Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget......

November 11/16

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in our lords year nineteen hundred and eighteen did the guns fall silent across Europe but long before that moment did Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae pen these words.......

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

 

 

 

Every year we remind ourselves of the sacrifices made by so many in order to safeguard our liberties and freedom through the wearing of the poppy

 

 

I will spend my moment of silence thinking of my great grandfather who lays silently in Flanders Field, my uncle resting near Anzio, and all the others who have taken a place on the ramparts so that I may lead the life I've been afforded without worry or fear.

 

I can now add two more names to my list of those I honour today though those names shall be kept in my heart for me alone to know for that is where my memories of them belong.

 

I shall not ever forget the past nor the present when thinking of them.

 

Thank you...............

How does one choose between two equally vile candidates?

Tuesday, November 8th, 2016.

I can honestly say without a moments hesitation that I am so glad I moved from the U.S. to Canada for no other reason than it let me avoid having to try and choose between the lesser of two evils running for president.

On one hand you have a egotistical buffoon who thinks he can bully his way out of any situation not to his liking, someone who tends to forget the silver spoon that aided him in his rise to his current financial standing,

On the other hand you have a career politician who wouldn't know the truth if it stood in front of her wearing a pink tutu holding a sign proclaiming it was the truth. Add her philandering husband to the mix and I'm sure more than one young female intern at the White House is thinking of ways to avoid being in a room alone with wily old Bill.

So has it come down to where we now are no longer voting for the candidate that we think will do the best job for the country but rather the one we think will do the least amount of damage and not leave the United States looking like a laughing stock on the world stage.

I've been checking out some websites during the day and found it interesting that the race was as close as it is given the tone of the campaigns run by each candidate.

One says if he loses it means the election was rigged and the other tells voters in one of her last campaign stops to not vote for the evil candidate. How about the first accept the results like an adult and not whine when he doesn't get his way and the other actually present a viable platform that makes her stand above the first and not tell voters she is the lesser of the two evils.

Both Hilary and Donald are evil and neither should have the privilege of running an outhouse least of all a country.

So how do you pick who gets your vote?

If I was still voting down there I'd probably be leaning independent this time around. Maybe if enough people did that the message might get through that it's time for a change in the partisan politics that uses nothing more than smear tactics to frighten voters and demean opponents.

My name is Marcus and I weep a silent tear for the Armageddon that is tonight's elections in America.

Media Games

Thursday, November 04/16

So on my 40+ minute drive to work this past week I've had lots of time to think about things, sometimes this is good thing and sometimes it's not so good, and I started thinking back about some of the major stories we've been flooded with over the past year or so.

Do any of these rings a bell?

Ebola outbreak in West Africa sees first major cases in America. There was some panic but not as much as could have been expected given some of the reporting that was going on around this story.

Greece close to defaulting on national debt. I remember reading countless stories about how the Greek people were not going to let the government cut pensions or try and enforce the tax code as the rest of Europe was demanding they do if Greece expected to receiver any more funding. Seem to remember Germany being painted as the bad guys in this scenario given how they control the purse strings in the European Common Market.

China builds islands in the South China Sea and declares a 20o mile sea zone radius that will choke off trade. America and Japan both tested the no fly zone and found no response forthcoming but the region was up in arms over this blatant act of militarism by China.

Syrian refugees flood the soft underbelly of Europe seeking to reach Germany and the rest of Northern Europe. Canada responded to the crises by allowing 25,000 refugees into the country under one of the first acts initiated by the Justin Trudeau government. It was a fly by your seats response by our JT and probably not his last. Oh lucky us.

Britain votes to leave the European Common Market or the Brexit as the pundits have come to call it.

So here are 5 major events that captivated the wold for a few brief moments in time and than faded back into obscurity.

So what does that tell us about our ability to remain focused on an event? I mean none of these issues have been solved in the least and yet we never hear about them anymore.

Are we as a society incapable of staying tuned to something for longer than a week?

I'd like to think we can but evidence suggests otherwise. Now the wait begins for the next story or issue the media can latch onto and inundate us about.

