In the name of Love

Perfect weekend for me? Either a great concert or sporting event in a fantastic city. I swear WHEN I win Lotto 6/49 it'll take a GPS to find me but a good guess would be to look in the best seats. Jen and I went to Montreal Saturday to see U2 at the Bell Centre. It was a complimentary weekend. Cashed in some airmiles, rental car tickets, and hotels on the house. Sometimes there are perks with running the roads. Back to Mtl, we got in early in the morning got some brekkie, went to Ikea, did some shopping on St Catherine St, got some supper and then hit the show.

Oh the show. Toughest ticket on the tour. Tickets were going for crazy $$$ on ebay. I'm not a fan of the gouge. I got tickets 25ft from the stage for face value from a guy in Virginia. Bless you Ben! This was the fourth time I've seen U2 and the third time in Mtl. I've said lots of times it's like a religious experience. No let down here. Being that close let's you pick up on things other don't. Anyway it was amazing.

Sunday we took some time to chill out, literally, as it was snowy and cold . We hung out around Old Montreal, had some lunch and then went up to Mt Royal to keep with the tourist theme and then settled in out at the Hilton. For a great time hit the road it's good to get away and usually great to get home.

Work weekend coming up!

i thought i was going to die...

I travel a lot. I have to for work. Am I at more risk scooting here and there than walking down the road? Tough call. In my heart I believe when it's your time it's your time. Happy outlook huh? It's why I live for today and I try not to miss things. I was in Boston this week on a quick trip and wanted to come home. It was storming in New England. The highways I generally flew down were flooded. I hoped I could jump on an early flight. The kids had the flu. And it's almost Thanksgiving. The day before is the biggest travel day in the US. Get home now.
Well I missed the noon flight by a few minutes. Had a nice lunch and got ready to board the 2:25 which became the 2:45. When we got on the little jet the pilot told us about the weather in Halifax. I thought the folks on the flight I was supposed to go home on at 7:30 were going to be stuck in Boston. Glad I got on this one.
From the time we took off I knew something was up. We bounced around and just didn't seem to be able to climb. The pilot came on and said we made our altitude. I looked out the window again. I'd never seen clouds like that before. EVER! I fly all the time and I know about turbulence. It was like there was a layer of cloud and then on top of that there were huge atomic clouds. Looking ahead I realized we had to fly thru them. Then the banging around started. Up, down, left, right. Yikes. It was rough. It was going to get worse.
We started our descent and we really started shaking. Then the smell hit. Someone puked. The plane shook more and more people got sick. People were screaming. I'm looking out the window as it was getting darker and darker. Not that I could see anything on the ground! We were close to Halifax when things went nuts. I cannot explain what it was like. Imagine me without words! The winds at the airport were over 100 km/h. Not just one way but North, South, East and West. There was no way this plane was going to land safely in Halifax. Did we have cowboys for pilots? I could briefly see the ground (10 seconds) we were about 1000 feet off the ground. Then it was back to white. White from the clouds lit by the lights on the plane. Could the pilots see up front? The way the plane was shaking violently. How could we land without hitting a wing or being pushed into the ground? I overheard the couple behind me. I noticed them earlier they were in their late 50s and looked quite well to do and successful. He told her "You've been a wonderful wife and I love you". Thoughts ran thru my mind. What had I left unsaid? What could have I done differently? Will I ever see my loved ones again? Is this going to hurt? Some screamed, some were silent and I prayed.
The jets roared to life and we shot skyward. Are they going to try this again? Please no let's go anywhere else. We bounced to Bangor. Upon landing the cleaned up the plane and refueled. People got off. Some were going to taxi to Halifax. Some said they would never fly again. I was trying to book a hotel in Boston. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day. I will get home sooner or later.

A tune to think of...
"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" ~U2
Tough, you think you've got the stuff
You're telling me and anyone
You're hard enough
You don't have to put up a fight
You don't have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight
Listen to me nowI need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone
And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
We fight all the time
You and I...that's alright
We're the same soul
I don't need...I don't need to hear you say
That if we weren't so alike
You'd like me a whole lot more
Listen to me nowI need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone
And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
I know that we don't talkI'm sick of it all
Can - you - hear - me - when - I
-Sing, you're the reason I sing
You're the reason why the opera is in me...
Where are we now?
I've still got to let you know
A house still doesn't make a home
Don't leave me here alone...
And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you that makes it hard to let go
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
Sometimes you can't make it
The best you can do is to fake it
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

SEE THIS MOVIE! What are you waiting for? GO NOW!

