July 2026
June 2026
May 2026
April 2026
March 2026
February 2026
January 2026
December 2025
November 2025
October 2025
September 2025
August 2025
July 2025
June 2025
May 30, 2025
Sorry for being M.I.A. the last week or so. No one to blame but myself. I keep thinking it is May but according to the weather, it is still March…or maybe November.
But seriously, we had a pretty good Calithumpian weekend. I trekked around North Thamesford to check out the yard sales. I actually got more from my next door neighbour’s next door neighbour, Adam’s sale (a Kevin Harvick diecast and a paperback novel and something else, I think, but I can’t remember what.) I also went to library for their annual book sale and the church’s big sale next door to us. I was tempted to check out the sales south of town but it turned out to be a good decision on my part that I didn’t. About a half hour after I got home, it just started pouring.
My Mom and I enjoyed seeing the fireworks while simultaneously watching NASCAR’s All-Star Race. (Mom wasn’t happy that Joey Logano didn’t win.) I also went to “downtown Thamesford” to check out Adam’s Radio Control Car demonstration. It was cool because listening to Adam and some of the other competitors talk, it was like listening to crew chiefs talk about NASCAR set-ups, etc.
The Calithumpian Parade on Monday afternoon was also fun to sit outside on our front porch and watch as, much like the Santa Claus Parade, it went right by our house. It felt about as cold as the Santa Claus Parade – which we watch from inside.
My sister and nephew came down last weekend. It was strange because usually they will come down on a Saturday and head home on Sunday morning. This time around, however, they came down on the Sunday and left around the time I headed to work on Monday. No matter, it was still fun to have them down for the day.
I have been helping my Mom around the house over the past couple of weekends. With the spring upon us (even if the weather doesn’t seem to realize that), she’s been embarking on some home improvement projects. These are the types of things she and my Dad would do. With him gone, I’ve been stepping up and helping her out where she needs a helping hand. (My Mom, even at her age, with bad knees and recovering from an injured hand, is able to do a heck of a lot around the house and around the property. She’s painted the front and back porches and the “she shed” out back and just today she cleaned out the garage.)
As for myself, I have decided to embark on something called “Project 56.” In July, I turn 56 (hence the name of the “mission”) I have decided that, by my birthday, I am going to completely rearrange both my downtown TV room (or my NASCAR Room) and the office I have created out of my Dad’s old workshop. (There’s still an element of the workshop there, mind you, where we keep tools, etc.) Everything is still in the planning stage but I really want to look at what’s working and what’s not and change things up a bit. For example, I’ve had the same shelves in the place for over 10 years and we need an update. There’s a lot of things I’m looking at and thinking “Okay, this isn’t working. What needs to change?” (I’ve encouraged my Mom to do the same.)
As always, however, if you read this – and actually know me – and want to discuss anything covered above (or below), chat me up on Facebook Messenger or via email.
May 16, 2025
Happy long weekend for those of you who celebrate and, in the words of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, you bet your sweet bippy I do! This is Calithumpian Weekend in Thamesford and if you are wondering what a Calithumpian is, you’re not alone. I’ve lived here since 2009 and I couldn’t give you a solid answer on what it is. I’ve heard everything from it’s a made-up word to it’s another word for a bit party to it’s a celebration after killing a witch. (The latter probably isn’t politically correct in 2025.)
Anyways, there’s a lot to do in Thamesford this weekend as always with Calithumpian Weekend. I don’t partake in too much of it, save the town-wide yard sale on Saturday and Monday’s parade which is cool because it comes right by my house. Mom and I will be able to sit on our newly-painted (thanks to Mom’s talents) porch.
As for the yard sales, it will depend on the weather as to how far out I venture. My plan is to see how many yard sales are in north Thamesford and see how I feel after that as to whether I hit the south side yard sales. (I will visit the library to see what they have to offer.)
Hammerlock Wrestling is coming to Brunnies, a local bar on Saturday afternoon. I was tempted to go to it but I most likely will give it a pass. (Although if by 4 p.m. tomorrow I feel really jazzed about heading out to see some live wrestling in town, who knows?)
This is also NASCAR’s All-Star Weekend (plus the Trucks) so I will be keeping a close eye on that and hopefully won’t be too worn out from walking around Thamesford to give the races a watch. I supposed Kyle Larson will be the favourite but I don’t have a lot of use for him. Sure, I’ll be cheering him on to do the double in the Indy 500/Coca Cola 600 but overall, I’m not a fan. (I’m hoping there’s a Track Talk blog in the near future on that subject.)
Ever get a song stuck in your head? Right now, Wham’s Edge of Heaven is stuck there. But it’s by design. On Thursday, I was listening to an old broadcast of Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 from late 1986. One of the songs that was part of the countdown was Carly Simon’s “Coming Around Again.” I don’t know what it was but I got very emotional hearing that song because it got me thinking about my Dad. Things I miss about him. Things I wish I’d done differently or said to him. Things I wish I’d done when he was around. Of course, I couldn’t get the damn song out of my head and it just made me more emotional. (Thankfully I hid it well and didn’t have to deal with too many people.) The weird part is that my Dad wasn’t a huge Carly Simon fan nor do the lyrics remind me of him. Just one of those things.