My name is Marcus and sometimes I scratch my head at the world and welcome the voices in my head :-)

Two reminders, two smiles, and no regrets

Tuesday, October 18/16

It's funny how life has a way of reminding you of both the good and bad times you've experienced....

So last Thursday I left work early in order to go and play some golf and on the way up highway 7 to Pakenham I started to change lanes in order to pass a white delivery van but didn't really think much of it  until I was directly along side it and than just had to smile at the business name.

Ulrich's on Main.  A combination little bistro and food emporium that I was introduced to last year when visiting C on one of my many weekends up in the valley. A quaint little place and one of many that seem to populate Pembroke and make exploring new places worthwhile.

The second smile came Saturday when I was sitting on the couch watching the Blue Jay's in game two of the ALCS and my phone buzzed saying I had a Facebook message. I opened up my phone to see who it was from and ended up on the screen showing all conversations, don't get too excited as there were only 3 of them as I'm not a huge FB messenger kind of guy.

The message was from a friend I hadn't talked to in quite some time and she was asking how I was doing and what was new with me. We chatted for a bit and got all caught up with one another for now and as I signed off I noticed an older conversation that I had forgotten to delete from last year.

I had sent congratulations to C's son has he had secured early admission to university and I was pretty sure both of his parents were over the moon with happiness.

I opened the conversation to see how I go about deleting it and noticed his current status had been updated and as I read it I felt this huge smile on my face as it seems he his following in his parents footsteps in his choice of university and career. His road will be hard and full of obstacles but if there is one thing I've come to realize it is that that young man has an inner drive that will be more than ample to see him through to the end. Given how successful his mother has been I can only imagine how far he'll push that bar himself. Being a legacy is never easy but I'm confident his only limitations will be those he accepts and I don't see many of those. Go forth and conquer A for the world is your playground.

It's sort of funny how both those reminders somehow had C at the center and yet both made me smile without any hesitation or regret. I'm am truly a better man for my time with her and it has taken me a little while to understand the benefits from our relationship far outweigh the hurt I had to endure.

I once wrote that love means accepting the hurt as well as the joy and if you can understand that simple truth that everything else will fall into place over time.

My time is now and I'm continuing my journey through life. It has been interesting to say the least and I wonder at times what my future holds but in the end the only way to know is to get out there and live that life the best you can........

My name is Marcus and these are my journeys. Care to come along for the ride, it might not be all fun and games but I don't think you'll be too bored :-)

Oh snap!  Almost forgot to give you today's musical suggestion. Lets go with Work Shoes by USS

Only in Canada

Tuesday, October 11/16

So yesterday I went out and played what might turn out to be my final round of golf this year and had one of those moments that can only be described as truly Canadian.

I met my buddy B at Glen Mar for our 2:02 tee time and off we went.

We both hit nice drives on the opening par 3 hole, I still hate the fact that GM switched to the old back nine as the opening front nine as I think it strange to start off with a  par 3 but it is what it is, and we ended up with a pair of pars to begin the round.

The second is a really long par 5 that plays about 545 yards slightly uphill to a partially hidden green. There is a hill on the right side and it hides a pond that is about 225 yards out from the tee box.  Somehow I boomed my drive just slightly past the pond in the middle of the fairway and hit a super 3 wood that left me about 138 yards out but on the right side along the tree line and behind the trees guarding the right approach to the green.

As I was getting ready to hit my 8 iron I looked up to see a golfer coming down the tree line looking for what had to be a very wayward tee shot off of the 15th box. Now this and of itself isn't anything special until it dawned on me he was wearing shorts in 8 degree Celsius weather. Again, nothing special as I've been known to do the same and almost did yesterday lol

No, what makes this so Canadian was the fact that he was smiling as he walked past me, apologized for disrupting my swing, and was wearing a big red and white toque!.

Yes, you read that right, he was in shorts and golf polo with a toque.

How so very Canadian and worth the high five we exchanged as he passed me by.

B was standing about 5 yards away and all he could do was smile and mutter "Only in Canada"

My name is Marcus and that is how we roll in Canada....................