Have you heard about this movie? It's the story of Johnny Cash, one of my heroes, and his rise to the top. As you may or may not know it's not always smooth sailing and this is one of those movies. Amazing performances. GO SEE IT NOW! I saw it in Warwick, Rhode Island tonight and I'm gonna go again when I get home. GO NOW!!!

We ate, we drank, they raced and I won!

So, I had my birthday yesterday. Quiet day. Liked it that way. I went grocery shopping with the little people. Jen went to a friends wedding. I missed it. Sorry but we've been to plenty this Fall. I was thrilled to get to stay home and cook. Cook? Yep cook. I wanted to feed everyone coming for the "Race for the Case"party marking the end of the Nascar season. I wanted to whip something up different. Let them taste sometinh I enjoy when I'm down South. I made pulled pork, gumbo, and jalapeno corn bread. Pretty damn good stuff if I say so myself! Oh and I had a nice bottle of wine and watched the new U2 DVD getting ready to see them live myself. I'm now 34. For the most part younger than most of my friends but it's something I've grown used to.
Flash forward a few hours and Jen crawled in at 5AM (I'm very proud of her she needs to do that more often) and I was getting the house ready when the masses arrived. I think we had over a dozen in and around manland. Oh the testosterone! Guys shitting on each other, laughing and enjoying each other's company.
Well, we drank, they ate, boy did they eat. We had what I made and add in pepperoni, home made beans, crab dip and something called dog food dip and it was border line toxic downstairs. I'm feeling for the guys tomorrow but it was all self imposed.
Oh the I won part? Remember I mentioned a while back me talking about the NASCAR pool I was in? No? I tried a pool for the first time. I finished third out of seventy two entries. Not bad and it paid out over two hundred bucks. How'd you do Cuban? LOL
Will we ever learn? As long as there are still Donairs to be conquered I doubt it...

TIE DOMI STOLE MY CAB

So I'm in Boston going for a business dinner and I get lost. Really lost. Mapquest let me down. Anyway, I have to park the car and jump in a cab. We're just about to the cab and out from the lobby comes Tie Domi and I believe Doug Gilmour. The leafs are in town on a night off before playing the Bruins tonight. If I wasn't all dressed up I probably would took him on. Yeah right Rob!
It's my birfday (another story) this weekend. Two more sleeps...

Here's to the Veterans

It occurs to me as I get older what kind of sacrifice was made by our veterans. What kind of World would we live in today if WWII or WWI had not taken place? I get crabby if I'm gone more than a week. What if I was gone for years. What if I never got back. I followed the story of the vets going to Ottawa on a VIA train, sound like it was a great time and should not be a one year thing at all. Honor these veterans and if you have a chance thank them!

On My Best Behavior

So enough week another wedding or so it seems lately. Last weekend I was on pretty good behavior at Gord's stag I'm not sure why but I did. This weekend it was Gord & Lynn's wedding and I was asked to MC their reception. While I was a wiseass (go figure) I did in fact behave. I spent some time with some folks I hadn't seen in a while nor do I get to spend much time with. Namely my Melonesque brother Tim Bowers who provided the entertainment at the dance. When Gord & Lynn first got together I heard about a guy named Wes. By the time I met him last weekend he was a legend in my mind. A legend who works with legends. Wes drives motorcoaches for musicians. COOL! He was one of Waylon Jenning's pallbearers who is pretty high up in my books.
Anyway, it was a beautiful day. And like most beautiful days it ended with a donair. Not just any donair but one as big as my head. I swear this was the biggest thing I had ever tackled. It took two days and two tries but I beat it. OY.
Halloween was fun I apologize for no goober pics as I couldn't find the digital camera. The kids had a great time. Liam was a Devil and Emma was a princess not a stretch for either of them.
Know what we are doing this weekend? NOTHING and I'm loving it big time. AAAHHHHH...