This morning I woke up and Wham’s “Edge of Heaven” was in my head (I think it was part of a similar countdown I’d listen to earlier in the week) so I decided to go with it. I went into work, found a video of the song, put it on loop, put my headphones on and got to work. I bet in the hour between me starting work and our weekly meeting, I listened to that song about 20 times. And make fun of the song choice all you want, it is a pretty catchy tune.
Now keep in mind, I was “listening” to the song, not watching the video. At lunch I was, as I am wont to do, reading Wikipedia and I decided to check out the entry on Wham. (What is Andrew Ridgeley up to these days?) From there I started reading the entry on “Edge of Heaven” and hey! it turns out that it features and appearance by Danny John-Jules who played Cat on Red Dwarf. I watched the video just now and sure enough, that’s Cat dancing with George Michael.
For those wrestling fans reading along (let’s be honest, is anyone still reading at this point?), we lost a true hardcore legend in Sabu last weekend. Now, allow me to brag for a paragraph or two, because I HAVE A SABU STORY!!!! (Actually several rolled into one.)
It was the early part of the winter of 1999. I was backstage at a Universal Championship Wrestling (UCW) show at Fanshawe College. I was writing for SLAM Wrestling and was there to interview Edge and Christian. However, they didn’t appear – and I knew Sabu wouldn’t break kayfabe to do an interview and so I was hanging backstage talking to some of the local and area talent they had. (And truth be told, they had some great local stars there.)
So as I’m talking to different people, Sabu comes in from outside and looks over at me and the guy I was interviewing and says “It’s cold out there!” (Yes, I heard Sabu speak. I even got it on tape – although I don’t have the tape anymore!)
At the time, I was friends with the UCW promoter and was kinda hoping to become more involved with the organization, with the goal of being a commentator. The main event of the night was Sabu vs. Scott D’Amore. I was sitting ringside at a table with the idea that when we dubbed commentary into the video. (It never happened, thought.)
I was also tasked with keeping an eye on the UCW Championship title belt (which was supposed to be some former Mid-Atlantic belt – don’t quote me on that). The promoter told me to make sure Sabu didn’t take the belt after the match. (Apparently there was concern that he might take the belt and just leave with it.)
I didn’t say it but I was like “Dude, this is a guy who is referred to as suicidal, homicidal and genocidal, if he wants to take the belt, I’ll carry it to the car for him. I’m not crossing the guy!”
Anyways, during the match, Sabu placed D’Amore on a table in the ring and then climbed up to the top rope to eventually land a flying legdrop on D’Amore. The thing I will always remember though is that the absolute milisecond that Sabu’s feet left the top turnbuckle – DEAD SILENCE! We’re talking you could hear a pin drop. It was the weirdest phenomenon I’ve ever heard.
As I said, I was becoming friends with the promoter and I had a copy of ECW Extreme Music, the CD of all the ECW theme music that I had bought at that huge video store that used to be across from Masonville. (What was the name of it?) He asked me to bring it with me in case Sabu didn’t bring a copy of his theme music with him. (I’m starting to think Sabu wasn’t the easiest guy to work with.)
After the show, I ended up not getting the CD back. I’m sure the promoter probably snagged it but I like to think that for the rest of his days, every time Sabu appeared at a wrestling show, he came out to theme music that was playing off my CD.
Wow! That was a lot. As always, however, iIf you read this – and actually know me – and want to discuss anything covered above (or below), chat me up on Facebook Messenger or via email.
May 9, 2025
I can honestly say, it was kind of a boring week. But that’s okay! After the past few weeks, it was kinda nice to just go to work, come home, watch some Storage Wars and relax. I mean, it’s not that there hasn’t been stuff to talk about – there’s a new pope, Alberta wants to secede, and India-Pakistan have gone to war – but really nothing on a personal level.
Biggest news I guess is that spring has officially arrived. How do I know that, you might ask? Because over the past couple of days I’ve had to mow my lawn. I mowed the front on Wednesday night (or was it Tuesday?) and half of the back after work tonight. I will finish the second half tomorrow afternoon.
I actually enjoy mowing the lawn. I didn’t partake tonight but usually I put my headphone on, turn on the iPod I’ve had for years and listen to music while I mow. It makes things a little easier and more fun.
Even before my Dad passed, it was a chore that I could help my folks out with, and just might be my favourite household chore.
I like to tell people that, later in my life, I discovered an additional skill in home renovation projects. If you want something built, don’t look at me. But you want floorboards torn up or a wall demolished, I’m…well, I’d still hire a professional if I were you, but I have held my own in helping my folks out.
Speaking of which, my Mom is still active in doing home improvement jobs (and I help here when and where I can). In addition to creating curtains for our newly installed front windows, she’s repainting the front porch. We’ve got the back porch set up and I’m hoping to start using it to read in the evenings. Heck, if I play my cards right, perhaps I’ll step out on a Friday night and do a blog update from there. Stay tuned!
Meanwhile, if you read this – and actually know me – and want to discuss anything covered above (or below), chat me up on Facebook Messenger or via email.
