This week I’ve been to the Regina General Hospital to visit a young family member who, if all goes well, should be home before the end of the weekend.

I’ll be happy to see her home, not only because I absolutely hate hospitals, but also because of the parking problem that I wasn’t aware existed at the hospital.

Yesterday was the worst. When I got to the hospital, at around 10:30 A.M., there were already 8 cars lined up to enter the parking lot. The sign at the lot entrance said the lot was full, but that didn’t turn those cars ahead of me away. I am not the most patient person in the world, so I turned the car around and decided to back head out and drive around the block looking for a spot. Seeing as the weather wasn’t that bad I decided I could walk a block or two.

I ended up driving around the hospital twice with no luck. If I didn’t make it up to the room for a visit, I wanted to able to say that at least I did my darndest to find a spot.

When I finally gave up, I headed west on 15th Avenue to Broad St. where I actually found a spot right on the corner. I drove around the block hoping that no one else would grab the spot before I got back. There were a lot of cars circling the hospital, but fortunately no one wanted to park that far away. Under the circumstances I was quite happy to find a spot 3 1/2 blocks from my destination.

I was just thankful that I didn’t have to drive myself to the hospital for some kind of medical emergency. I would have been “SOL” as my mom used to say.

Just a heads up to those heading off to the General Hospital for a visit anytime soon. Get there early… or bring along some very comfortable shoes.

Driving along 12th Avenue on my way to work this morning I noticed that all of the mailboxes along the street were pushed over and half on the street. Boy, talk about your rocket scientists!

I’ve never know the thrill of toppling a mailbox. Must be a great feeling to know that you’ve outwitted an inanimate piece of metal.

The people who do this must be in it for the thrill of the hunt. Think about it. Mailbox topplers must stalk their prey from afar before moving in, ever so slowly and cautiously. They have to set their sights on the mailbox they want, knowing in the backs of their minds that there might be other topplers out there spying the same target. They must be ever so quiet, so as not to alert the box to it’s impending doom. At this point, the poor mailbox doesn’t stand a chance. It’s all alone in this world, it’s parents long ago transported to some other dark and cold street corner in the far reaches of the city. Who know’s? Maybe it’s parents were felled a long time ago on another chilly winter morning.

It’s sad, but understandable. A mailbox can be man’s worst nightmare, ready to pounce on an unsuspecting human in the blink of an eye. These have to be taken down. They are dangerous.

This is obviously not a job for the faint of heart and one that can only be accomplished in the wee hours of the morning by very brave individuals.

To all those who roam the city streets after midnight knocking over these dangerous mailboxes, I salute you.

Thank you for keeping our city safe.

Here we are into week 1 or 2 of another “Roll Up The Rim To Win” campaign courtesy of Tim Hortons. I don’t know how many times I’ve rolled up the rim over the last couple of weeks, but I can tell you that I haven’t won anything. Tim’s is offering up a lot of prizes, including over 31 million food prizes, like a coffee or doughnut. When I buy a coffee I don’t expect to win any of the big prizes, but I wouldn’t mind picking up a doughnut or coffee. Nothing makes you feel like more of a loser than knowing that there are 31 million food prizes up for grabs and you can’t even win one of those.

I usually don’t drink a lot of coffee from Tim Hortons because I hate waiting in line for an hour, but during the contest I’ll bite the bullet and wait my turn.

It reminds me of when I was a kid. I’d buy something I didn’t like just for the chance of getting something. I remember buying pop I didn’t like just because there was a chance of winning another free pop. The pop company would put little rubber lining underneath the pop cap that you could peel off and maybe win a prize. Trouble was, those liners were so tough to get out that I’d find myself in the kitchen with a paring knife gouging the bottom of the pop cap. Geez, what could possibly go wrong there?

I remember getting my Mom to buy Count Chocula cereal just because there was a prize in there. I would never eat the cereal, I just wanted the prize!

Here I am at 47 years of age doing the same thing I did when I was 10. Some things never change!

I have to go now. I just finished my coffee and it’s time to “Roll Up The Rim!”

Well another year has come and gone for Telemiracle and what a success. At more than $4 million it was the second most successful Telemiracle ever!

I never watch the whole show, but I am always going back to check on the local talent and the new totals. We do have some great talent around the province!

One of my favorite things about Telemiracle is all of the great stories of how a community, or a town, or a service club get together to raise money. Whether it’s $182 or $1,820 these people not only collect the money, but they come in from all parts of the province to be at Telemiracle to make a live presentation.

What I’ve always wondered about is how much money the Kinsmen and Kinettes clear from the telethon. They definately pay CTV air time for the full 20 hours. They not only pay all of the performers, but they fly them out here and put them up in a hotel for a night or two. I imagine Bob McGrath commands quite a fee as would Beverly Mahood. They do a great job and are obviously worth the money. Then comes the cost of renting out the Conexus Arts Centre, catering and so on. Although this is a great cause, believe me, none of the performers give of their time freely. They get paid and paid well.

