THE MILLION DOLLAR MAN (AND COUNTING)

`````The buses used to chug up that street. Sometimes, when they were fully loaded, they wouldn't even stop at the final pick-up on the hill. The vehicle was barely making it as it was, and there was a long line of cars behind it. Were it to come to a complete standstill, it most likely would never get going again.
`````Somebody used to run up that hill, though. I went to a university at the top---it was actually defined as a mountain. The view was beautiful on clear days, but it also got lost amongst the clouds. It was much colder up there. There were days when that first intake of air would sting the nostrils when stepping clear from that diesel spewing behemeth.
`````Terry Fox is an alumni of my university and today is the run on his behalf. He didn't want cancer to defeat him. An avid athlete, he fought it with all that he had. With one leg, he tackled that hill and charged up it. The incline was deadly. There were a couple of times I attempted it on a downward trajectory and when I did so, I made sure that the weather was nice. Even then, it took me some time to walk it. I had gravity in my favour. Like so much else, he took that on and ran against it.
`````Terry always made it up that hill, and likewise, inroads are being made into that disease. On a large part, it's due to him. Donations made on his behalf have raised millions of dollars. A disease which was once a death sentence now does not necessarily mean so, especially if caught early and depending which variety one has.
`````He wanted to help others win their battle, and began a run across Canada from east to west. He got up when it was still dark, and ran towards the setting sun at night. Sadly, he did not live to complete the run as his cancer returned.
`````Thanks to people like him, my father beat non-Hodgkins Lymphoma a number of years ago, even though his prognosis had been poor. Terry was always self-effacing and sought only to broadcast his message; it was never about him. For all those out there today, I hope the weather holds out. Think of that hill he did on one leg.

STUPID HEADLINES

`````The headline was in a well known, leading paper, yet it was vulgar and offensive and was the sort of thing that one would expect in a tabloid. It began with some tag line having to do with "Obese Teen Dies in Fire..." It went on to relate how she was too heavy for the fire personnel to rescue her. I started checking other papers and the song, as they say, remained the same.

`````Her name was Jamaya Herron and she was eighteen years old. Evidentally, she loved to attend the church where her father was the Baptist preacher. Those who knew her said that she was a very nice, girl, with some health problems. There was a photo of her in the paper and she had a beautiful face with glowing skin. When I looked at the picture, I could see that her eyes radiated warmth. I won't say what her weight was, as there's enough focus on that.

`````I wrote the other day about how so many comments have become hateful; well, I rest my case. People are spiteful, making references to Darwinism at work. This story makes me very sad and angry. This home was a single story structure. The family had no running water and no electricity, yet there were two other younger children living in it. The fire happened around four in the morning, as a candle got knocked over. It would seem to me that they must have been using this as a source of light. I would think that they'd need it to find their way to the washroom at night, especially with kids in the house, so they'd probably leave one burning. Even without hot water, I think that the toilet might still flush in Madison Wisconson, as they wouldn't be on a well water system. I looked at the weather network, and saw that, while it wasn't cold that night, it wasn't exactly warm either. Think about that; no heat and fall is starting to sneak in. There's that nip in the air.

`````I know how cruel kids can be, and I am imagining what it's like for these kids to go to school without being able to wash. By the way, these two kids had been taken into this family a couple of years back. They were not the natural children. The girl, Jamaya, was the daughter of the two adults living in the home.

`````For those who suggest that she should have been eating healthier, try doing that when there's no way to cook that food. She would have had to eat only food that was picked up already wrapped and ready to go.

`````The parents managed to get themselves out of the house, yet they left the three kids inside. There obviously was no functioning smoke detector inside the house. People panic in fires, so we can allow them rushing outside, perhaps. Some might suggest that even animals burn themselves in their attempts to get their kittens out of harms way. However, nobody knows what goes through a person's head when self preservation kicks in. That's why the investment in items such as smoke detectors, especially when there are kids in the house is wise. If Jamaya had health issues, she probably felt the smoke's effects before others.

`````I was disgusted in reading the comments on various sites. On the Daily News Online, one man had over 600 people agree with him when he suggested that this indicated that this is what happens when they hire female fire-fighters. At no time in the story was there anything to show that this correlated to that at all. This obviously indicated the bias of the reader. The story laid out clearly that the window wouldn't allow for Jamaya to be passed through, and by the time she reached the door, she had suffered smoke inhalation. Somebody else, who called himself a moniker which indicated that he was a N-hater (insert rest of the N word), went on a rant about it having been a good thing on another site. There was the usual fat hatred and racial crap.

`````This actually brings up a double standard. About a week ago, another girl died in New York. She was 17 and thin, with a different skin colour. She fell out a high rise window. She was also rich and good looking. The comments in her case were different; how sad and what a shame, even though she'd climbed out on a ledge to take a picture after a night of partying. What? Nothing about Darwinism at work? The loss of young people with potential is always a waste and an accident is always just that. I'm sick to death of journalists exploiting it.

TO FORGIVE DIVINE?

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`````It was the proverbial Oprah moment. I had picked up the phone and there was a person on the other end that I had never expected to hear from again. To be honest, I didn't really want to discover that she was there. It would have been better had she looked me up on Facebook. I would never have known, as I cannot get into that account.

`````I've written in previous blogs of somebody who teased me. Well, here she was. It was that odd relationship that girls can have. I would highly recommend the superb book by Margret Atwood called "Cat's Eye", as she captures it like no other writer. How certain girls can be friends one minute with their comrades and then pull the perfect transformation the next. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde should actually have been written about a group of little girls, as that would have been more on the mark. Should you pose the question "Who knows what evil lurks?" Surely it can be found in the heart of those little darlings gathered in the playground.