May 3, 2025
Whew! We finally made it through one of the most disastrous, drama-filled months that I can remember. Thankfully, this past week was relatively calm. My Mom and I got a fair amount of things done and settled. One of the big things that we got crossed off our post-accident “To Do” list was that we purchased a new car. A 2022 Chevrolet Trailblazer to be exact…and a black Chevrolet at that!
Okay, truth time here. When we went looking for a new car, I was leaning towards a Chevrolet or a Ford. When we went to the Chevy dealership there were two SUVs that my Mom and I were looking at: a red 2023 Equinox and the 2022 Trailblazer. Initially I was leaning towards the Equinox because it had some extra “bells and whistles” (most noteably the Sirius XM radio) but I could tell my Mom liked the Trailblazer. When we were talking with Sean, the salesman, I got thinking “Ok, grow up! This is not about bells and whistles, this is about what my Mom will be more comfortable driving!”
And so, we decided to go with the Trailblazer. And then it struck me. “Wait a minute…If we buy this car, I will own a black Chevrolet! HOLY CRAP!” So yes, I am now a proud member of the Bowtie Brigade. (As it turns out, the Trailblazer has Sirius XM radio too! So win/win there!)
I don’t know if any of them will ever read this but I want to give a big “Shout-out!” to the staff at Ingersoll Chevrolet-Buick-GMC for AMAZING customer service. They were very friendly and helpful and made buying the new car a breeze! They went out of their way to ensure that Mom and I had everything we needed with the new car and followed up on a couple of loose ends after the deal went through. If anyone in the Ingersoll (Ontario) area is looking for a new (or new to you) car, check out Ingersoll Chevrolet-Buick-GMC.
I will say that on Wednesday, the day we picked up the car, I was nervous. After I got picked up from work, we had to drop off our rental car at the Enterprise location at the east-end of London. We then had to get a cab from the Enterprise place to the dealership in Ingersoll and we had to get there before the dealership closed at 6 p.m. As someone who worked retail and had to deal with customers coming in at the last minute when we were trying to close, I did not want to be “THAT PERSON!” (Some of my colleagues from my retail days know what I’m talking about!) Thankfully, everything went very smoothly and we were home in time to watch Storage Wars. (Kumbaya, America!)
May is always a big month, gift-wise, for my Mom (birthday, Mother’s Day and it was her and my Dad’s anniversary) and with the past month she’s had, she deserves something nice. So, in addition to buying her a new car, I also got on Amazon and bought her some colouring books. Plus…the other day when we were taking the cab from the rental car place to the dealership, we went by the Ingersoll Theatre of Performing Arts (ITOPA). My Mom said “We should go to a play there sometime this summer!” I haven’t been to a lot but i like live theatre. (Some of you may have been privy to my stint in “The Perfect Wedding” and some might need to hear the story.) So, as part of my “To Do” list, I decided to check out ITOPA’s website and ended up purchasing two tickets to their performance of “The Long Weekend.”
So we have the new car but haven’t really done too much with it so far. It gets me to work and back and there was talk of us going to Innerkip to the second Reuseapaloozaha of the year and checking out Innerkip’s town-wide yard sale. However, with the rainy weather, we decided to stick around Delatre Street, work on some home projects and just have a quiet, relaxing weekend. (We needed it!)
Meanwhile, if you read this – and actually know me – and want to discuss anything covered above (or below), chat me up on Facebook Messenger or via email.
April 26, 2025
WOW! I guess the power of social media is real. Not only can you use it to further a narrative, you can use it drive people to your blog. Seriously, I posted the link on my Facebook page and – BAM! – I got a ton of hits. Well, thank you to everyone who stopped by to check out my blog. I hope you’ve made a return trip this week (I think someone actually checked in early today) and that you’ll enjoy whatever I have to offer this time around.
Unlike the previous two weeks, there was no major disaster to report, although my Mom and I continue to undergo the hassle of dealing with the aftermath of the car accident last week. My Mom’s hand is still sore but most of the bruising and swelling has gone down. (By the way, thank you to everyone who checked in on my Mom and I – especially looking at you, Chris T and Kerry and some others too!) Hopefully by my next blog update this will all be behind us – and hopefully not because some other disaster has pushed it to the back of the list of disasters. (LOL! I hope!)
My Mom and I went to Sweaburg for the first Reuseapaloozaha of 2025. My Mom got a bunch of books (not quite the haul of nearly two dozen books I got from the event in Embro a couple of years ago) and I got a copy of Brian Wilson’s autobiography and what appears to be a hand-made wooden Joey Logano car (back when he was driving the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing).
There’s another Reuseapaloozaha next Saturday in Innerkip which is also having their town-wide yard sale. Depending on the weather and whatever else happens, Mom and I may take in the two events…if we can figure out where Innerkip is.