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

Monday, October 10/16

Like everything else we do when compared to the United States, we do Thanksgiving sooner than the Americans :)

We celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of each October so that means that today is turkey day in Canada as well as sugar pie and ham day.

Last year I cooked my first turkey dinner with a lot of help from C and I spent some time this weekend looking back on last years Thanksgiving celebrations with a lot of smiles and love in my heart.  This time last year my son and I got spend Thanksgiving with C's family on Saturday and then we came home to cook our own dinner for Thanksgiving Monday that included my daughter, her fiancé, and C.

Yesterday I broke bread at my ex's house and it was a lot less strange than I thought it would be.

I was a little surprised when she asked if my son and I would like to come over for family dinner but agreed as it would let me see her family and they always treated me well.

We played some cards, Joker Rummy, and I proved to be very bad at it but still had fun. My ex's partners father was there and seemed to take a shine to me and we talked a lot about golf and the various clubs we've played. He said he'd heard I played some up in the valley and asked which were my favourite so I told him Pembroke, Petawawa, and Roanoke in that order but I hadn't played up there this past season as my reason for being there was no longer true.

Dinner was perfect and the pies afterwards were the icing on the cake.

My former mother-in-law promised to make a sugar pie for Christmas and would make my son bring it to me as he is with his mom on Christmas eve and morning this year.

When it was time to leave I thanked my ex and her partner for having me over and she smiled and said "Once family, always family" and that is so true, especially in this day and age of hyper connections and stress to make ends meet.

So as I start to get ready to head out and play my final round of golf for this season I'd like to wish each of my Canadian followers a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope you are/were able to spend it with loved ones, family, and friends.

My name is Marcus and though the days are turning cold the heart grows stronger..........

Tears.......unbidden and quite confusing

Thursday, October 06/16

So there is something going on with me and I don't have a fucking clue what it is and I'm starting to wonder if I'm cracking up.

For the last two weeks I've literally been crying at the drop of a feather. Don't believe me than consider these recent episodes.....

I see a family going for a walk in the park and I feel like crying.

I think of my unborn grandson and I cry. OK, this one sort of makes sense

I look at the picture taken of my son and me at the end of this past seasons soccer tournament and I cry

Moki snuggles in my lap while I'm watching TV and looks up at me and I feel like crying

I'm driving back from playing golf and suddenly feel my cheeks moist from tears that I had no clue I was shedding. This one has to have happened at least 3 times over the last month

Now it looks like I'm crying in my sleep as I woke up this morning to find my pillow soaked and blood shot eyes staring back at me in the mirror.

I don't think it's health related, leastways physically, as I had my 6 month check up last week with my doctor and I can't remember seeing her so happy when we went over my recent blood work and blood pressure readings. Of course I didn't mention the free flowing waterworks as I was hoping it would work itself out but that doesn't seem to be the case and I'm guessing a call to book a fresh appointment is on order.

Has this ever happened to you and what did you do to cope with it?

I'm worried it's going to happen when my son is around and get him worrying about me or even worse, telling his sister or mom. Don't want the pregnant daughter worrying about me and don't have any explanation in case the ex asks me what is going on.

Being on good terms with one's ex is a double edged sword. On one hand we co-parent pretty good and on the other hand it also means we care about the other and never want to see them hurt.

Believe or not just writing this entry has be almost balling my eyes out............

My name is Marcus and something is wrong and I can't figure it out and that scares me more than anything right now.

Two Commercials, Two Different Reactions

Thursday, September 29/16

So there are currently two TV commercials airing from competing car companies and each makes me feel a different emotion. One makes me smile and the other has me convinced I'll never buy a vehicle from that particular manufacturer ever again.

Let's start with the one that pisses me off to no end.

