Don't Mess Around with Marie...

This is from the Jim Croce song, Growing up I always imagined this was about my uncle, until the end of the song - because Jim doesn't lose, but beside every man there a great woman, and today one of them is having a birthday.

Today is my aunt Marie's 60th B-Day, She's a hell of a lady, she's put up with us MacAfee's for many years and she wouldn't want it any other way. Happy Birthday Marie.

Hugs For Megs...

Today is my little Sister's Birthday - we celebrated as a family earlier tonight - it was a nice evening and I know that she is planning on celebrating with friends tomorrow night - Looking through these pictures - one thing stuck me - Megs is always getting hugs - which is awesome. She's a very special woman and a fantatic Sister, Daughter and Aunt.

She's been all over the place, done almost everything and has tons of really great friends, mostly because she's a really great friend.

Have a Awesome Day Megs - Here's a little video for you...

Senseless Violence…

I try to be a positive person – to seek out the good at the center of a situation – To look at both sides and try not to let my vision of a event be clouded by the media hype – I try to “get” why someone does/did something and not judge them for how they act, most of the time they are only doing the best with what they have at the time. – But one thing that I am unable to grasp is the senseless violence that has become all too commonplace on our evening news. Yesterday’s horrific Virginia Tech shooting was the most recent example of an alarming trend in today’s society – Violence.

I don’t get it – you’re having a bad day – You get dumped, so you shoot your Girlfriend? You fail a class, so you shoot your Teacher? You don’t get along with the other kids in your school – you shoot them? You don’t like something someone else is doing, so you invade their country??? I don’t get it – when did this behaviour become the norm. How did someone ever think that any of this was alright? The only link between any of the above statements is “you” – so how can one person’s bad day get to impact so many lives – yesterday at least 33 lives were changed, as they sadly ended – but the impact of those tragic two hours will be played out by at least 33 families over every future Christmas, Easter and Sunday Dinner for the foreseeable future, it will be played out by the victims friends and families and by the students at VT for a lot longer.

I see a lot of the news has centered on the timeline, on what was done, what should have been done - basically on laying blame. I remember thinking that the same thing happened in Montreal last year, how the media were blaming Video Games, Rock Music, Rap Music, Gangs, Guns, Bullies, Race, Religon, Nationality, Teachers, Bad Relationships, Poor Role Models, The desensitization that comes when a country is at war, Society in General, Books, Art - anyone they could think of – This may be comforting to some to lay blame on something generic, something too big to be able to change, but personally I feel that the blame rests solely on that one individual who for some unknown reason saw this as a solution to his problems, he made the choice, all of those other things may have opened his eyes to this senseless act being a viable option, an unthinkable solution to a bad day – he was the one that made that catastrophic decision.

Most of the media is now figuring what schools should do next time this happens, does this sound as crazy to others as it does to me – We need to send the message to all of those that may be having bad days that this is not an option. No more violence, find an outlet, talk to your friends, get a hobby, go for a walk, find someone new, study harder, there’s always next season – nothing is as serious as it seems to be in the heat of the moment, nothing that is, except senseless violence…

Hip to be, Here?...

News Broke late last week that the Tragically Hip - were bowing to public demand and coming back to the Beach. I've seen the Hip on at least 6 occasions from Halifax to Vancouver - at Huge stadiums and small campus venues, indoors and Out - I remember the last time they were at the Aitken Center - I was working security, I think it was the Fully Completely Tour and Gord was at his finest - Canada's James Joyce, spewing forth stream of consciousness lyrics that would make your mind bend. It was a great night and I expect that the Sept. 11 show will be no different - a chance to celebrate the awareness that the Hip have brought to the Canadian state of mind. Here is the letter that I sent into the Fox to try to get them here.

In other news looks like Big Jebb will become a member of a new Motley Crue today, as last week while training with the national team in Victoria, his heart started to race, he had to go to the Hospital to get it checked out and today he is scheduled to have a Dr.(Feelgood I assume) Kick Start his Heart - all kidding aside, the procedure is very safe and Jebb should be better for the long run after he gets through it and up to his old tricks in no time - Get well soon Jebbidiah.

Oblivious to Bolivia, Not...

I read a quote somewhere - Micheal Jordan (Not the RCMP Member) said that there were 3 kinds of people -"those that wished something would happen, those that wanted something to happen and those that made something happen" - My boss John O, definitely belongs to that third group.

For the past 10 days my boss and a group of Canadians have been down in Bolivia, spreading the good fortune that many of us as Canadians take for granted - the goal of the trip was to help out some local Bolivian service organizations and they attempt to serve one of the world's youngest and poorest populations. They are on their way home tomorrow, but have been located in the city of Cochabamba, which is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the third largest city in Bolivia with a metropolitan population of more than 800,000 people. The name derives from a compound of the Quechua words qhocha, or swamp, and pampa, or open plain. Residents of the city and surrounding areas are commonly referred to as Cochabambinos. Cochabamba is known throughout South America as the "City of Eternal Spring" and "The Garden City" due to its warm temperatures year round and abundant well kept parks.

He has kept all of us at work updated on the daily activities and they maintain a blog from Cochabamba when they can, here is the link.