My friend, Angela, sent me a link to a Sarnia Journal article about Lambton College tearing down what they refer to as “the North Building” but what I (as well as Angela and probably several people who are reading this) remember as the Lambton College Residence. I’m not sure how worried I would be about the imminent destruction of “The Rez.” I believe in 2017-2018, I heard they were tearing it down but when I went there as part of my job at King’s in 2020, at least part of it was still standing. (To be fair (TO BE FAIR!!! as per Letterkenny), it does look like they tore part of it down.) Will be a little sad to see it go, but I really wish I could have grabbed a souvenir or two from the place before it went.
This is Talladega weekend. I know two people who are in Alabama at the track to watch the races. I watched both the ARCA race and the Xfinity race today, with the Cup race set for tomorrow. Good to see Lawless Alan (probably the best name in the history of motorsports, sounds like he should be a Wild West villain) get the win in ARCA and super-pumped about Austin Hill taking RCR to victory in the Xfinity Series. Tomorrow’s race should be good with Zane Smith on pole, Joey Logano starting second and RCR starting Top 5 (Busch 3rd and Dillon 5th). And if you’re upset about me rambling on about NASCAR…that was the SHORT version!
Meanwhile, if you read this – and actually know me – and want to discuss anything covered above (or below), chat me up on Facebook Messenger or via email.
April 18, 2025
Well, the hits just keep on coming. Last week, it was my Mom getting scammed out of a significant amount of money. (Thanks to everyone who donated to the GoFundMe page that my sister set up. It means more than you know.) This week, we were in a car accident. My Mom suffered a slight injury to her hand but otherwise we are okay. It’s just, the minute it happened, I was like “Not Again!” because we were just starting to (mentally) recover and then life hit us (literally) again. But we dealt with the insurance, got the car to the repair shop, got a rental car. My work was incredible in suggesting I take the day and take care of things, and then work from home on Thursday. It’s just “What comes next?”
You know, it’d be very easy (and much on brand for me) to just close up and become very anti-social. Believe me, it was tempting. But I decided to go in the opposite direction. I had said that I was “leaving” Facebook a while back but that was BS. I just wasn’t posting much but I was still checking in. So, I decided to come back and post more.
I also decided to come back to Instagram as well. I’m also going to direct people over here from Facebook. Why not? Maybe if I put myself out there more, maybe the world will reciprocate.
If you are one of those who came here from my Facebook post, welcome to my blog. I usually try to post every weekend. My aim is to post on Friday nights but often it’s more like Saturday nights.
On to regular news: It’s Good Friday and so it’s the first day of the Easter weekend. I got a few things off my famous (infamous?) To Do list (including updating my blog). I also helped my Mom put the living room back together after we got our new front windows installed. (They look GOOOOD! I need to get a photo for Instagram!) I also switched up our Rogers TV line-up and got CTV Speed which means I now can get back to watch the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Whoohooo!
My sister and nephew are coming down this weekend so we will be heading to the One of A Kind Antique Mall in Woodstock. It will be another Milner “Treasure” Hunt and I’m hoping to add to my NASCAR/Earnhardt collection.
I finally got back to work on the Shelf Life website update for the April/May 2025 issue. I was hoping to have it done last week but with the drama, it got delayed. However, it is complete and you can check it out for excerpts from the new issue.
Before I go, ever hear a song and you just want to put it on a constant loop? Well, for me, that song right now is “Hertz” by Amyl and the Sniffers. I’ve been working on setting up the rosters with WWE2K25 on the PS5. A lot of the soundtrack for the game is crap and I usually have the TV on mute. However, I was listening to the audio for a bit and heard this song and damn, it got addictive. Just hard rock enough to keep me interested but not one of those screaming lyrics to the point where it’s just noise!”
Hopefully, this coming week will be boring and uneventful and I’ll be back to mark out about Talladega weekend. Meanwhile, if you read this – and actually know me – and want to discuss anything covered above (or below), chat me up on Facebook Messenger or via email.
April 13, 2025
According to my WordPress stats, people (or at least one person) has been checking my blog. I guess if they follow me on Facebook, they’re probably checking in. It was a bad week for the Milner family. If you know, you know and I don’t really want to get into it here. All I can tell is we’re trying to move on and put the bad sh!t in the past.
Honestly, other than that, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about this week. I am hoping this coming week will be a lot better. Go to work, come home, watch Storage Wars, get some stuff crossed off the To Do list with no added drama. It’s also a four-day week followed by a four-day weekend and then another four-day week.
I started watching “The Trades” last weekend. I just got through a couple of episodes but I enjoyed what I saw. It’s one of those gritty comedies, like I imagine Trailer Park Boys probably is like, or the way Shoresy is (which reminds me, I need to get back to watching Shoresy!) I’ve also been watching any episodes of Rules of Engagement that are available.
A couple of nights this week I went to bed early and read for a while. I ended up finishing a couple of books and read the entire book, Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay by Todd Zolecki. It was definitely focused more on his time in Philadelphia (not surprising since Zolecki is the Philadelphia Phillies beat reporter for MLB.com) and it ends on a sad note, but well-written overall.
April 5, 2025
Hey there! Didn’t mean to skip last week. I decided to rearrange my office and NASCAR room so I was moving and re-moving (and in some cases re-moving) furniture. I’ll tell you, if you ever want to feel your age, just start moving day beds and desks and bookshelves.
