Damn!
I have watched a multitude of videos on The Great War, WW2, and the (so-called) Vietnam War. My interest in any of those conflicts has been thru personal, or familial, contact.
I can not say much for the first World War, other than my great grand-father - John Erskine Johnston Simpson -, who fought in Europe in WW1 and died due to complications from inhalation of "mustard gas". I have no familial connection to WW2.
However, the so-called VietNam War is tied to me because I (as in ME!) wanted oh-so desperately to go there and fight! Mainly because I was disheartened with my life at home. But, my cousin Steve left home to avoid that stupid mandatory draft in what? '71? '72? Much as my immediate family wanted to decry his actions, I applauded them.
Then, Steve returned home, enlisted, and joined the Marines! At that time, I was confused and, yes, dismayed. Mainly, because of the vitriol media was giving at the time about this conflict. "They said" this, and others "said that". And I stood confused.
Of course, today, with all the video and TV attention now given to this "war", I realize that my desires in that time were perhaps not so, ummm... confused? I have seen vets from the VietNam conflict who have emphatically stated that their actions were for their country. (remember Afghanistan and Iraq??)
Bleh. Ever since I heard that Steve enlisted, joined the Marines, AND did what he could do, I relented somewhat. My confusion still remained in wtf was the USofA doing in South VietNam anyway?
My conclusion was that the US was in a conflict, its armed forces did what they were told and the rest be danged.
Me, being 62 yrs of age today, have realized far before now, that maybe kinda sorta (Iraq? Afghanistan?) that the political powers that be might be........???
Blah. Bleh. Blah. Dang. The whole intent of this missive was to tell you that in the dying daze of the VietNam fuck-up was that I wanted oh-so desperately to go there and FIGHT!
Yeah, today, I know that I had no idea of death, of what it means to face someone who wants to kill you or what the fuck it all meant. I just wanted to escape today... then.
Blip! And then, yup, I found my escape. Drugs.
(excusing the fact that I just passed my 28th year of clean time!) Even now, I sometimes feel like I missed my calling by not pursuing that irresponsible thought of "I should go to VietNam!"
Regardless of which, I am proud of my cousin Steve for his actions (both con and pro) and who he is today. I am proud of all those folk who went to that war believing that what they did was right -- yes, and even if they didn't believe it! -- but still died for freedom.
I am now filled with a feeling of angst. Because I have met folk who avoided the draft by coming to Canada, and those who did what might have been right.
Me? I wanted to be away from every fucking thing I didn't want to be around (1971 to 1973?) I just wanted to run away. And still, modern media wants to remind me of... every fraking mudder-frelling yadda blahblah I thought I dealt with ages ago.
Aye, Perhaps it be time for me to go to bed, Aye?
Keep The Faith*
2020/05/01
2020/04/25
Fishing Ottawa w/ Greybeard. Dead or Alive?
I just read a news article about the trout season opener, which I believe started today. With many USofA states restricting or even closing recreational fishing (WA state?), I can fully understand the concerns of many of the smaller burgs around Ontario about the number of folks who descend on trout waters on opening day.
MY biggest worry about the hue & cry is that the province may just end up closing down fishing altogether. Mainly because:
1) It would ruin my foray into Youtube videos about Fishing Ottawa. But, hey, if we are all still alive next year, maybe I will be able to get around town & show off Ottawa's fisheries.
and
2) My spring channel catfish take. I love my fishy felines! Not as a sport fish or a recreational pastime, but a very important food source for me for the year. Or a few months, at least.
Yadda. I get the feeling that my "need" to fish will be be decimated by the provincial government. Heck, the City of Ottawa has already given me warning about fishing Andy Haydon Park near Bayshore. And that is my prime spot to get my kitties! We shall see, hm?
Read the article here:
http://tiny.cc/ON_Trout_Opener
MY biggest worry about the hue & cry is that the province may just end up closing down fishing altogether. Mainly because:
1) It would ruin my foray into Youtube videos about Fishing Ottawa. But, hey, if we are all still alive next year, maybe I will be able to get around town & show off Ottawa's fisheries.
and
2) My spring channel catfish take. I love my fishy felines! Not as a sport fish or a recreational pastime, but a very important food source for me for the year. Or a few months, at least.