Opening scene shows a teenage boy at night sitting on the curb in front of a house where it is quite obvious a house party is being held. Nothing wrong with that. Scene evolves to show the father arriving in the family mini van. Still nothing wrong. Now we see a close up of the son looking worried about dads reaction and the scowl on dad's face as the son looks at him as the voice over says "It's the family chauffeur"

For me the message is quite clear, don't waste my time calling me to come get you and find your own way home. That is not the message I've ever given my children and I've gladly roused myself out of bed at 1am to go and pick them up with friends from a party. I'd rather do that than have one of them try and get a ride from a friend who might have had a few drinks or try and walk home in the dark with other people whizzing by.  Now some of you might think I'm reading too much into the scene as the rest of the commercial shows fun family scenes but that one just sticks in my craw and leaves me angry at Chrysler Canada for even producing any scene where it could be misconstrued and works against our kids having the knowledge that they can call upon us at any time and we'll be there for them no matter what.

Now the one that makes me smile is from Subaru and shows 2 parents getting their kids out of the house late one night for a drive outside the city so they can experience the joy of seeing the northern lights.  I've been lucky enough to see them while standing on a hill with my parents, cousins, and grandfather at his cottage outside of Regina when I was younger, it's something that will live with me forever and that commercial takes me back to some fun times when I was but a youth.

The music for the Subaru commercial is perfect and sets the tone, the scenes where the son is excited to be heading out and the teenage daughter barely tolerant of everything going on. The smiles shared by the parents when the see the reaction in each child as they climb out of the car is priceless.

I know they are just commercials but I appreciate the one and doubt my business will ever go to the other again.

Just my take on things and you are free to unbuckle and move about the cabin at will, agreeing or disagreeing with me as you choose :)

Marcus

Two words that caused some laughter and anger

Wednesday, September 21/16

It has been far longer than I like since I last posted and I'd like to offer up an apology but upon further review don't know that I really owe anyone one as I was pretty clear a little while back when I said I post entries at my own pace depending on my mood and what is going on around me and with me.

Please don't take the lack of postings to mean life has been boring as it's been anything but that the last few weeks............

I'm going to start this one off with a teaser as I'm literally getting ready to walk out the door for an appointment and promise to finish it off tonight when I'm home safe and sound once more.

So two recent words I uttered at different times caused some people to laugh and one person to get extremely angry with me.

The words?

Introvert & Content

To be continued..........................................................

11:13 PM
Two weeks ago I was having lunch with A, T, and M from work and the conversation turned to how things will be different in the office come the end of September when both M & I aren't around anymore as our transitional contracts come to an end.

Now T was sitting across from me trying not to spill anything as she was dressed to the 9's like usual, swear I've never seen the woman in the same outfit yet and it's been almost 15 months, with M next to me and A across from him.

As we talked about work I smiled and said I was going to miss the team and really appreciated how they've all helped me overcome being such an introvert.

Now as those words left my mouth a couple of things happened all at once. The first was T just looking at me and laughing and the second was A spitting out his drink all over M and looking over at me like I'd suddenly started speaking in Latin.

As he wiped soda off his shirt, frowning at A as he did so, M asked me what I called myself and I smiled and said "I'm an introvert, well I'd say now more of an extroverted introvert, if that is possible"

A asked me what made me think I'm an introvert as I have to be the most extroverted person he's ever met in his life, talking to everyone and anyone who crosses my path, striking up conversations with people whenever we are out for lunch or down in the cafeteria.

I looked down at my plate and told them that dealing with people is one of the hardest things I do every day, that I have massive insecurity when it comes to other people, and I have to force myself to talk to people lest the shyness take over my life.

A asked me how that can be possible as he's seen me in action , his words, and if that's the case how the hell can I coach as well as I do if dealing with people is so hard. I smiled and said the soccer pitch is the one place I've never felt the terror of dealing with people and think it has something to do with the adrenaline that gets going once a match starts.

T reached over and put her hand on mine and asked if that is why I'm single and not even trying to date anymore. I looked at her a bit shocked that she knew that and she laughed and said she might not sit in the bullpen, what we call our quad workspace, but she can literally hear everything we say from her own area and we really do need to get me a girlfriend or at the very least laid.

I thought A was going to spit out on M again as he heard that but managed to hold it back.

I think growing up an only child had a lot to do with being an introvert, couple that with having a lazy eye as a youth and I tended to avoid talking to people as much as possible.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely rip it speaking in public and tended to be the last presenter for each group I was in during my university and graduate school days as I could sway a room like nobody's business. But being able to do that doesn't mean I wasn't fighting the shakes at the same time and trying to fend off those inner voices trying to spread doubt inside me.

