The
Squamidian Report – March 31 / 12
Issue #514
Including:
Musing from Evelyn
The Ontarion
Hi All,
We had spring, it lasted just 3 days but it was glorious. The sky was clear, the sun shown brightly and it almost got warm out. Apparently it doesn’t have to get very warm at all for the alder pollen to start because it started quite enthusiastically. Wow. It was like someone flipped a switch. Perhaps all the alder trees are trying to make up for last year when we didn’t get any spring at all the and there was virtually no pollen season, but we went from ‘normal’ to runny itchy eyes and running noses and sneezing in the blink of an itchy eye.
The ‘almost spring’ weather also brought out the bikes. I know, most of the rest of the country has been enjoying motorcycle season for weeks but when their temperatures started to go up, ours went down. When their sun started to shine, our rain and snow started falling with more vigor than ever. So, while some riders were able to ride down in the Lower Mainland all winter, I finally found a short small window of opportunity and managed to do some riding. All the riding was to the south, not north. Still very much wintery up toward Whistler… but south toward the city was at least clear and dry. However, it was also quite cold. I bundled up like the Pillsbury Doe Boy in order to ride without risking hypothermia, I probably looked like a big fat little kid in an over-sized snowsuit. As much as I’d have liked the feel of the wind in my face and all that sort of biking stuff, it was strictly full-face helmet riding. Way too cold for open face helmets. But this caused a problem. As stated, it was suddenly allergy season with the accompanying itchy watery eyes and runny nose and yes, sneezing. Have you every had your head stuck inside a full-face helmet when you could expect to be possessed by instant and numerous sneezes? Not at all nice. My biggest fear was that one of those sneezes would be of the slimy, juicy type that sprays all over the place including the inside of my visor. Aside from making a rather icky mess, that would have been very detrimental to the fact that I have to be able to see through my visor. Luckily, I was able to detect the onset of the more potent sneezes and get my visor open in time.
However, our 3-day, almost spring is now long past and the cold wet rains of winter have returned. The bike is again tucked away, waiting for next time, whenever that may be. As for the rain, based on the number of times I’ve dumped the over flowing pail that sits on the back deck, we’ve had over 3 feet of rain here, at this elevation so far this year.
Totally different direction of thought now… you might remember I’ve mentioned that my neighbour has a pilot’s license and even owns his own old clunker plane. Well, something I haven’t yet mentioned is that he has a very cruel side to his personality. You see, he keeps giving me his flying magazines once he has finished reading them. Yes, can you imagine the nerve of this guy, subjecting me to magazine after magazine of endless pages of airplane related information and articles. Cruel is the only way I can describe him. Oh well, I must endure. There is a lot of really interesting stuff in those magazines. One of the big things now-a-days, that didn’t even exist way back when I used to fly, is the ‘glass cockpit’. That’s where the old style traditional instrumentation has been abandoned in favor of electronic screen displays that show the information generated by very smart on-board computers, GPS’s, sensors and radar systems.
These glass cockpits first turned up in the military and then migrated over to the large commercial jet sector of the industry, the sector that could afford the rather high price of this equipment. But, just like normal computers had started out way beyond the reach of normal people, the price of this equipment has dropped to where many owners of small planes can convert if they really wanted to, and most new general aviation planes either come equipped with it or its available as an option. Now, in case you are wondering, when I refer to the glass cockpit as ‘affordable’, its kind of relative. For example, my cruel neighbour will not be converting his old plane, the equipment would cost more than his plane is worth. But this stuff is really cool, and the amount of information it can make readily available to the pilot is incredible. The GPS can be configured to show a synthetic on-screen view even if the pilot can’t actually see anything out the front window. It can show the terrain below and, more importantly, in front of the plane. It can ‘highlight’ potentially dangerous terrain. It can show the destination airport with all the taxi ways and ramps. It can give air speed AND ground speed, true altitude regardless of the temp and pressure, and wind direction, and so on. It can show a much better artificial horizon than the old gyroscope gauge ever could, and include air speed and altitude right on the same display. It can give fuel consumption and better engine monitoring than the old mechanical gauges ever could. But, it also would require a lot of studying and training to make full and proper use of a glass cockpit. But, and I do mean BUT, wouldn’t it be cool to be in a position to learn to use and then make full use of it. Wow, it would be very cool.
