaho
with some Aryan Nations types as neighbours. If I remember correctly he had
lined up a job in Alaska and the company that was going to hire him sent him a
plane ticket. He was reading a Farmer’s Almanac and became intrigued about the
small city of Wenatchee, Washington. At the last minute he changed his mind
about going to Alaska and moved to Wenatchee about 40 years ago, got married. And
has lived there ever since.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I talked to Ken again the following day and the stories
kept on coming. I love good stories. I suggested that the 4 of us share a
campfire that night. He told us how he and his wife had eaten at a seafood
joint a few days earlier that they liked in the town of Rockaway Beach and had
gathered coloured rocks on the beach at the town of Oceanside after walking
through a 75 foot tunnel. Both Rockaway Beach and Oceanside are south of
Manzanita. After seeing their rock collection Linda thought it might be a fun
thing to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken, Debbie & friend at Oceanside Beach<br />
<br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The next morning I knocked on Ken and Debbie’s trailer
door and asked them if they would be interested in showing us where the seafood
joint was and that I would like to buy them lunch. After lunch we would then
head on down to Oceanside. They were up for it. Linda and I had the clam strips
for lunch and Ken and Debbie settled on a couple of bowls of clam chowder. We
travelled in separate vehicles with us following them. Ken asked me why Linda
was driving and not me. We take turns depending on who is more up for it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s a good thing that we followed them too because we would
never have found the rock picking place. Rock picking isn’t my kind of thing
and the other 3 started searching while I assumed the pose of lying down with
one leg resting on a knee. I’ve had my picture taken many times in many places
in this pose.</span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the drive back to camp we stopped at a meat smoking
place. They sold 2 feet long pepperoni sticks for a buck each and they came in
a variety of flavours. Ken and Debbie seem to know where to find good deals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ken’s politics are to the right and mine are to the left
but we never got deep in the weeds about it which was kind of nice. Ken said he
was thinking of voting for Gary Johnson and The American Libertarian Party.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We said our goodbyes that night as Ken and Debbie would
be leaving in the morning. The pulled out of the park at about 9:00 a.m. Nice
couple. Our stay at the State park would be 2 more days.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Best
Laid Plans?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were 2 things that I wanted to do on the trip that
just never happened but I wasn’t at all disappointed. One was kayaking on the
Nehalem River. We left our own kayaks at home and were going to rent a couple.
We drove over to the town of Wheeler on the other side of the river and found a
kayak rental place. An old guy was in charge of the place and he pulled out his
tidal tables and told us the best time of day to be with the current instead of
against it. There was just one problem. We needed to find some place or someone
who would take care of our dog while we were kayaking. We checked at a few pet
shops in Cannon Beach but couldn’t find anyone who had a pet sitting service. I
couldn’t see asking strangers to mind Shelby so we just scratched the plan
altogether. We do a fair amount of kayaking on Vancouver Island so it isn’t
like we totally missed the boat (so to speak).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayak rental place, Wheeler, Oregon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The other thing I kind of wanted to do but didn’t was
walk along the beach to Manzanita and have a few evening cocktails with the
locals at a pub. By the end of each day we were a bit bagged from the sun and
an hour and a half of walking along the beach at night didn’t seem that
appealing. I’m kind of a night owl but while we were camping I was in my
sleeping bag by 9:00 p.m. almost every night.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Other
Stuff We Did</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On other trips down to the Oregon coast I had noticed
places off the highway where they cooked live crab and other seafood. We
checked a few of these places out one day before deciding which place we wanted
to eat at. The people who do the cooking are mostly in their twenties, kind of
counter culture types and a bit loosey goosey. At another time they might be
considered to be hippies. Our cook had his hair in a bun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTknwbucAgc6RaXmBTBBNLcjb3BmQsJBmdqUAUUIhN32W-Kfx8hXXRzvuLZuuVAFQw6ZYcRXonja3imVob_wO6jMO1HGN3Zc7bCE2Waa-Bf8XNww0eBLQJMaRsVFQ8jucPPsz4rMohMl8/s1600/088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTknwbucAgc6RaXmBTBBNLcjb3BmQsJBmdqUAUUIhN32W-Kfx8hXXRzvuLZuuVAFQw6ZYcRXonja3imVob_wO6jMO1HGN3Zc7bCE2Waa-Bf8XNww0eBLQJMaRsVFQ8jucPPsz4rMohMl8/s640/088.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mouth of Nehalem River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJii6-66G_kd5VxHt4HV-pGFThQh3o52pKgZZ2gUakk4gUoQvhQ8XRMe9ALKvxwmBvEYE2LM0yxh3QG57NSQ-FXtQIucbL9xkmFu4MCyAMmOyBYxPVSeVKY3RuXbH-ar6Kpq0zVyVKbqI/s1600/205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJii6-66G_kd5VxHt4HV-pGFThQh3o52pKgZZ2gUakk4gUoQvhQ8XRMe9ALKvxwmBvEYE2LM0yxh3QG57NSQ-FXtQIucbL9xkmFu4MCyAMmOyBYxPVSeVKY3RuXbH-ar6Kpq0zVyVKbqI/s640/205.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzENkZRz9XKWBSwRvs1n0XuzQjlQhXleWw-h-wRxW7Ny0oJIhmx3L_eys8tDqQ0NpWY0uXVE9-aSHqDpPQsPojl1JLv5fJ87-8OppLl3AW27Tso-mIOJ15PR0p0KywPG52MX7pZgvUve8/s1600/207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzENkZRz9XKWBSwRvs1n0XuzQjlQhXleWw-h-wRxW7Ny0oJIhmx3L_eys8tDqQ0NpWY0uXVE9-aSHqDpPQsPojl1JLv5fJ87-8OppLl3AW27Tso-mIOJ15PR0p0KywPG52MX7pZgvUve8/s640/207.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The live crabs are kept in very cold water in a cold
locker. Our cook pointed out that the water is so cold it puts the crabs to
sleep and they have no desire to use their pincher claws. A 1-3/4 lb. crab
sells for about 20 bucks. Linda and I started off with 1 crab and 4 fair sized
oysters. The crab and oysters were put in the same sack before being dumped in
a boiling caldron. They were ready to eat in about 15 minutes.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The eating is done from picnic tables that are pretty
weather beaten and eating utensils are not needed. It’s all hand to mouth. We
ordered a second crab and two more oysters and polished off a bottle of wine we
had brought with us. We were told to just throw the shells in the ocean once we
had finished eating, which we did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We spent part of one day at Cannon Beach. I found a
take-out crepe place that served the crepes up in cardboard cone shaped things.
Cannon Beach is one of the more upscale towns on the Oregon coast. A few years
ago Linda and I had a pancake breakfast at a legion in Cannon Beach. 30 years
ago my ex-wife and I rented a waterfront suite there with a fireplace in the
living room and the bedroom. We also saw the play Arsenic and Old Lace and I
remember buying a music cassette of Japanese bells at a bookstore. Japanese
bells, what was I thinking?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKpYM2VHm0Tik-k9WqlQPcvoG0mCU7M4hyphenhyphenfXqCtQzAXsmpkiZF3xkj_JKWROWD-IT3IwN_ReA_zA3keX6iYJ3jvMPLalwgCYwPMSEkxgUlVMZuO0I6jL1LCuhK9FACaoJ-SHyE9X5Yj0/s1600/064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKpYM2VHm0Tik-k9WqlQPcvoG0mCU7M4hyphenhyphenfXqCtQzAXsmpkiZF3xkj_JKWROWD-IT3IwN_ReA_zA3keX6iYJ3jvMPLalwgCYwPMSEkxgUlVMZuO0I6jL1LCuhK9FACaoJ-SHyE9X5Yj0/s640/064.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cannon Beach<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We went into Manzanita a few times. There isn’t much
there. On the main street there is a pizza joint, a Mexican restaurant, a
grocery store, a pub, a few other restaurants including a deli style place, a
hair salon in a former garage, a candy store, an ice cream and fudge store, a
real estate office, and an information center that isn’t open every day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone else using "Left Coast"?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There are a few more stores a few blocks away by the 101
Highway including another grocery store, another restaurant, and a place that
made homemade pies that was never open the 3 times I checked it out. To be fair
there is no sign in their window saying “Fresh Pies”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Oregon
Coast Cannibis</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pot is legal in Oregon State. There is a cannabis store
about a block away from the pie place on Highway 101 in Manzanita. Apparently
it the only pot store in the general area including Cannon Beach. There is a
roofed patio outside with chairs and ash trays but I didn’t see anyone toking
up there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You have to show ID to get into the place and once they
have checked you out you are buzzed in. One area is where all the edibles are
available including candy, cookies. brownies, and ice cream. The other section
offers a variety of weed. I only wanted to purchase a single joint and the guy
behind the counter asked me what kind of pot I wanted. I was good with “mellow”
and bought a joint of something called Blueberry Kush. I also bought a souvenir
ashtray and Linda bought 3 little glass containers with the Oregon Coast
Cannabis logo to give to people back home who shall remain unnamed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The pot store only accepts cash but they do have an
interact machine on site. From what I understand there are a couple of reasons
for the “cash only”. Cash is anonymous whereas a credit card can be traced. Pot
isn’t federally legal in the US and banks won’t accept credit card billing for purchases
of pot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">All in all I thought it was a tidy well run operation,
one that I would like to see emulated in Canada. One thing that I would like to
see in Canada when the Liberal government finally gets around to truly
legalizing pot is that corporations don’t take over the business. I would like
to see each store run independently.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Back in camp we ran into a woman RCMP cop from Surrey, BC and I offered to show her the joint I had bought and the thin plastic case it came in but she wasn't interested in seeing it. Yeah I'm a bit of a shit disturber. Did I mention that I'm not a big fan of most cops? Yes I believe I did.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
End Of Our Trip</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We walked from the campground along the beach to
Manzanita and back on our last day. We had an ice cream and checked out the
local pub which had a fair sized patio out back. A sign said “Maximum 3 Dogs At
One Time” out on the patio. We lucked out as far as the weather went. Each day
was sunny until the Saturday that we left. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We woke up to pouring rain. Fortunately we had packed
everything except our sleeping bags and tents in the car the night before. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We drove through Portland and up the I-5 Interstate
highway. I bought some clothes at a factory outlet place and we spent the night
at a motel about 15 miles south of Bellingham, Washington. In the morning we
spent a few hours at the Bellis Fair shopping mall and did some more shopping.
We only had a short wait at the border and managed to get on the 3:15 p.m.
ferry back to Nanaimo.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a good trip and I’ll always want to keep going
back to Oregon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Linda is off to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco at the end
of October for a month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Next September we plan on visiting the Maritime provinces
in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnlI111VONNdH8rnBLHVU9vD2QNhYFsQkSjFhjPucCqaxGqL6Qb-wLSRiPSOLJYvD2y-bYlDY4ukGGyF2xw-Wjd1McyF-i8Ab9iJe8lGA1vcAMbHuYtXolLgMIoFzAd8VQ3U4hPqKCO8/s1600/173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnlI111VONNdH8rnBLHVU9vD2QNhYFsQkSjFhjPucCqaxGqL6Qb-wLSRiPSOLJYvD2y-bYlDY4ukGGyF2xw-Wjd1McyF-i8Ab9iJe8lGA1vcAMbHuYtXolLgMIoFzAd8VQ3U4hPqKCO8/s640/173.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<o:p><br />
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-32514282906085143312016-08-07T14:55:00.000-07:002016-08-17T08:22:02.634-07:00Buzzed Out On YouTube....150 Tunes I Highly Recommend For Your Listening Pleasure<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfDyTGMpk7hQFgCY6OX2lD45RGwy2xfFlPidQ1QlJlCpQoBa2lMpXfcrhEQ4SRIpL76NqqiUVrdng05xIL26UJ9BKcLJVorAIUbmdKI1L1ALd0r9ef-SsnC69cNMtgJcFrH3QwLLaamM/s1600/images1S470C8C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfDyTGMpk7hQFgCY6OX2lD45RGwy2xfFlPidQ1QlJlCpQoBa2lMpXfcrhEQ4SRIpL76NqqiUVrdng05xIL26UJ9BKcLJVorAIUbmdKI1L1ALd0r9ef-SsnC69cNMtgJcFrH3QwLLaamM/s400/images1S470C8C.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When I was a
kid growing up in the 1950s in Montreal, every now and then my father would
suggest that that one of his kids go and look something up in The Encyclopedia
Britannica. His version of the books was from 1928. A lot had changed in the
world between 1928 and 1958 including the names of a number of countries, The Great
Depression, and WW2.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">These days we
can find just about anything on the net. People can now tell us to go screw
ourselves with just a few keystrokes. Sometimes we have to fight our way
through ads to get the info we want. Many of us have accepted Wiki as the
absolute truth. Personally I’ve seen enough dangling cats on Facebook to last
several lifetimes. It’s a wonder that we just don’t go and hang ourselves in a
closet after reading one bad bit of news after another. How can we save ourselves? Where can we hide
out? Is there a place where things make more sense?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Several years
ago I discovered something called YouTube. It isn’t perfect. What is? Sometimes
you can skip an ad after 5 seconds and other times you have to put up with a 30
second ad. For some reason some of the ad people seem to think that everyone in
Canada is French or speaks French. Considering I’m not paying any money to
listen or watch tunes on YouTube I can put up with that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">About once a
week I light up a fatty and take a wander through YouTube for a few hours,
usually on a Friday or Saturday night. You may be thinking to yourself “What’s
an old fart like you doing smoking pot? Aren’t you ever going to grow up?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What was I
talking about?.........oh yeah……so…….</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I like a wide
variety of music. Sometimes I’ll pick up on some kind of theme like soul music
and 20 minutes later find that I am listening to a completely different genre.
I kind of go with the flow. Every now and then I’ll see a song that has say 30
million hits that I’ve never heard before. I’ll give the song a go. Why not? 30
million people can’t be wrong? Oh yes they can!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I’ve found
some really interesting tunes from the 1930s. The Boswell Sisters were the 30s
Andrews Sisters. I found Harriet Nelson of the 50s TV show Ozzie & Harriet
singing with Ozzie’s orchestra. Ozzie was an orchestra leader who couldn’t read
music. Go figure! I read somewhere that old time actor George Raft could
neither read nor write but was a pretty good dancer in his earlier years. I found
him on YouTube doing the rhumba in some 1930s film clips. Watching Ginger
Rogers sing We’re In The Money in Pig Latin is worth a look see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd_vYqNSeLUAZ8-uMbrnqyZD0XDD5Ew8YYTkuASnu-52mX7weOV8vnCPty8bNolqq9yLB8DsE9GpuRAGmsvXeQdD7VZyLWey3xOdGWjXURTbMTyA-TrQe-DuerwOt8BUIIl0srXK8AcQ/s1600/images9EZUTTRG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd_vYqNSeLUAZ8-uMbrnqyZD0XDD5Ew8YYTkuASnu-52mX7weOV8vnCPty8bNolqq9yLB8DsE9GpuRAGmsvXeQdD7VZyLWey3xOdGWjXURTbMTyA-TrQe-DuerwOt8BUIIl0srXK8AcQ/s320/images9EZUTTRG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">One of the
strangest clips I found was rock and roller Roy Head doing a somersault off of
a stage. You can see Paul Revere introducing Bobby Rydell singing Volare if
you’ve a mind to. You can watch Jools Holland and Doctor John both playing
pianos or the cool chubby Latino violin player With The Steve Miller band.
There’s something for everyone I say! You can slow it down with Art Garfunkel
singing I Only Have Eyes For You or speed it up with Smash Mouth doing Walking
On The Sun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So kick back
and relax….shut off your cell phone….if someone has died it while you are
listening to tunes it can wait for a few hours…..light up a joint, break open a
bottle of wine, or blend yourself a smoothie…..loosen the belt on your pants if
you are wearing any….slouch back in your computer chair….put your feet up on
the table….and get ready for a wild musical ride. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgILc44KVgdtJ5BWGIALoyvqmBLNxrRoaorxQtmisSE1RWcbgHb0A97QnNKM0Gsz-g3tWEWF50j2GOFbkt5h6EhSzt7dH22IT-W1PGMGDcf9SKt2_yBk_bGaInjoRhhKhfNe1JwWJ3yTk/s1600/images5HKBDZ31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgILc44KVgdtJ5BWGIALoyvqmBLNxrRoaorxQtmisSE1RWcbgHb0A97QnNKM0Gsz-g3tWEWF50j2GOFbkt5h6EhSzt7dH22IT-W1PGMGDcf9SKt2_yBk_bGaInjoRhhKhfNe1JwWJ3yTk/s320/images5HKBDZ31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">150 Pretty Cool Songs<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">1. Kate
Bush….The Man I love….Gershwin tune.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-ugFXsUeeKSaTc_OIfY4IXSFtGfn31Qzqdu6q39whFSiaqf6ogWchhSoSFA8Zxl1HWeiQ2B9wwkfpkMBFzCHfRrTWSpRkX0IzXwJ8pKVvNWdo9BVzH_5GTF0_iC9uT0sRLLxGBYiWHU/s1600/images7K7IJZ35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-ugFXsUeeKSaTc_OIfY4IXSFtGfn31Qzqdu6q39whFSiaqf6ogWchhSoSFA8Zxl1HWeiQ2B9wwkfpkMBFzCHfRrTWSpRkX0IzXwJ8pKVvNWdo9BVzH_5GTF0_iC9uT0sRLLxGBYiWHU/s320/images7K7IJZ35.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">2. Jully
Black….Seven Day Fool….Canadian gal.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziXaa6kRjQXTV5FEM4mnKlt-rVr4XM7jzK0pZ7EZXfinqsrLh1GLpllLmf0r2HbZaqAeZa8eyJO829dC58haQ-f1C34FgXfKimxQ6fDrVeCzs8k_eiuqvtSPYdf6Y2z292OAbpAFEZug/s1600/jully%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziXaa6kRjQXTV5FEM4mnKlt-rVr4XM7jzK0pZ7EZXfinqsrLh1GLpllLmf0r2HbZaqAeZa8eyJO829dC58haQ-f1C34FgXfKimxQ6fDrVeCzs8k_eiuqvtSPYdf6Y2z292OAbpAFEZug/s320/jully%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">3. Sugarbabes….Push
The Button…..Brit pop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8QSc7QeCCkEwRfieh9jQCRmBb5fQ5G8lHcAftKLxDUOscZXgnCj4pge2-xUj9U5Ef6tCrmtwgMQWA1eRlZATCex76UQH23T2Nab6zqt9Wh9-j1IGx7YBmtAC-1S1eaWnyih8CdZ_wyU/s1600/imagesSCG04SDG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8QSc7QeCCkEwRfieh9jQCRmBb5fQ5G8lHcAftKLxDUOscZXgnCj4pge2-xUj9U5Ef6tCrmtwgMQWA1eRlZATCex76UQH23T2Nab6zqt9Wh9-j1IGx7YBmtAC-1S1eaWnyih8CdZ_wyU/s320/imagesSCG04SDG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">4. Marvin
Gaye….What’s Going On….a lot of things were.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzwTBvWpS1DVIUoA0lnXCqOua55AlWPDmYM0wW1_GdcG70ESDzeHazwdvLty5npUD3utv0cwnZ3e5_cWLJ-lfAxzF95oozS-2o8iSh3Y0mO0xkqPtpVajF0EH-uOyVy3pH4XwoLollt8/s1600/imagesZS7KA9GH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzwTBvWpS1DVIUoA0lnXCqOua55AlWPDmYM0wW1_GdcG70ESDzeHazwdvLty5npUD3utv0cwnZ3e5_cWLJ-lfAxzF95oozS-2o8iSh3Y0mO0xkqPtpVajF0EH-uOyVy3pH4XwoLollt8/s1600/imagesZS7KA9GH.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">5. Buckwheat<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zydeco….Hard To Stop….a slice of New Orleans.
Shook his hand in </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Nanaimo a few years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2XhPM5J5uDPUqw4ItGp7YXhbrPHkOl-621oupMNIzREQPuuN0LEDPVchGy8z5qooTbzs3iND0fXB5Y_g4B-7s0Kl13xGUNoF78_NpH-x99_4AVy57lHG45wutOtNzAKrfNf3seFWE7o/s1600/imagesNR95JCSS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2XhPM5J5uDPUqw4ItGp7YXhbrPHkOl-621oupMNIzREQPuuN0LEDPVchGy8z5qooTbzs3iND0fXB5Y_g4B-7s0Kl13xGUNoF78_NpH-x99_4AVy57lHG45wutOtNzAKrfNf3seFWE7o/s1600/imagesNR95JCSS.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">6. Timi
Yuro….Hurt….the lady had pipes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4Kztltisy_l9-qR6bXVdUNVZraNOdr6CmlMjN4O0jGRR4D8VC6JHoC6Ldt9uUtWvZ9GQZ-RKTNb27WTEVeMwm3Ra0RjhjmB7Nfv-t6sbPeLYEBP8-I_4aSJNfuG7Syvv7rIwqmwXatU/s1600/imagesB3K8TIAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4Kztltisy_l9-qR6bXVdUNVZraNOdr6CmlMjN4O0jGRR4D8VC6JHoC6Ldt9uUtWvZ9GQZ-RKTNb27WTEVeMwm3Ra0RjhjmB7Nfv-t6sbPeLYEBP8-I_4aSJNfuG7Syvv7rIwqmwXatU/s200/imagesB3K8TIAR.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">7. Elvis….Don’t
Be Cruel….pure classic rock & roll.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6Zp7D1ST4IsNrBsH6puIlGoE1qHocbzDXk065WowFnWUSHGyuf15SypqhKFdGmr89TvkparZcTn9d32wYHaRvRsNx0hN1bdwoabwMHagc8-wSQGrtBU6aZY0g259b4QuQTBusbsYvkU/s1600/imagesPYQG1C1E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6Zp7D1ST4IsNrBsH6puIlGoE1qHocbzDXk065WowFnWUSHGyuf15SypqhKFdGmr89TvkparZcTn9d32wYHaRvRsNx0hN1bdwoabwMHagc8-wSQGrtBU6aZY0g259b4QuQTBusbsYvkU/s320/imagesPYQG1C1E.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">8. The
Cardigans….Love Fool….Euro pop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUM5ze7BuafxzlSWl3vq02zVrCzTxEV7tiTtCZ-uMqCyVDScbR6GtMLBjWN-S1otrmGLbmnXjUpO2g4f2aUop7KVybdXUWBTcvS3EQcdJAMRX6iNn5uzoQRceK3PQJqDhBSmdZWimgmuI/s1600/imagesQDMGIV7B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUM5ze7BuafxzlSWl3vq02zVrCzTxEV7tiTtCZ-uMqCyVDScbR6GtMLBjWN-S1otrmGLbmnXjUpO2g4f2aUop7KVybdXUWBTcvS3EQcdJAMRX6iNn5uzoQRceK3PQJqDhBSmdZWimgmuI/s1600/imagesQDMGIV7B.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">9. Lover Boy….Working
For The Weekend….great guitar rift.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEGXGvi1P5GgjWQ9IPp6ED94LzczWVtzvF115ILlvqQp_bb-DLnApV9qrhfwNzcP4UPipyasC1lIcxOErg0mbM6nvY51Zp4bqTDJNmTm0n0gHxaIvhdXKAbBWN_sLHKFCZy5tuHeCtqI/s1600/imagesPEAPW41U.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEGXGvi1P5GgjWQ9IPp6ED94LzczWVtzvF115ILlvqQp_bb-DLnApV9qrhfwNzcP4UPipyasC1lIcxOErg0mbM6nvY51Zp4bqTDJNmTm0n0gHxaIvhdXKAbBWN_sLHKFCZy5tuHeCtqI/s320/imagesPEAPW41U.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">10. Dwight
Yoakum….A Thousand Miles From Nowhere….nice rail car video.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">11. Sade….Smooth
Operator….sultry jazz pop.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1p7669obAQiFn2lwvC7ve2yhvsD9Wm3oF6VAUdGog7Nn0S1-wsSlTpFrBWQqiYGiEz6amHPMt0Da6vnNMIKtHOcrQ8kgMGfKdguKXfGQWw91bhfErW52TnN2E4hA0aJ0B_LoYJ0dgB8/s1600/imagesX3T2ZXHN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1p7669obAQiFn2lwvC7ve2yhvsD9Wm3oF6VAUdGog7Nn0S1-wsSlTpFrBWQqiYGiEz6amHPMt0Da6vnNMIKtHOcrQ8kgMGfKdguKXfGQWw91bhfErW52TnN2E4hA0aJ0B_LoYJ0dgB8/s320/imagesX3T2ZXHN.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">12. Steve
Miller Band….Abracadabra….look for the video with the violin player.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">13. Jr.