Giving to others is a way of life for some, and unnatural to others - people would actually consider taking a week off of work to go south and lie on a beach, sipping cocktails and going for the occasional swim. Very few (probably not enough) would consider taking a week off work, paying thousands of dollars to fly into the poorest of the poor South American countries, to spend a week doing hard labour helping the helpless build a better life. People do it all of the time, no matter what their age, it's more dependant on the size of their heart.

As Canadians we are a privileged lot, there are services that exist here to take care of the poor, the disenfranchised, the mentally ill - we're not a third world country, we have low unemployment and you don't have to get any shots to come to Canada. We owe allot of these things that we take for granted, as well as the high esteem that we are held internationally, to those that serve this country by going abroad and protecting those that need it.

They say that "ignorance is bliss" - well that bliss came crashing down in the last couple weeks in our neighbourhood - We've lost 8 of our brave soldiers over in Afghanistan. They are over there trying to improve the world for the citizens there, a world that more closely resembles something off of Star Wars rather than anything you'd ever see in Geary - But just like the group that is in Bolivia, Our Soldiers are elsewhere protecting those that cannot protect themselves and building a brighter future for both Afghanistan and the world - They (and the ones that love them here at home) have my respect, my gratitude, my condolences and my prayers...

Like a Deer Caught In The Headlights...

Dad used to use this expression to describe the blank look that people sometime get on their faces when asked a tough, or misunderstood question - The picture is from my parents trip "Up North" last week - I've felt a little like this recently as well - so here's a quick recap
Sophie is now 1 - She got a playhouse, that looked smaller in Toys R us than it does in our living room, I needed Aaen's Help to get it to Fort Awesome and to put it together. We had a small get together for family, Sophie got her first taste of Angel Food Cake and she got some really nice stuff.

Then Nic and I went on an esteem team tour to the Miramichi - it was fun, talked to around 1500 students and set a new un-official world record for standing on a yellow ball, passing a rugby ball back and forth with a student Volun-told ( a volunteer that is told to participate) the previous record was 22, the new record is now 54.

We returned just in time to go to Moncton to celebrate Rick's big night and give Aunt Megs her first taste of babysitting Sophie- Thanks Megs. it was a great night (see previous post)

I attended my first Black Spruce training at the Dundee Dome in Moncton - I have to remember how a 180 lb person plays rugby - I still play like I weigh 210 - I was sore the next day, which I always enjoy - it usually means you've done something worthwhile and tested your limits.

Then Came Nic's first day back at work and Sophie's first day of "Daycare" - was less traumatic than anticipated, most things are, and both of my girls are happy that they've started a old/new chapter in their lives.

The week flew by, and suddenly it was Good Friday, Malcolm, Simon and I replaced the secret Bookcase in my basement with a wall - which turned out well.

Sunday we all went to Church, then visited with my Nanny Flynn and my Godfather Mike, we then followed this up by heading to Gagetown (Where the MacAfee's and Breens would be congregating later) for a short visit before heading down to Moncton to feast (on Ham and Potato Cassarole) with the McLeans and Daigles - we returned home in time to get Sophie to bed and catch the tail end of the Simpsons - It was quite a day - but we got to see almost everyone we know, so that was good...

Tuesday rolled around and we were back to work - we're going to try to work out 3 days a week on our lunch hours - I'm going to add some muscles to my frame.

That's about it - I've got some thoughts on my Boss in Bolivia and the local Soldiers that were killed in Afghanistan, but they both deserve their own blogs...

Look Out It’s The Cops…

I still say this every time I drive by a police car – I don’t know where dad ever picked this one up (Maybe I don't want to know), but it is definitely deeply etched in my mind.

So Saturday night I had the great privilege and honour of being the Master of Ceremonies – for Rick Daigle’s retirement party – it was a very emotional and entertaining evening, with many co-workers, “supervisors” and friends all gathering to surround one of their own as he moves onto the more relaxing phrase of his journey – The Phrase Look Out It’s The Cops was going through my mind continually.

One of the coolest things about Saturday Night was listening to all of those assembled speak so highly of one man – and how he meant so much to each of them. When Rick got up to say a few words, it was easy to see why so many held him in such high regard, for at the one event in his career that was supposed to be all about him, he made it about those that gathered, his friends, his family, his coworkers – He said that his father had passed on the two most important words in the English language to him, early in his life – and those words were “Thank You” – he re-iterated those words, adding two of his own “Very Much”. Something that is so easy to say, so easy in fact that we often take saying it for granted. I sat there and pondered the power in those two little words – with two easy words we allow others to feel a sense of accomplishment, that they are valued and that they have helped you along your journey in some great or small way. It also shares the success of the individual with the many – and it was in this way that Rick has always made those around him feel so richly rewarded – because as he was accomplishing so many cool things, he was constantly giving others the recognition, and accepting very little. He also was able leave a job after 38 years with no regrets, as he said if he had it all to do over again – he wouldn’t change a thing, I doubt that many could/would say the same.

Rick said that his career has been a slice, here’s hoping that his golf game doesn’t go the same way.

It’s a great gift to be able to make others feel special about themselves – not many can pull it off, but when you can – it’s Magic – sort of like Saturday Night…