All in all a great 20 hours for Saskatchewan, which has proven time and time again, the when it comes to helping others, we are second to no one!

Yesterday morning on the show, Willy and I were talking about the government looking at changing the words to ” O Canada” to make it “gender neutral.”

Our daily poll showed that over 98% of the people who took the poll did not want the lyrics changed. I checked polls across the country and they were all the same, with well over 90% of Canadians feeling the same way…leave well enough alone!

I mentioned on the show that I don’t even know the lyrics to our national anthem. I’m sure if I thought hard enough I would remember, but off the top off my head, without help, I’d be a little lost.

I received an email from a lady who was sorry to hear that I didn’t know the words. I’m betting that I’m not the only one. How often do you sing the national anthem anyway, unless you’re at a sporting event?
I do remember singing the national anthem in elementary school, but we didn’t do that in either junior or senior high.

I don’t consider myself a bad Canadian for not knowing the words. It’s not even that I don’t know the words, it’s just that I can’t remember them off the top of my head. If I heard them once I’d remember them. It’s not that big of a deal.

And I don’t consider myself a bad Canadian for saying that I think the Russian national anthem is the most beautiful and patriotic sounding anthem anywhere. If that anthem doesn’t make the hairs on your arms stand up then nothing will. Love the Russian national anthem, but very proud to be Canadian. It’s the best place in the world to live.

I have to work at the Regina Pats game tonight. Before the game I think I’ll have a quick gander at the lyrics for “O Canada,” stand at attention, and sing along like a proud Canadian!

Unless you live in a cave you are aware of the guest at City Hall that showed up wearing nothing but his birthday suit. This guy has got to be nuts, not for showing up naked, but for doing it at this time of the year. You thought the wind chill was bad fully clothed!

The story reminded me of my brief, yet successful streaking career back in high school. In Lethbridge I attended Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, the largest high school in the city. A couple of weeks before graduation, the grade 12 girls were planning on a barbeque and get together at the Research Station on the eastern edge of the city. The facility had lots of space and barbeques designed for large gatherings like the one girls gad planned. At least 200 of the female grads planned on being there…and so did I, along with a couple of buddies. However, our reason for being there was totally different from the girls.

From the minute we heard about the gathering, me and a few friends thought that what the girls needed was a few men in the buff running right through the middle of the crowd to liven things up. There were a few teachers that were going to be there as well, but that didn’t figure into our planning.

Before long, just about everyone knew what we were planning on doing, but no one said a word to any of the teachers. Some people probably thought we wouldn’t go through with it, but others who knew us knew it was a forgone conclusion.

There would five of us in the car. Three of us would get butt naked wearing only balaclavas. The driver would drop us off and then drive to the other end of the meeting area so we could make a quick getaway. Good plan. Nothing worse than 3 naked guys running around looking for the getaway car! Another guy was along just for the ride.

Everything went as planned. The girls screamed and yelled as we barreled through the crowd of 200 plus. They all laughed, but the teachers just kind of stared with their mouths hanging open. It was done in 30 seconds and the getaway car was right where is was supposed to be.

The next day the girls all came up me and my buddies and said that was the most fun they’d had in a long time. Not to brag, but I had 4 marriage proposals after that! Every one of the teachers that were present asked me if I knew anything about the “3 Naked Amigos,” but I played dumb, naturally well. Not one person ratted us out!

After that I hung up my streaking outfit for good. Might as well quit while your ahead.

Maybe the city hall streaker will wrap up his streaking career as well.

Then again, he might just “stick it out” for one more run!

Driving along 4th Ave. on the way to work this morning I noticed a young kid walking on the side of the road with his back to oncoming traffic. The sidewalks were clear of snow, but this guy elected to walk on the road. Am I the only one who thinks this is stupid?

I saw the same thing last week. After MC’ing an event at Casino Regina I was driving home on the Lewvan. Someone was walking along the side of the road, again with his back to oncoming traffic. He was wearing a dark jacket and was hard to notice. I was thinking that if there was a car in the far right lane there was a good chance that the driver wouldn’t see this person until it was too late to do anything about it.

Sure enough, when I got to work the next morning there was a news story about a 17 year old hit by a car while walking on Lewvan at about one o’clock in the morning. The guy I saw on the road was about 7 o’clock the night before, so I doubt it was the same person. The driver wasn’t charged, which was a good thing, because seeing what I did the night before, I knew it wasn’t the drivers fault.

Is there not a law about walking on the side of the road? I know there is not a sidewalk along the Lewvan, but all of the other city streets do have them. Why in the world would someone use the road instead of the sidewalk?