Walker And The All Stars….What Does It Take…...cool sax playing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">14. Smokey
Robinson….I’ve Been Good To You….. Smokey hitting the high notes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">15. Boz
Skaggs…Low Down….I wonder, wonder, who?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">16. Manhattan
Transfer….Groovin….harmony doesn’t get much better than this. Saw them in Vancouver years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">17. Kenny
Loggins….I’m Alright….high energy, bad looking jumpsuit.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7-JBsWiUm-4TxpyHQU23DmGl5bmQv7liAINjnTFnrCg0DRfRylbjzxNf4NV_1ekP36PEBhhzvT1PgTPKlB1DSKv7qgm63BxWFhFCaXWH6r2vESNHgB_JzeLzVB2o9RxoNj3hVLEINSo/s1600/images4UZS8H2T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7-JBsWiUm-4TxpyHQU23DmGl5bmQv7liAINjnTFnrCg0DRfRylbjzxNf4NV_1ekP36PEBhhzvT1PgTPKlB1DSKv7qgm63BxWFhFCaXWH6r2vESNHgB_JzeLzVB2o9RxoNj3hVLEINSo/s320/images4UZS8H2T.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">18. Anita
O’Day….That Old Feeling….one of the best female jazz vocalists ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">19. Los
Lobos….One Time. One Night….Latino rock.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqUzcwo4DseAruExf3G2Thv713MdsQmWkdEUD2yuVLkPq11hVF1QIGXJB_ygWX5JJkEAnxKMHAAhjYvQNQg4-NZqi1VoszZqd8EQKf46F3gAOBt7_YZ02tE65E7clw5zLhqq5B9mcK7U/s1600/imagesZMYPXSZ4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqUzcwo4DseAruExf3G2Thv713MdsQmWkdEUD2yuVLkPq11hVF1QIGXJB_ygWX5JJkEAnxKMHAAhjYvQNQg4-NZqi1VoszZqd8EQKf46F3gAOBt7_YZ02tE65E7clw5zLhqq5B9mcK7U/s1600/imagesZMYPXSZ4.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">20. Joe
Walsh/The Eagles….Pretty Maids All In A Row…..from a guy who looked like death
warmed over at times.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDX7EJ1tOGdLS8ESlzhAtIEC606zx256qD4jzwGqED6ypbTzLw8Wf2huyturbY-tDEijR3nilrPwHO3vKhcNoJe4jgg183qVTwUvFLgEVGUxyX0RfjOa4FD5vZEsi4l_LFLkzUA6kVak/s1600/images9XQC5FC8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDX7EJ1tOGdLS8ESlzhAtIEC606zx256qD4jzwGqED6ypbTzLw8Wf2huyturbY-tDEijR3nilrPwHO3vKhcNoJe4jgg183qVTwUvFLgEVGUxyX0RfjOa4FD5vZEsi4l_LFLkzUA6kVak/s1600/images9XQC5FC8.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">21. The Beach
Boys….Darlin….California surf rock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">22. The
Hollies….Long Cool Woman….underrated singer, CCR version is good too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">23. Roy
Orbison…. Uptown….not the most handsome guy but what a voice.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciF-ufWMScBgKeeFnBzv-eJRhyTkrn4f8WTfYQtmVuz4njdn8MMz3Zj13scwyhJWrWBT72_wXcM3QkdfprF138pdo2yulduqQPu9fWDDAin8y-KMkOUv9P3JKau6phrknwfA723ysMik/s1600/imagesS03VIX20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciF-ufWMScBgKeeFnBzv-eJRhyTkrn4f8WTfYQtmVuz4njdn8MMz3Zj13scwyhJWrWBT72_wXcM3QkdfprF138pdo2yulduqQPu9fWDDAin8y-KMkOUv9P3JKau6phrknwfA723ysMik/s1600/imagesS03VIX20.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">24. Fleetwood
Mac….Gypsy….it was the 70s man.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">25. John
Denver….Bet On The Blues….corny guy sings a good song.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFgKIS2DnHabjkj7A4__t0YeR_UtPkoXTsOnhL3rH7t5fLidPpMtTfGxkuurm0ANPrproahUolmsU1mg6wMmKDSN7xksPGPuZL0YZ7TUvRIU3CR4JnwWXjAe5LGKFbeMTltHX7j0Xugw/s1600/imagesNF197I6X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFgKIS2DnHabjkj7A4__t0YeR_UtPkoXTsOnhL3rH7t5fLidPpMtTfGxkuurm0ANPrproahUolmsU1mg6wMmKDSN7xksPGPuZL0YZ7TUvRIU3CR4JnwWXjAe5LGKFbeMTltHX7j0Xugw/s1600/imagesNF197I6X.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">26. The
Staple Singers….Respect Yourself….gospel/soul.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">27. Carole King…..So
Far Away….from one of the best albums ever, Tapestry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">28. The
Allman Brothers….Jessica….great road trip music.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">29. Conway
Twitty and Sam Moore….Rainy Night In Georgia….older black and white guys
digging each other.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">30. Robbie
Robertson….Somewhere Down The Crazy River….haunting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">31 Canned
Heat….Goin Up The Country….Woodstock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">32. Blue
Rodeo….5 Days In May…..lead singer Jim Cuddy once worked at the Banff Springs Hotel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">33. Bob
Dylan….Positively 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Street….you’ve got a lot of nerve!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">34. Dire
Staits….Walk Of Life….the boy can play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">35. Dion….I Wonder
Why….2004 version.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsyTDUtIbyk4z9eHhRS4HF1FGTm27alfqfS0sVqmOy8E43_3oX0PqkDrrbLtbuXSN_BbJf9-Oq0xLS3YliUEXBeVD7_Sn6K4vzPcE2ijvLSZb7uhl3aspzZ6_GqhCI_bkTOhakU0axgY/s1600/imagesUWVFOIAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsyTDUtIbyk4z9eHhRS4HF1FGTm27alfqfS0sVqmOy8E43_3oX0PqkDrrbLtbuXSN_BbJf9-Oq0xLS3YliUEXBeVD7_Sn6K4vzPcE2ijvLSZb7uhl3aspzZ6_GqhCI_bkTOhakU0axgY/s320/imagesUWVFOIAR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">36. Billy
Idol….Eyes Without A Face….creepy looking guy who had some good tunes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">37. Paul
Simon….Still Crazy After All These Years….4 in the morning, tapped out,
yawning….</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqZbJIoB0nOi2W6B1sROJ1rSHhNrhtwQ6MBIgXAmc6RYVMv0Le7P_f6Vxt_mLfpmbSoBV5QgLCvX-G9ABQTY3TONEnE1nYSlvY41j7hFE2M_piv4r49GfIxDgvHYIOiGHb61kyMooi4g/s1600/images4OT5A13X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqZbJIoB0nOi2W6B1sROJ1rSHhNrhtwQ6MBIgXAmc6RYVMv0Le7P_f6Vxt_mLfpmbSoBV5QgLCvX-G9ABQTY3TONEnE1nYSlvY41j7hFE2M_piv4r49GfIxDgvHYIOiGHb61kyMooi4g/s1600/images4OT5A13X.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">38. Kingston
Trio….Scotch And Soda…..vuja de?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3s0r9i98o5Sbx-fgpLg3XaRD3f9AFPZOtm3IgSzI-qyDeFnvUI7WDhxSrZBFOflfsHjNwHJSnFZBrcZPlO2FH-9eWYLqrqXrqUWt79jLjb_hp6GL7bBJCiXt6tj-dt2U-DQrohkBuic/s1600/images1UUZ19N4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3s0r9i98o5Sbx-fgpLg3XaRD3f9AFPZOtm3IgSzI-qyDeFnvUI7WDhxSrZBFOflfsHjNwHJSnFZBrcZPlO2FH-9eWYLqrqXrqUWt79jLjb_hp6GL7bBJCiXt6tj-dt2U-DQrohkBuic/s1600/images1UUZ19N4.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">39. Robbie Nevil….C’est
La Vie….funky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">40. Moody
Blues….Go Now….early British Invasion.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyslroRYo4gBzTIql6yTNblpKlOS_OUmK1gbbrHmhbt24qpqSZ0PFHQkWy3hza7bpubCpPXNTOaTyqKW1KxJmFiHnhuN4W9HlvZcFB95FXvxDTV90Ge0KfaTqXnIaTyIHjQ2lglOcfS4/s1600/imagesWQZAG1Q4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyslroRYo4gBzTIql6yTNblpKlOS_OUmK1gbbrHmhbt24qpqSZ0PFHQkWy3hza7bpubCpPXNTOaTyqKW1KxJmFiHnhuN4W9HlvZcFB95FXvxDTV90Ge0KfaTqXnIaTyIHjQ2lglOcfS4/s1600/imagesWQZAG1Q4.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">41. Van Morrison….Did
You get Healed?....no I didn’t but I love this tune.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">42. Bobby
Darin….Lady Came From Baltimore….Darin could be hokey but he could sing in
various genres including pop, country, and folk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">43. Glen
Campbell….I’m Not Going To Miss You….slipping into dementia. Sad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">44. The
Mar-Keys….Last Night….great early 60s blues sax instrumental.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">45. Al
Stewart….Year Of The Cat…..Peter Lorre sighting?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">46. Jimmy
Johnson…..Take Five….great blues version of Dave Brubeck tune.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">47. The
Cars….Let’s Go…..I like the night life baby!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">48. ELO…...Raining
All Over The World….that’s a real submarine?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">49. Leon
Redbone….Shine On Harvest Moon….interesting voice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">50. Willie
Nelson….Nightlife….weed time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">51. Frank
Sinatra….A Summer Wind….one of Frank’s best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">52. Artie
Shaw….Frenesi….Artie was an interesting guy. Check out his interviews on
YouTube.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">53. The
Bolero….I wonder how many people have had sex with this playing in the
background?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">54. Kid
Creole And The Coconuts….My Male Curiousity…..camp?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">55. Crosby,
Stills & Nash…..Marrakesh Express……coosh coosh?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">56.
America….Tin Man….round, round, round, round.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7dHOD_UJS2W3cMtmGAQnTgt0sr2n5ddQ8CztRJVi1evP8qG-zbx3f0jPfp4yoXnyUupqrWaSqZE-YD0f1X15ikYJcPEdt6ISduOZSXrM4BZz5j3eChDQLn29kdOgkxv3G6T5NsXRhjA/s1600/images4UGICGDS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7dHOD_UJS2W3cMtmGAQnTgt0sr2n5ddQ8CztRJVi1evP8qG-zbx3f0jPfp4yoXnyUupqrWaSqZE-YD0f1X15ikYJcPEdt6ISduOZSXrM4BZz5j3eChDQLn29kdOgkxv3G6T5NsXRhjA/s320/images4UGICGDS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">57. Cheryl
Crow….All I Want To Do….this ain’t no disco….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">58. Trini
Lopez….America….Donald Trump’s favourite song?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">59. Joe
Jackson….Steppin’ Out….bright lights, big city?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">60. The
Drifters….On Broadway….when all you have is one thin dime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">61. Simply
Red….Sunrise….nice techno beat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">62. George
Baker Selection….Little Green Bag….turn to the left, turn to the right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">63. Joni
Mitchell….Raised On Robbery…..I stayed at the Empire Hotel in Winnipeg a few
times in the 60s while working for CNR.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">64. George Harrison….What
Is Life?....indeed what is it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">65. Hank
Snow….I’ve Been Everywhere….Canadian born country singer with bad toupee had a
lot of hits. How many of these places have you been to? I passed through
Winnemucca once on a honeymoon. Lots of tumble weeds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">66. Harry
McLintock….The Big Rock Candy Mountain….cigarette trees?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">67. Bruce
Springsteen….Dancing In The Dark….you have to wave your arms to dance to this.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM95-rd81qPjXPOM1CUZiNyhP0tPVIELdjFajnNqwSeZs6Pu_jJIxQ43Z2hpb-w-vkH5LEc-KkYQxSLUJZlBhPodm90nZXt0L5fsEmYZRFdJMj_SAfzvgrAwSZl-CGaOmfxSa39wTSHq0/s1600/imagesEA0L3SFE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM95-rd81qPjXPOM1CUZiNyhP0tPVIELdjFajnNqwSeZs6Pu_jJIxQ43Z2hpb-w-vkH5LEc-KkYQxSLUJZlBhPodm90nZXt0L5fsEmYZRFdJMj_SAfzvgrAwSZl-CGaOmfxSa39wTSHq0/s1600/imagesEA0L3SFE.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">68. Dr. John
and Jools Holland….4 Hand Boogie….I love a piano. 2 are even better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">69. Stan Getz
and Charlie Byrd….Jazz Samba….jazz with a Latin touch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">70. Bob
Marley…I Shot The Sherriff….but I did not shoot the deputy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">71. James
Taylor….Handy Man….a little mellower than Del Shannon’s version.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">73.
Santana…..Black Magic Woman….don’t turn your back on me baby!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">74. Rolling
Stones….Paint It Black….I see a red door….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">75. Judy Collins….Send
In The Clowns….sorry my dear….</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT1YHHWmY13NSknnueChXpRVaHnNUMSWC-fLuqJG8J-CJQcQ2kKeFBDC_55jA7ssjyeiEC3TtL-BrSDJbVzcF8bhBTGvfYXzOAcm6txO3BoWCHJAEoQ3LrW2sa6BCxQTqGgr3Shofk78/s1600/images46PMGWJC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT1YHHWmY13NSknnueChXpRVaHnNUMSWC-fLuqJG8J-CJQcQ2kKeFBDC_55jA7ssjyeiEC3TtL-BrSDJbVzcF8bhBTGvfYXzOAcm6txO3BoWCHJAEoQ3LrW2sa6BCxQTqGgr3Shofk78/s400/images46PMGWJC.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">76. Keith
Carradine….I’m Easy….folksy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">76. Eurythmics….There
Must Be An Angel….who can sing like Annie Lennox?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">77. Georgie
Fame & The Blue Flames….Yey, Yeh….that’s what I say.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">78. Kyu
Sakimoto….Sukiyaki….it’s all Japanese to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">79. Heavy D
And The Boyz….Now That We’ve Found Love….what are we going to do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">80. The
Foundations….Build Me Up Buttercup….oooh-oooh, oooh-oooh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">81. Maurice
Williams And The Zodiacs….Stay….your daddy won’t mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">82. The
Doors….Love Her Madly….looked for Jim’s grave in Paris once but it was kind of
too out of the way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">83. Madeleine
Peyroux….Dance Me To The End Of Love….a bit less somber than Leonard Cohen
singing the song he wrote.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">84. Mike
Nesmith….Her Name Was Joanne….not bad for a Monkey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">85. Walker
Brothers…..The Sun Ain’t Going To Shine Anymore….the moon ain’t going rise in
the sky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">86. Green
Day….The Time Of Your Life….on the last day my kids (twins) were in grade
school they played a video of the class with photos over the years with this
song in the background. It made me cry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">87. Chet
Baker….Every Time We Say Goodbye….what a mess he was but what a soul.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">88. The
Tragically Hip….New Orleans Is Sinking….and Bush is doing a fly by.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">89. Doobie
Brothers….Jesus Is Just Alright….probably was but I’m not a believer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">90. Guess
Who….These Eyes….Canadian super band.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">91. Sarah
Vaughan….Broken Hearted Melody….catchy pop tune by a mostly jazz singer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">92. Hall And
Oates….I Can’t Go For That….white soul music.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">93. Billie
Holiday….I’m A Fool To Want You….she had a hard life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">94. The
Ronnettes….Be My Baby….Phil Spector’s wall of sound.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">95. John Lennon….Imagine….you
may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">96. Robert
Palmer….I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On….guitar props?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">97. Brook
Benton and Dinah Washington….That’s A Rockin Good Way….to mess around and fall
in love.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jHO8QDMlWASHd7Fx2BtTn8gUUcBpNQzHnOX9yQkxTEaPL69yfHR3a6ZFTMLSTDg-mFZfAduKzRCOvZZQsJsdwPRRQTEm1SYWaFlNvy-GYSbCN1bEFmH0tcvS4jDOBbyY-iCStax4hGE/s1600/images745HMERZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jHO8QDMlWASHd7Fx2BtTn8gUUcBpNQzHnOX9yQkxTEaPL69yfHR3a6ZFTMLSTDg-mFZfAduKzRCOvZZQsJsdwPRRQTEm1SYWaFlNvy-GYSbCN1bEFmH0tcvS4jDOBbyY-iCStax4hGE/s320/images745HMERZ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">98. Billy
Joel….A Matter Of Trust….I know you’re an emotional girl….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">99. The
Kinks….Waterloo Sunset….the crazy Davies brothers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">100. John
Mellencamp….Cherry Bomb….our hearts were really thumping….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">101. The
Animals….We’ve Got To Get Out Of This Place….1964 upstairs from the Café Andre
in Montreal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">102. Wilson
Pickett….Land Of 1000 Dances….do the whatever.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4Q2MyfSbefeoD_hiT-Jy0BV-XzosT9cgfgMgRx6wMnd2htejpPhxqdxYG2YwkL22NhJ3BitHfHAWncdvl0d_FSyg4dB9rBUICAmck5wLdRKewzhDCaDQ87wfb0xTKuNP8gxrVMP3ugM/s1600/images%255B3%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4Q2MyfSbefeoD_hiT-Jy0BV-XzosT9cgfgMgRx6wMnd2htejpPhxqdxYG2YwkL22NhJ3BitHfHAWncdvl0d_FSyg4dB9rBUICAmck5wLdRKewzhDCaDQ87wfb0xTKuNP8gxrVMP3ugM/s1600/images%255B3%255D.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">103. Roy
Head….Treat Her Right….watch him do a somersault off of the stage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">104. Al
Green….Let’s Stay Together….sing it Rev!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">105. Bob
Seger….Still The Same….baby, baby still the same....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">106.
CCR….Have You Ever Seen The Rain….sung in every beer joint at some point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">107. Rod
Stewart and Amy Belle….I Don’t Want to Talk About It….how you broke my heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">108. Etta
James….At Last….Lou Rawls does a nice version of this song too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">109. Jimmy
Durante….Make Someone Happy….goodnight Mrs. Calibash wherever you are!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">110. Julio
Iglesias….Me Va, Me Va….Latin pop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">111. Bee
Gees….Massachussetts….before the disco crap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">112. Spandau
Ballet….True….I bought a ticket to the world….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">113. David
Sandborn….Comin’ Home Baby….cool jazz.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">114. Steely
Dan….Deacon Blues….learn to work the saxophone?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">115. Candy
Dulfer and David Stewart….Lily Was here….lady plays a mean sax.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">116. Pet Shop
Boys….Always On My Mind….maybe I never told you….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">117. Barry
White….You’re My First, My Last, My Everything….music Oprah makes love to?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">118. Marty
Balin….Hearts….the other Jefferson Starship singer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">119. Phil
Collins….Do You Remember?...yes some of it .His ex-wife lives on Saltspring
Island in BC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">120. Johnny
Cash….Orange Blossom Special….I don’t care if I do die, do die, do die!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">121. Long
John Baldry….Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll….Long
John lived in Vancouver, BC for many years. Saw him many times at The Yale in Vancouver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">122. Leon
Russell….Lady Blue….saw him once in Anacortes, Washington.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">123. Elvin
Bishop….I Fooled Around And Fell In Love….I must have been through about a
million girls….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">124. Mary
Wells….You Beat Me To The Punch….but I beat you to the sandwiches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>125. 54-40….Since When….steady beat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">126. Pearl
Jam….Last Kiss….Better than the J. Frank Wilson version?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">127. Smash
Mouth….Walking On The Sun….This ain’t no joke….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">128. Janis
Ian….At Seventeen…. I understood and I’m not a girl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">129. Art
Garfunkel….I Only Have Eyes For You…..this song was written in 1934.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">130. Dave
Clark Five….Because….Dave got all the money but Denny (on keyboard) was the talent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">131. Tower Of
Power….You’re Still A Young Man….not any more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">132. Chris
Rhea….Fool If You Think It’s Over….save your tears, you’ve got years and years….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">133. The
Pretenders….Don’t Get Me Wrong….Chrissie Hynde.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">134.
REM….Losing My Religion….that’s me in the spotlight….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">135. George
Thorogood….One Berbon, One Scotch, One Beer….blues rock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">136. Gino
Vanelli….I Just Want To Stop….when I dream about those nights in Montreal….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">137. Ace….How
Long Has This Been Going On….well your friends with their fancy persuasion….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">138. Louis
Prima & Keely Smith….Just A Gigolo….and everywhere I go….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">139. The Human
League….Don’t You Want Me….you were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">140. The
Jimmi Hendrix Experience….All Along The Watchtower….there’s too much confusion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">141. Edith
Piaf….La Vie En Rose….the little sparrow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">142. Stevie
Ray Vaughan….Pride And Joy….she’s my sweet little thang….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">143. Toni
Braxton….Unbreak My Heart….don’t leave me out in the rain….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">144. Paul
Young….Every Time You Go Away….Peter Frampton’s version is good too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">145. Elmore
James….Dust My Broom….old time blues.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">146. Bruce
Cockburn….I Wonder Where The Lions Are….above the Lion’s Gate Bridge?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOxYjoqcsGFvuoEopNrHdM5-WYVP1dML4fcS6-mXqcjx6Bu5Opxe0-pHtPg6j6AI2AjfslBzMPWuUJMu5Bv9sy4Q70I5xUUqfFVAt8CIqwuRTwjUW3IqybYLURf6P7Jfe1JQ7Octks90/s1600/imagesJ0S87X7M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOxYjoqcsGFvuoEopNrHdM5-WYVP1dML4fcS6-mXqcjx6Bu5Opxe0-pHtPg6j6AI2AjfslBzMPWuUJMu5Bv9sy4Q70I5xUUqfFVAt8CIqwuRTwjUW3IqybYLURf6P7Jfe1JQ7Octks90/s1600/imagesJ0S87X7M.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">147. The Four
Tops….Still Waters Run Deep….walk with me….</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodtvPz0mQnIncCkzaIERYA42hyphenhyphenqd0MbwmQxfpNKkZyJoQLLsjN4DXkVObpExq2p9dbP45VZfsWwy4IlYgiQdbAXGGR15trP8eEUGS_GRx1COlswf-3fQR8OWvxfBj-PnWBMtd5-mVEV4/s1600/imagesO5H512TU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodtvPz0mQnIncCkzaIERYA42hyphenhyphenqd0MbwmQxfpNKkZyJoQLLsjN4DXkVObpExq2p9dbP45VZfsWwy4IlYgiQdbAXGGR15trP8eEUGS_GRx1COlswf-3fQR8OWvxfBj-PnWBMtd5-mVEV4/s320/imagesO5H512TU.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">148. Barbara
Lewis….You’ll Lose A good Thing….if you don’t do right, I’m going to walk out
that door…..</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYI03HiXEb6gdNyUOuzUUQ-ILJ45eyqfwnG2J9TT-8Se2QNyLD1APg7-fVyS1W1aj0Z8RsXd8v0i3Oeei6Uh8MstpPliAFVAQ2j_KECt1MMjRpj_f8Gd_93GH-Vu17peaXWFHlsNYTisA/s1600/imagesQ3ZT401Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYI03HiXEb6gdNyUOuzUUQ-ILJ45eyqfwnG2J9TT-8Se2QNyLD1APg7-fVyS1W1aj0Z8RsXd8v0i3Oeei6Uh8MstpPliAFVAQ2j_KECt1MMjRpj_f8Gd_93GH-Vu17peaXWFHlsNYTisA/s1600/imagesQ3ZT401Z.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">149. Downchild
Blues Band….I Got Everything I Need Almost….but I don’t have you….</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">150. No Doubt….It’s
My Life….don’t you forget?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsk7YE9rtj3EV4IcwkislBWJbGLIrerXjbwdhyphenhyphenqZj-JfVZV2NTltM3y23fkYvUr-mDVSdPVHvNtfIlbC7Gqm23Xxe8tXHeW_oW4XGCN2Yn99bsa-JjaX2P7f6rLT1dWmR8qbGZG4cG_dk/s1600/maxresdefault%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsk7YE9rtj3EV4IcwkislBWJbGLIrerXjbwdhyphenhyphenqZj-JfVZV2NTltM3y23fkYvUr-mDVSdPVHvNtfIlbC7Gqm23Xxe8tXHeW_oW4XGCN2Yn99bsa-JjaX2P7f6rLT1dWmR8qbGZG4cG_dk/s320/maxresdefault%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><strong>Dave? Dave's not here!</strong></span></div>
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Do you have any songs that you would recommend? Send them to me and I'll have a listen. I'm always open to something else when it comes to music.</h3>
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Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-29220200031833431512016-07-06T01:40:00.001-07:002016-07-06T01:40:48.956-07:00The P.K. Subban Deal<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-mMuImBc5e5I6MHRs8MjhtsBa6kC0cY6c1SZEiGp3G6X9jyWAKpM9Yr-ysvV7JnFqTPRi0vyr_6KNgCAGrNhuqVDWJvnQxQHfGg8MFziSRhPpZ9orwrqSpxkVEYIbjyZfKxNCpwe-Oo/s1600/imagesGV3BF2YL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-mMuImBc5e5I6MHRs8MjhtsBa6kC0cY6c1SZEiGp3G6X9jyWAKpM9Yr-ysvV7JnFqTPRi0vyr_6KNgCAGrNhuqVDWJvnQxQHfGg8MFziSRhPpZ9orwrqSpxkVEYIbjyZfKxNCpwe-Oo/s400/imagesGV3BF2YL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Some Background On The Current
Montreal Canadiens Hockey Team</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A few days
ago the Montreal Canadiens traded their star defenceman P.K. Subban to the
Nashville Predators for their star defenceman Shea Weber. A lot of Montreal
fans were really pissed off about the trade. Some swore that they would never
watch another Canadiens game in their lives and some even claimed that racism
was part of the reason P.K. was traded.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Montreal is
probably the most storied franchise in professional hockey. They have won 23
Stanley Cups in their history, 12 more than the team with the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
most cups, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs haven’t won the cup since 1967,
49 years ago. The last time Montreal won the cup was in 1993, 23 years ago.
Their coach at the time was a man named Jacques Demers who could neither read
nor write. His team that year saw 16 French Canadian players suit up for at
least one game. Vincent Damphouse was one of those players and probably the
last French Canadian scoring star on the team.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Montreal is a
unique city to coach hockey in. Almost every head coach that they’ve had in the
past 50 years has either been French Canadian or bilingual. Part of the reason
for this is the need to communicate with the French press in their first
language. The spelling of the “Canadiens” is French and their nick name “Les
Habs” is short for “Les Habitants”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It would
probably be fair to say that most French Canadian hockey fans would dearly love
to see another French Canadian superstar on their team. With 30 teams in the
NHL (soon to be 31) the Canadiens chances of finding that player aren’t that
great. The really good French Canadian players are tied up with other teams and
Montreal never gets close to getting a top 5 draft pick. Out of the playoffs
this year Montreal drafted 9<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. The best French Canadian junior
player, Pierre-Luc Dubois, was drafted 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> by the Columbus Blue
Jackets. My guess is Montreal would love to get their hands on Jonathan Drouin
of the Tampa Bay Lightning but that isn’t very likely.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Montreal has
eaten up some pretty good coaches over the years including Alain Vigneault, Claude
Julien, Jacques Lemaire, and Pat Burns. Although the current Canadiens have
some English speaking scouts and advisors like Rick Dudley, the coach Michel Therrien,
the GM Marc Bergevin, the 3 assistant coaches, the goalie coach, and the video
coach are all French. This year Bergevin traded for two French Canadian players
who had all of 6 points between them.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Assessing The Canadiens After They
Didn’t Make The Playoffs</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many hockey
people think that Carey Price is one of the 3 best goalies in the game. He is
good enough to win some games on his own. Price only managed to play 12 games
this year before he was hurt and sat out the rest of the year. Price’s replacement,
Mike Condon, had a reasonable year considering he was a rookie but he wasn’t
Price. Up front Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk both had 30 goals which tied
them for 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> in NHL goal scoring. Brendan Gallagher managed 19
goals even with missing 29 games. Losing Price and Gallagher may have been the
difference in the Canadiens not making the playoffs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSzxskmnxkBKVJsoJxgIciily2_UOsBn46Nw8anMaGNkbWB8h-UXRzK40q-xTKlnflrWNe3eAlZVoCMxn6s7Dpg3yTEF2-dXZiqr_OTzKCyjbHyCejBWYJS0bY4hVmlwrlbioarl7TAA/s1600/imagesMV0W3SMV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSzxskmnxkBKVJsoJxgIciily2_UOsBn46Nw8anMaGNkbWB8h-UXRzK40q-xTKlnflrWNe3eAlZVoCMxn6s7Dpg3yTEF2-dXZiqr_OTzKCyjbHyCejBWYJS0bY4hVmlwrlbioarl7TAA/s400/imagesMV0W3SMV.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carey Price</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hockey has
changed in the last few years. With fighting pretty well out of the game for
the most part, more is expected from 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> liners for starters. Pittsburg
won the cup this year with constant pressure and speed from 4 lines, an
outstanding effort by their rookie goalie, and balanced scoring led by Sydney
Crosby. They also had one of the league’s best defencemen in Franch Canadian
Kris Letang. Chicago won cups with a core group of 4 players, Duncan Keith, Brent
Seabrook, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. LA won cups by wearing out other
teams with bigger players and a great defenceman in Drew Doughty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNyF1stnI5odMv7hpvqZPDA3MepvBfBgpzfbC7xu55AwovUq1HyGewnnmKsVi6C3iC0VpakqmsbVayhhsdgoTyn1YKJzxlT4uESwJmD3-MtHdkBa8Wzjf46ft2mN3ZHIE-7vJ_fmfSN8/s1600/imagesZBRCSB0U.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNyF1stnI5odMv7hpvqZPDA3MepvBfBgpzfbC7xu55AwovUq1HyGewnnmKsVi6C3iC0VpakqmsbVayhhsdgoTyn1YKJzxlT4uESwJmD3-MtHdkBa8Wzjf46ft2mN3ZHIE-7vJ_fmfSN8/s400/imagesZBRCSB0U.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sidney Crosby with Stanley Cup.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Montreal
doesn’t resemble any of these teams. They weren’t going to go anywhere with a
5’7” center like David Desharnais and his 11 goals and 3.5 million a year
contract. Andrei Markov is another year older. Over 40 different players played
for the Canadiens last year. Maybe 8 of them are worth keeping. Signing Andrew
Shaw from Chicago is a step in the right direction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">P.K. Subban</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Montreal
hockey fans have been starving for a hockey hero for years. The 2 most notable
players on the Canadiens team over the last several years have been defenceman
P.K. Subban and goalie Carey Price. Price is a pretty low key person who
doesn’t seek attention. Subban on the other hand thrives on attention. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Before
writing this piece I did some research on P.K. I read a Huffington Post article
written by some woman who obviously doesn’t know much about hockey. In her
story she used a number of adjectives to describe P.K.’s character as candid,
energetic, passionate, confident, articulate, etc., etc. This describes
hundreds of professional athletes. At one point she mentions that P.K. has 2
brothers who also play in the NHL. She also says that brothers playing in the
NHL are a rarity as are black hockey players. PK’s brothers are not NHL
players. One brother is a goalie for the Boston Bruin’s farm team and the other
is a defenceman who plays for the Vancouver Canuck’s farm team in Utica, New
York. He is a pretty decent defenceman but he is only 5’10” which is pretty
short for a defenceman in the NHL. There have been quite a number of brothers
who have played in the NHL including the Sutters, the Hulls, the Benns, the
Richards, the Mahovlichs, The Bures, the Courtnalls, and on and on. Black
players are no longer a rarity in the NHL. Here’s a brief list of some current
black NHL hockey players. Devante Smith-Pelley, Jerome Iginla, Evander Kane,
Kyle Okposo, Johnny Oduya, Mike Grier, Darnel Nurse, Joel Ward, Trevor Daley,
and Dustin Byfuglien. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I went to
P.K. Subban’s personal website. I was interested in seeing how he promotes
himself. I found an interview with the CBC’s Wendy Mesley. She doesn’t know a
lot about hockey either. She was very impressed that P.K. had given 10 million
dollars to the Montreal Children’s Hospital. P.K. talked about not having time
for those that didn’t care for him unless they got personal and that statistics
don’t lie. He also talked about the sacrifices his family made so he could play
hockey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The 10 Million Dollar Gift</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EltMeMcWB0cqMA-GJxQ1GZ6n0DnfzZmfJC8HrCLrnfOy2_8bF0pQAKajepMghZtj7USaRYzUSR66F_8S7aoKB4zxEUAXYN2A_B6a3hamKx1SLVFkeMjLPBa9kX3ETs7d4Xiwy1pkiXA/s1600/images17SLEYR9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EltMeMcWB0cqMA-GJxQ1GZ6n0DnfzZmfJC8HrCLrnfOy2_8bF0pQAKajepMghZtj7USaRYzUSR66F_8S7aoKB4zxEUAXYN2A_B6a3hamKx1SLVFkeMjLPBa9kX3ETs7d4Xiwy1pkiXA/s400/images17SLEYR9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sick children
can be a very touchy subject. Anyone who volunteers their time to help those in
need deserves credit for their efforts including P.K. who has spent hours with
kids with health problems. What is disingenuous on P.K.’s part is not
correcting reporters when they say he has given 10 million dollars to the
Montreal Children’s Hospital. He hasn’t. He has pledged to raise the 10 million
over the next several years. So far 1 million has been raised. Now that he has
been traded to Nashville and will be spending 9 months of the year there,
raising 10 million is going to be very difficult.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hockey
players giving back to the local community is not a rarity in the NHL. Pretty
well all NHL hockey teams do it. Part of being a Vancouver Canuck hockey player
is about doing some charitable work. Every player on the team participates. One
of the things the team is involved in is something called Canuck’s Place. It is
a hospice building where families can live with their sons or daughters who are
facing a life threatening illnesses. A few years ago the Canuck’s Sedin twins
donated 1.5 million dollars to the BC Children’s Hospital without any fanfare.</span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Statistics</span></b><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Nobody
including me is going to say that P.K. Subban is not a really good hockey
player. I just don’t think he is as good as he seems to think he is or what a
lot of Montreal fans think he is. A lot of Montreal fans seem to think he is
one of the two or 3 best defencemen in the NHL. To prove their point they will
often mention that he won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman a few
years ago.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">P.K. won the
Norris Trophy in 2012-2013. He had 38 points in the regular season. 38 points
was by far the least amount of points a Norris winner has had since 1982-83,
1983-84 when stay at home defenceman Rod Langway won back to back Norris
Trophies. Other than Langway you would have to go all the way back to the 1967-68
season to find a defenceman (Bobby Orr) who had won the Norris Trophy with less
points than P.K.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In fairness the
2012-2013 season had a lock-out and each team only played 48 games. Montreal
was ousted by Ottawa in 5 games in the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> round of the playoffs
that year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Last season
P.K. had 6 goals and 45 assists. 85 players had more points than he did. Over
40 NHL defencemen had more goals than he did. His goal production had dropped
by 9 goals from the previous year. He led his team in penalty minutes with 75
minutes. He had 177 shots on net and scored at a rate of 3.6%. He had zero game
winning goals. He had more ice time, including power plays, than any other Canadien player.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trouble In The Locker Room?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hockey isn’t
like basketball where winning teams often have one or two guys that pretty well
run the show. Hockey doesn’t have spares that often don’t play like basketball
does. Everyone on a hockey team plays and they all have roles. Hockey doesn’t
have the number of time-outs that basketball does. You can’t just stop the game
when things aren’t going your way in hockey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I may be
wrong but I think some of P.K.’s teammates thought he was bringing the
basketball kind of culture to hockey. Like he thought he was the straw that
mixed the drink. It looks like his life outside of hockey was at times overshadowing
his actually playing the game. P.K. was never on a Stanley Cup team nor did
that look possible in the team’s near future. He was a star on a very mediocre
team that missed the playoffs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A few years
ago P.K. set up his own website and the whole site is like a shrine to him. Yes
he has an outgoing personality, a great smile, and looks good in expensive
clothes. Quite honestly, I don’t see much about him that is unique. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">His parents
spent a lot of time driving PK and his bothers to hockey rinks when PK was a
kid. Every hockey parent, including me, has stood around for hours in hockey
rinks waiting for practices to be over and spent time driving all over the
local map so their kid could get to his game on time. It was a little more
extreme for Carey Price’s parents who often had to drive hundreds of miles to
get him to a game.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Signing
autographs and spending a bit of time playing road hockey with some young kids?