I did recover enough this week to go get my taxes done at H&R Block. After trying to complete them online (to much frustration), I decided to follow my Mom’s lead and take it to the expert. It may have cost me some money out of pocket but I paid a fraction of what I expected to. (I got the taxes done one day, paid it off the next.)
I also stopped by the Shelf Life Magazine offices this past week to pick up the April/May 2025 issues. I will be working away this weekend to make the updates to the Shelf Life website so check that out sometime early next week.
One of the books I picked up when I stopped by Shelf Life was Blood on the Snow by Robert Service, about the Russian Revolution. I know very little on the subject, save that there were Canadian troops in Russia, even as the First World War was ending. Something about wanting to ensure the equipment that the Allies had sent to Russia didn’t fall into enemy hands, first from the Germans and then from the Communists.
I’ve been trying to set up my new WWF and MLB games. As per usual, I’m already second-guessing (if I’m allowed to admit to doing that) myself about buying yet another WWE game that has more bugs in it, and less of the actual features I’d want. (Sorry folks, but there’s no way there is even close to 300+ characters in this game, at least not just by purchasing the original game.) I’ve been creating my own original characters for the fictional indy fed, the Global Wrestling Federation.
Work has been “interesting’ to say the least for reasons I won’t get into here. I’m looking forward to the summer months when I hope I can get out on the weekends to the town-wide yard sales. We haven’t been able to do that over the past two summers but getting out of the house and hitting the road (and perhaps getting some “treasures’) will be a great way to spend a Saturday morning.
Again if you read this – actually know me – and want to discuss, Facebook Messenger or via email.
March 22, 2025
A pretty uneventful week, all told. The weather couldn’t seem to make up it’s mind as to whether it was the beginning of Spring or mid-fall. Heck, even today it was overcast, sunny, and snowing all within a few hours. Perhaps it was a good thing because I got up this morning and got a few things done around the house. Nothing really important but a few things to cross off the To Do list.
My Mom has been working on getting the house ready for when we get the new windows installed, so she’s been busy changing things up. It makes me want to change my areas of the house around as well. Of course, I have to redecorate around my cat. (Pepper has to have a shelf unit that is high enough to reach the catio…and then I have to put the filing cabinet next to the shelf unit so Pepper can reach the top shelf and then the catio.)
Meanwhile, I finally bit the bullet and pulled the trigger (two firearm metaphors in one sentence) on an Amazon order. (And no, I don’t want to hear how everyone hates Jeff Bezos and Amazon now because the Washington Post didn’t endorse either candidate in the most recent U.S. Presidential election.) I bought the newest MLB and WWE games so I will most likely be using next weekend to get those set up.
While today may have been a stay-at-home day, my Mom and I are looking to head out to Glencoe tomorrow to check on my Dad’s cemetery plot and possibly stop at Value Village in London on the way home.
March 15, 2025
Beware the Ides of March! Ironically, five years ago (even though we didn’t know it) we were a day away from our whole world shutting down. I won’t get into all my thoughts about what would transpire over the weeks, months and years to come, but I think the term “the sh!t hit the fan!” should suffice.
Speaking of illnesses, there’s a reason there was no update for last week: I was sick! No, I didn’t have COVID or anything but I sure got myself into something. When I came home Thursday night, I was tired and had a headache. I figured I could just sleep it off (no, not like a hangover…although having never been hungover, I’m not sure what that’s like). Next thing I know I’m running a fever, vomiting, just wanted to sleep. And let me tell you, having an unexpected three day week and sleeping about half of it away totally screws you up as to what day/time it is.
Thankfully by Monday I was feeling…well let’s call it 90% better. Just in time for some better weather. It’s been nice to go back to wearing shoes instead of boots to work, and changing into a lighter jacket as of today. I was even able to go for some walks on my lunch break for the first time since before Christmas.
Even though it was raining today, my Mom and I headed to the One of A Kind Antique Mall in Woodstock this morning. For what I think might be the first instance in the entire time we’ve ben going there, my Mom got more than I did. I did, however, pick up the hat that I am wearing in the photo that accompanies this post. My family is not thrilled with it – and my cat even looks at me like “What is on your head?” – but too bad, I like it.
And so I’ll head into another week. Again if you read this – actually know me – and want to discuss, Facebook Messenger or via email.
March 1, 2025
If you’re looking for reflection and/or conspiracy theories on celebrity deaths, the Ontario election or U.S./Ukraine relations, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m just here for a few life updates
After two weeks of vacation (and I highly recommend taking two weeks to really relax and not feel like you have to rush to get stuff done), it was back to work on Monday. It seemed like a fairly long and busy week but I’d like to think I accomplished a few things here and there. (If you ever want to check out the writing that I have done in terms of telling the story of King’s, you can check out our Newsroom.)
On the homefront, my Mom is looking into getting the front windows replaced. She’s been in touch with a local company – with a rep that lives just down the street from us – and it appears things are progressing nicely. She’s using some of the money that Dad left us, so he may not be with us but he’s still helping out the family with the help. He always said we were a team when it came to keeping up the household – and he’s still part of the team.