Yadda. I get the feeling that my "need" to fish will be be decimated by the provincial government. Heck, the City of Ottawa has already given me warning about fishing Andy Haydon Park near Bayshore. And that is my prime spot to get my kitties! We shall see, hm?
Read the article here:
http://tiny.cc/ON_Trout_Opener
2020/04/16
The Beginning of the End
Rather smarmy title, hm?
Well, I have discovered that the Interweb has slowed down quite considerably. First, it was my Amazon Prime feed that consistently began to buffer. Meaning it would stop playing whatever show I was watching and turn into a revolving circle. Again and again and again.
I thought that it was just Prime effing up on me. Now, my Netflix account is showing the same symptoms. Seizing up and showing that incessant rotating circle. Especially, when I am at a very interesting spot in the show I was trying to view.
Bleh. Yes, it is truly the start of end of daze. If I canna watch the mindless offerings of online claptrap, well... the end is truly near! My isolationist ways have been predicated upon my access to the Internet and its gratuitous offerings of escapism from the humdrum. I mean, heck, even my browser of choice, Chrome, is now taking like *forever* to load!
- - - Do note, "forever" is a relative term. Back in my C64 time, if a program took more that 4 minutes to load, it was SLOW! Thus, more than 30 seconds today is eternal!! - - -
As of today, 16 April 2020, my Youtube viewership has yet to lag or buffer. But. BUT!!! Since Prime began its slow down and now Netflix is lagging, well.... Wait!
Maybe those powers greater than me have decided to throttle their feed to force me to upgrade my connectivity and pay MORE $$$!!!
Dastardly buggers! Taking advantage of poor shmucks like me to line their pockets! hehe... but no, I am not saying that! Well, not exactly. I mean, if a drug store in TO can stoop to tripling the price of sanitizing wipes, hey, ISPs can do the same. Eh? (My ISP is TekSavvy and I have been very happy with the service they provide)
Oops!! Perhaps I spoke too soon! I just had a banner flash on top of my screen stating that the quick save of my blog could not be made... or something like that. So... conspiracy theorists out there, gimme your thoughts!
Keep The Faith*
Well, I have discovered that the Interweb has slowed down quite considerably. First, it was my Amazon Prime feed that consistently began to buffer. Meaning it would stop playing whatever show I was watching and turn into a revolving circle. Again and again and again.
I thought that it was just Prime effing up on me. Now, my Netflix account is showing the same symptoms. Seizing up and showing that incessant rotating circle. Especially, when I am at a very interesting spot in the show I was trying to view.
Bleh. Yes, it is truly the start of end of daze. If I canna watch the mindless offerings of online claptrap, well... the end is truly near! My isolationist ways have been predicated upon my access to the Internet and its gratuitous offerings of escapism from the humdrum. I mean, heck, even my browser of choice, Chrome, is now taking like *forever* to load!
- - - Do note, "forever" is a relative term. Back in my C64 time, if a program took more that 4 minutes to load, it was SLOW! Thus, more than 30 seconds today is eternal!! - - -
As of today, 16 April 2020, my Youtube viewership has yet to lag or buffer. But. BUT!!! Since Prime began its slow down and now Netflix is lagging, well.... Wait!
Maybe those powers greater than me have decided to throttle their feed to force me to upgrade my connectivity and pay MORE $$$!!!
Dastardly buggers! Taking advantage of poor shmucks like me to line their pockets! hehe... but no, I am not saying that! Well, not exactly. I mean, if a drug store in TO can stoop to tripling the price of sanitizing wipes, hey, ISPs can do the same. Eh? (My ISP is TekSavvy and I have been very happy with the service they provide)
Oops!! Perhaps I spoke too soon! I just had a banner flash on top of my screen stating that the quick save of my blog could not be made... or something like that. So... conspiracy theorists out there, gimme your thoughts!
Keep The Faith*
2020/04/14
Another Year
28 years ago, 14
April 1992 (and it was a Tuesday!), I realized that the lie I was living was no
longer working. Being in recovery for the previous 3+ years, it was wrong for
me to lie to those I knew & loved about my clean time.
I had relapsed in January '92, a couple of months after Bernie died. I kept using in the ensuing time, making sure that I did not pick anything up on Tuesdays since that was my home group night. Silly me, but I rationalized my actions by thinking that if anyone asked if I was still clean, I could *truthfully* say "Yes! Just for today!!"
