John Milner will not be returning in Avengers: Doomsday.
Sorry….I had to open with some lighter fare because, quite honestly, what a $*&%# week this was. We lost Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Lake Ontario all in one week.
I know everyone is upset that Dolly Parton died but let’s be realistic here, folks! We didn’t deserve Dolly in the first place. She was not of this world in the early 21st century: outspoken about people being able to be themselves and not worry about conforming. “I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable; that’s the easiest thing in the world to do,” she once said.
In a time it seems “fashionable” for celebrities to alienate major portions of their audiences based on what they are or how they think, Dolly never did that. She was very private about her politics and world views. Maybe she didn’t want to be judged any more than she judged people herself.
She also never forgot her roots and never allowed the world to shame her for it. Heck, she once told Southern Living that “I’m proud of my hillbilly, white trash background.” Can you imagine someone saying that today (and, my God!, the backlash they would get)?
Now I’ve read a few articles on Dolly, all written from a 2026 perspective which seems to indicate that perhaps I’m not the right demographic to take inspiration from Dolly. When you read what Dolly actually said in interviews over the years, though, it sure seems like her message of being proud of who you are and not changing was meant to be universal.
And hey, I saw a post somewhere that discussed how she had sent a signed photo of herself to Terry Fox (a Canadian part of our history I won’t allow anyone to erase) with the inscription “To Terry — My courageous friend. God bless You. Love, Dolly Parton.” That right there earns her some bonus points with me
Dollywood? We should be so lucky as to live in a Dolly World!
Okay, rant over. If you’re still here, on to the update.
I may not be pulling down a pay cheque but I certainly can’t say that I’m not keeping busy. My Mom decided to tackle “redecorating” the workshop this past week. The two biggest tasks were trying to create two smaller shelves out of the one large shelf unit we had, and then to demolish the one end of the “work bench” (really a very long, almost L-shaped counter). For the former, we got some great help from our neighbour who came over and in about ten minutes, made the cuts we needed and moved the now separate set of shelves into place.
Demolishing the end of the work bench was another story. My sister, Cathy, has said that, if my Dad built it, a tornado couldn’t destroy it. Believe me, my Dad’s motto seemed to be “Why use 1 screw or nail when 10 will do?” I say that with all the respect in the world, because he built things to last. Of course, when you try and take apart those things he built, it’s not always the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. But Mom and I went to work, using hammers, screw guns, and even standing on a crowbar to try and rip up the boards that we needed to. (As you might have seen on Facebook, you know you’re doing some hardcore work when you bend the crowbar.)
To suggest I put in a pretty good couple of days work on Tuesday and Wednesday would be an understatement. In the end, though, we managed to get it done. Mom cleaned up her end of the workshop and I tackled mine. We also moved the wardrobe where I hang my sweatshirts into the space we had made by getting rid of part of the work bench. At the end of the week, the workshop looks great and a lot more spacious.
I decided that this week, my motto was “Productive and Positive.” I think I can say that I was productive this week. In addition to helping my Mom in the workshop, I applied for another half-dozen jobs this past week. Unfortunately, I was kinda hoping that this was the week I started to get some positive return on investment in terms of my job seeking efforts but, alas, it was not to be. However, I still remain hopeful that come Monday (or Tuesday or Wednesday or…well you get the point), an interview invite will show up in my In Box.
I should note that before we embarked on all this home redecorating, Mom and I watched “Michael,” the Michael Jackson biopic. The movie tells the story of Michael’s rise to fame from humble beginnings in Gary, Indiana in the late 60s to being the biggest musical star in the world in the early 80s. It shows some of Michael’s idiosyncrasies before his story became more problematic, and focuses more on his attempts to become independent of his father, Joe. I will say that the music was awesome. (Weird that the character of Janet Jackson is not shown at all.) What I found interesting is that Michael was played by Jafaar Jackson, Jermaine’s son and a fellow 7/25er. (Do you get that reference?)
One project that I’ve embarked on is an idea for a novel that I came up with about a week or so ago. I think when I checked in last week, I had written approximately 5000 words. I am now at nearly 11,000 words. There have been a couple of days that I have written 1500 to 2000 words in one night. It’s one of those stories where I keep writing and the more I write, the further ahead in the novel that my brain goes. Technically, I have almost four chapters written, but I’ve had to go back to Chapter Two to write the alternate history of the mid-20th century to set up the events of the novel.
If you’re reading this Friday night, I may be up working on the novel while also watching the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona. If you’re around, drop me a line and see how I’m making out.
johnmilner.ca 