So while to this day I have some anxiety about speaking to people or working a room I make myself do them as I refuse to abdicate control of my life to an insecurity as I am the master of my own destiny, least to some extent given I'm also a father and we all know who runs my life.......

Therefore I stand by my declaration of being an extroverted introvert and am glad I've made the move to being somewhat more extroverted.

Now the anger came last week from my son and was the end result of a discussion over dinner between myself, his girlfriend and himself.

It developed when I asked how his co-op class was going and he let me know he'd managed to land a placement with one of the local sports groups but it didn't start till this week. I asked what he was doing in the meantime and he laughed and said getting his teacher a coffee from Tim Horton's.

I sat back and asked him to expand upon that and he said expand how, he drove to Tim Horton's and got his teacher a double double and an iced capp for himself as the teacher gave him $10.

I told him his teacher was lucky he hadn't been in an accident as I would have sued his ass off.

My son said that was stupid as I should sue the person who would have hit him and I told not to worry about that as our insurance company would have done that but his teacher was all my job to sue. He said that made no sense as he it wouldn't be his fault there was an accident.

That statement should have been my first reminder that I was dealing with the mind of a teenager as he couldn't put the cause and effect into place when thinking about the scenario. But me being me I tried to show him the error of his logic and to his girlfriends benefit, she did the same.

I outlined how if his teacher hadn't sent him to get the coffee he would not be in a position to possibly be in an accident but his mind could not grasp the relationship between being sent to get the coffee is what put him potentially in harms way. I explained his teacher has a legal responsibility to keep him safe and sending a student off campus on a personal matter does not lessen that position.

He responded by saying that was just the "American" in me coming out and wanting to sue, that I was no better than the person who orders coffee from McDonalds and then sues them when she spills it and says it was too hot!!.

I took a moment before replying as that was the first time one of my children has ever mentioned my being American in a disagreement and it actually stung me far more than I thought it would.

I looked at him and said "you are wrong, that is not the American in me coming out as you claim but rather the more important parent in me looking to protect my only son" I started to gather the plates from the table and looked at him and said "I don't mean to sound condescending, but I'm more willing to bet that in 20 years your position would be more like mine is today than yours"

He started to rebut my statement and I smiled at him and said "I can say that with all my heart as I also know that if our positions were reversed and I was in your spot I'd be arguing the exact same position you are right now and you'd be arguing mine"

"Why do you say that and still argue for suing the teacher"

"Because our beliefs are molded by the experiences we go through and I know the younger me would see things as you do as we are very much alike, just as I know when you are a father, you are going to everything under the sky to keep your children safe, just as I do now as an older version of you"

I don't know that he fully understood what I was trying to say but his girlfriend looked at him with a huge smile and said she got what I was saying and to not try to overthink it too much but to try and remember this conversation as she was sure it would come up many years from now and he'd likely have one of those "ah ha" moments afterwards and think about it and me with a smile.

Now that wasn't the part that really made him mad but it's late and I've got to get some sleep so I'll add that part tomorrow as I think I've done a pretty good job whetting your appetite for this entry don't you?

Today was my birthday

Wednesday, August 31/16

So today was my 54th birthday and it was pretty damn awesome.

I spent my morning getting new plates and tags for my car as the old plates were peeling right off the metal and the tags would expire at midnight tonight.

Followed that up with the best round of golf that I've ever played, maybe a gift from the golf Gods on this special day. A wicked 85 on the Lake/Canyon courses at Pakenham that could easily have been an 83 or lower had I not managed to sail one into the pond on Canyon's 4th hole. Still pretty damn good and has me feeling like I'm walking on cloud nine right now.

The day ended with dinner at my daughters for some butter chicken over steamed rice with a Caesar salad and a very nice cheesecake with fruit toppings. We followed that up with movie night where we sent to see "Don't Breathe" and I think I aged another year with some of the jumping I did on certain scenes lol

My son got me a wonderful picture frame with a clock and pen holder on it for my desk. The picture inside is of the two of us at last weekends soccer tournament so you know there were some tears I was fighting back. I also got some movie gift cards, iTunes gift card, and a movie quiz book that makes you piece together pictures to try and figure out the movie that is very cool and harder than you'd think.

