Author: Ron Baker

Our health district provides a volunteer breakfast once a year.

The usual fare is pancakes and sausages.  I used to love sausages — until I found they began to disagree with me.  Or at least disagree with my intestines (I guess the old word is bowels??).  I still ingest sausages on special occasions.  Such was today — for about 1/4 of the sausage.  Then common sense snuck up on me and ambushed the rest of the sausage.

The chinet plates were handed to us as we entered.  I probably wouldn’t have noticed., but there on a table in front of my nose were various door prizes.  My sense of touch felt an impression on the bottom of the plate.  A sticker was attached to the underbelly of my meal!

My guess?  Maybe I was a winner!!  I cautiously entered the kitchen — OK, maybe not so cautiously!  Enquiry was made of the cooks (who were actually health care staff serving the volunteers today).  They explained that the horseshoe decal indeed signified a winner!  All I had to do was pick my prize from the table.

There were candles (not my style), coffee mugs (not my cup of tea!), pedometers (not in my exercise regimen) and a backpack.  A very nice backpack.  With the health district logo.  And pockets here and there.  I quickly grabbed the backpack, figuring a backpack would be a desired item.  Good for hiking or carrying books or toting clothes.  Something everyone would want.

Then I looked around the room.  The age of volunteers is gradually climbing.  With increasing age is a recognition that backpacks are not a necessity!  A cane, bifocals, and hearing aids may be more apropos.

So, I didn’t have to scramble or elbow  — I merely snatched the loot and ran.  Next time you see me, I may be carrying this prize (or not!!).  Stop me and examine the beauty of a pancake breakfast gone right!!

One of my favourite blogs –  jordoncooper.com carries an area he calls “contextless links”.  They are just things that he has run across during his day.  He doesn’t justify or create great rants on each.  They are just there for you to look at.

So, today, I thought I would just mention some things I ran across today that have no great context, just interesting.

The Peavey Mart parking lot is now paved.  No more mud as I seek the best bargains in town!!

I can’t drive Railway Avenue — paving crews are resurfacing the road.

Trees are starting to turn color.  As I look out hte window, my backyard trees are now about 1/4 yellow and the leaves will fall soon.

Washed the car today.  To my left, in a corner of the wash stall, a small stream of water constantly poured from a hose onto the floor.  Not sure what that was about.  Mud congregated in the next stall waiting to be washed down a drain — not my duty today!

A letter from Gordon Dirks, VP of External Relations at Alliance University College, mentioned Dave Petrescue.  See previous posts to get a sense of who Dave was.

Knives on sale.  At the Zellers today, Alfred Sung knives worth $12 – 15 rung through for under $3.00.

Pictures of the African well project which we contributed to as a church are now hanging on the bulletin board in the church foyer.

A finance seminar is being planned for November 4-5, 2006.  They will include session on budgeting, retirement, estate and wills.  We are also stepping out and offering a seminar on dealing with the unique financial needs of those who are divorced, separated and remarried.  And one seminar that will just contian pithy financial sayings and advice — things like “Pay yourself second”, and “There is virtue in being still”.

Macintosh apples shipped to town without a lot of pre-preparatian and laid out in a cardboard box are way better than polished, bagged and weighed product.

And that is only part of the day.  Trust you’ve enjoyed not having any idea where this all comes from!

The beauty of the fall captures me every year!

Jill and I are scheduled to head out tomorrow — into the great outdoors.  Each year we try to get those “fall” pictures that show the turning of the leaves.  Over past years our success could fill a small art gallery!  Award quality.  We’ll see what we come up with tomorrow.

So, I ventured outside tonight to see what I could see.  Didn’t have to go far.  Just out onto the veranda (or is that entry way, or do you call it front steps . . . ?).  There a sight to behold confronted my wearied eyes.  Steam rising from ashphalt pavement.  Workers who don’t have enough of the “smokey” tar, they light up with cigarettes as well — or maybe they get addicted to tar??

The work is hard, but in the end our street will have less holes (I really wasn’t sure we had any until they dug out whole sections of the street — then we all had fun driving the obstacle course).  When I say the work is hard, I am not referring to personal experience.  I’m referring to the vicarious experience of watching others push rakes and shovel ashphalt.  Always a much easier experience — I just had to have nourishment after watching (a bit of chocolate never hurt anyone)!!