Tuesday 14 April 1992 would have been Bernie's 30th birthday. Today, naturally, would have been her 58th. I decided that April 14 was as good a day as any other to truly get clean and put myself completely into a program of recovery from active addiction.
Thus, here I be. Clean. Somewhat sane. 28 years along. It's been a bumpy ride, but that is life for you, for me! I'm glad to be here, even if my body sometimes says WTF??!! I'm a wee bit sad that I can't go to a face-to-face meeting in these COVID mania daze. Still, I plan to attend an online meeting of the group I was going to go to before pandemania.
Life is good!
Keep The Faith*
I had relapsed in January '92, a couple of months after Bernie died. I kept using in the ensuing time, making sure that I did not pick anything up on Tuesdays since that was my home group night. Silly me, but I rationalized my actions by thinking that if anyone asked if I was still clean, I could *truthfully* say "Yes! Just for today!!"
Tuesday 14 April 1992 would have been Bernie's 30th birthday. Today, naturally, would have been her 58th. I decided that April 14 was as good a day as any other to truly get clean and put myself completely into a program of recovery from active addiction.
Thus, here I be. Clean. Somewhat sane. 28 years along. It's been a bumpy ride, but that is life for you, for me! I'm glad to be here, even if my body sometimes says WTF??!! I'm a wee bit sad that I can't go to a face-to-face meeting in these COVID mania daze. Still, I plan to attend an online meeting of the group I was going to go to before pandemania.
Life is good!
Keep The Faith*
2020/04/09
Outdoor Foraging
My last post talked about the current mania over COVID19. At the end, I mentioned the possibility of my going out to hunt and harvest wild game. Squirrels, rabbits and the like.
I read an article from MeatEater about how outdoor folk are a bit better prepared to weather isolation from society. It talked about how they can, and do, stock up on wild forage. Not just meats, but plant based stuff like mushrooms, fiddle-heads, etc.
What got me thinking was fishing. Even as I plan my video excursions for my Youtube channel, "Fishing Ottawa with Greybeard", and this self-isolate brouhaha going on, I think back to times I fished Deschenes Lookout along the Western Parkway (now called the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway).
I remember seeing families fishing there. Mom, pop, 3 or 4 or more kids... all fishing and keeping every damned fish they caught. From 4" sunfish or channel catfish to out of season musky, they kept it all. Not only that, but bugged other fisher-folk for their catches. It makes me think that local fisheries are going to very hard hit from people who may try to take advantage of a slow to renew resource.
Me, I still plan to do my spring catfish trips, as I do almost every year. For meat, not for fun. I never catch & keep more than the law allows (12 channel cats max, either on hand and/or in the freezer). It allows me enough protein to last a year.
But, when I think back to those dimwits intentionally over-culling fish during plentiful times, well... I certainly hope that MNR officers will be out & about in the coming weeks to help protect this fishing resource from excessive human predation. I hope...
Keep The Faith*
I read an article from MeatEater about how outdoor folk are a bit better prepared to weather isolation from society. It talked about how they can, and do, stock up on wild forage. Not just meats, but plant based stuff like mushrooms, fiddle-heads, etc.
What got me thinking was fishing. Even as I plan my video excursions for my Youtube channel, "Fishing Ottawa with Greybeard", and this self-isolate brouhaha going on, I think back to times I fished Deschenes Lookout along the Western Parkway (now called the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway).
I remember seeing families fishing there. Mom, pop, 3 or 4 or more kids... all fishing and keeping every damned fish they caught. From 4" sunfish or channel catfish to out of season musky, they kept it all. Not only that, but bugged other fisher-folk for their catches. It makes me think that local fisheries are going to very hard hit from people who may try to take advantage of a slow to renew resource.
Me, I still plan to do my spring catfish trips, as I do almost every year. For meat, not for fun. I never catch & keep more than the law allows (12 channel cats max, either on hand and/or in the freezer). It allows me enough protein to last a year.
But, when I think back to those dimwits intentionally over-culling fish during plentiful times, well... I certainly hope that MNR officers will be out & about in the coming weeks to help protect this fishing resource from excessive human predation. I hope...
Keep The Faith*
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