Fire at Camp

The Salvation Army Camp, just north of Montreal, that I attended as a kid, while my parents ran the show, then as a camper, then as a lifeguard and last summer completing the circle of life, with my wife and kids, has had a major fire.

I can remember staying there from about age 4. Now Darcy has those same memories. I know that ground like my own backyard. The Titcombe's have been a main stay name there for a long time. In fact my Dad was a lifeguard there, then my sister, older brother, then me, then my younger brother. I'm not sure what they would have done for about ten years if we hadn't been on the beach!

It's still WAY too early to know what happened, or what will happen this summer. One article speculates at arson. The video mentions electrical faults and accidental ignition. Nothing has been confirmed. My source tells me that the power was shut off.

Here's a photo as it should be remembered:

Basically, everything to the left of the middle chimney is gone. That was the kitchen, staff area and food storage. To the right of the middle chimney is the dining area, it sounds like there is some damage, but it's too early to tell if anything is salvageable.

Here's what it looks like now.

Back at it.

Almost one month into 2009 already. The last two months have flown by for me, with Christmas and traveling during the Holidays, then back to work for a few days, then out of town again for three weeks of very stressful training, I'm glad to be back at home.

Being stuck in a hotel for three weeks got old pretty fast, but it did give me the opportunity to keep up the cardio in the fitness room. I got to run/walk on a treadmill, which was nice. I did it nice and easy (just like the doctor said), I don't expect to be able to keep it up now that I'm home, but it was nice while it lasted.

I got some great bad weather biking gear and I'm anxious to try it out. Hopefully Wednesday.

Sliding down the road

I'm still biking to work, I plan on doing it year round, as long as the roads are mostly clear. In the winter months I use an old mountain bike, with thick / knobby tires. It's a beast, very heavy and starting to corrode, but it's cheaper than a car and faster than the bus.

This morning things were slick. Our little street was a complete sheet of ice when I left at 6 am. As I was going down the road I was thinking, "I really need to be careful here, I really don't want to wreck here." Then at the end of the street I tapped the brakes to slow down and before I could blink I was on the ground sliding. Some people say that a moment like this happens in slow motion, not for me. I hit on my left knee first, then hip, wrist, elbow, back and then my head hit really hard. Good thing I always wear a helmet. The bike slid about 15 feet, I slid about 10 feet. There is not a scratch mark on any of my clothes, the bike or even the helmet. It was pure ice and I was gliding along the top.

I picked myself up, did a quick inventory of the body parts and got back on the bike. I don't have any soreness anywhere, but I do have a mild headache. The rest of the ride was uneventful and the main roads didn't have any ice on them, they were just wet.

Tomorrow's goal is to buy a new helmet.

This is a sick world.

This link is a story about a pedophile who is now dead, he hung himself before a court appearance. I warn you it is "go home and hug your children" disturbing.

What caught my eye was a Windsor connection that ended up being how he got caught in the first place.

Vacation

I haven't written anything about what's upcoming for us. But tonight we leave for a 7 day Caribbean cruise, to celebrate our tenth anniversary.

Suckers! You all get to stay in the cold fall / winter and we'll be getting crispy beach/pool side.

You can read the specifics on Sue's blog.

To quote Nelson, "Ha ha!"

Nine times

The woman whose blog that I follow finished her ninth Ironman race yesterday.

Congrats to you Shelley, that is truly an amazing feat!

Not that I said I told you so, but...

I told you so.

Work auto-union, lose job.

Today's news featured two stories about the Windsor Assembly van plant shutting down for the equivalent of a week. Here is one. Here is the other.

Here's what I notice. In one breathe they were told that the shut down wouldn't happen. The next day, they were told it was going to happen. First they say it's for three weeks. Then they say that after three weeks they'll re-evaluate. In one breathe, they call say it's because of an over stock of parts. In the next breathe, they're saying that orders and demand are down.

So what do you believe?

The key, to me, is this line "The only reason they're not shutting the plant down entirely is they have a contract to build VWs."

What? A foreign car is saving a North American plant? "That's unpossible," to quote Ralph Wiggum.

Look, I don't think 4500 local people being out of work is good in any way. It's bad for all local business, it's bad for morale, it's bad for our local image, it's bad for our already dead housing market. It's bad.

But I told you so.