There’s nothing unique about that. Having a favourite sushi restaurant where PK
ate quite often? Most bachelors have a favourite restaurant. PK loves his
family and respects his parents? Most NHL hockey players feel the same way.
Being cooperative with reporters? Most hockey players are. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So just what
went on in the dressing room with PK and his teammates? One can only speculate
but some things seem fairly obvious. The other players probably felt that he
was a distraction at times. P.K. is a pretty exuberant person. This personality
trait doesn’t play well when a team is losing. Some may have felt that they
were just passengers on the P.K. train when the press ignored them and spent
most of their time interviewing him. Some may have resented the idea that the
team captain was getting less attention than P.K. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The players
had some input into who the captain of the team was going to be and most didn’t
pick PK. After his pledge of 10 million, his teammates didn’t vote for PK as
the player who gave back the most to the Montreal community. Perhaps the most
telling thing about P.K.’s relationship with his teammates was after he was
traded. Not one player tweeted that they were upset. Edmonton traded away
Taylor Hall the same day P.K. got traded and future superstar Connor McDavid
openly expressed his disappointment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Why Did P.K. Get Traded?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There were
times in the past year when both the Montreal coach and the GM were really
pissed at P.K. They wanted him to play a less riskier game and got upset when
it looked like P.K. was putting on what may have seemed to be a one man show.
The puck wasn’t going in the net for P.K. as much as it had in the past and
maybe he tried to do too much to compensate for that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When the
season came to the end Montreal had some decisions to make. Getting rid of the
coach and maybe the GM too may have been one of those decisions. What would the
cost be and who could replace them? Both the coach Therrien and the GM Bergeron
wanted a grittier team and that is why they picked up Andrew Shaw from Chicago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZ3O_te-0H8I1mTRz-yEI_d_Sqf6jqEMrniVEf7oT73FwqCqiDNcAumS3hTI2LN2r0B8NFm_6bTx7YwSzYKNchjAyJR3hSsPKChYmg01cYfhA_2h32Km4qpxjJD39v9ScqpfzAU5MgD4/s1600/imagesN7107EMP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZ3O_te-0H8I1mTRz-yEI_d_Sqf6jqEMrniVEf7oT73FwqCqiDNcAumS3hTI2LN2r0B8NFm_6bTx7YwSzYKNchjAyJR3hSsPKChYmg01cYfhA_2h32Km4qpxjJD39v9ScqpfzAU5MgD4/s400/imagesN7107EMP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coach Therrien with P.K.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I think both
the coach and GM weren’t sure what to do with P.K. Was he going to come around
to their style of hockey? What could they do about some of the players not
being that happy with P.K.? My guess is that that they planned to have meeting
with the players and coaches at the beginning of training camp this summer and
try to bury the hatchet on whatever went on last year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There was
only a window of a few days where P.K. could have been traded. It is hard to
say whether he was being shopped around. GMs don’t let the public know about
those kind of things. Nashville offered up their star defenceman, Shea Weber,
in a straight swap for Subban. Bergeron was quite aware that all hell would
break lose if he traded P.K. My guess is that Bergeron pulled the trigger on
the deal for a few reasons. One was that they might never get P.K. to come
around to their style of hockey and the other reason might have been that they
didn’t want to see a lot more drama over the next several years between P.K and
the other players.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are up
sides and down sides for both players.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxsi82l92EQZracdHt6-zl41kAgVFO6bfUsdybr6IKQeY_ml1t8HSbWxDYkx1b1IyaF_kem6k9RgDG2mQlJnispl9_1SNUuWlGGJTzhd6tpR5a16VoWKQwSXc8uHTj8SeDQYZRuJ4lLg/s1600/imagesZP2ILYNZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxsi82l92EQZracdHt6-zl41kAgVFO6bfUsdybr6IKQeY_ml1t8HSbWxDYkx1b1IyaF_kem6k9RgDG2mQlJnispl9_1SNUuWlGGJTzhd6tpR5a16VoWKQwSXc8uHTj8SeDQYZRuJ4lLg/s400/imagesZP2ILYNZ.jpg" width="342" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shea Weber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Weber is 3
years older than Subban but at 30 years of age he is still relatively young.
Weber also has had the luxury of playing alongside another outstanding
defenceman in Roman Josi. Last year Weber had 20 goals verses P.K.’s 6. He has
a harder more accurate shot. Both players get about the same amount of ice
time. P.K. was a +4 last year and Weber was a -7. Weber is 4 inches taller and
25 lbs. heavier than PK and punishes opposing forwards. P.K. is a faster
skater.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">How Is The Trade Going To Work Out?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Who knows?
There will probably be a lot less drama in Montreal unless Weber’s game totally
disappears. It might be tough for him to deal with the sports media in Montreal
compared to small hockey market Nashville. P.K. is going to have to adjust his
game a bit. Nashville has 3 other really good defencemen even with Weber gone
including Josi, Ekholm, and Ellis so he probably won’t have to try and carry
the team from the back end. P.K. might not even be the #1 guy on defence in Nashville.
Weber will be for sure in Montreal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Nashville is
the country music capital of the US. My guess is P.K. is more of a hip hop kind
of guy. He might find that his time away from the rink will be a lot different
than his days in Montreal. 28% of the people who live in Nashville are black
verses less than 10% in Montreal. P.K. may discover new business ventures in
Nashville in things completely different from what he was involved in the past.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hockey trades
happen all the time. Every once in a while some big name gets moved, It has
happened to Gretsky, Messier, Lafleur, Roy and others. Most people don’t
remember that Bobby Orr ended up in Chicago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippcp9E7Vb5ceKsvlG1fsa3S7JcTMbnouCHTih9JPD8fEoW15hvc0TtBEoPxdBnLftOME45E4KYmcjtZxSxDmVM3yrms6s2ZC-KnMJEZpIaUyD9z8EkkY87ehZtLG39ZIbkN6EVwBlmRg/s1600/images1MW4E6DX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippcp9E7Vb5ceKsvlG1fsa3S7JcTMbnouCHTih9JPD8fEoW15hvc0TtBEoPxdBnLftOME45E4KYmcjtZxSxDmVM3yrms6s2ZC-KnMJEZpIaUyD9z8EkkY87ehZtLG39ZIbkN6EVwBlmRg/s400/images1MW4E6DX.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guy Lefleur-New York Rangers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The term
“Superstar” is sometimes overused. Close to 90 NHL players had more points than
P.K. Subban had last year, Superstars win Stanley cups or score 50 goals like
Ovechkiin. Right now Subban is about the 12<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> best all round defenceman
in the NHL.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Likability,
appearance, and personality may sell on E-talk and other gossip TV programs but
sports are all about results and winning. P.K. may one day be a superstar in
hockey but he simply isn’t there yet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Racism And Idolizing Pro Athletes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are a
number of black people in Montreal who were particularly pissed off that P.K.
got traded. I read it on Facebook. One guy mentioned something about it being
difficult for P.K. being the only black guy in the dressing room. He wasn’t.
Devant Smith-Pelley is also black and played 46 games for the Canadiens this
past year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We aren’t
living in the 50s or 60s anymore. Race hasn’t been a consideration in choosing
a player for decades now in every pro sport. Jarome Iginla has been a star in
the NHL for 20 years. It may be interesting that his father was born in Nigeria
but that fact never changed what people thought of him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Idolizing pro
athletes is pretty normal thing for kids to do. My feeling is that once one
becomes an adult idolizing anyone isn’t a healthy thing to do. Pro athletes are
simply other human beings with some good qualities and some faults. Just like
the rest of us. Personally I don’t like the idea of people thinking that other
people are more worthy than themselves. Liking a professional athlete should be
sufficient enough.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When I was a
kid I thought Bobby Hull was the next best thing since slice bread. I grew out
of it. Years later I was disappointed when I learned that Hull was accused by
two of his wives of assaulting them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As sports fans
we make an investment. Sometimes we are disappointed and if we are lucky our
chosen team wins it all at some point. We have no control over how events are
going to unfold. It may sound odd but as a life-long hockey fan, some of my
best memories are back when the Canucks had the ugliest uniforms in the league and
losing games was a habit. When they did win it became a big deal for a day or
so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Lastly, there
are plenty of things to worry about on this planet and lots of injustices. How
some guy making 9 million dollars a year for years to come is going to manage
in a new city is not one of those things that is going to keep me up at night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-69170175140811815852016-06-21T12:28:00.000-07:002016-06-22T20:55:21.420-07:00Ali<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </div>
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</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One
White Guy’s Views On Mohammad Ali’s Life And Times</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Mohammad Ali
died a few days ago at age 74. There was a period of time, about 4 decades ago,
when he was the most recognizable person in the world. There were black sports
legends before him and after him like Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Jim Brown, Jackie
Robinson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Sugar Ray
Robinson and others but none of them left their mark on this planet like Ali
did. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The sport
where Ali made his name, boxing, today has nowhere near the acceptance it had
for most of the 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> century. Most people don’t have a clue as to
who the current heavyweight champion of the world is. It’s a white boxer from
the UK named Tyson Fury who is undefeated in 25 fights. He took the title away
from the Ukrainian giant (6’7”) Wladimir Klitschko last November. Klitschko had
defended his title 23 times which is the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> most all time next to
Joe Louis. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Mixed Martial
Arts (MMA) has pretty well replaced boxing as the blood sport of choice these
days. One of this sport’s appealing factors to its fans is that there are a
number of ways a fighter can take his (or her) opponent out including using
kicks, bending limbs, and choking, aside from punching. With only 3 five minute
rounds to a match the action is usually more intense than a 10 or 12 round
boxing fight. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Next to
Martin Luther King Ali was very likely the second most revered black man in
America. I have no argument with those that think Ali was a legend, He was. What
I do have a problem with is people rewriting history to enhance the legend
stuff. Some claim that Ali was the best boxer of all time. Some say he changed
America’s thinking on the Viet Nam War. Some say that he was strong voice in
civil rights and that he stood up to the white majority in America. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Personally I think that to really understand
who Ali was, one has to understand the times when he was at the height of his
fame and what the sport of boxing is all about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Apparently
the NBC Today host Matt Lauer was friends with Ali as Ali got older. Lauer
claims that Ali was his hero from an early age. Lauer was born in 1957 so he
would have been 3 years old when Ali won his Olympic boxing medal and 9 years
old when Ali had his boxing license taken away from him. I’m not buying Lauer’s
story. My guess is Lauer never saw Ali box live.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Boxing is an
extremely brutal sport. If you are a peaceful human being and have been a
boxing fan like I have, you have to live with a lot of your own contradictions.
Two grown men trying to knock one another unconscious is not exactly peaceful
coexistence. Ever since John L Sullivan was fighting bare knuckled in the 1880s
and 1890s boxing has had strong ties to the criminal elements in society. Over
time the criminal connections were often accepted as the norm. One can argue
who the greatest fighters were but one can’t argue that boxing is a sleazy
sport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A Brief History of Professional
Heavyweight Boxing</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Before there
were professional baseball, football, basketball, and hockey leagues, before
there were the Super Bowls and the World Series, boxing was the one sport that
could draw huge crowds. It appealed to a large number of working class men and
those that were more successful financially. Huge crowds meant huge money. It
wasn’t until Babe Ruth came along in the late teens and 1920s of the 20th
century that baseball or any other sport had as big a hero as the reigning
heavyweight champion of the world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Historically
many boxers have come from hard scrabble backgrounds. In the latter part of the
19<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> century amateur fights were often arranged in mining and
railway camps where there was little in the way of entertainment for the
workers. Entrepreneurial hustlers quickly realized that there were two sources
of revenue in boxing, ticket sales and gambling. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bigger has
always been better in boxing. Two 120 lb. men battling it out in a ring were
never going to draw the crowds that the heavyweights could. Heavyweights were
bigger than the average boxing fan and visually they looked super human. They
also had the most devastating power in their punches. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The first
major draw in heavyweight boxing was a man named John L. Sullivan in the 1880s
in the US. For years he seemed unstoppable until he was beaten by James J.
Corbett in 1892. Corbett has often been credited with changing boxing from
brawling to a pugilistic art form. It took Corbett 21 rounds to defeat
Sullivan. It is hard to imagine today boxers fighting for that many rounds.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdfksxHyLdriH6yYLsP7pXTHt0BRBSJ2lbIuQ0x6O9TW2GgddkMJb5-60MwwVTpK6g7JSbf3036wX0mM4Vn1lU2CLpk_NXpzBmpjV6iVtFap82B_NFVVv_ouQOGhuVj3c5QRJwO6tsR8/s1600/images%255B5%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKdfksxHyLdriH6yYLsP7pXTHt0BRBSJ2lbIuQ0x6O9TW2GgddkMJb5-60MwwVTpK6g7JSbf3036wX0mM4Vn1lU2CLpk_NXpzBmpjV6iVtFap82B_NFVVv_ouQOGhuVj3c5QRJwO6tsR8/s320/images%255B5%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John L. Sullivan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A number of professional
boxers in the early days were the sons of Irish immigrants whose families had
come to America from Ireland because of the potato famine. Many saw boxing as
their ticket out of poverty. Few succeeded. Corbett and Sullivan were both of
Irish stock as were other heavyweight champions after them like Bob Fitzsimmons
and Canadian Tommy Burns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The first
black heavyweight champion of the world was Jack Johnson. He turned boxing on
its head. He was the “colored” heavyweight champion for a number of years and
wasn’t allowed to fight for the world championship. Boxing was a segregated
sport back then and racism was quite prevalent throughout the US. Johnson was
finally given his chance in 1908. He won a decision against Canadian Tommy
Burns who was the heavyweight champion at the time, in Sidney, Australia. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The people
that controlled boxing in the US didn’t want a black champion but there was
little they could do about it. Long before (50 years) before Muhammad Ali,
Johnson was making a statement about the western world that was mostly
controlled by white men. Johnson flaunted his wealth and enjoyed driving fast
cars. He married 3 different white women and had sexual relations with a number
of white women he wasn’t married to.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-vxd__zkRuqpqArzB12yLfO8mufo2kqSZa28g9Y6O57lCAFAG-nDUGUVMgYRQktG-nYklJCn-klVhW6aVmBEARkSqKQs3PscoH3G6jSnLUlrBJFwllUoVWMYhxbOY1hvmaCIM_BEi6o/s1600/imagesJ5H19QAV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-vxd__zkRuqpqArzB12yLfO8mufo2kqSZa28g9Y6O57lCAFAG-nDUGUVMgYRQktG-nYklJCn-klVhW6aVmBEARkSqKQs3PscoH3G6jSnLUlrBJFwllUoVWMYhxbOY1hvmaCIM_BEi6o/s320/imagesJ5H19QAV.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Johnson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There were
other great black fighters around when Johnson was the champ but he avoided
fighting them. He knew that the big draw was white people hoping and wishing
that a white boxer would beat him. Eventually Johnson was chased out of the US
and he lived abroad for a number of years. On his return to the US he ended up
doing some jail time based on the Mann Act that made it illegal to transport a
woman across a state line with the intention of participating in sexual
activity or prostitution.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Johnson once
fought Hollywood actor Victor McLaglen in an exhibition match. It may be hard
to believe but he fought professionally until the age of 60 and was in some
exhibition fights in his later sixties. He died in a car accident at the age of
68 in 1947.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the 1920s
the most notable heavyweight boxing champions were Jack Dempsey and Gene
Tunney, 2 more guys of Irish descent. They fought in one of the most notable championship
fights of all time. It was known as “The Long Count Fight”. The gate draw for
the fight was close to 22 million dollars in today’s money and 105 thousand
people saw the fight live at Soldier’s Field in Chicago. There was a new rule
in this fight and that rule was that when one man knocked another to the mat he
had to go to a neutral corner while the boxing ref counted to 10. Dempsey had
knocked Tunney down and stood over him forgetting that he had to go to a
neutral corner. It was the first time in Tunney’s career that he had been
knocked down. The ref didn’t start the count until about 4 or 5 seconds after
Tunney went down and Tunney got off the mat and beat Dempsey in a decision.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhreIbZE4qJuCc31FAy8_-Dm38KcKJ-gGcfogW8O51o-jV_-Pke8FLL3k-v63J-Hq9gTd3PRCwGukjqDBhproplL4q6MKSgg1Qz13f2RPijG7Fh5RE6g11wJ2NEV9HL1p3VZ-sHJjZdwg/s1600/imagesVAWRM39F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhreIbZE4qJuCc31FAy8_-Dm38KcKJ-gGcfogW8O51o-jV_-Pke8FLL3k-v63J-Hq9gTd3PRCwGukjqDBhproplL4q6MKSgg1Qz13f2RPijG7Fh5RE6g11wJ2NEV9HL1p3VZ-sHJjZdwg/s320/imagesVAWRM39F.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The world was
changing rapidly in the early 1930s, not of the least of it being The Great
Depression. Countries like Germany and Italy were making plans to go to war. In
1930 Max Schmeling, a German, became the heavyweight champion of the world.
American Max Baer Sr. took the title way from Schmeling in 1934. Schmeling was
a Nazi. (Max Baer’s son would later play the character of Jethro in the 60s sitcom
The Beverley Hillbillies.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1937 Joe Louis,
a black fighter, beat James Braddock, another American, to win the world title.
Many think that Louis was the best heavyweight boxer of all time. He held the
heavyweight title for 14 years. He only had 3 losses in his career and one of
those losses was when he was knocked out by Max Schmeling in 1936. By this time
the writing was on the wall that Nazism was on the rise. In 1938 Louis defeated
Schmeling by a TKO (technical knockout) in a return match and he was America’s
hero for both whites and blacks. Two years before Louis’s win another black
athlete, Jesse Owens, won 4 gold medals at the Berlin, Germany Summer Olympic
Games in 1936 putting a big hole in Hitler’s claims about white German
supremacy.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7NQM86k1PgrTNt9tAUiUofv8EP0dV9-TAsz0Xte0YDzl6UxGKky5BVu_lft2C5pSz8EDb_drL6Qb7tDyCw_hbD952j8jNKKcROG7jLka0WjyiCu0jrKlk0RwzykgaxmNWgJwn2hU94c/s1600/images7NNPBB18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7NQM86k1PgrTNt9tAUiUofv8EP0dV9-TAsz0Xte0YDzl6UxGKky5BVu_lft2C5pSz8EDb_drL6Qb7tDyCw_hbD952j8jNKKcROG7jLka0WjyiCu0jrKlk0RwzykgaxmNWgJwn2hU94c/s320/images7NNPBB18.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Louis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Louis
dominated heavyweight boxing throughout the 1940s until losing to another black
fighter, Ezzard Charles, in 1950. Louis’s last fight was a loss to Rocky
Marciano in 1951. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Rocky
Marciano was only 5’11”. He is the only undefeated heavyweight champion in
boxing history. His record was 49 wins and no losses and he held the
heavyweight title from September 1952 until 1956. He had an iron chin and his
style was that of a straight ahead brawler with knockout power. He died in a
plane crash at age 45 in 1969.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2byN8ksRyrOVnUFMX1HbX3eOszOavqjdgziYYa5GSn2mdSeh8rPuoX0pHlkexs76SXd6B4TqqjHPPJAWWXy5rj12UVWuMUlGMzWZu3h33WpVVopSXi8jOIHOGELaUsxJ-etph7FrsHo/s1600/box_g_marciano1x_576%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2byN8ksRyrOVnUFMX1HbX3eOszOavqjdgziYYa5GSn2mdSeh8rPuoX0pHlkexs76SXd6B4TqqjHPPJAWWXy5rj12UVWuMUlGMzWZu3h33WpVVopSXi8jOIHOGELaUsxJ-etph7FrsHo/s320/box_g_marciano1x_576%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky Marciano landing punch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Floyd
Patterson, a black boxer, held the heavyweight title for 3 years in the late
1950s. He lost the title to Swede Ingemar Johansson in June of 1959 and won it
back in June of 1960. After retiring, Patterson and Johansson became great
friends and sometimes vacationed together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1960 a
young black American won gold and the light heavyweight championship at the
Rome Summer Olympics. He started his professional boxing career soon after
returning to the US. His name at the time was Cassius Clay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Taking The Heavyweight Championship
From Sonny Liston</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A somber
looking black fighter with a criminal past named Sonny Liston took the
heavyweight title away from Patterson in 1962. Meanwhile Cassius Clay had been
racking up victories in the heavyweight division, Liston looked unstoppable.
His record was 35 W and 1 L when he first fought Clay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liston only lost 4 times in his career and 39
of his 50 wins were by knockout.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Clay and
Liston boxed for the first time in 1964 in Miami Beach, Florida. Clay was a 7-1
underdog. Before the fight Clay called Liston a big ugly bear and said that
after he beat him he was going to donate Liston to a zoo. Boxing or any other
sport for that matter had never seen such a loud mouthed braggart as Clay
before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When the bell
rang to signal the start of the first round Liston charged at Ali wanting to
take him out right away. Ali used his foot speed to stay out of Liston’s way
and effectively used his jab. Liston had a decent 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> round. In the
3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> round Clay hit Liston with a combination of punches, buckled
Liston’s knees, and cut Liston for the first time in his career. At the end of
the 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> round Clay started experiencing blinding pain in his eyes as
he returned to his corner. It has been speculated that Liston’s trainers had
applied some kind of ointment to Liston’s cuts and put some of the solution on
his gloves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Clay dodged
and weaved trying to stay out of Liston’s range in round 5 barely being able to
see out of his eyes. In the 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> round the sweat and tears had
cleared whatever it was in Clay’s eyes and he took total control of the fight
and hit Liston at will. The 7<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> round never happened. Liston’s
corner threw in the towel. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It was a
defining moment in boxing history and for that matter American history. Clay
became an instant hero to most black Americans. Liston, with his surly manner,
had not been a popular champ. Some white people weren’t fussy about Clay’s
bragging but became Clay fans when he backed up his bragging.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Up until Clay
became famous, heavyweight champions were men of few words who hardly ever
spoke about anything other than their sport. This was true of black or white
champions. Dempsey. Louis, Patterson, and Marciano didn’t express their
political views. Even baseball great, Jackie Robinson, kept a lot of his feelings
about racial inequality to himself until later in his life and made his
statement by his play on the ball field.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My Being A Boxing Fan…..Indulge Me</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I grew up in a
middle class home in Montreal in the 1950s. I’m 69 now. There were 4 kids in my
family. Other than me, none of them, including my father, had any interest in
sports. I could count on a few fingers the times my father mentioned anything
to do with sports when I was a kid. My father came to Canada from Scotland in
1926 and he told me once about listening to a Jack Dempsey fight shortly after
he arrived. My father was not a baseball fan but he knew that Bobby Thomson, an
outfielder for the New York Giants, was born in Scotland. Thomson hit a walk
off homerun in 1951 that cinched the pennant for Giants after the Giants had
been 13 games behind the Dodgers in August of that year. My father wasn’t a
hockey fan either but he seemed to like Gordie Howe, probably because he wasn’t French
like Rocket Richard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When TV
became a new big deal in the 1950s there was a scramble to fill air time. Old
movies filled some of that time. There were 2 sports in particular that were
pretty cheap to produce and show on TV. One was wrestling and the other was
boxing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1939 the
razor blade company, Gillette, acquired the exclusive rights to baseball’s
World Series. In the early 1940s Gillette starting sponsoring a radio show
called The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports which became a TV show in the early
1950s. (A cavalcade is formal procession of people walking or riding in cars. I
looked it up.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Although
Gillette also sponsored horse racing, The Rose Bowl, and The World Series, many
older guys like me remember Gillette from “The Friday Night Fights”. Picture
quality on black and white TV often wasn’t great and sometimes the boxers
looked kind of hazy. Those were the days when many sports reporters were older
guys who often wore bow ties and had cigars sticking out of their mouths. The
play by play guy who described each round was a man named Don Dumphy. Most of
the fights were held at Madison Square Gardens. The ring announcer who
introduced the fighters had a New York accent. Back then a lot of men wore
fedoras.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOyLnjREjgzIh-zrivTQppI6MKV4NLWvtMTNS62Mclq7c9iix9KGiu-de01kepmdf4UNWaOVc4p9fG0QOV0u-0Nh3d3xkri2K6TJ6pO2V1oqtOvX1JFCvmH8Uy-eMnh6H611gFt2z4SY/s1600/images%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOyLnjREjgzIh-zrivTQppI6MKV4NLWvtMTNS62Mclq7c9iix9KGiu-de01kepmdf4UNWaOVc4p9fG0QOV0u-0Nh3d3xkri2K6TJ6pO2V1oqtOvX1JFCvmH8Uy-eMnh6H611gFt2z4SY/s320/images%255B1%255D.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don Dumphy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Some older
guys like me can still remember the Gillette jingle. “To look
sharp…..da-da-da-da-da…..to be sharp…..da-da-da-da-da.” Gillette had another
jingle that featured a couple of cartoon parrots singing “How are you fixed for
blades?” Somewhere in my old stuff that I’ve kept over the years I have an
unused Gillette Blue Blade from that period in time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">(While writing this the TV has been on
in the background, MSNBC. They just cut in to say that hockey great Gordie Howe
has died. Wow!)</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There was some stuff I didn’t have to research
about the Friday Night Fights from the 50s because I saw a lot of those fights
as a 10 and 11 year old. My father and I weren’t exactly great pals when I was
growing up but for some reason he would let me watch boxing with him on our RCA
Victor TV. He wasn’t the type to jump out of his seat if things got frantic in
the ring. My guess is he didn’t even know what a jab was. I think his thrill
was just watching vicariously while two grown men tried to punch the living
crap out of each other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I remember a
lot of the fighter’s names, guys like Carmen Basilio, Jersey Joe Walcott, Joey
Maxim, Bobo Olson, Eddie Machen, Willy Pastrano, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore,
Don Jordan, and Kid Galivan. For some strange reason I never forgot that the
Fullmer brothers, Gene who was a middleweight champion and Don who was 8 years
younger and also a middleweight, were from West Jordan. Utah.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitJaJBHT3lTVpePgPY75fSWw5ujTG_pXFdFZzrxlH67M9C98zf-ij-KKKtXwpsmeb88abOiBBcWHilHO8pC0ZhsQYMv2dytB2M3YN4KTNfYc2aWPPKTBPA6blzz324Nlu-hEPbNuPnCM/s1600/imagesDNKISG4B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitJaJBHT3lTVpePgPY75fSWw5ujTG_pXFdFZzrxlH67M9C98zf-ij-KKKtXwpsmeb88abOiBBcWHilHO8pC0ZhsQYMv2dytB2M3YN4KTNfYc2aWPPKTBPA6blzz324Nlu-hEPbNuPnCM/s320/imagesDNKISG4B.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I saw Sugar
Ray Robinson fight a number of times. He really stuck out. It was years later
that I learned that a lot of boxing historians believe that he was the
“greatest” boxer of all time. Sugar Ray was also quite a character away from
the ring. He once travelled around France in a pink Cadillac. Sugar Ray
Robinson knocked out 108 men in his career.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Robinson
served in WW2 alongside Joe Louis. The pair went on tour together where they
fought in exhibition matches in front of the US troops. Robinson got into trouble
when he refused to fight in places where black servicemen weren’t allowed to
attend. Eventually he went AWOL and was discharged. After the war Robinson and
Joe Louis went into business together. They tried to open a liquor distribution
business in NYC but were denied because of their race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the summer
of 1959 Canadian boxer, Yvon Durelle, fought the heavyweight champion of the
world at the time, Archie Moore, for the title at The Montreal Forum and was
knocked out in the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> round. I read about it in the local
newspapers. The last page of the sports section of the Montreal Gazette and the
Montreal Star was where the stats were. For years there were listings of the
top 10 boxing contenders in each boxing division.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Boxing was
never my favourite sport. I preferred team sports like hockey, baseball, and
football. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the early
1970s I watched 2 of Ali’s fights on the big screen at Maple Leaf Gardens in
Toronto. A friend of mine knew a guy who worked at The Hot Stove Club at the
Gardens and he snuck us in for free. I went to a number of amateur fights in
Vancouver at what looked like a barn out at the Pacific National Exhibition
grounds in the late 1970s. The fights were called “So you think you’re tough?”