If you feel you have to walk on the side of the road instead of using the sidewalk, then at least walk on the side facing traffic. At least you’ll see what’s coming at you.

I hate to preach about things. I just don’t want to be the guy that accidently hits you while you’re taking a leisurely stroll on the side of a road somewhere.

Not being a fan of Corner Gas, I just had to catch the premiere of Bret Butts latest series Hiccups, which debuted last night on CTV. It was followed by Dan For Mayor, another debut starring another Corner Gas regular, Fred Ewaniuk.

They didn’t disappoint. Neither show was funny. I remember watching the promos for the 2 shows, which were played heavily during the Olympic coverage, thinking, if these are the funniest bits from the 2 shows, then they are in trouble. I was right.

I remember watching Brent Butt do his stand-up routine on Just For Laughs years ago. First thing I thought was “wow, this guy’s funny.” And he is. I just find the writing for Corner Gas and the 2 shows last night to be very lame and boring. Very, very canadian.

I know that there will be Corner Gas fans who will think I’m an idiot for not liking the new shows. People will like it simply because it’s Bret Butt from Corner Gas. CTV is banking on that.

This country is so protective of it’s celebrities. God forbid you ever make a joke about Rita Macneil or say that Brent Butt isn’t funny. It would be like telling people in Regina that Rory Allen sucks. I can hear it now. “You can’t say that. Rory is the greatest singer in the history of the world!”

Relax. I’ve met Rita Macneil and she truly is a doll. Very pleasant to be around and a great singer. I also know Rory Allen. I met him when I first came to Regina 15 years ago. He is a nice guy. I met Brent Butt a few years back. He seemed like a good person and he is a very funny stand-up comic. I believe that is his forte.

I predict that both Hiccups and Dan For Mayor will have short runs, although a lot of Canadians will think the shows are the greatest things since sliced bread.

There is an old saying. “If 50 million people say a stupid thing, it’s still a stupid thing.”

As I’ve mentioned a time or two, I’m not really a big Olympic fan. Normally.
However, I must admit, like everyone else, I got swept up in the excitement. Not that there was anything else to watch. It was Olympic coverage around the clock. I actually found myself pausing the TV so I could take a potty break or grab a cup of coffee. Yesterday was the first time I’ve actually watched a hockey game from start to finish in a long long time. You can blame the Maple Leafs for my lack of enthusiam for hockey right now. Seeing as Phil Kessel and Thomas Kaberle were the only Leafs to suit up for the Olympics, the team should be well rested for the final run at mediocrity.

I was very impressed with the coverage by CTV. The anchors and reporters all did a great job. They were funny and informative. In our business that’s a great combination.

However, I have never been a fan of Ben Mulroney and he didn’t disappoint yesterday either. His interview with legendary canadian actor Donald Sutherland was almost embarrassing to watch. Sutherland handled the interview with class, although at times you know he was thinking “what kind of stupid question is that?”

All in all it was a great Olympics. Canada won more gold medals than any other country has ever won at a winter Olympics. And with 26 total medals, it was our best showing ever. We didn’t own the podium, but we were close enough for me.

This morning I’m very proud to be Canadian!

I have a bone to pick with Regina International Airport, and I use the word “international” lightly.

When our crew headed off for beautiful Huatulco Mexico on the morning of Feb. 5th, needless to say, we were all a little groggy and in need of a hot coffee and maybe a light breakfast. Before we left for the airport, my wife asked if we should have a bite to hold us over until we received our delicious and filling airplane meal(I’m being facetious here!). I told her not to worry, we’d grab a quick bite at the airport, like we always do.

I was wrong. We should have grabbed a bite at home. It turns out that nothing at all is open at Regina “International” Airport before 5:30 A.M.
Apparently, the powers that be at Regina “International” Airport could care less about the fact that 160 travelers might be in search of even a basic cup of coffee at that time of day.

I have traveled quite a bit in my 47 years and I have never been in an airport, that bills itself as “international”, where I haven’t been able to grab even a cup of coffee, and trust me, I’ve traveled at some pretty strange hours!

The Duty Free shop didn’t even open until 5! By then most passengers are in the waiting area waiting to board the flight. I’ll admit, there is a coffee shop open inside the waiting area. Trouble is, instead of the main restaurant opening early to accomodate the gradual flow of customers, now you’ve got all 160 people lined up at the little coffee stand waiting for upwards of 45 minutes to grab a coffee that would’ve taken seconds to grab earlier.

Doesn’t make sense to me at all.

Maybe until it offers all of the amenities it needs to, at hours that accomodate all travelers, Regina “International” Airport should change it’s name to Regina “Regional” Airport.

Then maybe we wouldn’t expect as much as we do at all of the other “international” airports around the world!