Want to know something funny, I started out with the intention of telling about an article I read where 4 people were in the ‘family’ plane, flying at about 11,000 ft and having problems with the cabin heat system, only to find that what was blocking the vent was a 4-ft snake that had crawled up inside. They found out when it crawled out of the vent and into the cockpit, but, I’ve used up enough space and time for now so I’ll just stick with the glass cockpit stuff.
doug
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Musing from Evelyn
This past six months have been busy with milestone celebrations.
Ed reached the big 80 in October. Ill reach it in April, we're not “spring Chickens” anymore, perhaps an old rooster and an aged hen. But don't refer to us by that pseudonym, at least not to our face.
The biggest celebrations were the weekend of March 10-11. On March 5th, 1952. Ed and I were married. According to the internet only 1.2 percent reach that 60 year mark.
Over 150 friends and relatives came to our open house at our church, Faith Lutheran Church. Many good wishes, cards and flowers were presented to us. Many friends and relatives came from out-of-town. The weather was sunny and warm, a sharp contrast to 60 years ago, when weather was sunny and cold.
The next day we had a family dinner for about 30. Excellent dinner, prepared by the ladies of Christ the King. The only hitch was the absence of Ed's aunt Clare. There was a mix-up as to who was to bring her to the dinner. As we were just starting to eat, we looked around, where's Clare. She's 98 years old, but still likes a party. Sharon quickly went to pick her up, but I guess she didn’t appreciate the unintentional snub, so decided not to come.
Carol baked two beautiful cakes, for the occasion. Lorne and Ed decided on carrot cake for Saturday and banana cake for Sunday. They were truly a work of art. Carol and Al also overseen, setting up tables and serving on Sunday. Nick also proved to be a very competent waiter.
Our family, especially Sharon, helped to organize this very special time for Ed and I.
Many memories, so good to see so many people that we only see occasionally. We're thankful, that at our age we still have so many friends. Ed made an excellent speech, thanking all who were busy planning and helping out with the festivities. Carol and other feel that my speech should be printed here.
A guide to
marriage.
60 years, wow! I once thought you would have be really, really old to be 60 years of age, but 60 years of marriage? Where has the time gone? We have seen so many changes in that time. Sadly relatives and friends have gone from this life but new relatives and friends have helped to make our life rewarding. Ed and I have weathered many storms, but also have experienced rays of sunbeams and much happiness. You know, when people of a certain age, us included get together, they discuss their aches and pains and how much medications they need to help ward off some of the problems, or how the world is certainly going to hell in a hand basket. When these topics are exhausted the weather usually becomes the next subject and this brings to my mind that marriage is like the weather very unpredictable.
You want sun, the warmth to make you feel all cozy with a few hugs thrown in to make you happy. You want clear, you want life together to be clear sailing with as few problems as possible in you're every day life.
You need rain to nourish the earth and bring growth to the land. New growth needs to come to a marriage not only being blessed by children, grandchildren, and great grand children but also new thoughts and ideas so a marriage does not become mundane and boring.
Snow, Ed always says he could do with out snow but it does bring beauty to the landscape hides all the muck and mud under a picturesque blanket of snow. Beauty needs to be in a marriage. The beauty of each new day together the beauty of family and other people that surround us. The beauty of planning the day or perhaps some far off plans together that you will both enjoy.
Be thankful for the four seasons, every season brings with it something new and exciting. A marriage should never stay exactly the same but keep changing hopefully for the better. We are not the same couple physically or emotionally as we were 60 years ago. Certainly not in appearance that's for sure. It would be nice to look young and cute again but maturity brings beauty in many rewarding ways. You start out young and naïve and expect everything to be perfect and run smoothly in your lives. But the ability to take disappointment in your stride helps you to grow together and make you a stronger couple.