I always have this huge “To Do” list and while I worked a lot on that list during my vacation. However, as I suspected, I didn’t really come close to getting it finished. However, this week instead of coming home every night and wanting to get a bunch of stuff done, I just decided to relax, watch Storage Wars (YEEEEP!!!! Kenny Do It!) and leave the To Do list for the weekend.
Speaking of which, I got up this morning, looked at my To Do list and thought “Let’s get ‘er done!” I’m already well ahead of schedule and while I’m sure I’ll wake up Monday and not gotten as much as I would have liked, I’m hoping I can still make a good dent in it.
One of the things I like to do during my lunchbreak at work is to read Wikipedia. One of the featured articles this week was on the Roswell UFO incident. While the article is very much written in a “This is all a conspiracy theory” mode, I was interested in learning that if it wasn’t aliens, it wasn’t the weather balloon but instead a balloon being used to detect Soviet nuclear tests. Here’s a theory: Any chance the government created the alien spacecraft hoax and then quickly officially discredited it, knowing that would only pique people’s interest in the possibility that it involved aliens, further distracting them from the project to detect Soviet nuclear tests? Just an idea.
Hey, if anyone reading this is from the Toronto area, check out the Experience Hendrix Tour that’s coming to Massey Hall on March 15. I’m not able to attend but it’d be cool to check out. If anyone (who knows me) attends, let me know how it went.
And so I’ll head into another week. Again if you read this – actually know me – and want to discuss, Facebook Messenger or via email.
February 22, 2025
Before I get too far into this, I want to let people know that I am doing okay. I had my good friend, Chris, reach out to me after I had posted on Facebook that I was leaving social media to check in on how I was doing. (He said I sounded depressed!) I want to say how much I appreciated that. It’s great to know that if there had been something wrong, I have at least a few people out there paying attention and willing to reach out to make sure I’m okay.
My second week of vacation was a lot quieter than the first. Due to the weather, my Mom and I stayed pretty close to home. Wednesday was our big day out as we went to London twice and to Ingersoll to do some chores. Initially we had planned to do some stuff on Wednesday and a few things on Friday but ended up just combining everything into one day. I was tired by the time we finally got home but I think it was worth it to be able to be to have Thursday and Friday at home.
Okay. Elephant in the room. The Daytona 500. I’m sure none of you reading this stopped by because you were wondering “Hey, I wonder what John thought about the Daytona 500?” Overall, it was the Daytona 500, it’s like what they say about sex or pizza, even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. The rain delay was a pain in the behind. Joey Logano had the best car all day but got caught up in a wreck that, despite what a few people were saying, was not his fault. Despite the stereotype of NASCAR fans, this redneck hillbilly does NOT like watching wrecks. I’m always cheering for the underdogs and the smaller teams to get the wins at the superspeedways. William Byron from Hendrick Motorsports does not fit that description but he’s a good young driver with a great career ahead of him. Atlanta’s another fun track so we’re on to that this weekend.
As I was telling my friend Kelly, I had this dream about a book I wanted to write. I haven’t got as much done as I would have liked but I did get a very rough draft of the first chapter done. (Scroll down to the end of this post to read it.)
To give you an overview, a one-hit wonder band from the 1980s reunite to perform one last time at the request of a eccentric millionaire at a dive bar in the middle of nowhere. Of course, there’s a lot of baggage to unpack for the band.
Oh…and it’s an alternate version of 1994 as a comet is about to destroy all life on earth.
What do you think? Would you read it? Check out the first chapter – which needs to be fleshed out a lot more – and let me know, either on Facebook Messenger or via email.
Damn! WordPress is really testing my patience. It’s bad enough that it’s almost un-editable at this point and you try to delete one character and end up deleting the entire “block” that you’re working on. For a while, it gave you the option of using the much more user-friendly “classic” editor but I see that’s gone.
I guess it’s just one of those things you have to put up with. However, yesterday on three occasions, I found that what was on the public-facing website was more up-to-date than what I was able to edit. In the first case (and thankfully, the more important one) I was able to copy and paste and make the update and in the second case, I had made one minor addition that was lost. but it should take me five minutes to re-add. However on my Track Talk blog, I basically lost everything I’d done since September. (I had been writing the drafts in Words so I might have some of the content backed up.) I’m not sure what the malfunction but I’m not happy.
Chapter One of my novel-in-progress. (All rights reserved!)
“Welcome back to CJMM – Death Rock Radio. I’m Devon McKichan and with me is “The Round Mound of Sound,” Taylor Christianson. We are going to be piloting you through these last few hours.”
“Yoah, yoah, yoah! We’re not going to be rocking your world away with lame, predictable crap like “The End” by the Doors, or “It’s the End of the World As We Know It” by R.E.M. No sirree, Bob! We’re going to deliver the greatest soundtrack to the biggest event in human history, playing selection after selection…”
BANG!
“What the fuck was that?”
“I think that was Lindsay, the intern. And for those following along at home, that would be the fourth CJMM employee in the last hour or so who has decided to off themselves rather that stick around to see how all these plays out.”
“See, this is the problem with these kids today. No commitment. I mean, I’ve heard that when the going gets tough, the tough get going but this is ridiculous!”