There were a lot of odd pairings. A computer programmer might be fighting a
garage mechanic as part of the card. Although I wore a suit and tie at the time,
I would be pulling for the mechanic unless he was a complete asshole.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are 2
fighters I remember from those “So you think you’re tough?” fights. One was a
black guy named Jerry (Mack Truck) Reddick who later turned pro but his career
didn’t go anywhere. He used to do a standing somersault after a victory. He
later spent 14 months in prison for assaulting a prostitute. The other guy was
a heavyweight from Nanaimo, BC named Gord Racette. He also turned pro. He
fought for the Canadian heavyweight championship twice and lost both times. He
retired with a career of 38 wins and 6 losses. He fought some pretty impressive
boxers along the way including Jimmy Young, Tony Tubbs, and Trevor Berbick. He
beat a boxer named Scott Ledoux who many think Sylvester Stallone based his
Rocky character on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When Ali
retired, my interest in boxing kind of waned a bit. Over the next 35 years I
watched Mike Tyson’s bigger fights including the fight with Evander Holyfield
where Tyson bit part of Holyfield’s ear off. There was a long period of time
when the middleweight division in boxing was far more exciting than the
heavyweight division. For some reason I was never much of a fan of Sugar Ray
Leonard’s. To Leonard’s credit he fought and beat some of the best fighters of
his time including Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Robert Duran, and Wilfred
Benitez. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I tuned in
the TV to watch Canadian heavyweight fighters like Trevor Berbick and Lennox
Lewis who became world champions. Lewis never seemed to figure out whether he
was British or Canadian. I saw Canadian middleweight Donny Lalonde lose to
Sugar Ray Leonard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To me Ali,
Foreman, Norton, Holmes, and Fraser were always the big deal, the high point.
Many great fighters came after them and became champs but few of them left a
lasting impression on me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Back To Mohammad Ali</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The first
time I ever heard of Mohammad Ali was when he was still known as Cassius Clay
and had just won the light heavyweight championship at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
I think I read about him in Sports Illustrated. It was probably just another
one of those stories about some young up and comer that I didn’t give that much
thought to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali was 18
years and 286 days old when he won his first professional fight in 1960. At the
beginning of his professional boxing career Ali was sponsored by a group of
Louisville, Kentucky businessmen. An American Olympic gold medal winner in
boxing almost always turns pro. The American public wasn’t paying much
attention to Ali at the beginning of his pro career but boxing insiders had a
good idea of what his potential was. At 6’3” Ali had hand speed and foot speed
that no other heavyweight possessed at the time.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgdYVz0eGDDpFEN8yO2bdjPZ7-XT96VPUtBlaBzqCFj0wnt6x3nHBS2-Exy5JuDeYfp-EfU1n3TDocAjI6tHjPAEFwYTqrW7jiuWfGgOkh3MCx-M9YPwFVD1AWfKRsxwzZUXG0-Ol65M/s1600/imagesPRPO1ZMH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgdYVz0eGDDpFEN8yO2bdjPZ7-XT96VPUtBlaBzqCFj0wnt6x3nHBS2-Exy5JuDeYfp-EfU1n3TDocAjI6tHjPAEFwYTqrW7jiuWfGgOkh3MCx-M9YPwFVD1AWfKRsxwzZUXG0-Ol65M/s320/imagesPRPO1ZMH.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali at 18.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Angelo Dundee
became Ali’s manager after Ali’s first pro fight and stayed with him for almost
all his fights over the next 20 years. Dundee was one of the best managers
ever. In the fifties he was the corner man for Carmen Basilio, a
welterweight/middleweight fighter, who became a world champion. Basilio was
only 5’-6-1/2”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali was 19-0
and had just turned 22 when he first beat Sonny Liston and won the world
heavyweight title in 1964. At that point he had been boxing professionally for
3 years. He didn’t have an easy time of it in every fight on the way up. In his
early fights he was knocked down by Sonny Banks and British boxer Henry Cooper.
In the Cooper fight Ali was saved by the bell after being knocked down. In 1963
Ali fought Doug Jones. Jones staggered Ali in the first round and when the
match was over most of the crowd thought Jones had won the fight. The decision
went to Ali and the crowd booed and threw debris into the ring.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Nobody would
ever claim that Ali wasn’t a confident fighter. In retrospect this is perhaps
why he took some chances earlier in his career. He was not a KO (knockout)
boxer. He only had 11 knockouts in his 61 professional fights. Most of the
fights he won were by TKO (technical knockout). A TKO is when the referee feels
a fighter can’t safely continue fighting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">One of the more
notable boxers Ali fought on the way up was former champ Archie Moore who was
46 at the time. Ali’s people were careful about who he fought. Just one loss
would be a huge setback. Being “undefeated” sold tickets and keeping that
record meant there would be a big money payoff eventually in a championship
fight.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s Early Life</span></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeA8OiaxZZQcTzfJwrfOReg7ImZjDZU0mPUs-Zkbm0fm97GosDgRhejnxCRsVPFFtIH_eiaOOHrM0UQ1Yx3VkUuRj4Tb6vXeW4BjWrjSPfDUaWOC2D0_Bu9c8Vtt-E7Epb3ff-DaQo-qA/s1600/imagesPNKROP7N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeA8OiaxZZQcTzfJwrfOReg7ImZjDZU0mPUs-Zkbm0fm97GosDgRhejnxCRsVPFFtIH_eiaOOHrM0UQ1Yx3VkUuRj4Tb6vXeW4BjWrjSPfDUaWOC2D0_Bu9c8Vtt-E7Epb3ff-DaQo-qA/s320/imagesPNKROP7N.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I think it is
important to understand the times when Ali first became famous and how he grew
up in the Jim Crow years in the south in Louisville, Kentucky. Not a lot has
been written about Ali’s youth in the 1940s and 1950s other than that he took
up boxing after his bike was stolen when he was twelve on the suggestion of a
white police officer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s mother
had a lot of influence on him when he was a kid. She was a Baptist and made
sure that he was in church on Sundays. Ali didn’t grow up poor nor did he have
a lot of brothers and sisters like a lot of other black fighters. There was
just him and an older brother by 2 years named Rahaman (Rudy) who was also a
boxer. Ali’s father was a sign painter and a bit of a philanderer and his
mother worked as a domestic. Ali’s parents owned their own house.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Another thing
that was different about Ali’s growing up than many other black fighters was that
he never ran with street gangs nor did he get involved in criminal activity. A
good part of his teen years were spent in the gym and participating in amateur
fights. In some ways Ali was a “goody two shoes” as a kid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It’s kind of
ironic that Ali is buried in Louisville, Kentucky. The city that he grew up had
a lot to do with the anger he had about racial injustice. There were theatres
and drive-ins that blacks couldn’t go to along with restaurants and hotels.
Justice and the law were different for blacks and whites. Most of Ali’s adult
life was lived away from Louisville. Once Ali became champion he never fought
in his hometown again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Changing Times</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When Ali was
a kid the US South was controlled politically by mostly Democrats who were
sometimes called “Dixiecrats”. The party of FDR mostly turned a blind eye to
civil rights and segregation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The 1960s
were a hectic decade and Ali became famous in the middle of it. There were 3
assassinations in the sixties that included the Kennedy brothers and Martin
Luther King. The Beatles turned up in the US a few months before Ali beat
Liston in 64. The Viet Nam War, the draft, hippies, the pill, peace marches,
women’s lib, pot and LSD, and then to top it all off, a man on the moon in 1969
were just some things that came about during that decade.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Cities like
Newark, NJ and Watts in LA, to name a few, were burning to the ground and there
were race riots all over America in the bigger cities, particularly after MLK
was killed. Freedom marches from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama and one
to Washington, DC where MLK gave his “I have a dream” speech were organized. Over
200,000 people saw MLK speak that day. Some black churches in the South were
burned to the ground. Black students were blocked from entering a segregated
high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. African American civil rights activist
and WW2 veteran, Medgar Evers, was murdered in Mississippi. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDH44INg6LHw8WPef8L43fq7aea4ou4nLI1sA1m2O5Y_PI3AWWvep4Y-rFVpxqu-TNiLdYLFlVbIA11lRVCB0IaRptyRaYfHtHFt3YUYaTIghivj8eOaa3s0-gp73ywClx0o2RgAPw7Y/s1600/450px-Wattsriots-policearrest-loc%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDH44INg6LHw8WPef8L43fq7aea4ou4nLI1sA1m2O5Y_PI3AWWvep4Y-rFVpxqu-TNiLdYLFlVbIA11lRVCB0IaRptyRaYfHtHFt3YUYaTIghivj8eOaa3s0-gp73ywClx0o2RgAPw7Y/s320/450px-Wattsriots-policearrest-loc%255B1%255D.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Americans,
black and white, saw peaceful black demonstrators being attacked by police dogs
and water cannoned in states like Georgia and Alabama on TV and in photos in
Look and Life Magazines. A number of liberal white Southerners and Northerners
joined black demonstrators in their cause and some of them were murdered. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpkU8OmPBtYjXCTNntoinsNCVadylVRH-r5OgJOXNGHM5XewTCbltE3XV_z62hiuDXJtclWF6K7ay72lS8I7984BBaENziw4ebMJ640LdW57Y0kHFZMaIyu8CwNEzrJIG-Htr-WHo784/s1600/95efb52754136f4715590f6016d51f14%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpkU8OmPBtYjXCTNntoinsNCVadylVRH-r5OgJOXNGHM5XewTCbltE3XV_z62hiuDXJtclWF6K7ay72lS8I7984BBaENziw4ebMJ640LdW57Y0kHFZMaIyu8CwNEzrJIG-Htr-WHo784/s320/95efb52754136f4715590f6016d51f14%255B1%255D.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What Was Different About Ali?</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There were a
number of things that stood out about Ali right away. For starters he was a
clean cut photogenic looking young man. He looked different than other black
champs before him. His face didn’t look like it had been battered in previous
fights like Patterson. He didn’t have the typical body of many other
heavyweight fighters. He wasn’t thick or stocky like Sonny Liston or Rocky
Marciano. He was 6’3” tall, muscular, and sleek.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He talked so
fast that sometimes he had to stop and take a breath like he had just gone a
few rounds with his mouth. Another thing that was different about was his sense
of humour. Boxing is and was a serious business. Ali loved to joke around right
from the start. He could be a bit corny at times but he was always
entertaining.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He didn’t
accept direction from reporters. They weren’t going to lead him around in
conversations. He was going to say what he wanted when he wanted. Many were
fascinated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when he predicted which round his opponent
would go down in. His poetry was pretty simple and included rhyming the number
one to ten as in boxing rounds but it had a cute element to it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">For a number
of white people, particularly those from the US South, Ali was a threat. They
wondered just who did this “uppity” black boy think he was? Why was he so
mouthy?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Right away
Ali when became the champion he was an instant hero in the American black
community. Black woman thought he was handsome and a lot of black men liked the
way Ali didn’t shy away from white men or bow to them. Although many black
Americans admired Martin Luther King some were tiring of MLK’s pacifism and his
Ghandhi like approach in peaceful demonstrations on civil rights. When Ali
openly spoke openly about racial inequality in the US he was saying things that
millions of black people wanted to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s Conversion To Islam</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When Ali won
the championship in 64 the world was at his feet. Kings, queens, presidents,
and dictators may run their countries but there is only one heavyweight
champion of the world. Shortly after beating Liston Ali dropped a bombshell. He
had changed his name from Cassius Clay to Mohammad Ali and joined The Nation of
Islam. Most Americans at the time had no idea what Islam was. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A man named
Elijah Mohammad was the leader of the Nation of Islam. He himself had converted
to Islam in the 1930s and formed his own sect. In the 1940s he spent 4 years in
prison for sedition for encouraging black men not to serve in WW2. Part of his
ideology was that white men were evil. He didn’t believe in the mixing of races
or inter-racial marriage and wanted to see a place where black people lived
apart from white people. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDSCOCrkCdIsR1Gha77N0kwaBeZbl32-y0K4XkAQm1D0f_TaIjMC4zDx8b9XQdRFtzjzdBDZZ5LSdLBNn9xh0hPPvvMVE6alzSm9NPR5Y7lWbNUH1SCFOQuV2c7NaKuGUnUKWJw_g41M/s1600/imagesIRN1NQIG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDSCOCrkCdIsR1Gha77N0kwaBeZbl32-y0K4XkAQm1D0f_TaIjMC4zDx8b9XQdRFtzjzdBDZZ5LSdLBNn9xh0hPPvvMVE6alzSm9NPR5Y7lWbNUH1SCFOQuV2c7NaKuGUnUKWJw_g41M/s320/imagesIRN1NQIG.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elijah Muhammad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It should be
remembered that Ali was only 22 at the time and very impressionable. He had
experienced firsthand racism in America, Never the less he fell in line with
the doctrine and for several years espoused the views of his church. In fact
Ali himself became a racist for several years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
most influential leader of The Nation of Islam was a man who called himself
Malcom X. He inspired Ali to join The Nation of Islam. It has been said that
Malcom X and Ali were like brothers. Eventually Malcom X became disillusioned
with The Nation of Islam and became a Sunni Muslim. One of the reasons he chose
to cut ties was that he didn’t think Elijah Muhammad was a good example to his
followers. Muhammad had fathered 21 children by various women and it was
rumored that he was having sex with his secretaries.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrsY8Gc8A0EJvG3Gx1p2TXyhyphenhyphenQaWJ3CzUOd7t_chLtTE0j7uDmWxG6U-OKE89h6WrqMonyyxUCe8qybNRdAxv_xhlMhaFCgnDVosrMLOfQJ11ywdah9Wjhn55fF3Kpldx6rgc2TWWgOk/s1600/imagesUA2R683F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrsY8Gc8A0EJvG3Gx1p2TXyhyphenhyphenQaWJ3CzUOd7t_chLtTE0j7uDmWxG6U-OKE89h6WrqMonyyxUCe8qybNRdAxv_xhlMhaFCgnDVosrMLOfQJ11ywdah9Wjhn55fF3Kpldx6rgc2TWWgOk/s400/imagesUA2R683F.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malcom X</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Nation of
Islam was not interested in cooperating with groups like the NAACP or black
civil rights activists like Martin Luther King. When Malcom X left The Nation
of Islam he changed his views and started working with those that were trying
to get equal rights.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In February of
1965 Malcom X was assassinated in front of 400 people by 3 gun carrying members
of the Nation of Islam. It would be several more years before Ali would leave
The Nation of Islam and become a Sunni Muslim himself. Later Ali stated that
his biggest regret in life was turning his back on Malcom X.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Its 2:30 a.m. on the west coast. I
fell asleep at about 10 p.m. I’ve just awakened from a dream and I know it will
take a bit of time before I go back to sleep again. I decide to see if I can
pick up the writing of this story. First I checked my e-mail and then I went to
Huffington Post to see if there is any new news. There is brief blurb about a shooting
in Orlando. I remember that a young girl singer who was on The Voice on TV had
been shot and killed in Orlando the day before. I check back with Huffington
Post about an hour later and now they are saying that 20 people had been killed
and as many wounded at a gay night club in Orlando. I turned on the TV to get a
better idea of what was happening. By the time I went to sleep again at about
6:30 a.m. 50 people were reported dead and 53 wounded. The murderer is
identified and apparently he was sympathetic to ISIS. We know that only a small
fraction of Muslims are murderous terrorists but damn. These people are all
dead at least in part because of some religious beliefs.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Howard Cosell</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are
always those that latch on to someone else’s fame. In Ali’s case one of those
people was a New York sportscaster named Howard Cosell. Cosell was one of the
first sports reporters to address Ali by his new name and this may be why Ali
gave him more time than other reporters. Cosell was on Ali’s side when he later
refused to join the army. They fed off each other verbally for close to 20
years. Cosell didn’t speak like others. His voice often boomed like he had just
discovered something amazing that the world had never heard of. He was bombastic
and had a huge ego. He claimed that he liked to fearlessly “tell it like it
is”. A scribe once pointed out that he had changed his name and wore a bad
toupee so he wasn’t quite as authentic as he claimed. Ali would sometimes
pretend that he was going to pull Cosell’s toupee off but he never did. </span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAgq1KUJZQrtLj4m_K0oLjYBqOVnBtEQfqiWZ_r4PiR2LwgjUYz3EoO0fmiDoyxxVq-73th9iVTbMGkp-sajN2j_fnyyR4tohSJERVexEkeOY7kkVVDG_OJmpUga1I0b7UB-JSQKoBgg/s1600/imagesSVLG0SRK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAgq1KUJZQrtLj4m_K0oLjYBqOVnBtEQfqiWZ_r4PiR2LwgjUYz3EoO0fmiDoyxxVq-73th9iVTbMGkp-sajN2j_fnyyR4tohSJERVexEkeOY7kkVVDG_OJmpUga1I0b7UB-JSQKoBgg/s320/imagesSVLG0SRK.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosell and Ali</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Cosell walked
away from boxing not long after Ali’s career ended. He was doing the colour
commentary on a match between Larry Holmes and Randall “Tex” Cobb. Cobb was
taking a beating throughout the match but the ref wouldn’t stop the fight. The
fight lasted 15 rounds and Cosell was becoming more and more disgusted as it
went on. Cosell was right but at this point in his broadcasting career it was
kind of like Louis in the movie Casablanca saying “I’m shocked….shocked to find
there is gambling going on in here.” In spite of his huge ego Cosell did some
good things in his life including producing documentaries on drugs in sports
and how NFL team owners avoided paying taxes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Drew Bundini Brown</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEaY0RjsKWmK-g9DHVILRXkpiaL6r3M2gzZZ1xtE5Y1vP_Y9iVcTPzaSYschxUYwWBNCAD1mOYJfAe8cSypBn9BmovWQ1UC_GosNgiiNW7pmCy3bjdIZSsLRdW92RI0vNvkVHvb2PjZQ/s1600/images5N983DNU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEaY0RjsKWmK-g9DHVILRXkpiaL6r3M2gzZZ1xtE5Y1vP_Y9iVcTPzaSYschxUYwWBNCAD1mOYJfAe8cSypBn9BmovWQ1UC_GosNgiiNW7pmCy3bjdIZSsLRdW92RI0vNvkVHvb2PjZQ/s320/images5N983DNU.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drew Bundini Brown</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Drew Bundini
Brown was one of Ali’s corner men throughout Ali’s professional boxing career.
Previously he had been part of Sugar Ray Robinson’s entourage. My guess is that
Brown has been forgotten by many. He was an interesting character. He lied
about his age and joined the navy when he was only 13 years old. He wrote a lot
of Ali’s poems and came up with the line “Floats like a butterfly and stings
like a bee.” In the early 1950s Brown married a Jewish woman and converted to
Judaism.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> Liston Fight</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">After winning
the heavyweight championship and defeating Sonny Liston Ali didn’t fight for
over a year. His next fight was with Liston again. Originally the fight was to
happen in Boston but Liston couldn’t get a boxing license there because he had
a criminal record and was known to have mob connections. At the last minute the
fight was moved to the small city of Lewiston, Maine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Liston didn’t
last 2 rounds. He went down on his knee and didn’t stand up for the count. Why
he went down on knee has long been a mystery. He claimed he was hit by an Ali
punch that nobody else saw. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sonny Liston</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-g2LegtDDffiOSuZu5OZptPwwECQA5iNdVWciFsYZBtbOQPW8GFef-Q1lLU67oMTGsscYr-t2ZhWfDc3O-w_N4rmjBklLhjUY6rN826NnYZ8ehpHNiGNxvXClxQ4-x6jRQH3TmelYiY/s1600/imagesNP4O69E0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-g2LegtDDffiOSuZu5OZptPwwECQA5iNdVWciFsYZBtbOQPW8GFef-Q1lLU67oMTGsscYr-t2ZhWfDc3O-w_N4rmjBklLhjUY6rN826NnYZ8ehpHNiGNxvXClxQ4-x6jRQH3TmelYiY/s320/imagesNP4O69E0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sonny Liston</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sonny Liston
had a sad life. His father beat him regularly when he was a child. Some of the
welts were still evident when he was an adult. As a teenager he turned to crime
and was easily identified because he always wore a yellow shirt. He was
sentenced to 5 years in prison. By 1960 he was the number 1 contender but it
took him 3 years to get a chance to fight the champ at the time, Floyd
Patterson. Liston was the surly sort and was disliked by most boxing fans.
After he defeated Patterson and became champion he returned home to
Philadelphia and only a few fans were there to greet him. After losing to Ali
he won 12 of his next 13 fights but never had another shot at the championship.
He died in his home on December 30<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> 1970 of a suspected heroin
overdose.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s Next 8 Fights Before His Title
Was Taken Away From Him</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">After calling
Liston an ugly bear Ali usually had derisive nick names for those he fought
from then on. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Floyd Patterson was called
“the rabibit” and Canadian George Chavalo was called “the washerwoman”. Of the
8 fighters Ali fought before losing his title he particularly disliked Patterson
and Ernie Terrell because they refused to address him by his new name. For the
last half of his fight with Terrell it seemed like Ali was torturing him and
not trying to knock him out. Ali fought 4 of these fights outside of the US in
Canada, Germany and the UK. There are some that thought that those fights
happened in other countries because of Ali’s availability to do his time in the
services was being questioned. Ali was always a hero in the black community but
some in the white community were questioning his loyalty to the US. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s Loss Of His Title And The Viet
Nam War</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1948 The
Selective Service Act became law. It required fit young American men between
the ages of 18 and 26 to serve in one of the armed services for a period of 2
years. Probably the most famous was Elvis Presley who spent 2 years in Germany.
Others who served before they became famous include Clint Eastwood, Steve
McQueen, Kris Kristopherson, Morgan Freeman, Mr. T, Willie Nelson, and George
Carlin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By late 1965
the US had increased its military forces to over 200,000 troops in Viet Nam.
The basis of this war was something called “The Domino Theory” which was about
stopping the spread of Communism in South East Asia. The draft had been
introduced in the US and there was a lottery based upon the 365 days in a year.
A low number meant a young man could count on doing time in the armed services
and most likely in Viet Nam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Rich kids or
those that knew somebody important could often get deferments. Some got
doctor’s letters that claimed they were unfit. Some got student deferments
while others claimed they were the sole support in their families. Dick Cheney,
Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, John Boehner, and Mitch McConnell all got
deferments. George Bush Jr. didn’t show up for ROTC. Rock and roller and gun
activist Ted Nugent acted crazy and shit his pants. Some buggered off to Canada
or went underground.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali was
listed as 1-A in 1962 which meant he was draftable. In 1964 he was listed as
1-Y which meant he would only be called up in an emergency because his reading
and writing skills were considered to be sub-par. He may have faked that. As
the Viet Nam war progressed standards were lowered and Ali again became
eligible. He refused to enlist in 1967 and he was forced to forfeit his
championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He said that
the Viet Cong had never done anything to him so he didn’t see why he should be
forced to fight them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This is where
this issue becomes very complicated. Many feel that one of the landmarks in his
life was his refusal to fight in a war he didn’t believe in and the fact that
he lost millions of dollars by not being allowed to box at the prime of his
career.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">For many
there is no argument that Viet Nam was a shitty war that the US should never
have been involved in. Fair enough, but why should all those other kids have to
go and not Ali? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He couldn’t
very well claim to be a peace loving conscientious objector when he made his
living trying to physically destroy another human being. Over the years it has
amazed me that so many people looked at Ali as just some kind of entertainer
when in reality he was involved in a brutal sport that was often controlled by
criminals. Boxing is sport where a man could die and a number have including Davey
Moore, Benny “Kid” Peret, Davey Browne, Randall Carver, Greg Page, Cleveland
Denny, Kim Duk-Koo, and Sonny Boy West. In fact, a boxer named Sonny Banks, who
Ali fought in the early part of his career, died at age 24 shortly after a bout
with another fighter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali also
couldn’t claim that his religion, Islam or The Nation of Islam, believed in
non-violence. Wars have been an integral part of Islamic history. I believe the
real reason Ali didn’t want to go to war was that he didn’t want to take the
chance of getting his ass shot off. He wasn’t alone in that belief. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He could have
spent time in prison as a lot of draft dodgers did but he didn’t. He could have
enlisted and gotten a guarantee that he wouldn’t be on the front lines in
combat but he didn’t. He could have moved to another country and resumed his
boxing career but he didn’t want to. He may have lost millions by not being able
to box in America but he didn’t lose his life or get wounded like thousands of
other Americans his age did. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At the time
The Nation of Islam claimed hatred for white people. Ali seemed to ignore the
fact that it was mostly white people who were spending big money to see him
fight. When he found himself in debt because he couldn’t fight, he started
doing paid speeches at mostly white dominated colleges. There were a lot of
contradictions in Ali’s life at the time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s Comeback In Boxing</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1967 Ali
was convicted of draft evasion, fined 10 thousand dollars, and sentenced to 5
years in prison. His conviction was appealed and he remained free on bail. In
1970, with his case still in appeal, he was granted a boxing license in
Atlantic City, New Jersey thanks in part to a black state senator from Georgia
named Leroy Johnson.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali wasn’t
given back his title. He would have to fight to get it back. His first fight
was against a white boxer named Jerry Quarry in October of 1970. Ali won the
fight in 3 rounds after Quarry was severely cut. Ali’s New York boxing license
was then reinstated and he beat Argentinian heavyweight Oscar Bonavena by TKO
in the 15<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> round of their fight in December of 1970. The stage was
set for Ali to fight the heavyweight champion of the world at the time, Joe
Fraser. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trash Talking</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxfxmaWNV87lCO35jvUePzGY3m_02WXP9pOF_qPF42mn6Xv184at707z6GPdMhcRiCOmEzAI-I-5L2xLkZIdzvNqH3k5C0SWxuQTbLiF3-dIvOWs_d5Hr0wAmarjRqlDZJg1r-UtjT80/s1600/images7CYTTXYV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxfxmaWNV87lCO35jvUePzGY3m_02WXP9pOF_qPF42mn6Xv184at707z6GPdMhcRiCOmEzAI-I-5L2xLkZIdzvNqH3k5C0SWxuQTbLiF3-dIvOWs_d5Hr0wAmarjRqlDZJg1r-UtjT80/s320/images7CYTTXYV.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Louisville Lip</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many Ali fans
that look back at his boxing history tend to skip over his trash talking like
it was a humorous part of Ali’s character. Ali pretty well derided every black
boxer he fought in his life and some of what he said was out and out racist. He
often called other black contenders “Uncle Toms”. Ali was quite aware of the
psychological damage he could do to another black fighter but he never seemed
to care.He knew he was popular in the black community and that other black
fighters didn’t want the black community to think that they had sold out to
“Whitey”. Ali was particularly cruel to Joe Fraser. Ali said the only people
who would root for Fraser were white men in suits, southern sheriffs, and
members of the KKK.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Former Today
Show host Bryant Gumbel was a big fan and a good friend of Ali’s. Gumbel once
wrote a story about Fraser agreeing with Ali that Fraser was an “Uncle Tom”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were strange words coming from a man who
catered mostly to a white TV viewing audience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Fight Of The Century?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali and
Fraser stepped into the ring at Madison Square Gardens in NYC in March of 1971.