All day long I was getting Facebook messages from friends wishing me a happy birthday.

The say you can measure a person's worth by the company they keep and if that's true than I'm doing quite well as I have far more friends than I ever realized :-)

I turned 54 today but I don't feel my age at all, and some would say I hardly ever act it either, not sure that is meant to be the compliment I take it as but that's life.

I don't thin I've ever felt my real age and I embrace that with a gusto as I really do feel like I'm just hitting my stride and am better than I've ever been. Sure there are some things I don't do quite as well as when I was younger, and no I'm not referring to that particular thing so lets keep our minds out of the gutter for the moment ok, and there are things I do much better now at 54 than I ever did at 27, and yes this time I might be referring to certain things that could be considered gutter worthy but its my birthday so I get to take certain liberties as the birthday boy.

The one thing I am is much more patient with my life and everything going on around me. I'm more empathetic to those less fortunate than myself and have tried my best to instill that in my children as well, to show them that it is the right thing to do to help those not as gifted as ourselves.

Today I turned 54 and it feels like I've just hit the mid point and I'm looking forward to what the next half century brings my way :)

Marcus

Goodbye Gord, thanks for making me so proud of my heritage

August 21/16

Last night was the last concert to ever be performed by The Tragically Hip.

Not because the band is breaking up over artistic differences, not due to inflated egos, not because of jealousies, and not because they just reached the end and wanted to stop playing together.

The Tragically Hip have come to the end of performing due to the health of Gord Downie, lead singer and by most accounts Canada's Poet Laureate.

They say that time waits for no man and that is true but in this case time has come too early. Gord is 52, two years younger than this blogger, and in the prime of his life artistically speaking.

His songs have evoked memories for Canadians from shore to shore and far up into the north.

He has used his position to remind us of our obligations to leave the planet better than we found it, to stand up for those less fortunate than ourselves, and to be the best person we can be each and every day we walk this earth.

My first concert in Canada was at the old Corel Centre in Ottawa to see The Hip. I was spellbound as Gord described my new home through choice lyrics that left me wanting to explore all this great land has to offer.

In many ways he was our conscious and reminded us of how fortunate we are to live in such an amazing country, to never take things for granted, and to celebrate the smallest things as if they meant the most to us as they do.

Watching the end of the concert made me cry like I've only cried before at the loss of a loved one.

The look in his eyes said it all, he has more stories to tell us but not the time and it makes him angry.

He let those emotions out in one of the last songs they performed with some raw tears flowing down his cheeks as he yelled his protest at the unfairness of it all. Yet he also took the time to remind us to solve our northern problems, typical Gord to be thinking of others as time is ticking away.

I don't know how long Gord has but I hope he spends it with family and friends, taking in the love and affection he richly deserves as well as giving it to those he loves.

Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip shall forevermore be part of the Canadian landscape.

"A Head By A Century" is by far my favourite Hip song and one I'll listen too as I raise a glass in his memory at some point in the future.

Thank you Gord for the music but more importantly for reminding me what it means to be Canadian.

#Downie #TragicallyHip #Hip4Life

Marcus

Two things that count as a strike for me

Sunday, August 14/16

I've been thinking about what makes me take a pass on a dating profile when I'm actually on a site and two come to mind right off the bat.

Before I say what these are let me start off by saying we all have choices to make in life and I try really hard to have an open mind when dealing with people, now having said that there is really no middle ground for me when it comes to these two things.........

I am a non practicing Roman Catholic. I believe in God but take the position that he, call me sexist if you will but when I think of my Deity I think in terms of a male gender, might be a tad bit too busy to worry about me hour by hour, least that is my hope as it is a very large universe out there and I'm not convinced we have it all to ourselves.