Not for the first time, Erika Gettys questioned just what the hell was she doing. Driving across the desert in the middle of a December night in the same green Gremlin she’d bought when she went off to college? Listening to two morons fill the airwaves with the worst gallows humour they could think of? At least there was no traffic. Why would there be? Every sane human being – or what passed for sane human beings at this point – where all hunkered down somewhere, just waiting for “the biggest event in human history” to arrive.
“Hey now, I liked Lindsay. She was a good kid. She scored me some good weed a while back. She wouldn’t tell me where she got it, though.”
“Oh yes, the tragedy in all this isn’t that billions of people are about to die, it’s that Lindsay the intern will never fulfil her destiny as ‘Weed Dealer to the Stars’.”
She should be at home with Mark. If Mark was even at home. I mean, wouldn’t he be these last few days? Before the phone call, she had hoped that she and Mark might put all of their past transgressions, more his than hers, behind them and spend their last moments in each other’s arms, making love.
Who was she kidding? Talk about delusions of grandeur. That was number one with a bullet. No matter what awaited her at the end of this road, it was probably better than turning around and going home to…well, whatever was back there. The Gremlin had about 50,000 miles on it. Why not put a few more on it and see this ridiculousness through?
“We can’t mourn forever, and we’re going to lose our audience – I mean, before we really lose our audience – if we don’t play some of the rock and some of that roll. Without much further adieu, let’s go back to one of my favourite one-hit wonders from the big-hair days of 80s…”
“You mean, back when you were part of the nerd herd in high school?”
“Fuck you, Taylor.”
“Dude, you can’t say the F-word on the air!”
“Oh yeah, like the FCC’s top priority is an F-bomb on the radio. There ain’t no way I’m getting fired. You and I have more job security right now that at any time in our careers. We can say what we want, do what we want, play what we want, and right now I wanna play a song that every moron from my high school loved but I knew was a piece of shit! It is so bad that it totally fits this situation. From 1984, this is ‘Nothing Like A Party to Get the Night Right’ by the Bus Stops.”
Erika slammed on the breaks so hard that her little green Gremlin fishtailed for about 100 yards or so. Part of her was thankful there was no one else on the road but part of her wouldn’t have been too upset to see the lights of an oncoming tractor trailer barrelling towards her. Her hand darted to the on/off switch on her car’s radio. She couldn’t get it off fast enough!
She slammed her head against the steering wheel and left it there. She knew she’d hit it hard enough that she’d probably get a headache but maybe she had enough aspirin to OD on.
What the hell was she doing?
It was a question she had asked herself dozens of times over the last couple of days but she hadn’t even come close to coming up with the right answer. Even if everything else wasn’t going on, she couldn’t fathom what had possessed her to drive all this way to some dive bar in the desert to see Willy and Patrick and Cindy and…
Ronnie…what was she supposed to say to Ronnie and what was he going to say to her? After everything between she and Ronnie.
Erika just sat there. For how long, she didn’t know. Listening to the silence. Pondering where she was supposed to go. She didn’t want to go home to an empty apartment, or worse, to walk in on how Mark was going to spend the time he had left. She thought about just getting out of the car and walking out into the desert and finding a nice, quiet spot to lay there and watch the world end.
Then she remembered. The desert had coyotes and who knows what else? Who knows who else, for that matter? She didn’t feel like spending her last moment fighting off a coyote, or some drunk moron who wants one last piece of ass before going to his maker.
And so, while she didn’t walk on down the hall, she did roll on down the road. After a moment, she hated the silence and the thoughts that were sneaking into her head about what she was driving towards. She turned the radio back on, just in time to hear Willie wailing away on the cymbals to end the song.
“I can not believe this turned out to be the Bus Stops…well, not just their only Number 1 song but their only single. And it sucked balls but every moron in my high school wanted it played at every friggin’ dance. Why…just why?”
“Shut the fuck up, asshole. It was a great song,” Erika said to the radio. “Just not the song we should be remembered for.”
February 14, 2025
WOW! I guess all I have to do to get a $*#@-load of hits on my blog is just to tell people I’m leaving social media and if you want to keep tabs on me, just come over here. It was great to see all the people who obviously care enough to read what I’m writing here. (Hope a lot of people remembered I said I’d try and update on Fridays and come back and see what I have to say this time!)
Happy Valentine’s Day for those of you who celebrate. (I don’t!)
Another day of vacation. Another road trip for Mom and I. With the sun shining and no snow in the forecast, we headed to Ingersoll to stock up on groceries, then on to a few area antique stores in the area including the Courtland Treasures and Antique Emporium in Delhi. Great place with great people, providing great customer service. If you’re in the area, definitely check it out!
I ended up purchasing a Joey Logano diecast and one for Kenny Wallace. The latter was a cool pick-up since it was similar to the paint scheme that Wallace ran in the 2000 Winston 500 at Talladega when he helped push Dale Earnhardt from 18th to 1st in four laps for Earnhardt’s final win. The irony is that I picked up the Earnhardt Talladega win diecast at another store. (I’d had one for several years but this was a back-up, if you will.)