I saw the fight live on the big screen at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. A
friend of mine knew an usher at The Hot Stove Club at the Gardens and we were
smuggled in. Ali was 29 years of age and had lost a bit of his speed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBMDSkOrW3aqZ1ezSYw2AnfKOlUUtp5kXSfTVwWY2ho52joVBphytGXsahu9fDYkkzRcuK6_SwK12E_h4jJ3aMezeW3Iqvm9eZiPsmFkDSOlZlEX7mlkO6j4OlmfLJpdTrw86acZjRmU/s1600/imagesRS1S8JV5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBMDSkOrW3aqZ1ezSYw2AnfKOlUUtp5kXSfTVwWY2ho52joVBphytGXsahu9fDYkkzRcuK6_SwK12E_h4jJ3aMezeW3Iqvm9eZiPsmFkDSOlZlEX7mlkO6j4OlmfLJpdTrw86acZjRmU/s400/imagesRS1S8JV5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fraser connecting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Right from
the start of the fight a bobbing and weaving FrasIer pressured Ali connecting on
a number of body shots. Ali responded with jabs and combinations. As the fight
went on Ali resorted to clinches and something that was termed “rope a dope”. While
Ali had Fraser tied up he would shake his head to the crowd like Frasier wasn’t
hurting him at all. He was. Ali was taking a physical beating. Ali’s plan
seemed to be one he used many times in his career, wear his opponent out and
finish him off with TKO or a KO in the later rounds. This time it didn’t work.
Frasier wobbled Ali in the 11<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> round but didn’t move in to finish
him off because he thought Ali might be just clowning and trying to suck him
in. Frasier knocked Ali down in the final round with a vicious hook and was
awarded a unanimous decision at the end of the fight. It was Ali’s first
professional loss.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Joe Frasier</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXj0ahecNoctXp6bd53bjXbayoAUq5bQx-_77MHW51_FRV6734ShYq0JgIMHuDgsB68t4pq2Ee5z37qfvg9QX7-Qd2a7eztKrzBaFe29PvLLO8OGrt26lisGh8eSUSQcJZDMtFISEs_M/s1600/images%255B7%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXj0ahecNoctXp6bd53bjXbayoAUq5bQx-_77MHW51_FRV6734ShYq0JgIMHuDgsB68t4pq2Ee5z37qfvg9QX7-Qd2a7eztKrzBaFe29PvLLO8OGrt26lisGh8eSUSQcJZDMtFISEs_M/s320/images%255B7%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Frasier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Joe Frasier
was the son of a share cropper and the 12<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> child born into his
family. He grew up dirt poor and his parents farmed the land with 2 mules. His
father worked the farm with a burned left hand and a partly amputated right
arm. Both parents were once shot and wounded by a man who made a move on
Fraser’s mother. The shooter was convicted and sent away to prison.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Frasier’s
uncle noticed his stocky build and suggested that he could be another Joe
Louis. For the next 6-7 years Frasier worked out daily with a big punching bag
filled with rocks, rags, and other things. He would wrap a cloth or a neck tie
around his hands. When he was a kid Frasier was chased by a 300 lb. pig he had
taunted and fell on some bricks severely injuring his arm. He never went to a
doctor and that arm was crooked for the rest of his life. He was pretty well
forced to run away from home after some white men found out that he had told
some black kids about witnessing the white men beat another black child.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Eventually
Frasier made his way to NYC where he worked in a Coca Cola bottling plant. Later
he moved to South Carolina and then Philadelphia. He was on his own and 15
years of age by this time. He started boxing as an amateur in the Golden Gloves
and was the heavyweight champion in 1962, 63’ and 64’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1964
Frasier was a replacement fighter for the Injured Buster Mathis in the summer
Olympics in Tokyo. He won gold in the heavyweight boxing division and turned
pro in 1965. Other than a draw in his last fight Frasier only lost 4 times in
his pro career, twice to Foreman and twice to Ali.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali and
Frasier were friends and Fraser lent Ali money when he had his boxing license
suspended and defended Ali’s refusal to serve in the armed services. Ali didn’t
return the favour. In all 3 fights with Frasier, Ali demeaned him and turned the
black community against him. It was so bad that Frasier’s kids were bullied at
school. The two of them almost came to blows at weigh-in before one of their
fights.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Frasier may
not have been the sharpest tool in the shed. He lost most of his money after he
retired. He did seem to be a decent human being and eventually he forgave Ali
for all the trash talking and belittling. Frasier’s pro record was 32-4-1. He
died of cancer in 2011 at the age of 67.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali Starting Over</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali had to
work his way back to getting another title shot and he did it by beating Jimmy
Ellis, Buster Mathis, Jurgen Blin, Mac Foster, George Chavalo, Jerry Quarry,
Floyd Patterson, Alvin Lewis, Joe Bugner, and Bob Foster. Most of these fights
were won by TKO. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ken Norton</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBr5_5Gnm2w7KZMXb2IZhTmS15CJr9hjsF0sp6yNd5OYpUWnesYsiU2UTZW6VY7IenNZuIDizhTUtDH879HzhYYzreRdfG_rccXD0fA4C_QEjZKNimgsZGwFc38gw9BsLM3ffEMcLfqGg/s1600/imagesEBZVBMHC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBr5_5Gnm2w7KZMXb2IZhTmS15CJr9hjsF0sp6yNd5OYpUWnesYsiU2UTZW6VY7IenNZuIDizhTUtDH879HzhYYzreRdfG_rccXD0fA4C_QEjZKNimgsZGwFc38gw9BsLM3ffEMcLfqGg/s320/imagesEBZVBMHC.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken Norton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali lost his
second professional fight to Ken Nortonin September of 1973. Norton and Frazier
were friends and never fought each other. They shared the same manager, a man
named Eddie Futch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Norton beat Ali in a
split decision even though Norton had broken Ali’s jaw. Ali considered retiring
after his loss to Norton. A rematch with Norton was arranged 6 months later and
this time Ali out pointed Norton. I saw that fight and agree with many others
that Norton was robbed. 3 years later in 1976 Ali beat Norton one more time on
a decision.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Norton was
briefly the heavyweight champion in 1978. His boxing career went downhill after
he lost a 15 round decision to Larry Holmes also in 1978. Norton was twice
voted “father of the year” by a Los Angeles newspaper. His son Ken Norton Jr.
had a long career in the NFL. Norton Sr. died in 2013 at the age of 70 from a
stroke. At one point in time he was my favourite boxer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> Frasier Fight…
Ali-Fraser II</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPAopkHK7a61pmfxkfB3DZrwfOXSHutVxel15JSdqQePVk1jhMV7Q6xHAiGGy-eYGrFwI7v4aVs2vW7YBfXrSvO6cLx42kMM3nARftFcR6t8Dc_ICaar_IwpJT0EPQWPWCaytyBVVdtg/s1600/images63MWDV5U.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPAopkHK7a61pmfxkfB3DZrwfOXSHutVxel15JSdqQePVk1jhMV7Q6xHAiGGy-eYGrFwI7v4aVs2vW7YBfXrSvO6cLx42kMM3nARftFcR6t8Dc_ICaar_IwpJT0EPQWPWCaytyBVVdtg/s320/images63MWDV5U.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frasier ducking and Ali body punching.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In January of
1974 Ali fought Joe Fraser for the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> time. Fraser had recently
lost his heavyweight championship belt to up and comer George Forman. Ali was
strong in the early rounds but Fraser came on in the middle rounds. They both
had their moments in the later rounds but Ali would often tie Fraser up. In the
end Ali was awarded a unanimous decision.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Don King</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCBmkjKWZfmmMzOwqtAteG4IFP-oipUhUugxmjaTo0CilAz182iomHBGT_H8M-aNS843b2HT60Xb944dGR6uQ8dWgWKpvFkIqv-zHGDvXlGLeC0G2QQELOh2D6uQSpu9twHjDAnuLGr4/s1600/imagesE5SJNSLF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCBmkjKWZfmmMzOwqtAteG4IFP-oipUhUugxmjaTo0CilAz182iomHBGT_H8M-aNS843b2HT60Xb944dGR6uQ8dWgWKpvFkIqv-zHGDvXlGLeC0G2QQELOh2D6uQSpu9twHjDAnuLGr4/s320/imagesE5SJNSLF.jpg" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don King</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The easiest
way to describe Don King was that he was a piece of shit. In his younger life
he murdered 2 people. He shot one guy in the back when he claimed he was being
robbed and stomped another man to death. He became friends with Ali when Ali boxed
in a charity exhibition that King had organized. Ali didn’t like the idea of
white promoters having as much influence on boxing as they did. In the next few
years King took over control of most of professional boxing. He was as crooked
as they come taking percentages from every aspect of professional boxing. There
was a time when fighters couldn’t fight for the heavyweight championship
without him getting part of the action. It was believed that he had connections
to organized crime and he once took the 5<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> when questioned about
mobster John Gotti. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He was sued
for millions by a number of fighters including Tim Witherspoon, Larry Holmes,
Mike Tyson, Terry Norris, and Lennox Lewis. In 1982, after Ali had finished
boxing, he sued King for over a million dollars. Ali was ailing and in the
hospital. King sent him over a box with 50 thousand in cash in it and Ali
dropped his suit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1983 King
was pardoned by the Ohio governor at the time for his murder convictions.
Letters supporting him were received from the Rev Jesse Jackson and Coretta
Scott King, MLK’s widow. It was Don King who organized “The Thrilla in Manila”
and “The Rumble in the Jungle”. He got the deal for The Rumble in the Jungle by
securing a 10 million dollar purse from the poor country of Zaire. Zaire at the
time was run by a dictator named Mobutu Seese Seko. During his over 30 years of
rule he amassed great personal wealth and had a number of his people murdered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Rumble In The Jungle</span></u></b><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></u></strong><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZEFmmeiLQ1Y7-Q8Uvzg115QLhJAjaAmUUJefpo2SveMQ_1dKUrkTdEGf_KlLDy9nkB40fmdQ_MvcF-RZyrI3FNohzSDuvbXd2hugN4xjhM6OG4T29AqkCmvxqKcmQ_koB_9EV3dNhVs/s1600/images9SEB31SA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZEFmmeiLQ1Y7-Q8Uvzg115QLhJAjaAmUUJefpo2SveMQ_1dKUrkTdEGf_KlLDy9nkB40fmdQ_MvcF-RZyrI3FNohzSDuvbXd2hugN4xjhM6OG4T29AqkCmvxqKcmQ_koB_9EV3dNhVs/s320/images9SEB31SA.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foreman down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In October of
1974 Ali fought the undefeated George Foreman (40-0) in Zaire, Africa. Ali was
a hero to many Africans. Foreman was the heavyweight champion at the time and
the fight was for the title. Ali scored with right crosses to Foreman’s head in
the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> round. In the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> round Ali did his rope a dope
thing by backing into the ropes and inviting Foreman to hit him while Ali was
covering up. He clinched and counter punched all while taunting Foreman
verbally. Foreman began tiring midway through the fight. In the 8<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
round Ali dropped Foreman with a series of punches. Foreman was counted out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">George Foreman</span></u></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span></u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuf4xxj5QBEPovG69HpVFCkbYn-uALe4gYqWmW3sf38f53XBu8S33M0Oj0I50tDDQFG0SIAF9EH5PI-jy0Br4pIr81i2sGh5fxtiVOmyB3aiuvSN3ORA9rE3yBWSk4mx6EJ_GBYQxauZI/s1600/images1SISH6LQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuf4xxj5QBEPovG69HpVFCkbYn-uALe4gYqWmW3sf38f53XBu8S33M0Oj0I50tDDQFG0SIAF9EH5PI-jy0Br4pIr81i2sGh5fxtiVOmyB3aiuvSN3ORA9rE3yBWSk4mx6EJ_GBYQxauZI/s320/images1SISH6LQ.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Foreman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Back when
Foreman was boxing Ali and others he wasn’t the friendly pitchman type we see
on TV these days. He was a sullen kind of guy and quite serious. The famous
Howard Cosell line… “Down goes Fraser. Down goes Fraser. Down goes Fraser” was
uttered when Foreman beat Fraser in Jamaica in 1973. Foreman fought until he
was almost 49 years old. His record was 76 wins and 5 losses. 3 of his losses
were when he was over 43 years of age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At one point
Foreman retired from boxing for almost 10 years. He has 12 children, 5 of them
boys. All the boys are named George. Foreman is probably the most successful
person financially to have ever boxed and he has made more than 200 million
dollars with his George Foreman Grill. Somewhere along the line he realized
that he would do much better in life with a sunnier disposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Thrilla In Manila</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali beat
boxers Chuck Wepner, Ron Lyle, and Joe Bugner before fighting Joe Fraser for
the championship in Manila. Wepner’s nick name was “The Bayonne Bleeder”. He
was a white guy from Bayonne, New Jersey. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxPUjmZaTUW8H-6rNUSdUMvtf04v3bM98XgWhqyx2d1fIRu0V89_2xcl5RD_54PvZwZwzxLKfROr5m28UG1Bn-2lnj4RZcfeRYoyrWV6jj_QAZcJV3hyI19BTEzEhm4lLND3KtXUo1Gc/s1600/imagesDO7Q6XL0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxPUjmZaTUW8H-6rNUSdUMvtf04v3bM98XgWhqyx2d1fIRu0V89_2xcl5RD_54PvZwZwzxLKfROr5m28UG1Bn-2lnj4RZcfeRYoyrWV6jj_QAZcJV3hyI19BTEzEhm4lLND3KtXUo1Gc/s320/imagesDO7Q6XL0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali jabbing Frazier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The fight
with Fraser, their 3rd match, was called “The Thrilla In Manila”. It was 100
degrees F when the fight occurred in October of 1975. Ali started the fight
exchanging blows with Fraser but soon became tired from the heat and switched
back to his rope-a dope style to conserve energy. Like a lot of his other
fights he knew he had to wear his opponent down. Fraser was relentless,
particularly with his body punches, but by the 12<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> round he too was
totally exhausted. He managed to last 2 more rounds but his manager threw in
the towel at the beginning of the 15th round. Ali was awarded a TKO.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Both Ali and
Fraser claimed that this was the hardest fight of their lives. Ali said “It was
the closest thing to dying that I know”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Final Years Of Ali’s Boxing Career</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali was
almost 34 when he beat Fraser. He had started to slow down in his punching and
foot speed. He had 10 more fights before hanging up the gloves for good. He
lost 3 of the last 4 fights in his career. Previously he seemed to be fighting
for the glory and the money. At the end of his fighting days it seemed to be
mostly about the money.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In those last
10 fights he beat Jean-Pierre Coopman, Jimmy Young, Richard Dunn, Alfredo
Evangelista, Earnie Shavers, and Leon Spinks. He couldn’t take other fighters
out any more and his wins were all 15 round decisions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s last
hurrah was probably retaking the title for a record 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup> time. A
young Leon Spinks had beaten Ali in early 1978 in a split decision. 6 months
later Ali took the title back from Spinks in a 15 round unanimous decision.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The end of
Ali’s boxing career was rather sad. Both Larry Holmes and Canadian boxer Trevor
Berbick took him out in 10 rounds. Ali retired just short of his 40<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
birthday. Towards the end of his boxing career Ali began slurring his words. It
should have been a clear sign to his handlers and promoter Don King that there
was something severely wrong with his health but they let him box anyway. He
was their meal ticket.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Retirement</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali retired
from boxing in late 1981. He wasn’t diagnosed with Parkinson’s Decease until 4
years later. To his credit he never publicly expressed the unfairness of being
trapped in his own body nor did he ever ask for sympathy. His decease subdued a
part of him. He wasn’t as loud and boisterous as he once was. His inner spirit
was evident in other ways.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali’s Personal Life</span></u></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali was
married 4 times. Altogether he fathered 9 children, 2 who were with women he
wasn’t married to. Being the most famous person in the world, a lot of women
were attracted to him. He wandered from his religious beliefs from time to time
when it came to sexual relations. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vFxPnKtL10wslMM3Gl7bIuXREWM7QBq7xskV22DHZRmJU9PPyx1X18ARzrXVVojR1Onp3ufEDjt-mix0XhJhzv1y51pxViIGl1m3QG5WD26uTaAHJ5BYpO6hsGYGbjXfOqDDqAGw9Ak/s1600/images9XLCCZJN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vFxPnKtL10wslMM3Gl7bIuXREWM7QBq7xskV22DHZRmJU9PPyx1X18ARzrXVVojR1Onp3ufEDjt-mix0XhJhzv1y51pxViIGl1m3QG5WD26uTaAHJ5BYpO6hsGYGbjXfOqDDqAGw9Ak/s320/images9XLCCZJN.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali and wife Lonnie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1986 Ali
married his last wife who is called “Lonnie”. They had known each other for 20
years at the time. She seems to have made Ali’s retirement years more organized
both in a personal sense and a financial sense. Ali’s lone son that he fathered
lives in Detroit. He has been on welfare for years and gets no financial
support from the Ali family. It appears that some of Ali’s children did not
have access to him in his last years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Political Activism</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It would be
fair to say that Ali made some poor choices politically in his life, particularly
when he was associated with The Nation of Islam. At times he claimed that white
people were his enemy and that his people didn’t want to live with white
people. The reality was that he had a lot of white people as friends in his
life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A lot people
forget that in Ali’s early years of fame in particular, he was homophobic,
anti-Semitic, and very sexist. He had no qualms talking about those feelings.
It would be hard to say that he was an intellectual in any manner of speaking.
He was, however, curious about the world and had a good understanding of
oppression.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali travelled
a lot in his life as a boxer and as a civilian. He was interested in the
continent of Africa because that’s where his ancestors came from. He visited
Ghana in 1964 shortly after becoming champion. Many of the other countries he
visited had large populations of Muslims.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali was
outspoken in his belief that Palestine should have its independence. In 1978 he
participated in a march in the US for American Indian rights along with Stevie
Wonder and Marlon Brando. In 1980 he convinced the government of Kenya to
withdraw from the Moscow Olympics after the USSR invaded Afghanistan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1984 Ali
announced his support for the re-election of President Ronald Reagan. Ali’s
reasoning for giving his support was “He’s keeping god in schools, and that is
good enough for me.” Reagan believed in “trickle down economics” which didn’t help
the average black American in any way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1985 Ali
visited Israel and requested that they release some Muslim prisoners. Israel
declined. In 1988 he participated in a rally in Chicago in support of
Palestine. He went to The Sudan the same year to raise awareness of a famine
that was occurring there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1990,
prior to The Gulf War, Ali travelled to Iraq to secure the release of some
American hostages and he was successful. George Bush Sr. was president at the
time and he and number of other American government officials were not happy
that Ali had interfered in international affairs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By the year
2000 Ali’s health had been in steady decline for almost 20 years. He received a
number of awards in his later years including The Medal of Freedom, The
Presidential Citizens Medal, and a Peace Medal from the UN.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My Personal Thoughts On Ali’s Life</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I liked him,
then I didn’t like him, and then I liked him again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I first
looked at Ali as an entertainer. He could certainly get people’s attention. I
liked his outspokenness about race relations in America and identified with his
anti-authoritarianism. Ever since I was a child I’ve hated the idea of people
controlling others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At first I
gave his bragging a pass but after a while it started to wear a little thin. He
started to sound like a narcissist with his “I am the greatest of all time.”
And “I am the prettiest.” He demanded that he be the center of attention and
didn’t appear to have any tolerance for other people’s opinions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It got worse
when he joined The Nation of Islam. He was sexist and thought that women should
be put in their place and that men were superior to women. He once talked about
kicking a wife out of the house and finding a younger, prettier one if she
didn’t do as she was told.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In his own
right he was a racist and often demeaned other black fighters as Uncle Toms,
not seeming to care about the backlash that was foisted on them by their own
community. He was also very homophobic with no understanding of another
minority.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He pretty
well painted all white people with a broad brush not bothering to consider
those white people who had spent a lot of time and effort trying to get black
people equal rights, sometimes risking and losing their lives.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He seemed to
think that simply because he was the heavyweight champion of the world that
everyone should have to listen to whatever he had to say. It was often hard to
be on his side. You can see a lot of shades of who Ali was back then in Donald
Trump today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I agreed with
Ali partly on Viet Nam. It was a totally shitty war that should never have been
fought. Nothing was won and close to 50,000 young Americans lost their lives
not to mention all the Vietnamese casualties. His refusal to enlist in the
armed services encouraged some black and white kids to do the same. Many who
fought in the war on the American side were poorer kids from the inner cities
and country boys just out of high school, black and white. At 12 they may have
been watching The Mickey Mouse Club on TV and 6 short years later they may have
found themselves in a jungle on the other side of the planet hoping to come
home alive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I never
wanted to see Ali sent to Viet Nam but I didn’t see why he should be an exception
when it came to serving in the military. He could have stayed stateside and
done his time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He wasn’t a
supporter of the NAACP or Martin Luther King and it wasn’t until he became a
Sunni Muslim that he considered looking at positive ways of changing racism in
America.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I didn’t like
his rope-dope stuff. It seemed more like a psychological ploy than actual
boxing. After listening to years of his bragging I wanted to see another
fighter take Ali out. I was glad when it happened. Even so, I admired Ali’s courage
in the ring. He fought and beat the best heavyweights of his time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My feelings
about Ali changed at the end of his boxing career. It was sad to see. He was
becoming a shell of his former self. I felt empathy for him when he started
slurring his words. Why was he still boxing? Why did his people let him fight?
Why did they let him take all that punishment? Why did it take so long to
discover that he had Parkinson’s Decease? His boxing career didn’t end in a
blaze of glory.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Parkinson’s
took over the last half of his life. To Ali’s credit he never complained about
getting a raw deal nor did he ask for sympathy. The loss of his mobility seems
to have been gradual. For a number of years he gave some of his time to causes
like The Special Olympics and The Make A Wish Foundation. He made appearances
at funding events for research into Parkinson’s Decease along with Michael J.
Fox. He even made an appearance at a fundraiser for a theatre group in Israel
at the request of his old friend comedian Billy Crystal. Some of Israel’s
neighbours must not have been happy about that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFswa8UOJ4mgp1ehU4pFDl00dvSRcSdV0yLhA2DA4jdcP2dhMTAa4blfq6GiTYkCZ9nfGjmo5cZK9JlpU9Qxi6-BhMIceX1PLKurKcODRCC5z8DvJrP3Auy5FzMe5-W3Ud4v-FM9l9qc/s1600/images9IQJSP94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFswa8UOJ4mgp1ehU4pFDl00dvSRcSdV0yLhA2DA4jdcP2dhMTAa4blfq6GiTYkCZ9nfGjmo5cZK9JlpU9Qxi6-BhMIceX1PLKurKcODRCC5z8DvJrP3Auy5FzMe5-W3Ud4v-FM9l9qc/s320/images9IQJSP94.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali and Billy Crystal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To say that
Ali worked tirelessly for social causes in his retirement years would be false.
He wasn’t physically capable of that kind of effort. His appearances over the
last part of his life were just that, appearances. It was a win/win situation.
His fame drew attention to a number of worthy causes and he was assured each
time he showed up that he was not forgotten about in his last decades.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali became a
sympathetic character in the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> half of his life. He was endearing.
I remember seeing him joking with young kids. He was like the kindly
grandfather. Like most others I was pulling for him when he struggled to light
the Olympic torch at the Atlanta Summer Games in 1996. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD-ZBuyVXX3XKHHMZo2b-8hKyAwWBoVe-xqJDHUThkEhh5dl7Mo4V2OPBBI5s_PxQfkp25v7-hbdnEiOeCOc9igMMUmTPYh1QyljfCMPp6uQUeUJVK0X7lQSo_oQ7wATj4b02yD81fXw/s1600/imagesJV7D5SUC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUD-ZBuyVXX3XKHHMZo2b-8hKyAwWBoVe-xqJDHUThkEhh5dl7Mo4V2OPBBI5s_PxQfkp25v7-hbdnEiOeCOc9igMMUmTPYh1QyljfCMPp6uQUeUJVK0X7lQSo_oQ7wATj4b02yD81fXw/s320/imagesJV7D5SUC.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali with Olympic flame at Atlanta Summer Games.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ali wasn’t
seen that much in the last 20 years and when he was he looked quite feeble.
Unlike most old fighters he wasn’t forgotten. Documentaries and the Will Smith
move “Ali” in 2001 kept Ali’s fame alive. Oddly enough the Ali movie actually
lost money.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">His family
and friends knew he was going to die. His wife Lonnie had made all of the
preparations. She chose who would speak at his funeral and who would be his
pallbearers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought the TV broadcast
of his memorial was quite touching.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As a
controversial figure for most of his life maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that
part of Ali’s funeral was too, at least to me. I couldn’t understand why Ali’s
wife chose Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson to be pallbearers. Lennox Lewis wasn’t
an American boxer and although Tyson was a great fighter he had a disgusting
past that included spending time in prison for rape, biting part of Evander
Holyfield’s ear off, and once telling another fighter that he wanted to eat his
children. Possibly Ali’s wife recognized that Tyson had made great progress in
reforming his life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSr41-KielMuhqvpARAMidkzD08mBdx-xKoEqhCbUmycuECeqtualKKy5AKNv1N9nCBq2KFUoMWV3KrV_BdCbo1qHUFTVWJmZwcV2STznm6wytNIlPslq8yjXrBIRv4lKMaO30ZwSViY/s1600/imagesJBQIIDDJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSr41-KielMuhqvpARAMidkzD08mBdx-xKoEqhCbUmycuECeqtualKKy5AKNv1N9nCBq2KFUoMWV3KrV_BdCbo1qHUFTVWJmZwcV2STznm6wytNIlPslq8yjXrBIRv4lKMaO30ZwSViY/s320/imagesJBQIIDDJ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">F<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">inal Comments</b></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">If one is
honest, aside from Ali’s boxing accomplishments, the most notable thing about
him was his race and how he reacted to his people being mistreated and not
being accepted as equals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Racism is a
difficult thing to talk about in America, yesterday and today. Slavery lasted
for over 250 years in the US and the Jim Crow laws for another 100 years. Some
Americans choose to ignore the things they aren’t comfortable with from the past
including slavery and stealing land from the American Indians. Some are
unwilling to admit that the US lost the wars in Viet Nam, Iraq, and
Afghanistan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In life
hardly anything is 100%. White people have always controlled most of the wealth
and influence in the US but that doesn’t mean that all white people don’t have
a social conscience. Some proof of that is that a black man, Barack Obama, was
elected twice as the US president.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcQ2hmJS-0zFC7GGiq5IEa9SC9vCUe3_5aNLwpSKwqLZ_a9r_FPONKY7Ot1kNXRmGEDKgkWE2kTVE7XIB8EslDABQEWrkk1MwqHQUWTzxBDHZ9KJDk6oKHmZjhbz_Ix8IZMo4QP55L_4/s1600/imagesNZBVEJDQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcQ2hmJS-0zFC7GGiq5IEa9SC9vCUe3_5aNLwpSKwqLZ_a9r_FPONKY7Ot1kNXRmGEDKgkWE2kTVE7XIB8EslDABQEWrkk1MwqHQUWTzxBDHZ9KJDk6oKHmZjhbz_Ix8IZMo4QP55L_4/s320/imagesNZBVEJDQ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
Considering the plate Obama was left with he has been one of America's better presidents.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">All black
people are not left wingers wanting social changes. Something like 25% of
American black voters are either conservative, or lean conservative. This
includes black people like Colin Powell, Herman Cain, Michael Steele, Allen
West, Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, and Ben Carson.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As far as I
am concerned, when a person or a group of people endorse someone like racist
Donald Trump, they themselves are racists. His “dog whistles” to the most
prejudiced people in the US are pretty obvious.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Black people
are only 13% of the US population. Proportionately they are less likely to have
full time decent paying jobs than whites and are far more likely to find
themselves doing prison time. The US has the biggest prison population in the
world and close to 37% of the inmates behind bars are black. White people are
often sent to rehab for using powder cocaine and black people are often sent to
jail for using rock cocaine. Cocaine is cocaine. In a better world, addiction
would be treated as a health issue and not an excuse to incarcerate people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Not all black
people are poor but a large portion struggle economically. Often at a young
age, living in inner cities in the US, young black men have a choice to make in
their lives and that is to take a shitty low wage job working at a fast food
place with no future or making some fast money selling drugs and quite possibly
getting shot to death.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Most white
people rarely if ever think about their skin colour. Most black people on the
other hand have experienced racial profiling in their lives. White people count
on calling the police when criminal activity occurs whereas black people are
fully aware that a number of unarmed blacks have been killed by the police.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There have
been a lot of positive changes when it comes to race and integration in the US
in the last 50 years. Inter-racial marriages are more common these days. Black
men and women have been elected to a wide variety of political positions.
