The Squamidian Report - Mar 1/03

Hi All,

Some 'doug' type observations!!

The 'West' isn't the West. The West is just west of the middle. Sounds dumb until you think about it. If you visit the West you are in the prairie provinces. The furthest west you can go is the Alberta / BC border. IF you are a 'westerner' you live on the prairies. You can wear a cowboy hat and boots. Even one of those big buckles.

However, once you travel further west than Alberta, you are no longer in the west. You are in eastern BC, or central BC, that kind of thing. If you go far enough west you are coastal. Therefore, us coastal type people have to travel east to be in the west. Confusing but true.

Tim Horton downgrade!!

After careful consideration, I've had to downgrade my rating of our one and only Horton outlet from second best Hortons to third best in town. It takes some very determined effort on their part to now be number 3 when they are the only one here. They pulled it off though.

Their product is going down hill and their almost non-existent service has reached new lows. On weekend mornings there is a constant stream of traffic heading for the ski hills of Whistler and a lot of people try to stop at the local Hortons to pick up a coffee and whatever. The staff can't handle two people standing at the counter at the same time. When car loads and van loads and tour bus loads all come in at the same time the staff freezes. They just don't know what to do.

The owners sometime help out in there and you can tell who they are by the fact that they don't do much more than get in the way. We were watching with amusement as the line-up stretched out the door. The owner lady came out from the back in her nice manager uniform and took one look at the line-up. She just shook her head and went back in to the safety of the kitchen to hide. The staff simply continued to complain, out loud, about all the customers coming in as they very slowly filled orders paying almost no attention to what the customers actually wanted in there order.

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I have caved into tremendous pressure from friends, and expended vast amounts of energy to update Sue's web page. After sifting through countless  pictures, I finally found one that she would reluctantly permit me to post. Enjoy.
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/Sue.htm

Have you ever made one of those  promises in a moment of weakness, only to have it come back and haunt you? Well, I had promised to paint the rooms in whatever house we found when we were looking for houses. I just spent two days painting some interior walls in this house. Not an easy thing to do as this house has some high walls. Now Sue is eyeing the kitchen. groan!!!!

And just for the shear masochistic pleasure of it, Warren and I hiked up the Chief this past Thursday. The weather was mild, sunny and clear. Got home tired and sore, just the way it should be. My tradition is to call someone on my cell phone from up there so this time I called Gary. He was up there with us last Fall and we all know how much I love to 'rub it in'.

Scaling over 2000 ft, the Stawamus Chief is the second largest granite monolith in the world. "The Chief" is a rock climbing Mecca offering more than 200 routes to the top.   "Young, stronge guys" climb up the sheer face to the top, and you can admire them from the road in the summer, but for the rest of us there's a trail that takes you through the back of the Chief to the top of the face. Most of the trail is steep and as challenging as Vancouver’s "Grouse Grind", and the views are more spectacular

We are looking forward to Wednesday. As most of you know, we have some special guests flying out for a short visit. I'll be picking them up at the airport about 3pm so there will be lots of daylight for the drive up to Squamish. I won't be taking them up the Chief but there are lots of other interesting places to go. Of course, I might not let them go anywhere until Mom stocks my freezer with her raisin pies.

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THE ONTARION REPORT
By Greg
February 25, 2003

Well, here we are again, another week of glorious winter has gone by in Ontario and we are still hanging in! I must say it's been a bitterly cold one here in the Heart of Canada. Although we haven't had a great deal of snow in these parts this winter it's still been pretty close to a true northern season. They've been telling us about Global Warming and the way it affects our weather. I personally think this fluctuation in the amount of snow and temperatures has been around ever since Noah was a carpenter and our "modern" scientists have just found new terminology to describe it. It's like the environmentalists have found a new way of throwing a scare into the public so we'll try harder not to damage the ecology of our planet.

I guess if it works it's worth the effort. I for one want a safe clean world for our future generations to enjoy. Most of us here in Ontario are adding to the pollution by driving our cars every day. I guess they do the same thing in all parts of Canada including Squamish! The main polluters in Ontario are the huge industries such as steel mills and hydro generating stations. Not much that we as common folk can do about that. Doug (I call him Digger) is constantly rubbing the amazing clean air of BC in our faces. I think we GET THE POINT by now Digger!
However, we are all pretty much entrenched in our lives here in the Big "O" and would have a difficult time making the move that you and the illusive Sue made. I'm sure that everyone that reads The Squamidian is happy for you both, not to mention a wee bit envious. However, choices such as a major move as late in life as most of us are tend to be a bit out of reach. The best we can hope for is a chance to visit our Lucky friends in Squamish when the opportunity arises!

If the readership of The Squamidian continues to expand, you and the illusive SUE might as well open a B&B and take financial advantage of all the company you will be receiving in the future. Hey, there's a new business opportunity for you Digger. Just imagine, no more ingesting diesel fumes from all that heavy equipment you operate. You can spend your days as a "Mountain Guide" for the guests of "Brubacher's B&B" and "The Illusive Sue" can retire from running one of Canada's largest banks to cooking and cleaning for her guests! I'm sure she'd thank you for setting this one up! I bet she's a wonderful cook. You certainly don't look like you've suffered nutrition-wise during your married life.

Actually, maybe you and Warren could set up a chain of B&B's and put your lifetime of musical experience to good use entertaining your guests. By George, I think I've discovered a future for you out there in Sasquatch country. What do you think?....I'm sure you'll let me know real quick what you think of this one! Anyway, I've enjoyed writing this week's edition of The Ontarion Report and look forward to seeing it in print come Saturday. Take care everyone and Keep Reading!

Greg.

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Not a chance on that B&B thing, I'm way too grumpy to have strangers in here as guests. Just ask my relatives. db

Have a good one.
the doug