Meanwhile, in between the road trips, I am still working through my To Do list. One of the projects I’ve been wanting to work on is an update of the Ingersoll District Nature Club’s website. I’ve been wanting to do that for the Club for years and I’m pretty close to sending it off for review.
Another “project” so to speak was to update my YouTube playlist. When I’m working (whether at home or at the office) I enjoy listening to music. I’ve had an old school iPod for a long time. Unfortunately. the battery no longer seems to last too long, so I’ve switched over to YouTube on my phone or computer and included a good number of songs that I had on my iPod. If you check it out at the link above, let me know what you think. (I tend to have some pretty eclectic taste.)
O.K. Elephant in the room. I’m sure people won’t want to be “tuning” in to my blog if they think it’s going to be all NASCAR, all the time. For one thing, I have a blog for that. But in the interest of keeping people up-to-date, it is Daytona weekend and I’ve been watching the qualifying, practices, the Duels and will be watching the Truck race later tonight as the NASCAR world gets set for the Daytona 500.
Also, as a community service, if anyone out there finds themselves in a place on Sunday where the race is on and is looking for a long shot to root for, try Ty Dillon! (If you want to go for a favourite, it’s Denny Hamlin!) But after watching qualifying and the duels, go for Ty (Dillon, not GIbbs!)
And on that note, I hope everyone has a safe and happy Family Day weekend (for those who celebrate THAT!) And I will hopefully check in next weekend. Feel free to drop me a line (if you know me, of course!)
February 12, 2025
I’m hoping that a number of you saw the post on Facebook and decided to check my blog out. As I may have mentioned, I am trying to ween myself off social media as much as possible. I deleted my Instagram, Twitter/X, and TikTok (not that I used the latter all that much) some time ago. To me there was too much toxic content, including almost my entire Facebook feed being from accounts that I do not follow nor would want to, and the main draw, to keep in touch with old friends, former co-workers and classmates, just was no longer there. I still have a Facebook account to maintain some accounts I’m involved with (the Heroes of Zorra, Shelf Life Magazine, and the Ingersoll District Nature Club) so if you want to drop me a line about anything I write about here going forward, (or anything you want to talk about on a personal note) you can still contact me on Messenger or via email.
On a day like today, I’m glad to be on vacation and have the ability to stay indoors and work on some personal projects. I’ve been on vacation since last Friday, part of my usual celebration of NASCAR Speedweek and the Daytona 500.
Hey, anybody who has, or knows someone who has, taken the Monday after the Super Bowl off has no right to judge me! 🙂 I’m not taking the time off to recover from the hangover. I’m giving myself some leeway in case the race gets postponed due to the weather. Those of you in Canada know that the Monday is Family Day here so even if the 500 gets pushed back a day, I’m still home to watch the race. Taking next week off means that (a) if the race goes late or is pushed back another day, I don’t have to worry about being at work the next day and (b) it gives my Mom and I a chance to take some more day trips.
I’ve only been on vacation for four full days and already I’ve packed a lot into my vacation. We went to the One of A Kind Antique Mall in Woodstock, we went in and did a few things in London, including a trip to Value Village. We went to Ingersoll twice and also, on the spur of the moment, headed to Stratford on Tuesday afternoon.
I’ve also taken this as a chance to get some of my “To Do” list dealt with. While I find myself adding items almost as frequently as I cross things off my list. But in all seriousness, I am getting a fair amount of the small items done this week, and am hoping to tackle the big projects next week. One of the major projects I was able to take care of this week, however, was the update for the Shelf Life website. If you are looking for your next good book to read, check out the website.
With the bad weather coming in, we’re sticking around home the next few days. However, I am hoping that we can head to Delhi by mid-week next week to visit the antique stores there.
Most of the antique and collectible stores are having their “Cabin Fever” sales this month so it’s really great to be able to get out and visit them, and see what deals I can get on stuff I would have bought anyways. For the uninitiated, there is something very relaxing about walking through these antique and collectible stores. I think it’s because every booth offers up something different. There is the risk of sensory overload because you’re seeing so much, but at the same time, my Mom has said multiple times that everything going on outside, all the stress and worry, just melts away as you peruse the aisles.
When my folks first started going to these stores, I was never interested because I assumed it was all antiques (furniture, etc.) but once I started going, I realized just what a wide variety of items they offer. No matter what your hobby is, you can find something you’re interested in. If anything, there are times when I need to tell myself to look for other stuff besides NASCAR memorabilia because these stores do offer a ton of other sports, movies and music items.
And with all the talk now about “shopping local,” you can do just that by taking a trip to your closest antique and collectibles store.
Thanks for those of you who stopped by to check out my blog. My hope is to check in on Friday nights but if something strikes me, it might be mid-week or over the weekend.
By the way, for those who partake, my “bold prediction” for the Daytona 500 was Carson Hocevar but my realistic pick is Brad Keselowski. The Milner family will also be rooting for Chase Elliott (in memory of my Dad), Joey Logano (my Mom), Kyle Busch (me) and A.J. Allmendinger (Pepper, our cat!).
johnmilner.ca 