Cities like New York, Washington, DC, Detroit, and Los Angeles have all had
black mayors. There is a much bigger segment of black people who have college
degrees these days than <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>years ago.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The following
isn’t meant to be finger wagging but it is one white man’s observations of some
of the black community in America today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Music</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It seems to
me that a number of black people today seem to feel that there is no other
music worth listening to other than hip hop or rap. If it isn’t black it
doesn’t matter. To me this seems very limiting. White people are quite capable
of creating good sounds too. It seems to me that white people are far more
inclined to listen to black music than the other way around.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Gangsta Rap
may reflect inner city black strife but there isn’t a lot that is positive in
most of the lyrics. A lot of this music is just plain nasty and hurtful. There
was nothing glorious about rappers Tupac and Biggie Small being murdered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMr5f1WWtZMTnJJtfNVksrInNhiX4u-PzCr_zMoeQX_grIbE9km1nWfqwx2IccIzk74pNWlkwAu-ytjTYOYpxwLPtQ0lRPnv1od1aJw1Yi-e7riuIOqQNfk5FUg8wtAhbE5TuFgijx9FE/s1600/images0RS5C4S6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMr5f1WWtZMTnJJtfNVksrInNhiX4u-PzCr_zMoeQX_grIbE9km1nWfqwx2IccIzk74pNWlkwAu-ytjTYOYpxwLPtQ0lRPnv1od1aJw1Yi-e7riuIOqQNfk5FUg8wtAhbE5TuFgijx9FE/s200/images0RS5C4S6.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tupac</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Two of the biggest
black stars in the past 30 years were Michael Jackson and Prince and both died
from relying on prescription drugs. I liked a lot of Jackson’s music but there
was always his weird personal life in the background. I never really got
Prince. I didn’t think his tunes were anything special including Raspberry
Beret and Purple Rain. I preferred Maceo Parker’s version of funk. I saw Parker once at the Commodore in Vancouver. When Prince
died one black writer wrote that Prince was a threat to some men because of all
the sex he used in his lyrics. How big of a threat could he be at 5’2” in
height?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AyQtI0ACbQaNI-ou4REw3MqiXuIsJvMgf_94Sri-i00ysZPzL0GhfdoQcCIqV6Wkdp4b3Ep4_FOcCOSYmz4yRijsYvHU-B3pZHacuW19AhGCq1lTulY22cIbKl42wgvXLJXPTzr7QsA/s1600/imagesKJD4E9V2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AyQtI0ACbQaNI-ou4REw3MqiXuIsJvMgf_94Sri-i00ysZPzL0GhfdoQcCIqV6Wkdp4b3Ep4_FOcCOSYmz4yRijsYvHU-B3pZHacuW19AhGCq1lTulY22cIbKl42wgvXLJXPTzr7QsA/s320/imagesKJD4E9V2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Jackson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95a6hbBDHL5Pyk_jc_tAaZTBEQ2AVUvRL8nUJOxYwFYIx8Jysyl2d7Czd_Bg0fT72j83qCHHuwE6f7BDOslhSBm64YCn7VMwsdl-cNVC5xJPQIglAYJ7SCwaQxK3uJm2DQEhLQWkeFow/s1600/imagesXXCM57CV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95a6hbBDHL5Pyk_jc_tAaZTBEQ2AVUvRL8nUJOxYwFYIx8Jysyl2d7Czd_Bg0fT72j83qCHHuwE6f7BDOslhSBm64YCn7VMwsdl-cNVC5xJPQIglAYJ7SCwaQxK3uJm2DQEhLQWkeFow/s320/imagesXXCM57CV.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prince</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A few years
ago black singer Kanye West jumped on stage and grabbed the mike from singer
Taylor Swift at a music awards show. The award was for Best Female Music Video
of the year and Swift was at the beginning of her acceptance speech after
having won the award. West told the audience that he thought Beyonce should
have won. I wondered what would have happened if a white guy grabbed the mike
from Beyonce after she won an award and and said that another woman deserved
the award more?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To be fair, I’m
old and I haven’t listened much to today’s female singers. black or white. I
couldn’t name 1 song sung by Beyonce, Rihanna, Shakira, Ariana Grande, Katy
Perry, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys or Demi Lovato.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Black People On TV</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are at
least 4 TV shows that exploit black people. These programs are hosted by Bill Cunningham,
Maury Povich, Steve Wilkos, and Jerry Springer. Springer’s show is the worst.
Near the end of his show his audience is allowed to mock the guests. Guest-wise
black people are way over represented.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The 2 main
themes of these shows seem to be about people cheating on each other and DNA
tests done to prove a man is or isn’t the father of a baby. “baby daddy” has
become a phrase. CNN’s Don Lemon, a black man himself, claims that 72% of all
black children in America are born out of wedlock. There seems to be a very
casual attitude by many black males about taking responsibility after fathering
a child. The mother is often left to raise her children on her own. If she is
working it is very difficult for her to monitor her kids. I find it hard to
have much empathy for a man who just doesn’t care whether he is in his children’s
lives or not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuA5dhWnwE5_uysC8a3nrCGDA9sIA7-nSfRyPAydlRR4V67OQ_fhhOdyz3CEZbVHk6nwtU6bI0Hj6UQBpU55aq7nnn22PWNCcq9N0mp0LVF0bBqp2lC7DZqoD89g6NA7HBJlB68l1ssQ/s1600/images5WZMBLDW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuA5dhWnwE5_uysC8a3nrCGDA9sIA7-nSfRyPAydlRR4V67OQ_fhhOdyz3CEZbVHk6nwtU6bI0Hj6UQBpU55aq7nnn22PWNCcq9N0mp0LVF0bBqp2lC7DZqoD89g6NA7HBJlB68l1ssQ/s320/images5WZMBLDW.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maury Povich and guests.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The exploitation
is pretty obvious and the producers and hosts deserve blame for that. Black people
who go on those shows deserve some blame too. There isn’t anything admirable
about people who want so badly to be on TV that they are willing to expose
their crappy lives to millions of viewers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Black people
don’t fare any better on true crime TV programs like 48 Hours. On a number of
these programs a black man or a few black men have murdered someone over
something that most of us would think of as petty. Sometimes it seems like
there is casualness to the murder(s). Killing someone for a stupid reason and
getting life in prison makes no sense.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">For years I’ve
been a fan of the TV show Survivor. Each series has had at least one black
person compete. Often the black contestant comes across as uncooperative or
lazy. The producers of the show screen the contestants. All black people aren’t
lazy. The producers should give black contestants a little more thought and
pick some that come across in a better light.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Black On Black Crime</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Toronto
Canada and Chicago have about the same populations. In 2015 there were 25 times
the murders in Chicago as there were in Toronto. In a lot of the major cities
in the US a large part of the black population is boxed in. There are blocks
and blocks of buildings in bad shape. Street gangs like The Bloods and The Crips
control drug distribution and the money that can be made can be enticing for
young black men. Some have said that good paying jobs close to black communities
could change things. Good paying jobs usually require a college education and
for many black people that simply isn’t affordable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">One solution
to the jobs thing would be well paying jobs rebuilding America’s
infrastructure. Some of this could happen in America’s inner cities.
Unfortunately Republicans in the US want no part of this idea because tax
dollars would be involved and they would much prefer cutting back on social
services and expanding the military.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">OJ And Bill Cosby</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></strong><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQ-ytORbGKuFmVbO4naZJa52EtNYPe-AIESq5PKbEpIEquzgljUbscvfIdJfZEGgZo0520qjX_FvQcPK_h70Au5SITQ6Q7ozL3-HtyWZfkGJLoNwqJgtmpVwXs8cjvcLjKbDKL0dsIOc/s1600/imagesM4IM4E2X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQ-ytORbGKuFmVbO4naZJa52EtNYPe-AIESq5PKbEpIEquzgljUbscvfIdJfZEGgZo0520qjX_FvQcPK_h70Au5SITQ6Q7ozL3-HtyWZfkGJLoNwqJgtmpVwXs8cjvcLjKbDKL0dsIOc/s320/imagesM4IM4E2X.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O J Simpson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In June of
1994 O J Simpson murdered his ex-wife Nicole and a waiter named Ron Goldman
outside of his ex-wife’s home. To reasonable people it was an open and shut
case. His blood and their blood was everywhere including at Simpson’s house and
the surrounding area and in and on his vehicle. Simpson just didn’t murder
them, he butchered them. A few years earlier Simpson pleaded no contest when he
was charged with assaulting his wife.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Simpson lived
in the almost all white community of Beverley Hills. He was idolized by black
and whites alike. About a year after the murder Simpson’s trial began. Although
Simpson lived in a mostly white community 8 of the 12 jurors were black and
only 1 was white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 of the other jurors
were Hispanic and 1 was of mixed race. Most of the jurors were women.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The defense
quickly turned the trial into a racial issue. Simpson had the best lawyers that
money could buy including black attorney Johnny Cochrane. Racial prejudice
within the LAPD, seemed to be more important than the actual murders. In the
end Simpson was acquitted. Crowds of black people cheered in the street by the
courthouse. I had watched most of the trial. When the verdict was announced it
felt like a gut punch. To me and many others it felt like pay back. The thought
did cross my mind that if black jurors didn’t mind seeing a murderer walk why
should I have any empathy for other injustices done to blacks. That thought was
rejected by me but it took a day or two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozpiYZ2TyTtuaE-_jxe49i01wJrasOgyoRNEXtjswecr_DpOve1quKITX4E4jSuJsL3mHc4SsLTzfjRe4YT1-yGIqqEFB3wO-KB4OQ1g6Sg6a1y-HfRecM8_3vp37b9l9ULa2OzbpCjw/s1600/imagesZN90ZC6W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozpiYZ2TyTtuaE-_jxe49i01wJrasOgyoRNEXtjswecr_DpOve1quKITX4E4jSuJsL3mHc4SsLTzfjRe4YT1-yGIqqEFB3wO-KB4OQ1g6Sg6a1y-HfRecM8_3vp37b9l9ULa2OzbpCjw/s320/imagesZN90ZC6W.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Cosby</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Everybody
loved Bill Cosby. He was like a US national treasure to both blacks and whites.
I remember listening to his comedy albums when he was just starting out as a
comedian. Decades later he played a doctor on his TV show. It was nice seeing a
black actor playing a successful black man.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the last
few years Cosby has totally fallen from grace particularly among whites. At
this point in time, close to 50 women have claimed that he drugged and raped
them years ago. The statute of limitations prevents Cosby from being prosecuted
for most of the charges. A number of black people have stated that the accusers
are just after his money. Cosby has been married for 50 years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are a
number of problems for those that claim Cosby has been framed, the first being
why was he alone in a room with one women so many times considering he was
married? I remember seeing pictures of him hanging around the Playboy Mansion in
the 60s and 70s. What purpose would a married man have hanging about a place
that was notorious for easy sex?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are a
couple of kickers here. In 2005, in a civil suit, Cosby admitted having casual
sex with a string of young women and giving them Quaaludes. This is the same
man that admonished black men and told them that that they should be better
examples to their children and teach them morals at a young age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Nothing has
ever changed in my mind when it comes to the mistreatment of minorities, any of
them. I am angered when an unarmed black kid or adult is shot and killed or
beaten up by the police. I think “Black Lives Matter” is an important cause. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I just don’t
agree with how some black people come to some conclusions. I’m pretty sure many
of them wouldn’t agree with my conclusions either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-15579379040612563692016-04-25T07:28:00.000-07:002016-05-06T22:43:06.022-07:00AMERICAN CLUSTERF**K<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">One Canadian’s View Of The Race To Be
The Next US President</span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEORw8OdHUPekDFAp2SkMzIJDfEdi3Z-7BCuSRKcXAW3TAZ8MFX4Mpg88klWcp5b_aq7oQ7rSoc17rFMvIEXyBgcpoF_lfA6oXww_5KmdLJqHJ7DUnQciMcYPrH8CF19WX1Zyd8CmEtc/s1600/1478140066868214956%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEORw8OdHUPekDFAp2SkMzIJDfEdi3Z-7BCuSRKcXAW3TAZ8MFX4Mpg88klWcp5b_aq7oQ7rSoc17rFMvIEXyBgcpoF_lfA6oXww_5KmdLJqHJ7DUnQciMcYPrH8CF19WX1Zyd8CmEtc/s640/1478140066868214956%255B1%255D.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It has now
been 9 months since the first debates were held in the US to decide who are
going to be the nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties to run for
the office of president of the United States.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
Democratic race has now been narrowed to two contestants from the original five
then three and the Republican race has been narrowed to three contestants from
eighteen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The front
runners, Donald Trump in the Republican Party and Hillary Clinton in the
Democratic Party, both have unfavourable numbers when it comes to national
popularity. 75% of American women voters in the US don’t like Trump and over
50% of American voters don’t trust Clinton.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A large part
of both the Liberal and Conservative base in the US has little faith that the
federal government can accomplish anything significant that would benefit the
middle class or the poor. The US Congress has an approval level rating of about
11%. Congress is where new laws of the land are approved or disapproved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">9 months ago
most political pundits predicted that the race for president would be between
Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. They picked Hillary because it seemed that she
was going to have very little competition from within her own party and after
all these years it looked like her turn. Jeb had gathered together brother
George’s inner circle and managed to raze over a 150 million dollars for his
campaign. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A lot has
happened in the past 9 months including the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie
Sanders. It is interesting how </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">things have unfolded for both parties.
To get a clearer picture lets go back to August of 2015.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Republicans</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">18 people are
a lot of folks running for the presidential nomination of a political party.
Some political pundits described it as “the clown car” making its appearance at
a circus where one clown after another climbs out of a small car. Clearly some
of the hopefuls didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming the
Republican nominee but they had no hesitation about wasting their donor’s money
or voter’s time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGK6yWKxKPwDZWsPWZk4HoAt24htst8EkwnYvZ7DupvffQRxUGBxZOl6boiNYHI2XRf0wQruyJhEFYHsu1vlrsym0DCS63NJymVj4FW566S2mncyoUShew2METNTJXyPm3pcOLgDFSow/s1600/imagesUZRGONG0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGK6yWKxKPwDZWsPWZk4HoAt24htst8EkwnYvZ7DupvffQRxUGBxZOl6boiNYHI2XRf0wQruyJhEFYHsu1vlrsym0DCS63NJymVj4FW566S2mncyoUShew2METNTJXyPm3pcOLgDFSow/s400/imagesUZRGONG0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The field was
so crowded that they had a “kiddie’s table” where the least popular debated
among themselves before the main TV debates. A few times someone from the
kiddie’s table made it to the main debate and another contender was then
demoted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Here is list
of those that fell by the wayside long the way in the past 9 months.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By the end of
2015, 5 candidates were history including former New York Governor George
Pataki, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal,
former Texas Governor Rick Perry, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. All were
polling less than 2%. Some thought that Perry ran just to prove that he wasn’t
as dumb as he appeared when he ran in 2012.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By the end of
February 2016, 7 more candidates had bitten the dust including former Arkansas
Governor Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Kentucky
Senator Rand Paul, former CEO of Hewlett Packard, Carly Fiorina, New Jersey
Governor Chis Christie, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmour, and former Florida
Governor Jeb Bush.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Out of the 7
Jeb Bush was the most notable. Trump totally destroyed him with his “low
energy” comments and Bush never recovered. Christie had become unpopular in his
home state and his pettiness was quite obvious when he blocked traffic on the
busiest bridge in the world to pay back a mayor who didn’t back him in a
previous election. Fiorina had been fired as CEO of Hewlett Packard and had
lost in her run for the office of California senator. She also outsourced
thousands of jobs overseas while CEO of Hewlett Packard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">March of this
year saw the Republican field see 2 more candidates disappear. The first was Dr.
Ben Carson who seemed half asleep when he talked and never made a lot of sense.
Marco Rubio was the Republican Party’s establishment’s last hope. Before Chris
Christie left the race he totally destroyed Rubio’s credibility by pointing out
that Rubio always used a rehearsed script. Rubio’s response was to repeat that
script. Having only won the State of Minnesota Rubio decided to go after Trump
directly. He got pretty deep in the mud when he inferred that Trump had a small
penis. And then he lost his home state of Florida.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As of the
beginning of April there are 3 Republican candidates left with Trump having a
big lead in states won. His competition is now Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio
Governor John Kasich. Other than the Trump voters there is a concerted effort
by most of the Republican Party to stop Trump from becoming the Republican
nominee. Their general plan is that if Trump doesn’t have enough votes to
automatically become the nominee there will be a vote at the Republican
convention this coming summer in Cleveland and they plan to have Kasich, Cruz,
or somebody like Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, or Mitt Romney get the
nomination. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">John
Kasich</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">John Kasich
is the governor of Ohio. He has spent most of his working life representing his
state in political office including being a senator. He took an 8 year break to
work for FOX news and also worked for Lehman Brothers until they went bankrupt
in 2009. He threw his hat in the ring<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>last year in the Republican race and at one point his polling was so low
that he was restricted to the “kiddie’s table” at the debates.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Somehow he
has managed to survive although he didn’t win any state primaries until his own
state, Ohio, was contested. For decades no Republican hopeful has become
president of the US without winning Ohio.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Unlike his
counterparts running for president, Kasich tries to display a low key common
sense approach to politics. He hasn’t gotten into the mud with Trump, Cruz, or
Rubio. What also makes him a bit different is that he has a positive attitude
towards America’s future.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Fundamentally
Kasich believes that the private sector is the answer to almost everything.
When he came into office, his state had a huge amount of debt. He eliminated
the debt by shifting some costs away from the state to the cities and towns. He
also sold off state run prisons to the private sector. Like most Republicans he
is anti-union. In his first term in office he saw increased revenues from the
oil industry that had expanded into fracking in his Ohio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Unlike a
number of other Republican governors, particularly southern ones, Kasich has
not blocked Obamacare and his state has seen the expansion of Medicare.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The chances
of Kasich becoming the Republican nominee are very limited. He is hoping for a
brokered convention this summer based upon Trump not having enough delegates to
be proclaimed the winner. Polls have shown that Kasich would have the best
chance at beating Hillary Clinton.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ted
Cruz</span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Cruz is one
of Texas’s two senators. His base comes mostly from the evangelical community
in the US of which there are about 75 million people. Cruz was born in Calgary,
Alberta. His father, who is a preacher, was born in Cuba and his mother was
born in the US. For decades it was pretty easy for Cubans to obtain American
citizenship simply because Cuba is a Communist country. It is interesting to
note that Cruz Sr. didn’t become a naturalized American citizen until 2005, 48
years after leaving Cuba.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Cruz believes
in “Dominionism” where there is no separation of church and state even though
it is written into the US Constitution that there should be a separation. Cruz
claims that the Christian faith is under assault in the US even though there is
no evidence of that being so. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has
threatened to carpet bomb countries where ISIS has fighters. “I’ll make the
sands glow” he has been quoted as saying disregarding that carpet bombing would
kill many civilians. Islam prohibits the consumption of pork and Cruz has
posted a video of himself firing off a machine gun with bacon wrapped around
the muzzle. These tactics will no doubt encourage some of the Islamic faith to
join ISIS.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Cruz was
elected as a Tea Partier. To him the federal government is a threat to decent
Americans. A few years ago he managed to shut the government down which cost
the US billions of dollars. He is easily the most unpopular senator in office
today and that includes his own party. A while ago Republican South Carolina
Senator Lindsay Graham described Cruz this way…..”If you killed Ted Cruz on the
floor of the senate, and the trial was in the senate, nobody would convict
you.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Cruz’s
platform in running for the nomination includes repealing Obamacare on the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup>
day he is in office, abolishing Planned Parenthood, wants to downsize the
federal government, doesn’t want to increase the minimum wage, and is against
same-sex marriage, abortion, legalization of marijuana, net neutrality, and
immigration reform. He’d like to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service. He is
opposed to the scientific consensus on climate change and The Water Resources
Development Act. He also believes in the death penalty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He is for The
Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement that would give international
corporations power over individual country’s governments. He believes in
lowering taxes on the wealthy and corporations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So far Cruz
has won 9 states but lags far behind Donald Trump. He would dearly like to get
Kasich out of the race so he can go one on one with Trump but Kasich isn’t
going to bow out. The Republican establishment hates Trump but they don’t care
for Cruz either. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Donald
Trump</span></b><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "arial black";"></span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump has
said and done so many provocative things in the past 9 months that it is almost
impossible to keep track of them all. Just when it seems he couldn’t be more
obnoxious he ups the ante.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are a
number of Americans who are dazzled by wealth and fame and feel that those that
have lots of money must be a lot brighter than those that don’t have lots of
money. It is a pretty shallow way of looking at things but Trump has convinced
a number of people that he is going to improve their lives even though history
has shown that Trump has little interest in anyone other than himself and his
family. He isn’t the sharing type.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">His followers
mostly seem to be blue collar workers, some who are very afraid that they could
turn up for work one day and find that their jobs no longer exist. If that is their
inevitable fate why not blow everything up some of them think. They feel that
other politicians has betrayed them in the past. If they could get Trump
elected at least they could see some other asses get kicked other than their
own.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump has
been in the public eye for most of his adult life but up until about 10 years
ago it was mostly in the New York City area. His TV programs, The Apprentice
and later The Celebrity Apprentice, gave him national exposure. It was quite
clear to any discerning viewer that Trump was and is a narcissist with a very
inflated ego. Pretty well all the celebrities on his show were has-beens but
many TV watchers were curious to see them up close, to find out what they were
really like.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It turned out
that most of the so called celebrities were pretty petty people. Some were on
the deranged side including Gary Busey, Dennis Rodman, Daryl Strawberry, and
Stephen Baldwin. None of the contestants were allowed to address Trump by his
first name and their fates were decided by Trump often with his daughter and
oldest son on either side of him in the boardroom like they were the prince and
princess on either side of the king. The whole performance made it seem that
the contestants were peons compared to the Trumps.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Even the most
popular of TV shows have a shelf life. The Celebrity Apprentice wasn’t going to
run for another 5 or 10 years and watching people with faded fame hawking hot
dogs for 50 bucks apiece near Times Square could make viewers start to yawn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump and the Media</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It was 2015
and Trump was about to turn 69 years of age. He had teased the media about
running for president before but had backed off. This time he signed the needed
papers and became a candidate. The question is why? Probably because it was his
last chance at his age. Other than having his name on tall buildings almost all
of his branding ventures had failed. TV viewers were tiring of his show. He
also had his kids to look after his business enterprises. His skirt chasing
days were over but not his desperate need for attention. Win or lose he was
going to make all of America remember his name and who he was for years to
come. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump may be
an idiot but he isn’t a total idiot. More than any of his political competitors
he knew how to manipulate the media, particularly the TV news sector. He also
understood who his market was and he enjoyed throwing bombs that would excite
them. Every political show on the tube wanted Trump as a guest. It made for
great ratings. He didn’t even have to turn up at the TV studio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often he would just make a phone call from
Trump Tower in NYC to FOX News or Morning Joe on MSNBC even though he was just
blocks away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump knows
that it the sizzle that sells the steak. He couldn’t just kick off his campaign
by saying he was just another contender who wanted to fix the ills in America.
He needed to throw out some red meat and did just that by stating his views on
illegal immigrants. He referred to Mexican immigrants as rapists and promised
to build a huge wall on the Mexican/American border. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Being
outlandish gets attention and Trump came up with one thing after another to
keep that attention. He shocked a lot of people when he stated that ex Viet Nam
POW John McCain who was imprisoned for 5-1/2 years, wasn’t a war hero. “I like
people who weren’t captured.” Trump said. Getting into verbal fights with a
wide variety of people gave him the spotlight for months and months.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump was
well aware of his power over the media and would often blame them, including
right wing FOX News, if he felt he was being unfairly treated. His sense of
fairness was quite different than most other people. At speeches he made to
large crowds he would often tell the TV networks to turn their cameras on the
crowds so those at home could see how many people he had drawn to a venue. He
became fixated on polls and never missed a chance to tell people how popular he
was.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Reporters
were always penned off from the crowds. Sometimes they weren’t even allowed to
go to the washroom. One reporter took a few steps out of the pen and had his
head slammed into a table by one of the security people protecting Trump.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump and Obama</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Not long
after Obama was elected in 2008, Trump started questioning Obama’s birth
certificate. It was a dog whistle for racists in the US, a questioning of the
legitimacy of the country’s first black president. The fact that there were
birth announcements in 2 different Hawaii newspapers wasn’t going to dissuade
Trump. Eventually Obama’s long form birth certificate was revealed. This still
didn’t satisfy Trump and he made the claim that he had investigators on the
ground in Hawaii and that “they had found out things that you wouldn’t
believe”. You can bet that if his people had discovered things about Obama it
would have made front page news. The birther stuff was probably the first big
indication that Trump was quite willing to create lies almost at will.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It is quite
possible that one of Trump’s biggest motivations to run for president was
because of his being humiliated by Obama at a White House correspondent’s
dinner in 2011. Trump was seething that night. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump on Making America Great Again</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He has also
talked about “making America great again”. At one point Trump was asked at what
time was America greater than it is now and he replied that he thought it was
in the 1950s. He couldn’t say the 1960s because for most of that decade there
was a Democrat president. During the 1950s The Cold War with the USSR was going
on. Kids were taught how to hide under their desks in the event of a nuclear
attack. Racism and Jim Crow laws were very evident in the US South. There was
no such thing as Medicare. Maybe Trump was referring to a time when unions were
strong and working class people could afford to buy a home?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump and Women</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump has
always been sexist when it comes to women. To him, their biggest asset is often
their appearance. He has now had 3 trophy wives. When he was married to his
first wife, Ivana, he publicly claimed that she did everything he told her to
do. What the US media stays completely away from is the fact that Ivana, when
her and Trump were going through their divorce, once claimed in a deposition
that Trump had raped her. She later recanted. The story goes that Trump had
visited a plastic surgeon that Ivana was familiar with and was unhappy with the
results of a hair transplant. In a rage he attacked and raped Ivana and tore
out some of her hair. According to her they hadn’t had sex in 16 months at the
time. If this story wasn’t true you can bet Trump would have sued the writer’s
ass off. He didn’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">20 years ago
Trump and his 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> wife Marla Maples had a baby girl. Robin Leach
(remember him) asked Trump who the baby looked like and Trump said that the
baby had Marla’s legs but it was too early to know how big her breasts were
going to be. What a pig!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4Aw15D5aBNE6S5-GRgZhNvaDMd__zcTG4tvKco2CnOQYkdVh4DX7yTWfElHMSmC_tfl6wh8IpkK9kRWy3_tf5fwlajUWJHOLY9NXNTxKeTAUlonLe6Xo7XbuE2TqYFeIQfVoJieHjS0/s1600/463536186_donald-trump-melanie-trump-zoom-ef983415-bb74-4a79-b866-e19191fd0356%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4Aw15D5aBNE6S5-GRgZhNvaDMd__zcTG4tvKco2CnOQYkdVh4DX7yTWfElHMSmC_tfl6wh8IpkK9kRWy3_tf5fwlajUWJHOLY9NXNTxKeTAUlonLe6Xo7XbuE2TqYFeIQfVoJieHjS0/s320/463536186_donald-trump-melanie-trump-zoom-ef983415-bb74-4a79-b866-e19191fd0356%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With wife #3 Melania.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Most people
didn’t care very much when Trump had a battle with talk show host Rosie
O’Donnell years ago when he called her “a fat pig”. Rosie was brash in her own
right and not someone a lot of people felt sympathy for.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Since
deciding to run for office Trump has added a litany of disparaging things about
women.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-“If Hillary can’t satisfy her husband, how is
she going to satisfy America?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-“Ariana
Huffington is unattractive and I fully understand why her husband left her for
a man.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-“Look at
that face, would anybody vote for her?” on fellow candidate Carly Fiorina.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-“You could
see blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her….whatever”. on FOX TV
host Megyn Kelly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Recently when
Trump was talking about abortion he suggested that women who do have an
abortion should be punished in some way. The next day he pulled back on his
statement. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump on Immigration and the Wall</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It is
estimated that there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US. Trump wants
to deport all of them. His followers agree. What they don’t seem to understand
is that many of these people are paid under the table and no taxes are deducted
from their pay which is often in cash. Almost no businesses get fined for
paying people under the table. Being anti-government and anti-taxation is
mostly a Republican thing. Every person born in the US is issued a Social
Security number at one year of age. E-verify would stop illegal immigrants from
stealing other people’s SS numbers but a Republican congress would never pass a
bill that included E-verify.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The whole
agriculture industry would collapse tomorrow without foreign born illegal
immigrants.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Building a
wall between Mexico and the US is nothing more than a joke. People would just
dig under it for starters. Trump says a wall works in Israel. He doesn’t
mention that Arabs slipping into Israel through a tunnel have nowhere to go
because Israel is a small country and strangers just can’t melt into
communities. Millions of vehicles pass between Mexico and the US each year. All
of those vehicles can’t be inspected thoroughly. This is how many illegals and
drugs get across the US border never mind those that come on “vacation” and
never return home.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump himself
has employed illegal immigrants including a number from Poland that worked on
construction on one of his towers. They actually slept at night on the job
site. He has also employed a number of Hispanic illegals at his Mara Lago
estate in Florida.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump on Bringing Jobs Back to the US</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
Republican Party makes no bones about their support for major corporations and
the very wealthy. Every financial plan they present, including Trump’s,
includes more tax cuts for the rich. Being rich often comes from having
products made for cheaper wages in foreign countries. Does Apple ring a bell? Almost
all Republicans supported NAFTA which cost America millions of jobs, many of
which paid quite well. They also support the new Transpacific Trade Agreement
which would see the loss of more jobs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump has
zero chance of swaying American businessmen to bring back jobs to the US. It is
pretty simple really. There is nothing in it for them and they won’t accept
lower profits. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He also never
mentions where his clothing line is made. Here’s a hint. It isn’t in the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump on Being A Business Genius</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump claims
to be worth over 10 billion dollars. Forbes Magazine says his personal wealth
may be around 2-4 billion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He has filed
for bankruptcy 4 times, all involving casinos he has owned in Atlantic City.
Owning a casino is an unsavory way of making a living. Basically it suckers
people by taking their hard earned money and giving them nothing in return. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump would
be broke today if he didn’t use lawyers to leverage deals with those he owed
money to. Lawyers can tie things up in the court system for a long time.