There have been many illnesses not only with us and our children but also within our extended family. There have been other setbacks that I'm sure most families have experienced. But through it all we have enjoyed our life together and feel that we have been blessed with an abundance of love for each other. Our 60 years together have been very precious to us and pray that God will grant us many more years together.
To quote one of my favorite Bible verses;
“In this life we have three lasting qualities Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love”
Thank you Ed for being a great husband and just being you!
Evelyn
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
I absolutely loved the summer we just had but it was a little too short for my taste! On well, it’s supposed to be back as of next Monday so don’t worry too much! We’ll be basking in the sunshine again before we know what hit us!
Don’t you wish you lived in or near Kirkland Lake right about now? With the major truck accident that just happened on the main highway outside that town I’m sure that every guy that owns a metal detector will be sneeking out to the site of that collision within a day or so after the cleanup is completed! Of course I’m referring to the crash involving two tractor-trailers that happened yesterday. There were two people seriously injured and taken to hospital and I sincerely hope that they recover quickly. On the other hand it was nice of them to spill their load all over the highway and well onto both sides of the highway so the local “Metal Detectorists” can have a field day searching the area this spring for lost treasure! Their load happened to be $5,000,000.00 in brand new “Loonies” and “Toonies” that were being shipped westward by the Canadian Mint via Brinks Transport! Their entire load was spilled over a half-acre area and I’m sure lots of the coins bounced into places that will take metal detectors to locate them! The police and government agents were on scene cleaning up the mess by hand and then they finally brought in a huge junk-yard magnet on a crane to pick up the coins in much larger quantities. They figured it would take at least two or three days to find the entire load. I’d be willing to bet that they won’t get them all and there will be some spillage left for the guys to find this spring and summer with their metal detectors. It’s exciting to think that this kind of thing can actually happen. I’ve often envisioned driving along one of Ontario’s highways, following an armoured truck, be it Brinks, Wells Fargo or some other security shipping company’s vehicle and having the doors swing open on a curve spilling bags and bags of money on the roadway and there being no other vehicles around. Of course the drivers of the Brinks truck didn’t notice the problem and kept driving off into the distance! What a find that would be! On the other hand, what a moral dilemma that would be for me or any other upstanding citizen! LOL!
To keep or not to keep, that would be the question!
Of course if you’re an honest person you would immediately stop and call the police and in the meantime you would do your best to keep anybody else that happened along from helping themselves to the cash! It would only be the right thing to do but on the other hand it would be a true test of one’s moral structure wouldn’t it!
The circumstances would be tempting in deed! Especially if it were only “one” bag of cash in say, used $20.00 bills with no consecutive serial numbers! It’s three o’clock in the morning and the door of the Brink’s truck had immediately slammed shut again so as not to alert the drivers to the loss until they reached their destination hours later! Hmmmmm……? All those questions buzzing around in your head! How much is in a bag this size? Would they be able to track the cash if you were to burn the bag and keep the money in your home safe? Of course you wouldn’t be fool enough to deposit it in your bank account or tell anybody and I DO mean ANYBODY about it!
There’s the ticket, being able to keep your find to yourself and resist the temptation to spend more than a few hundred at any one time! It would indeed be a challenge to handle the spending of it properly without giving anybody a chance to become suspicious of your sudden wealth! So, there you have it! Would it be worth the pressure to have all that cash, say $250,000.00 in your possession and not be able to spend it in chunks large enough to make a special purchase like a new car or two or to pay off your house or other debts you might have, knowing that if you did, you might give yourself away? Sheesh!......... I think not! I think I just talked myself into turning in the Brink’s bag as soon as I could find a cop or a police station! If you’re an honest person I’m sure that is exactly what you would and should do with such a find! Do the right thing and if you’re lucky enough, maybe the Security Company would see fit to reward you with a finders fee! What the heck, even if it were just a few hundred dollars reward it would be more than you had before finding the cash and your mind would be put at ease! Let’s face it, “Honesty is the best policy” after all!
SO when traveling the highways and back roads of our fair province, keep you eyes peeled and you never know when you might be following a truck full of money that’s about to spill all or some of it’s load and you can test your own moral strength!
That’s it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption!
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Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.