So though I might not attend church on a regular basis it does not mean I have forsaken my belief nor am I willing to even consider that there is not a higher power. That means for me that it is not even within the realms of possibility that I could ever date an Atheist. There are no if, ands, or buts about this one. But here is the wrinkle in the belief, and there is almost always a wrinkle where I am concerned, I could entertain the possibility of dating an Agnostic. Why you ask? They don't believe in or not believe in a higher power and take the stance of "show me the proof of said existence"

Now I'm not looking at these women as a challenge as I don't think it my obligation to either prove or disprove their beliefs, I look at them as having an open mind and that is something I find extremely attractive in a potential partner. They are willing to listen to the arguments for and against and reach a conclusion on their own. For the most part they haven't been given ample enough evidence to make a sound and lasting decision. That is cool with me.

As a person who thinks himself somewhat educated and logical, I somehow managed to trick one college, and two universities into bestowing upon myself multiple degrees, and cannot fathom the stance that someone can take that there is no higher power. I get and follow the big bang theory, the evolution of man from primordial swamp to reaching for the stars, and Darwin's Theory of Evolution quite well. I also think someone had to put that initial component of matter into play that was the start of everything.

So what is the other thing that makes me take a pass on a profile?

This one is easier and totally a personal preference.

Facial piercings. Well other than those lovely auditory lobes we call the ears.

I don't understand the attraction of nose studs, nose rings, eye piercings, lips piercings, or any other such items. I'm not one to say they are horrible or should be banned, but for me they are a huge turnoff and nothing I would ever enjoy seeing on my partner.

Now before you ask and trust me one of you will ask me via an email, I have been with someone who had other piercings in places not normally exposed to the light of day. I'm neither for or against those kind of piercings and thing my take on them rests on the premise that they are private and shared at the consent of both parties.

I'd say my only hesitation would come from knowing that someone else, hopefully a female, was the installer of said piercing and thus was entitled to viewing a part of her body that I would like to think is my private domain, or could become mine over time lol.

Yes, I agree that is rather sexist and elitist of me, but I am who I am when it comes to my feelings towards my partner.

So when I am online and take the time to look at some profiles I determine whether to continue in this order: smile, religion, and if I can see any visible facial piercings.

I don't care what the religion is or if they list Agnostic, I'm down to possibly chat. Atheist? Have a good day and I'm moving on.

I'm sure there are things on my own profile that might make women take a pass, I am still single after all so there is some validity to that statement, and I am perfectly fine with that as I'm not perfect nor do I seek perfection. No, rather it could be said that I am seeking the one who is imperfectly perfect for me.

What is you take on this? I'd love to know.

Marcus

A round of golf with a great score and more than a little fear

Saturday, August 13/16

Ok, let me say this before any of you continue to inundate me with messages about the missing white water rafting post.

Yes, I owe you a post but the truth of the matter is that some posts write themselves, some take a bit of thought in expressing the thought into words, and others sound wicked awesome in my head but are harder than hell to express in such a manner that makes me happy with the finished product.

I've finally got the bulk of the post completed and just working on the ending so it all ties together. There are times preparing a post makes me think it compares to blocking out scenes for a movie, everything has to be just right lest it feel forced.


So pending the final editing to that posting please enjoy the following entry from my experience this past Wednesday.

I only played golf twice last weekend, I'm as shocked as you by this, with my normal round Saturday morning with B at Pakenham on the Lake and Island courses. I didn't play bad nor did I play all that well so Saturday afternoon found me feeling a bit antsy so I drove down to Manotick to play Manderley on the Green. When I got there they were just finishing off a tournament and sent me off on the South 9 with a transition to the Central 9 for my 18. Now it has been at least 16 years since I last played Manderley and given the shape of the course it's probably going to be another 16 years before I go back again. That's all I'm going to say about it but it should be enough to form a sound opinion of how I found the course..........

So Monday was the usual rehash of weekends with M & M and vacation recap for A.

Inventory M asked if I was going to play during the week given my weekend and I replied that with no soccer game this week it was looking good. He suggested Wednesday as he has men's league play on Thursday's.

So Wednesday rolled around and it was super hot, like +32c with strong humidity. I've found that when it gets too hot Inventory M will skip golf as he is a rather big guy, standing about 5'10 and has to be close to 300-325 lbs. He is a great guy and wonderful to work with but I wonder how his future looks given he is about 15 years younger than me but putting so much pressure on his body.