Trump’s deal has been to give his creditors back a small % of what he owes
them. Their choice has been to get back a little bit or nothing at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Casinos are
like a license to print money. Somehow Trump managed to mess that up. Casinos
weren’t his only failures in business. Other failures include Trump Airlines,
Trump Vodka, Trump Magazine, Trump Steaks, Trump Mortgage, GoTrump.com, Trump
The Game, and Trump University. There are currently 3 lawsuits against Trump
and Trump University.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It would
probably surprise a lot of Trump’s followers that a lot of the buildings he has
his name on aren’t owned by him. It is just a branding thing that he gets a
royalty from and in some cases he hasn’t received any money.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There are
some that have said that Trump would have as much money as he has today if he
had just put his inheritance into a trust fund.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump’s Political Beliefs</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He obviously
doesn’t know much about foreign affairs. He claims to have been against the war
in Iraq but he was for it when the war started. The other day he said it might
be a good idea if Japan and South Korea had nuclear arms when most world
leaders want to reduce those arms. He claims to admire Vladimir Putin and has
quoted Mussolini, the former dictator of Italy. He thinks the US should
withdraw from the UN. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At 60 years
of age he was a registered Democrat. He used to be pro-choice on abortion. He
is not above waving a bible around if he feels it will help him politically
although he rarely goes to church. He said he was unaware who the Ku Klux Klan
are and what they stand for. (His father Fred was once arrested at a Klan rally
in the early 1920s.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lizgNfa3RaDOrf30tRvbTBUjltv_hfwIGsealK0BqY8gpua0xmss-5f1qmW6Wl2GMbXnlDKe9URtjYNveJMSfg4xz5Yn8jmriap460UUcHcicmcAwUVMUnI8PfFCpL83Wmb8unVgtgs/s1600/trump-dad-kkk-1927%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lizgNfa3RaDOrf30tRvbTBUjltv_hfwIGsealK0BqY8gpua0xmss-5f1qmW6Wl2GMbXnlDKe9URtjYNveJMSfg4xz5Yn8jmriap460UUcHcicmcAwUVMUnI8PfFCpL83Wmb8unVgtgs/s640/trump-dad-kkk-1927%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He would kill
Obamacare if elected but doesn’t have a plan to replace it. He says he would
like to see more competition from the insurance companies. Maybe he doesn’t
know that cartels don’t like competition.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He says he
wants to rebuild the US armed forces to a point that “nobody would mess with
us”. The US currently spends 4 times more than China on the military and 12
times more than Russia. With all the money the US has spent on defense over the
years since WW2 they still have managed to lose wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Iraq.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump the Leader of the Free World?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Aside with
being all over the map with his views he doesn’t display any tact. Most
politicians keep foul language away from the public. His name calling and
picking away at opponents by calling them ugly or liars and more is far beneath
someone who would be the US president. His constant bragging clearly indicates
his desperate need for attention and his insecurity about himself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Luckily for
America he has zero chance of being elected president. More than half of his
own party dislikes him as do most women, most Blacks, most Hispanics, most
young people, almost all Muslim Americans, and pretty well all Democrats. He
has no crossover appeal in a general election. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Democrats</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As things
stand right now Hillary Clinton will most likely be the next president of The
United States. There is no way Bernie Sanders can catch her. She sewed up the
southern states early which gave her an insurmountable lead even though most of
those states will never vote for a Democrat in a general election. The only
thing that could get in Hillary’s way is the possibility that she gets indicted
for using her private e-mail to conduct government business while she was
Secretary of State.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Bill and
Hillary Clinton</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOAbMWBwK3V9xKugM2cLaU09P9fVTl7pF4prTCHa_62RYLK5tYD8xrAkI0CRSfJ5i52u0JzQesPf-KIC2FWGH0W9Wlmz-G1P5R9AIkDpOwnUStQQKBChMUyHdVg2dlI3GyQhhkIZpEFA/s1600/images5XM0J6ZD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOAbMWBwK3V9xKugM2cLaU09P9fVTl7pF4prTCHa_62RYLK5tYD8xrAkI0CRSfJ5i52u0JzQesPf-KIC2FWGH0W9Wlmz-G1P5R9AIkDpOwnUStQQKBChMUyHdVg2dlI3GyQhhkIZpEFA/s400/images5XM0J6ZD.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It is highly
unlikely that most Americans would have ever heard of Hillary if she wasn’t
married to Bill. She has ridden his coattails since the time he was governor of
Arkansas. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Clintons
are a packaged deal. Both have been surrogates for each other when either ran
for office. They never disagree with one another politically in public.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bill’s
stepfather was an abusive alcoholic but somehow he managed to excel at school. Like
Hillary he joined in on a lot of school activities. Both of them became
involved with politics while still teenagers. Bill was a fraternity brother in
college and Hillary was a sorority sister. They knew very early the value of
having important contacts with influence. Bill was also a Rhodes Scholar. Both
Clintons went on to get their law degrees. They both graduated from Yale in
1973.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-nQZsp9qScHu7RcFQwrT4AqrdgLaq-HE-WsdBnY2Lk4OSsW8IPOxMZ-mzD2w1yUvKv_XzM5go5ndHUsD0NI5qrn9XwY-WeOsTEd6ge6dR6_XU39cZ5Dvq25L2WIKt5gFxQqCq0-AQhI/s1600/imagesQ2WB1SJN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-nQZsp9qScHu7RcFQwrT4AqrdgLaq-HE-WsdBnY2Lk4OSsW8IPOxMZ-mzD2w1yUvKv_XzM5go5ndHUsD0NI5qrn9XwY-WeOsTEd6ge6dR6_XU39cZ5Dvq25L2WIKt5gFxQqCq0-AQhI/s400/imagesQ2WB1SJN.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In a lot of
ways both Clintons have lived their lives after their teen years cocooned away
from the way most other people live. They never really lived the hippie
lifestyle that was quite common when they were students. After graduating from
law school Bill married Hillary and he taught law in Arkansas until his first
run for office a few years later. He would become the youngest governor in the
US at the age of 32, a position he held 10 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He was 41
years of age when he decided to run for the office of president of the US. One
of the first times he received national attention was an appearance on the
Arsenio Hall TV talk show. He walked out onto the stage wearing sunglasses and
started blowing away on his saxophone. A lot of younger Americans in particular
were impressed by this politician who seemed to have a side to him that was
just plain cool.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In
conversations with political pundits he came across as “a good ole boy”. It
wasn’t the first or last time that a lot of Americans have been sucked in by
southern charm. Elvis had it and years later so did presidential hopeful John
Edwards. Edwards’s presidential aspirations went in the tank when it was
discovered he was having an affair with a women who gave birth to his child. His
wife was undergoing cancer treatment at the time and died a few years later.The
media ate up a lot of what he was selling too. (So did I.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At the time
there were rumours of Bill cheating on his wife while governor of Arkansas but
it was still an era to some extent where reporters didn’t pry too much into
politician’s private lives. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill and
Hillary went on the TV program 60 Minutes in January of 1992 to rebuff the
charges that he was an adulterer. He pussyfooted around the subject and didn’t
admit to having a 12 year affair with Genifer Flowers in Arkansas. He suggested
that some women had been offered money to tell their stories about their
involvement with him which in turn according to him made their stories highly
doubtful. Hillary said she wasn’t a “Stand By Your Man” type as in the lyrics
to country singer Tammy Wynette’s song. In fact she was just like the song. The
60 Minutes interview was just the first episode of many to come where both
Clintons could be very “fuzzy” with the truth.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRbMDjFOWzE7YoTpeyTBDVuxuvmyIo5BIrP_nAMl7vYyHtjex598S8ZA0jds6WOPIkzTlppRQsFQ5vW9gvcW04WgVdEeEYWglR7I4PKhVt8LR-i_92DUL6IfbD7Yf6dKNOPUnx4vv4cg/s1600/images4VKD77G7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRbMDjFOWzE7YoTpeyTBDVuxuvmyIo5BIrP_nAMl7vYyHtjex598S8ZA0jds6WOPIkzTlppRQsFQ5vW9gvcW04WgVdEeEYWglR7I4PKhVt8LR-i_92DUL6IfbD7Yf6dKNOPUnx4vv4cg/s1600/images4VKD77G7.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Genifer Flowers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When asked
whether or not he had ever smoked pot he said he had tried it a few times while
at school in England, didn’t like it, and never inhaled. Not many people
believed him. He knew that there was a possibility that someone had seen him
with a joint back then so he figured out a way to say he was never stoned. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> Term as President</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1993 he
became the 42<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> president.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He easily won
the White House but the race would have been a lot closer if the right winger
Ross Perot hadn’t run as a third party candidate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bill Clinton
was never a “Progressive Liberal” although he did believe in reform on some
social issues. In his first 2 years in office he introduced and made into law
bills like The Family and Medical Leave Act that mostly applied to large
businesses. He reversed some of the restrictions that Reagan and Bush Sr. had
placed on Family Planning. He cut taxes on low-income families and small
businesses and raised taxes on the wealthy by 1.2%. He signed The Brady Bill
into law which created a 5 day waiting period on the purchase of handguns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Towards the
end of his first year he was up to his eyeballs in two scandals that the
Republicans were eager to expose. One was a shady real estate deal called
Whitewater that he and Hillary had invested in in Arkansas. Some close friends of theirs went to jail because of Whitewater. There was also something
called “Troopergate” where 2 Arkansas state troopers claimed they had arranged
sexual encounters for Bill. Somehow Bill managed to skate by both issues.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bill
implemented a Department of Defense directive called “Don’t ask, don’t tell”
whereas gays could be in the military as long as they never openly stated their
sexual preferences. They could die for their country but nobody was supposed to
know what their sexual preference was.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In January of
1994 Bill Clinton signed The North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) into law.
Several years later this law would prove to be a disaster with millions of
manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas from the US. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1994 he
also introduced the Omnibus Crime Bill. It expanded the death penalty to
include major drug traffickers. At the time violent crime was rampant in many
poorer areas of America’s major cities. To counteract the rise in violent crime
the “3 Strikes Law” was introduced. Initially the law was meant to imprison
felons for more than 20 years who had committed 3 violent crimes. It then
started to include mostly blacks who were convicted 3 times of any drug crime.
The end result was that that the number of blacks being imprisoned increased 3
fold. Many courts didn’t recognize crack cocaine and powder cocaine as the same
drug. White people were more prone to using powder cocaine and often avoided
spending time in prison by going to rehab. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Two years
into his first term Clinton and the Democrats lost their majority in The House
of Representatives. They had controlled the House for 40 years. In order to get
any bills passed Bill was going to have to compromise with the Republicans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1996
Clinton signed into law The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which recognized
marriage as only being between one man and one woman. It is thought by some
that his choice to enact this law was his way of appeasing the Christian far
right Republicans. His administration did hire some openly gay people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> Term as President</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Clinton was
re-elected president at the end of 1996 with just a little over 40% of the
national vote. Once again Ross Perot ran as a third party candidate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1996
Hillary claimed that she survived sniper fire while on a visit to Bosnia. It
was a story she just made up and she later apologized for it claiming she was
confused due to lack of sleep.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1997
Hillary made an attempt at reforming health care in the US. It was a disaster.
Republicans controlled The Senate and The House and wanted no part of health
care reform. She did manage to get some laws passed like the State Children’s
Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the Foster
Care Independence Act. No other president’s wife has ever been as politically
active as Hillary was.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He also
negotiated with Republicans the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Part of the act
was removing millions of people, many who were black, from the welfare rolls.
Other social programs were also cut. The end result was that the US saw the
federal government have a balanced budget for the first time in years mostly
due to pressure from the Republicans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1999
Clinton passed into law the Financial Services Modernization Act which repealed
part of the Glass-Steagall Act which had been in effect since 1933. The
Glass-Steagall act prohibited banks from offering a full range of investment,
commercial banking, and insurance services. There is a direct connection
between the Financial Services Modernization Act and the bailout of the major
banks in 2008 along with the deep recession and mass unemployment that
followed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Shortly after
the 1998 election the Republican House decided to impeach Clinton for perjury
and obstruction of justice relating to an affair Bill had had with a 22 year
old intern named Monica Lewinsky. The perjury part of the impeachment related
to a sworn statement Bill had made denying having had an affair with another
woman named Paula Jones when he was governor of Arkansas. Clinton paid Jones $850,000.00 in an out of court
settlement. She claimed Bill propositioned and exposed himself to her. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLuw4PaHpboRKUOPfJbx4E6bjbT-Kxr-kM7J2Vlvz5OdYHkvqmQ3vUn6LuD0HJ4FofV_M6jOPSSSQC9O86j9-SBC1-s9Z3DjjUb7bygx4ucid4zATfjXpXZKYC-x9NqvDim0mjkbRM0I/s1600/imagesRBD9CGTF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLuw4PaHpboRKUOPfJbx4E6bjbT-Kxr-kM7J2Vlvz5OdYHkvqmQ3vUn6LuD0HJ4FofV_M6jOPSSSQC9O86j9-SBC1-s9Z3DjjUb7bygx4ucid4zATfjXpXZKYC-x9NqvDim0mjkbRM0I/s320/imagesRBD9CGTF.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paula Jones</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1998 Bill
Clinton went on national TV and said the following …..”I want to say one thing
to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this
again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never
told anybody to lie, not a single time-never. These allegations are false and I
need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnDmwqQwTUSNS48O77EHGfGGN8-D2Lvw0XmsWguhiZNkOpgfFwxzJasLKrcM8ky8v96XXMdCSIpgpyGR4WGPV0Izr_iPxrhs8ln_Xf141xqIXReY7_jVPVn-PjuAga3WXT0k4SE8zDZA/s1600/imagesA8LR9J9M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnDmwqQwTUSNS48O77EHGfGGN8-D2Lvw0XmsWguhiZNkOpgfFwxzJasLKrcM8ky8v96XXMdCSIpgpyGR4WGPV0Izr_iPxrhs8ln_Xf141xqIXReY7_jVPVn-PjuAga3WXT0k4SE8zDZA/s400/imagesA8LR9J9M.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monica and Bill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He was lying
his ass off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A Republican
named Kenneth Starr was appointed to lead the hearings on Clinton’s
impeachment. He got pretty deep in the weeds going so far as talking about
semen stains on Monica Lewinsky’s dress. The American public was split on what
to think about Clinton. Women in particular thought he was a bit of a pig
while others thought the Republicans had gone too far in prying into a
politician’s private life. In the end Clinton had his law license suspended for
5 years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many
Americans look back at Clinton’s time as president as an era when the US
economy soared and unemployment was low. It was also a time when America wasn’t
engaged in major foreign wars. Some forget that it was also a time of Wall
Street recklessness and the bursting of “the Dot.com” bubble. Financial
oversight by the federal government was so flimsy that an energy company called
Enron with very limited assets managed to trade on the stock market at 55 times
its real value. These were the wild and wooly days that later led to the major
financial meltdown of 2008.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Hillary
Clinton</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary
Clinton claims that when she and Bill left the White House they were totally
broke. They weren’t only broke, they were in debt. “We struggled to piece
together resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea’s education”. At this
point Bill had served as governor of Arkansas for 10 years and president of the
US for 8 years. For 18 years they didn’t have pay for a place to live and most
of their expenses were taken care of. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where did all of their money go and why did
Hillary and Bill need 2 houses? The answers are that it cost Bill a ton of
money to pay lawyers and a big stack of money to settle with Paula Jones and they didn’t desperately need two houses but they had
become accustomed to a rich lifestyle. The two houses they bought, one in
Chappaqua, NY and the other in Washington, DC cost them a total of 4.5 million dollars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10_h5tOSEw_qQk2miZM60nIjCXZ_vOg4EPHbBH2wNvpGD7TVyIRfY5zJJHwufl20IBVw9o3v8vle74hgkspb7_2if-xyOw6gBQjtDoT-im5iunzzCc5Mh93chlQwUyJf-n4NX_bInMbM/s1600/images%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10_h5tOSEw_qQk2miZM60nIjCXZ_vOg4EPHbBH2wNvpGD7TVyIRfY5zJJHwufl20IBVw9o3v8vle74hgkspb7_2if-xyOw6gBQjtDoT-im5iunzzCc5Mh93chlQwUyJf-n4NX_bInMbM/s320/images%255B4%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton's Washington, DC home</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jT7PAl4HWQmsgRh79fSlWDj-3vwEacT_NX6aIBVrP4tvNxeUH0rsed5cXoHvHzmMJbsIkCBcqizSARWbEW5VanRxpnYZJaMZO82-oMwTrbc35xq7-efuuQFbpZQl1lBJsU0R4YHQ3BU/s1600/images%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jT7PAl4HWQmsgRh79fSlWDj-3vwEacT_NX6aIBVrP4tvNxeUH0rsed5cXoHvHzmMJbsIkCBcqizSARWbEW5VanRxpnYZJaMZO82-oMwTrbc35xq7-efuuQFbpZQl1lBJsU0R4YHQ3BU/s320/images%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clinton's Chappaqua, NY home</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Back when
Bill was governor of Arkansas Bill and Hillary were keen to become wealthy.
That’s why they got involved in the Whitewater development. Hillary once made
$100,000.00 on a $1,000.00 investment in a cattle futures investment. You don’t
often see someone making 100 times the money they have invested. Not very often at all.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> Term as NY Senator</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">After leaving
the White House Hillary decided to run for the office of one of the senators of
New York State. She had never lived in the state before. Initially it was
thought that she would be running against New York mayor and Republican Rudy
Giuliani but he begged off when it was discovered that he had prostate cancer.
She won the election with 55% of the vote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">After
becoming senator she immediately formed relationships with senators from both
parties. She also joined a breakfast prayer group of religious senators. She
served on 5 senate committees including the Committee on Budget, the Committee
on Armed Services, The Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and a Special Committee on Aging. She
was also a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There is
little doubt that Hillary has always been an ambitious person. Politically she
thought a lot like her husband. During her husband’s 8 years in office it was
more than obvious that the Republicans didn’t want him to accomplish anything
and would go to any length to dig up dirt on him. It seems that she felt that
she could convince Republicans that although she was a Democrat she also had
conservative ideals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">9 months into
her first term 9/11 occurred. Hillary fought for funding for the rebuilding the
World Trade Towers and benefits for the first responders, firefighters, and
police who had risked their lives on 9/11.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In October of
2001 Hillary voted yes to The Patriot Act which allowed government agencies
like the FBI to investigate anyone they wished to without a court order. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She strongly
supported the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and believed that it was a chance
to combat terrorism and improve the lives of Afghani women. She ignored the fact
that the empire that was the USSR had crumbled due to their long war with the
Taliban in Afghanistan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In October of
2002 she voted yes on the invasion of Iraq. She simply got sucked in by Bush
and his VP Dick Cheney. She wasn’t interested in listening to any arguments
against invading Iraq including not talking to a WMD expert who sat in her
outer senate office for days trying to get a chance to talk to her. He never did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Years later
Hillary said her vote on Iraq was a mistake. It was a mistake that resulted in
over a 100 thousand lost civilian lives, scores of dead and wounded American
soldiers, and billions of dollars in increased US debt. She was well aware at
the time that a US ambassador named Joe Wilson’s wife Valerie Plame, a CIA
agent, had been outed by Bush and Cheney because Wilson<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had publicly stated that it was unlikely that
“yellow cake” used in making WMDs had been shipped from an African country to Iraq. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary
wasn’t the only Democrat to vote for the war in Iraq. Joe Biden and John Kerry
also made the same vote but 126 Democrats in the House and 21 Democrats in the
Senate voted against the war.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She still
supported the Iraq war even after no WMDs were found. In 2005 she co-introduced
a bill to increase troops in Iraq. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> Term as NY Senator and
Hillary’s 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> Run for President</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By 2007
Hillary had changed her tune on Iraq and supported a bill that called for the
withdrawal of US troops from that country. Her decision was a long time coming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2008 she
supported the bailout of the US financial system. Over the ensuing years a
number of banks paid billions in fines for illegal financial activities. She
never insisted that any banking or brokerage firm executives be prosecuted for
criminal activity. Within a year of the financial collapse bonuses were again
being handing out by financial corporations and in some cases it looked like
they were mocking a gullible American public.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary’s 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> Run for
President</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2008
Hillary decided to run for the Democratic nomination to be the next president. In
the beginning of her run it looked like a sure thing. By this time the Clintons
had amassed a fortune of about 50 million dollars from Bill’s books and
speeches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Initially she
had competition on 2 fronts, from former North Carolina Senator John Edwards
who could give Bill a run for his money when it came to Southern charm, and a
junior senator from Illinois named Barak Obama.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She lost the
first caucus in Iowa finishing behind Obama and Edwards but won New Hampshire.
Bill wasn’t helping her case by occasionally shooting his mouth off though.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Edwards
dropped out when he was exposed for having an affair. It was now a 2 way race
between who might be the first woman president or the first black president.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Obama won
South Carolina primary by a 2 to 1 margin. Hillary no longer had the black vote that
had helped her husband for many years. Bill was becoming a real pain in the ass
to many Democrats. To some it seemed like he himself was running for office
again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Perhaps
Hillary’s biggest fault on her resume was that she had voted for the war in
Iraq. Obama hadn’t. In television debates her irritation that she was being
challenged by an upstart junior senator who hadn’t completed his first term was
pretty obvious. After all she had all the contacts within the Democrat Party.
What she didn’t have was Obama’s ground game and his ability to use the
internet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She won the
larger states like New York and California but Obama was winning more other
states. At one point he won 11 straight primaries. In June of 2008 Obama had
won enough state primaries to become the presumptive nominee and Hillary ended
up endorsing him. In the primaries they had both secured almost the same amount
of votes, 17 million. Obama and his team just outfoxed her campaign.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The loss was
a pretty bitter pill for Hillary to swallow. She had spent 13 million dollars
of her own money trying to get the nomination. As bitter as she was she still
campaigned for Obama in his run for president.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary as Secretary of State</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In November
of 2008 Obama discussed the possibility of Hillary being his Secretary of
State. At first she was reluctant as she enjoyed being a senator but within a
month she had accepted the job. Why she decided to take the job is open to
conjecture. She might have seen the opportunity as a stepping stone for another
run for president in 2016 if Obama won a 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> term. Most likely she
thought that she could solve a lot of the world’s problems including improving
women’s rights in third world countries. She was confirmed in the senate by a
vote 92 to 2.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She visited
112 different countries during her tenure as Secretary of State. She talked to
Obama about once a week unlike some previous Secretaries of State who talked to
their president almost on a daily basis and she stood behind any political
decisions Obama made. One of her first decisions was to agree with Obama about
sending more troops (21,000) to Afghanistan.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She gave a
“reset button” to the Russian foreign minister hoping to rebuild a relationship
with Russia. It worked for a while until Vladimir Putin got back into power.
She helped save the Turkish/Armenian Accord. She helped organize diplomatic
sanctions and trade embargos against Iran which was in the early stages of
developing nuclear arms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She assessed
the Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarak as stable before the Arab Spring
revolt. She supported US military intervention in Libya after long-time
dictator Gaddafi was murdered. She claimed that she offered advice to Obama
when Bin Laden was shot and killed in Pakistan although it doesn’t appear that
Obama needed any advice from her on the matter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">On September
11<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> of 2012 a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya was
attacked and 4 US citizens were killed including Ambassador J. Christopher
Stevens. Initially the attack was thought to be a response to a right wing video
produced in the US that depicted the prophet Muhammad as a whoremonger and
thief.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The 4
Americans who were killed were far away from any immediate American forces
help. There were a number of uncertainties as to what was transpiring at the
time. Some have called it “the fog of war”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Immediately
back home in the US the Republicans pounced on the situation and what they
claimed was Hillary’s lack of correctly responding to the tragedy. They knew then
that Hillary might very well run for president once Obama’s 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> term
was up. They dearly wanted to destroy her credibility.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
Republicans completely ignored the fact that a number of American citizens had
been killed on multiple occasions in foreign countries while Bush Jr. was in
office. Something like 15 different hearings were held by the Republicans on
Benghazi. They never managed to trip Hillary up but to this day they still
claim that she was derelict in her duties. The hearings did add to many
Americans distrusting her. She did admit to some errors that occurred and came
up with a list of improvements should the same situation happen again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">On February 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup>,
2013 she went back to private life and John Kerry became the new Secretary of
State.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Out of Government from 2013-2015</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The consensus
is that Hillary wanted to rest up for a while and enjoy her new grandchild
before turning her attention to running for the Democratic nominee for
president. She wasn’t getting any younger but she had that last major goal that
she wanted to accomplish.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She joined
her husband and daughter in the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Foundation. She
worked on a number of women oriented projects including early childhood
development, and a 600 million dollar initiative to enroll girls worldwide in
secondary schools. She wrote a book and joined a speakers group and was paid as
much as 200 thousand dollars for speeches that lasted usually about an hour. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There is
little doubt that she has worked on a lot of women’s issues over the years but
on the other hand she had no problem accepting large amounts of money from
major corporations that went straight to her own bank account. She justified
doing this because other politicians were doing the same thing
including her husband. It was never a question of her being underpaid when she
was in political office.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She claims
that she was never influenced by the corporations she gave speeches to. 12 of
her speeches were to big banks, a number of which had been fined for corrupt
activities. Some of the banks have paid over a billion dollars in fines. Nobody
from any of those banks was ever charged with a criminal offense and Hillary
has never suggested that they should have been. Together Hillary and Bill made
153 million dollars giving speeches between 2001 and 2015. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Running for President the Second Time
Around<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Shortly after
Hillary decided to run for president she rounded up a number of women
Democratic senators and all but Progressive Democrat Elizabeth Warren endorsed
her. Former Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright,
suggested that any woman who didn’t vote for Hillary should roast in hell.
Feminist Gloria Steinem joined in by rebuking young women who had decided to
back Bernie Sanders. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Older women
probably vote more than any other demographic. Many of them have experienced
what they would consider unfairness in politics and business. Equal pay for
women is certainly one of their issues. What some of them don’t seem to get, particularly
when it comes to younger women, is that women only issues aren’t the only
things they care about. Many younger women who are backing Bernie would have
quite willingly backed progressive Elizabeth Warren but she chose not to run
for president.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXeZS_WmNtVZdi86jp84btDi6MqgS8ANmkAcrNf1DFbvtL5rdb3jMicasJC3zjvajubOVXMVm1tbnEEeY41q8irWlx6GMtGcwxCrk4bkoiIgDPerQdos6ur-lfNUvkwwk6_H72_Zkbzqw/s1600/imagesPDSCZZOK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXeZS_WmNtVZdi86jp84btDi6MqgS8ANmkAcrNf1DFbvtL5rdb3jMicasJC3zjvajubOVXMVm1tbnEEeY41q8irWlx6GMtGcwxCrk4bkoiIgDPerQdos6ur-lfNUvkwwk6_H72_Zkbzqw/s400/imagesPDSCZZOK.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Nobody in the
Democrat Party who is a “progressive” considers Hillary to be progressive too
although Hillary claims she is. It took her a long time to come around on gay
marriage and LBGT rights for instance. She tends to encourage only partial
changes when it comes to things like raising the minimum wage or financial
reform on Wall Street.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many
Democrats think of Hillary as an opportunist and an elitist because she often
pals around with the very wealthy. Progressives don’t spend 50,000 dollars a
week to rent a summer place on Long Island like the Clintons have. Progressives didn’t get invited to
Donald Trump’s last wedding. Many of them simply don’t trust her and her
political style. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Every so
often she exposes herself as someone who thinks she knows more than she does.