Imagine my surprise when he asked if I was still golfing after work. I told him I was game and though he was only looking to play 9 I was more than likely going to shoot to play a full 18 darkness permitting.

The day dragged and it seemed to take an eternity for 4pm to roll around but as soon as it did we jetted for the course. I got there first as M had to stop by his house and get his clubs, he lives like 5 minutes from the course, and warmed up on the practise putting green while I waited for him.

The wait let me work on my stroke as I've been trying to incorporate the things I learned from the putting class I took back in May. I know that is almost 3 months ago but I never said I was quick learner now did I?

Putting went well and just as I was finishing up M arrived so we headed off to the first tee on the Pakenham Lake course - my favourite as it offers me chances to use all my clubs and I can usually score well when things click.

To say things were clicking would be like saying the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Suddenly my slice was gone and I was long bombing my driver off the tee. On the 357 yard par 4 first hole my drive was so good that I was left with a wedge from 107 yards, which I nailed perfectly and two putted for a par. M was playing equally well but at the same time I could sense him struggling with the heat. We were both 1 over after the first 4 holes and feeling good about things. It was about this time that I started to become more worried about M as the heat was taxing my endurance and I couldn't imagine what it was doing to him. I've played golf in the heat and suffered heat stroke but I'd been hydrating all day and continued to do so as we played. I know M was doing the same but the difference in our sizes was begin to take a toll on him.

We both hit good drives on the 5th with me nipping his by about 25 yards. After he hit his second shot to clear the edge of the pond and put himself in shape for a easy wedge to the green I noticed him labouring again and without even thinking about it pulled my iPhone out of my bag and checked the signal strength, putting it in the cup holder of our cart. I hit my second shot dead perfect and left myself a wee little pitch to the pin and a legitimate shot at an eagle though I was shooting for my birdie. As he hit his wedge shot I started to mentally review the steps required to perform CPR and had brought my hands together in front of me and started practicing the 5 push heart compression I learned in my St; Johns course last year.

M looked over at me and said "Really?" and then down at my hands when I didn't get his comment. It was at that point that I noticed my hands for the first time. I smiled at him sheepishly and before I could say anything he softly punched me on the arm and said "Thanks, but I'm not going to have a heart attack on you out here".......

We finished the nine and totaled up our scores. Though he started strong the heat did wear M down quite a bit and it cost him on the last 4 holes where he triple bogeyed all of them and ended up shooting a 49. Because of my worries about him I hadn't been paying attention to my actual score but knew it would be good as I was striking and putting lights out. Good is an understatement as I came in at 43, my best 9 ever scored. It would have been even better had I not 3 putted the 6th on my way to a horrendous triple bogey.

As I dropped him off at his car I asked him to text me later so I knew he was ok and he smiled at me as he agreed and told me I was a bigger worry wart than his aunt.

After watching him drive off I headed back out and finished off my back nine. I'd love to say I continued my hot streak but have to admit to double bogeying the first three holes as I was a bit concerned about M. It wasn't until he sent me a text saying he was home and his aunt was over to keep an eye on him did I relax and my game slowly come back. I shot a respectable 46 and know that the 4 over par I played the last six holes was more like how my game is trending than the 6 over on the opening three holes.

I'm a big guy.....stand about 5'9 and weigh in around 225 so there is room for improvement in my physique and conditioning, both things I've started to address at Movati once again, but watching M really made me think about life and how I don't ever want to put myself in such a position that a simple round of golf can lead to a stroke or heart attack.

I've got too much living to do to let myself fall behind like that. My son graduates high school this year and I'm going to be there to watch. My daughter is giving birth to my first grandchild this coming December and I plan on being around to take him for ice cream after soccer. I've yet to experience my last first kiss and hope it happens soon but have to be here for that to happen.

Marcus

Yes, I did say grandson as we learned the sex of the baby last weekend and I admit to crying as I looked over at my daughter and her fiancé and seeing the joy and love they shared at the news.