She attended Nancy Reagan’s funeral which was an OK thing to do. What wasn’t OK
was her praise of Mrs. Reagan as being one of the first to organize the fight
against the AIDS epidemic when Ronald Reagan’s administration did everything
they could to avoid dealing with the AIDS crisis.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Her platform
for running for president is basically a continuation of Obama’s policies. She
doesn’t seem to understand what universal health care means to most people. To
her it is when 100% of Americans are covered by insurance companies or
Medicare. In all other countries universal health care is considered to be
health coverage for everyone without insurance companies being involved at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many
Republicans and Democrats consider Hillary to be a war hawk based on her record
when she was a senator and Secretary of State.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She talks
about student loan debt like it is a natural thing that students just have to put
up with. It is pretty common for college graduates to be still be paying off
their student loans 20 years after leaving school.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Most
Democrats including the progressives know that Bernie Sanders doesn’t have much
of a chance of overtaking her. She has the Democratic establishment in her back
pocket including Debbie Wasserman Shultz who is the party chair and was once
one of Hillary’s campaign managers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So why do so
many people dislike her and not trust her aside from the above? One
reason is that she often comes across as fake. At rallies she often points to
one of her admirers and acknowledges that person with a big grin. When she does
this it is like showing the public that she indeed does have friends and is
popular. Sometimes she gets angry and forceful when she talks about inequality
but after her performance a lot of people know she is going home to a mansion
and servants. The “I made a mistake” on major issues just doesn’t cut it for
some.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary and Her Paid Speeches</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many
Democrats suspect that Hillary tells different stories to different groups of
people. She reasons that she is not willing to release the transcripts of her
speeches to Wall Street firms, major corporations, and large institutions,
because other speakers don’t release that type of information. It is pretty
obvious her speeches are not about dry stuff like foreign affairs. Most likely
she gives pep talks on the possibilities of the free enterprise system and the
bright future ahead for America. At as much as $200,000.00 for an hour’s speech
she was being paid mostly to motivate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary and Her E-mails</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It is no
secret that China and other countries have been hacking into American computers
for years including one’s used by the US federal government. Unlike some other
things like Benghazi that she has been accused of mishandling, Hillary’s use of
a non-governmental e-mail account to do government business in her position as
Secretary of State is a very serious matter. She admits now that it was a
mistake in not having both a government and private e-mail account. She also
claims her actions were no different than other former Secretary of State’s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To some it is
quite clear that she felt that she was above what had been established as
protocol when using e-mails to conduct government business. Her service
provider didn’t have government authorization to start with. He was some guy
who operated out of an apartment in Denver, Colorado.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In all
Hillary sent or received about 62,000 e-mails on her private server during her
time as Secretary of State. When she left that office she had about 30,000
e-mails professionally “scrubbed” as private communications. The scrubbing was done by a
private firm in New Jersey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Hillary has
appeared at a number of hearings regarding her e-mails. She tries to make it
sound that she has been quite forthcoming in providing information but some
think that she wouldn’t have provided the information had she not been caught.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">She also set
up an e-mail account for her assistant Huma Abedin who is married to former New
York Congressman Anthony Weiner. Weiner quit politics when it was revealed that
he was sending pictures of himself to women on the internet of his penis
showing through his underwear. Hillary and Abedin both had husbands they
couldn’t trust but stayed married to them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2009
Abedin was appointed as Hillary’s chief of staff in the State Department. While
working for Hillary she also had 3 other jobs. She was a consultant for The
Clinton Foundation, she created a consulting company called Zain Endeavors, and
she worked as a consultant for a worldwide company called Teneo whose clients
included Coca-Cola and MF Global. MF Global was a big player in the financial
derivatives business and went bankrupt in 2011.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Clinton’s
background can get quite complicated. For some Democratic voters it isn’t just
what they know that makes them distrust her it is the unknown entanglements
both of them have with others with financial wealth and political influence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Bernie
Sanders</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqC8vgQXeLUjMTJAIj6BlixA3blxUIzI_zdfszSXRlis4KBsiFHWwy2tpxuwF7Xk2wRsLdXTfpyGCq7ikxMZwAHOvWmRCnsu2oDe-YLD4VQXAaSOEND2nymJAt14F7DylKRhf4asGjUE/s1600/_87812472_berniesanders%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqC8vgQXeLUjMTJAIj6BlixA3blxUIzI_zdfszSXRlis4KBsiFHWwy2tpxuwF7Xk2wRsLdXTfpyGCq7ikxMZwAHOvWmRCnsu2oDe-YLD4VQXAaSOEND2nymJAt14F7DylKRhf4asGjUE/s400/_87812472_berniesanders%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There was a
time in America, back in the 1960s and 1970s, when there was a lot of
enthusiasm by young people to alter the status quo on a number of social
issues. College campuses throughout the US were hotbeds for protests against a
variety of social injustices. College was more affordable back then and many
parents had saved their money so that their kids could get a step up in life.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It was a time
when marches and other displays of discontent were common. It was like a sea
change in some ways. A lot of young men were very concerned about being drafted
into participating in the Viet Nam War that many wanted no part of. Racial
inequality was an issue as were environmental concerns. It was a time of
increased sexual freedom and the introduction of “the pill”. Popular music at
the time reflected the youthful rebelliousness. A lot of young men let their
hair grow long, fashion changed dramatically, and a lot of people were smoking
pot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Feminist
groups were started. There was more concern for the poor and the less fortunate
in life. Some looked to spiritualism or Eastern religions instead of
Christianity. There was a lot of idealism going on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4arNYHhzZfRoczSHC9NDeaBhSkoT8QZDBRVgW4NLeARF5r2vsdaUJB-xCz4Zz2m4vJ5xhUcENucRQDsJhcSPENPlJIBUoSx2D3UWzU5S19zct_DCVWsY4LdK9sggDRLXcQMERvkU_Vlc/s1600/images6XHHMOUW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4arNYHhzZfRoczSHC9NDeaBhSkoT8QZDBRVgW4NLeARF5r2vsdaUJB-xCz4Zz2m4vJ5xhUcENucRQDsJhcSPENPlJIBUoSx2D3UWzU5S19zct_DCVWsY4LdK9sggDRLXcQMERvkU_Vlc/s400/images6XHHMOUW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Not all of
America felt this way. Close to 50% of Americans were conservative and many of
them loathed the idea of changes to the social structure. By the 1980s many of
the people who were active in various causes were now in their thirties. A lot
of those that had marched and protested years before had changed their focus.
Writer Thomas Wolfe labelled it “The Me Generation”. Living on a commune, for
instance, had become a futile effort and a thing of the past. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Idealism was
put on the back burner. Some sort of job was needed to support their families.
Delivering the mail for example wasn’t that bad an idea. It paid reasonably
well and long walks were a healthy thing. Some started their own businesses
including selling food that was more natural and without chemical additives.
Being financially secure was no longer something to be scoffed at. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bernie
Sanders grew up in Brooklyn, New York in a Jewish family. His father was an
immigrant from Poland. Bernie spent a bit of time as a teenager working on a
kibbutz in Israel. He studied at Brooklyn College for 1 year (1959-60) before
transferring to The University of Chicago where he was very active in student
politics and joined The Young People’s Socialist League. In 1963 he took part
in The March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a
dream” speech. In the summer of 1963 Sanders was arrested in Chicago during a
demonstration against segregation in Chicago schools. He was also active in the
peace and anti-war movements.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">After college
Sanders moved back to the New York area where he held a number of jobs
including being a carpenter, a Head Start teacher, and a psychiatric aide. In
1968 he decided to move to Vermont and bought 85 acres of land there after
seeing some posters in a window touting Vermont as a great place to live. He
managed to scrape by in his first few years in Vermont by working as a film
maker, writer, and once again as a carpenter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jatXj9LJgKI1VAODtyVyOxmSuVW3-wM2tLiHPD9xTyLd2_7OH5WYEv0q0hUy0OAqmch3IFUkSMZKpxvEv1QaF7Afv_hpH_Idjy2uRb-mY8AWmycNxs6pdHGFHj7TBNYCh95IWVDMaCI/s1600/imagesLJTZGYBX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jatXj9LJgKI1VAODtyVyOxmSuVW3-wM2tLiHPD9xTyLd2_7OH5WYEv0q0hUy0OAqmch3IFUkSMZKpxvEv1QaF7Afv_hpH_Idjy2uRb-mY8AWmycNxs6pdHGFHj7TBNYCh95IWVDMaCI/s320/imagesLJTZGYBX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At the time
(1968) Vermont had a total population of 430,000 people and its biggest city,
Burlington, had 35,000 people. Less than 8,000 people lived in the state
capital, Montpelier. Dating back to the 19<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> century Vermont was one
of the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> states to be against slavery and one of the first that
allowed women to vote. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">If you drive
around rural Vermont you would think that agriculture, including of course
maple syrup, is a big part of the state’s economy. It isn’t and has been in
decline for decades. Still it is often viewed by outsiders as a laid back state
where nothing much of significance hardly ever happens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As a member
of the Liberty Union Party, a radical left wing group, Sanders ran for the
office of governor in 1972 and 1974 and lost badly both times. In 1980 he was
elected as mayor of the city of Burlington and won his first term by a mere 10
votes. He identified himself as a socialist.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sanders
served 3 terms as mayor of Burlington. The city became the first to fund
community-trust housing. His administration balanced the budget and drew a
minor league baseball team to the city. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment was
halting a hotel and condo development on the city’s waterfront on Lake
Champlain where the rail yards used to be located. Instead the area was
redeveloped with a mix of housing, parks, and public space, including miles of
beaches, a boathouse, bike paths, and a science center. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2aHNvwlRLr7FDWd0nGGQWlWJpDvmk-yXC7NcU93_hKTH9eNNrIOq_Y9hyT7BOiNyzgfiTzGXvI0Pj4pGKniboOQcZ83X5dmPO2oUXJ66Xzam1cgfsbJohWf_GMhIuYwY0UnnmTlTLZ8/s1600/Slideshow-Photo6%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2aHNvwlRLr7FDWd0nGGQWlWJpDvmk-yXC7NcU93_hKTH9eNNrIOq_Y9hyT7BOiNyzgfiTzGXvI0Pj4pGKniboOQcZ83X5dmPO2oUXJ66Xzam1cgfsbJohWf_GMhIuYwY0UnnmTlTLZ8/s640/Slideshow-Photo6%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burlington, Vermont</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 1988
Sanders ran for congress as an Independent and lost by a small margin. 2 years
later he ran again and won. He was the first “independent” to be elected to
congress in 40 years. He served as a representative for 16 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bernie has
been pretty steady about his political beliefs over the years but differs with
most progressives on one particular issue and that is gun rights. He claims
that because he is from a more rural state where hunting is common he doesn’t
want to restrict hunters from possessing guns. It’s a pretty weak argument but
it is possible he feels he wouldn’t get elected without standing with gun
owners.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2007
Sanders was elected as the junior senator from Vermont. Even though he ran as
an Independent he was endorsed by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Barak Obama and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean campaigned for Sanders. He
caucused with the Democrats and gave them a majority 51-49 in the senate in
2007-2008.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">His deal with
the Democrats is that he will vote yes on most things that party wants to do.
In return he gets to be on a number of committees including The Budget, Environment
and Public Works, Energy and Natural Resources, Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions, and Veterans’ Affairs. In his tenure as senator he was the 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup>
most popular person in the US to hold that position.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many
Americans, particularly right wingers, consider anyone who has socialist
leanings to be similar to a communist. Sanders admires the type of socialism
that is part of the fabric of a number of Northern European countries including
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands. Every one of these
countries has universal health care and provides their people with a number of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>other social benefits like daycare.. Unions
have a place in their societies. On the other hand free enterprise also thrives
with companies like Ikea, Royal Dutch Shell, Volkswagen, BMW, Fiat, Siemens,
Nestle, Bosch, Unilever, Maersk, doing business internationally.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In 2015
Sanders decided to run for president for the Democratic Party. Initially there
were 5 contenders but 2 dropped out right away. Martin O’Malley, a former
governor of Maryland dropped out a few months later. He seemed like a very
reasonable guy but he never could get any traction. Most Democrats knew that
this was Hillary Clinton’s turn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sanders
started off slow and it took a while for him to attract big crowds, many who
were younger voters. Nothing is going to get college students more on a
politician’s side than telling them that you want to see free college tuition
and that was exactly what Bernie was offering.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFoXMFq_Ul-2wDmEGbXoayNgIvNDwXreEIC8iysCNs7rnHSKKqzC-GqYS7idMjZAErnJDQXuB4B6cFh-Cc7DrrxEyrCU-RWjtEX2Q3Bonwb3o6Ic-ZIXVAYTT_-Pzb17ImNv4cALnXPM/s1600/imagesN60T44OA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFoXMFq_Ul-2wDmEGbXoayNgIvNDwXreEIC8iysCNs7rnHSKKqzC-GqYS7idMjZAErnJDQXuB4B6cFh-Cc7DrrxEyrCU-RWjtEX2Q3Bonwb3o6Ic-ZIXVAYTT_-Pzb17ImNv4cALnXPM/s400/imagesN60T44OA.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bernie talks
like an old hippie but more and more people were becoming aware of what he
stands for. The truth is a plurality of Americans believe in most things he
stands for but they aren’t savvy when it comes to being politically organized
and are not connected to those in the US with influence financially and
politically. Here’s a brief list of some things in Bernie’s platform.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Raising the
minimum wage to $15.00 an hour nationally.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Free
community college tuition.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Getting big
money out of politics.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Combating
climate change.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-A fair and humane
immigration policy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-More
affordable social housing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Legalizing
pot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Racial
justice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Government
investment in rebuilding the US’s infrastructure.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Equal pay
for women.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Medicare for
all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Reforming
Wall Street.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Making the
wealthy and major corporations pay their fair share of taxes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Putting an
end to oil fracking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-Reducing
America’s military involvement with other countries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sanders often
talks about the financial inequality in the US. 70% of the countries in the
world have a more equal distribution of wealth than the US. The gap between the
rich and the poor in the US has grown wider and wider over the past several
decades. A number of major corporations don’t pay any taxes at all although
they benefit from a lot of things paid by other taxpayers like roads, bridges
airports, police and fire departments, and the military. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmTIiqxLGF2W_CV0VZI9MMNmJHurbWtiuG2HJaFegux7ydenMrlaAYw2FSu6VSv1wUdC0QWG02JVtYhAdA8jDn7p55DhGBr3gQ5VCzTgKsnVulBu0nXU7bueni5WnBkdohq2ZDSxSOh4/s1600/images4NCM8OPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmTIiqxLGF2W_CV0VZI9MMNmJHurbWtiuG2HJaFegux7ydenMrlaAYw2FSu6VSv1wUdC0QWG02JVtYhAdA8jDn7p55DhGBr3gQ5VCzTgKsnVulBu0nXU7bueni5WnBkdohq2ZDSxSOh4/s400/images4NCM8OPM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Political Pundits<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Most
Americans still get their TV news from the 3 major US TV networks NBC, CBS, and
ABC followed by FOX News which is 100% right wing Republican. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A common claim
that Republicans make is that the media has a right wing bias. The reality is
that Republicans are most of the guests on Sunday morning news talk shows like
Meet The Press and Face The Nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Republican Senator John McCain has been on Meet The Press 69 times in
the last number of years. Donald Trump is on TV almost every day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Liberals
often tend to watch MSNBC that has Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence
O’Donnell as hosts who are to the left politically. They are counterbalanced by
Morning Joe that runs for 3 hours every morning and is hosted by Republican Joe
Scarborough. Chris Mathews has a program on MSNBC called Hardball and although
he is a Democrat he’s usually more of a centrist. He often talks over his
guests.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Politicians
on political TV programs are often allowed to get away with bold faced lies.
They are mostly Republicans. There are 2 reasons at least for this. One is the
time restraint. It takes a while to point out a politician’s lies and the next
commercial is coming up. Calling someone a liar has consequences. They may
never come back on the show and they may be good for ratings and calling them
out may alienate both advertisers and viewers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYGxRXtaB70weEulCKCFN6h9ivjRI0yrZrAeCqQcskl875WZ_CP_DszeX0WRERSVJ20Ea5yiLMATyJeHdIyeTJh3-6hpAt8LCzKcF7vhjOAyaoa4PXb8SyiXYqeYj1R3JdSVzJsEeh1o/s1600/imagesXO8S4U99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYGxRXtaB70weEulCKCFN6h9ivjRI0yrZrAeCqQcskl875WZ_CP_DszeX0WRERSVJ20Ea5yiLMATyJeHdIyeTJh3-6hpAt8LCzKcF7vhjOAyaoa4PXb8SyiXYqeYj1R3JdSVzJsEeh1o/s400/imagesXO8S4U99.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There is
something very unique on American political TV. Religion is often a part of
discussions but it kind of slides by under the radar. No host ever questions a
politician who makes claims that “god” has directed him or her to make
political decisions, even when some of those decisions hurt the weaker in
American society.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Rarely is
someone without a high income given a voice on political TV shows. “Experts”
offer their second hand opinions instead. People who are struggling from
paycheck to paycheck could give a damn about polls and statistics. A lot of
this stuff is just a game to pundits. They can’t hide their excitement when
some new shit hits the fan. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The internet
allows for open season on political views and a lot of what is written involves
insults. Facts are quite often ignored. Rarely is there ever any bending in
peoples’ opinions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Talk radio is
a big deal in the US and mostly it is right wing. A lot of listeners enjoy being
pissed off and angry. Hysteria often rules and radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Laura
Ingraham, Michael Medved, and Glenn Beck egg them on. The theme is always the
same, someone is plotting to take away some of their rights. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUOl3U8TO6SnN29YmXK_2-HeN-_zoJ4Ik3idqEia08clfZsArQD45Kpk7PwmoaRuvM4RA6mITqkaEXJ19mTbXmhOEm88B2Q1n1RQWNr-_ElUeTOpsPun98PVF79TS9VdfcjulVnrV7KI/s1600/images103WYM14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUOl3U8TO6SnN29YmXK_2-HeN-_zoJ4Ik3idqEia08clfZsArQD45Kpk7PwmoaRuvM4RA6mITqkaEXJ19mTbXmhOEm88B2Q1n1RQWNr-_ElUeTOpsPun98PVF79TS9VdfcjulVnrV7KI/s320/images103WYM14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Summation<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At this point
Trump looks like he has the Republican nomination in the bag. If he is slightly
short of votes when the Republican convention happens in Cleveland this summer,
he could be contested but if the Republican Party chose someone else there
would be anarchy and many of his supporters simply wouldn’t vote. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Trump’s inner
circle is now claiming that his bombast over the past 9 months are so has all
been an act and that he is now prepared to take the higher road and act more
presidential. This won’t last.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">If Trump gets
the nomination he could very well harm other Republicans down ticket and both
The Senate and The House could be up for grabs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbcVA1o-CPIkVUZ8c5zPLAY1dbsgtzQOQY_1H8X95t4z06g64l8xPxSXRECarkfaenH6Ct44pPQvlhCbLv6HtdKHLwAMVLkjKImuoaImglOdcwpd-W85YyMI-tMa0WsHmmCnqOL3Vlow/s1600/images1EW9YNWZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbcVA1o-CPIkVUZ8c5zPLAY1dbsgtzQOQY_1H8X95t4z06g64l8xPxSXRECarkfaenH6Ct44pPQvlhCbLv6HtdKHLwAMVLkjKImuoaImglOdcwpd-W85YyMI-tMa0WsHmmCnqOL3Vlow/s320/images1EW9YNWZ.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Clintons at Trump's last wedding</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The only
thing stopping Hillary Clinton from being the next US president at this point
is the chance that she gets criminally charged for her use of her private
e-mails in ways that jeopardized her position as Secretary of State.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Bernie
Sanders vows to stay in the run for the Democratic nomination until their
convention. He has zero chance of winning but doesn’t want to let Hillary off
the hook on his and his follower’s progressive ideals. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The most
likely scenario is that most Democrats, including Sander’s supporters, a lot of
Independents, and some Republicans, will bite the bullet and vote for Hillary. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many are
concerned that if a Republican became president the Supreme Court would be
controlled by right wing idealists for the next decade at least.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To many
Hillary is simply the lesser of 2 evils.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Some people
will get what they want. Most people won’t. What else is new?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-28377252196345690062016-02-22T23:03:00.002-08:002016-05-06T22:45:12.081-07:00Chance Meetings<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihp9HRJ0kseZ4UXImG1rwSTZeZIzKjnQnKWLGQss4SdjktXdYR3vyYEUyAFW26f2B2WAQpRHNc5R0HiHobGjBGfYMcHkW6gzA0tNzjPEd-GDfCVOE7KmzFmxeXPLG5RvpThiUrbX1ztE/s1600/images%255B3%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihp9HRJ0kseZ4UXImG1rwSTZeZIzKjnQnKWLGQss4SdjktXdYR3vyYEUyAFW26f2B2WAQpRHNc5R0HiHobGjBGfYMcHkW6gzA0tNzjPEd-GDfCVOE7KmzFmxeXPLG5RvpThiUrbX1ztE/s320/images%255B3%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">(Written Friday February 19th, 2016)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I’ve always
been the chatty type with total strangers it seems. It’s my natural curiosity I
guess. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Meeting #1</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Last Saturday
night Linda and I went to a beer and burger fund raiser for The Vancouver
Island Mental Health Society. She is employed by the society and we’ve been to
a number of these events over the years. This one was at a local Nanaimo pub
called The Wellington which many refer to as “The Well” which makes sense. The
plan before we got there was whoever got to the pub first between Linda and I
and her co-worker Donna and her husband Tom, would try and secure a couple of
tables that 6 people could sit at.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We got to the
pub first and managed to secure 2 tables. It was about 4:30 p.m. in the
afternoon. We could see instruments set up on the stage in front of us for a
live band that would play later in the evening. I noticed a couple in between
us and the stage who seemed to be holding a table for some friends who hadn’t arrived
like we were. It turned out that the friends they were waiting for were Donna
and Tom. Introductions were made. We had already ordered our food and a beer
before Donna and Tom turned up. I had one eye on the Canucks hockey game on TV
and they were taking another thrashing. So much for that I thought.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Donna and
Tom’s friend’s names are Laraine and John. My guess is that they are somewhere
near 40 years of age. I asked both of them individually what they did for a
living. I believe Laraine works in labour relations on behalf of the BC
government. Donna and Laraine have been friends for years. They met when they
were both newly divorced. John has written and published a number of books and
magazines about kayaking and hiking on the west coast of British Columbia. As
an avid kayaker myself (albeit with just a 14’ boat) I was very keen on asking
John a number of questions. I learned a lot in talking to him. I was
particularly impressed that he didn’t brag about his successes. It was Laraine
(spelling?) that told me that John had kayaked all the way to Alaska from
Vancouver Island. I was bowled over by that. There are not a lot of people who
can say they have accomplished that feat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Last summer I
was on a 3 day camping/kayaking ocean trip with a friend when I got into some
trouble trying to paddle against a very strong current. The area was south of a
camping spot at Blackberry Point some distance south of Nanaimo. I asked John
about the pass between two islands that we were close to that day. John told me
that the currents in that area are some of the most treacherous on the southern
BC coast. He said that sometimes small boats can end up going in circles drawn
by the currents. I guess I was one lucky bastard that day. Luckily I got some
help in the form of a tow from the friend I was kayaking with. A 14’ kayak
isn’t made for that kind of ocean.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We didn’t
hang around the pub to see the band. 8 hours in a pub is a bit too long for me,
at least these days. I really enjoyed the 3 or 4 hours that we did stay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To find out
more about John Kimantas google any of the following….his name, Coastal Guide
Books, Wild Coast Magazine, or Coast & Kayak Magazine. This guy knows his
stuff!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgha_brSpDknCOB9iM7yiaoc82XqCSlN_vLvDHDKBYl3ateQUXFZnpQ0P3WZqJajKtzLcuP1_rlK8AsUUWKn6C_ooDbNQD4eBuOsG8RPqTiUqld-E3NwdrFnfbj5acBYgp653cf332zyU/s1600/BCE2_cover_large%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgha_brSpDknCOB9iM7yiaoc82XqCSlN_vLvDHDKBYl3ateQUXFZnpQ0P3WZqJajKtzLcuP1_rlK8AsUUWKn6C_ooDbNQD4eBuOsG8RPqTiUqld-E3NwdrFnfbj5acBYgp653cf332zyU/s320/BCE2_cover_large%255B1%255D.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Meeting #2</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It’s Sunday February
14<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, Valentine’s Day, the day after the night at the pub. Linda and
I have decided to head over to our favourite sushi place for lunch, a spot
called Nori Sushi. We usually stop in about twice a month. The place is almost
always packed and jazz is always playing on the sound system. People come from
all over Vancouver Island to eat here. There is a bit of wait, probably because
it’s Valentine’s Day, but there are some empty seats at the bar. Sitting on a
stool is fine with me. It’s close to the action. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We soon
realize that they don’t have Bento boxes on Sundays. A couple in their sixties
sitting next to us confirms that fact. The gal in the couple gives us an
overview of the menu. They are frequent visitors to the place and know the head
sushi guy on the other side of the counter whose name is John. John asks Linda
and I our names and a while later he addresses me by my name, pretty
impressive. This is the way to run a successful restaurant.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We got into a
conversation with the couple. They are retired and bought a small beachfront
house in Qualicum Beach about a year ago. Qualicum Beach is about a 45 minute
drive north of where we live. Their house is about 1000 square feet and they
have been doing reno work for some time. They mentioned waves hitting the house
one day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Their names
are Brian and Mary. Brian told us he had held a number of jobs before retiring
including being a cop for about 20 years and selling boats. His politics are to
the right and mine are more to the left but we didn’t talk about that stuff
much.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">While they
were eating the sushi guy John gave Mary a single rose. Does this guy know how
to run a restaurant or what? Later on John also gave Linda a single rose. Does
this guy know how to run……….</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Brian and
Mary invited us to drop in at their place in Qualicum Beach and we asked them
to do the same when they were down our way. For some reason we forgot to
exchange phone numbers. Linda is laid up for a week or two after a toe
operation but we will drop in in the next few weeks. Nice couple.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK4-Cmrd8EmW2WDILdNrxp_5eV5CbdCtqaeVYgRsxWwQKED1V8OceChe8D3BFPAIQ8Onhyphenhyphen1TAfG6g09-nu3zM1MWZl9IuAXxfaUVITDlWEc741707JKEfbMq0eOepMkAU11qa6JCjlP8/s1600/images%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK4-Cmrd8EmW2WDILdNrxp_5eV5CbdCtqaeVYgRsxWwQKED1V8OceChe8D3BFPAIQ8Onhyphenhyphen1TAfG6g09-nu3zM1MWZl9IuAXxfaUVITDlWEc741707JKEfbMq0eOepMkAU11qa6JCjlP8/s320/images%255B4%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><strong>Meeting #3</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Linda went in
for her toe operation (a minor thing really other than a bit of pain) this past
Tuesday. I had some time to kill and instead of sitting in the waiting room I
took a walk across the street to investigate a Scandinavian furniture place. I’m
kind of in the market for a couple of bar stools. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I was a bit
surprised how big the store was. After wandering around for several minutes I
ended up in a downstairs showroom. I spotted a gal who appeared to be in early
to mid-thirties in what looked like a black cocktail dress. It was the first
sign of life in the place. I probably could have walked out of the joint with a
sofa if I was a criminal type and had some assistance and nobody would have
been the wiser other than finding a vacant space.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The gal in
the black dress is a sales associate and while I was poking about we got into a
conversation about music and David Bowie in particular. Right away I noticed
that she had a very positive upbeat personality. She also had a touch of blue
or was it light green in her blonde hair. I asked her where she was from and she
answered “all over the place” which included various spots on Vancouver Island
and Gabriola Island which is close to Nanaimo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Altogether I
guess that we chatted for about 20 minutes. She is a singer and guitar player
who has appeared on stage with and without a band. From what I understand her
musical niche is “alternative country rock”. She has appeared with Jim Byrnes,
The Beach Boys, and Mike Reno (Everbody’s Working For The Weekend). Her real
name is Shauna McAllister and she goes by the name Jupiter Jill when it comes
to music.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As I said, I
only talked to her for a short while but I could tell she has a big heart. This
was reaffirmed when I checked out a video of her and her children. I think she
is what the kids today (and others) call today an “indie” performer meaning she
has recorded some music but not with a major label.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I checked her
out on YouTube and really enjoyed her singing. Music is a hard business to make
a living in a smaller city like Nanaimo. I am going to keep my eye open and
hopefully see her perform in the next few months. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">You go girl!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEk8NXx6bvMw_N-qrozfMrTgn1FMbanmpCxBOSOJ-6_IhnIR7jNCHVilrf4Rxki3fGdfvghY9NNLOz-1yQqpoe4GSh5UA-GkLZ4wbmd33EUWBgvqAXnaaLbtPdK0Z3pxMv9u1osTaDlvw/s1600/imagesGGRBFTD9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEk8NXx6bvMw_N-qrozfMrTgn1FMbanmpCxBOSOJ-6_IhnIR7jNCHVilrf4Rxki3fGdfvghY9NNLOz-1yQqpoe4GSh5UA-GkLZ4wbmd33EUWBgvqAXnaaLbtPdK0Z3pxMv9u1osTaDlvw/s320/imagesGGRBFTD9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6169991008427984205.post-36296845607710317252016-02-08T21:25:00.003-08:002016-02-08T21:27:58.699-08:00Taking A Break<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubXkS4JMq-hiENUaV4_sfwNQ1DMG82CvLiH32aM1tZv6HIFfQBkK0ELKSN3UFvug3PQc1qqcwMXZjHp-EySOgkMm8ghJF4CSh8k9chPRsplO6rsDR1D5g2pDpnZpHikfMxWoxfrp53Cw/s1600/images%255B4%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubXkS4JMq-hiENUaV4_sfwNQ1DMG82CvLiH32aM1tZv6HIFfQBkK0ELKSN3UFvug3PQc1qqcwMXZjHp-EySOgkMm8ghJF4CSh8k9chPRsplO6rsDR1D5g2pDpnZpHikfMxWoxfrp53Cw/s320/images%255B4%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have been writing my short stories for about 4 years
now. For the most part it has been fun, particularly taking a walk down memory
lane. I have enjoyed the e-mail comments from people I haven’t seen in years or
others who have connected to a certain time and place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m not dying, at least I don’t think I am, but I’ve been
having a few health problems lately that hopefully will be corrected in the
near future. Lately it seems I have been putting some pressure on myself to
complete at least 2 or 3 stories a month. I’ve actually almost completed a number
of stories that just need another page or two or some more editing. These
stories include titles like The Slow Death of R & B Music. Trump and Hillary and the Other
Crazy Bastards in the US Running For President, Montreal Verses Vancouver, Old
Vancouver - From the 60s to the 80s, and Gull Lake, Saskatchewan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no shortage of things I would like to write
about. I just want to give it a rest for a while. Who wants to deal with deadlines
when they are retired?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I expect to start putting new stories up on my blog in
April, maybe sooner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks for reading my stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Catch you on the flip side.</span></div>
Colin Patersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13888182788601492758noreply@blogger.com2