`````So there I was, on the phone. All these years later, I felt the fear return. It was like something out of a horror movie. I felt like the babysitter in the house who picks up the receiver and finds that the psycho is back; the person long thought dead or stuck in an asylum has returned.

`````I really am not kidding all that much. Sandra J had the bouncing and behaving curly locks that my stick straight hair could never achieve. She'd look the teacher dead in the eye with her sparkling brown eyes and then wait until she left the room and steal several of her felt markers. She kept them zipped inside the lining of one of her stuffed animals. She did not fear getting caught. Sandra would pick on one girl in particular, for no reason other then the fact that her mother dressed her like an old lady. Her hair was piled atop her head in a frumpy bun. Sandra would start nasty rumours about people and expect others to spread them. I wouldn't play ball and my punishment was that I was soon on the receiving end of her bullying myself. We'd once been friends, so I think she saw my not going along with her as a form of betrayl. Given her good looks, I don't think she'd ever had anybody say "no" to her antics before.

`````One day, she literally stabbed me in the back. She took her leaded pencil and drove it far into me, so that the tip embedded itself under my skin. Because it became infected, I have a green discolouration on my skin to this day. At least she missed my spine. This was a girl in need of serious intervention.

`````Now, here we were, years later. I'd never known what had happened to her, as my parents had wanted to buy a house and couldn't afford to do so in the city. As it turns out, her family had moved at about the same time.

`````Sandra J was calling to apologize for what she had done in the past. She said that she realized she had been a terrible bully and she wanted to say that she was sorry. I accepted it and we talked for a while. She was about to get married and she had done a bit of travelling. She mentioned to me that there were some things going on in her life at the time which had caused her to act in the way that she did. She didn't elaborate, and I didn't ask.

`````I had accepted her apology because it was the decent thing to do, but to be honest, I don't feel it in my heart. I let her off the hook because I had the feeling she was probably working the steps to some program. I've taken enough drug counselling courses to know the steps and I really applaud those who seek help and do battle with their demons. On the other hand, bullying really has a profound effect on kids. It goes on in the workplace too, especially by women. It is not okay to exclude people. The petty office politics and the gossip can be really destructive.

`````The culture, in general, seems to be getting meaner. Perhaps it has something to do with the annonymous nature that people think the internet offers them. In the past, people might have disagreed with something, but at least they could argue about it in a fair manner. Each side would agree to present their position in a coherent, logical fashion. Now, if somebody disagrees with a person's point of view, they automatically resort to name-calling. Usually that amounts to insulting the person's gender or sexual orientation. I've noticed something really interesting, by the way. The worst spelling and the stupidest comments come from those who use monikers on their postings which refer to the size of their, how shall I phrase this, anatomy....or a specific practice which involves a number. If you read the postings, especially on Youtube, the most idiotic diatribes come from those bearing names such as "Hung9inches". The spelling will be bad, there will be no punctucation and every comment ends with "you're gay." So much for the fine art of debate. I actually love the freedom of speech. I think the more we let idiots rant on with their racist nonsense, the more we let the rest of the world see what fools they truly are. If we try to silence them, people might try to create some conspiracy theory that there's a hidden message we're trying to suppress. Please, the morons will run out of steam soon enough. Either that or they'll get distracted by some other shiny object.

`````On that note, back to where I began, with my Oprah moment and the phonecall: I hope that she was sincere when she called. I think she was. Any kids that she has, I hope she remembers and understands the value of words and how kids pick things up. Don't put people down in their presence, as they'll learn that it's okay to do so. I only wish I could feel it in my heart.

NORTON SUCKS

What a scam. Beside the little Norton icon I had a red X. When I clicked on as to why, it indicated that there was a problem with the browser. I tried to rectify it, but Norton kept switching it back to the unsafe mode. They told me that I didn't have the product key. Now, I have been paying them via my charge card for three years running on the same date; they draw the money off my account. I had 256 days left in my account. For all these years, if I had the product key, surely I still have it. They had a little message that I needed to uninstall their product, and then reinstall it. Bull. If I did that, I know they'd charge me again. I sent them a message telling them what I thought of their idea and the fact that this was a rip off. Suddenly, their little Norton Icon was totally missing.

No wonder so many people switch to AVG.

THE CRY WOLF BRIGADE

I am really divided on the whole Ines Sainz issue. For those not familiar with the story, she's the

female sports reporter who felt that she was on the receiving end of catcalls and boorish behaviour while interviewing a member of the Jets in New York. The photo above is the outfit that she wore while conducting the interview. She herself tweeted the picture.

I think that any woman should be able to go about her business without being bothered. However, they should also have some concept of reality and their environment. They should not be a hypocrite. This woman freely calls herself the "hottest sports reporter." She used to be a beauty queen, so she's traded on her looks in the past. In what other work environment would this outfit be appropriate? I highly doubt that a male sports reporter would go into a locker room environment wearing a sexually provocative outfit. Most of them wear suits and bad toupees.

Here is another photo of Ines Sainz conducting an interview. I doubt it was her Mensa abilities that got her the job.

One rarely, if ever, reads stories of males being given direction about inappropriate attire. Yet, there are stories of female lawyers being told that their skirts are too short and that their tops are too low for the court-room. Why is it that some women have to resort to such games to get ahead? We should be able to operate on the same playing field as men. A person can still be feminine without being sleazy. If someone is going to dress a certain way in front of certain people, there may be consequences, like it or not. Face it, some people aren't the brightest bulbs in the chandelair. A man wouldn't walk into a park in the dead of night with their wallet showing. Why would a woman dress like this going into a locker-room and then expect to be treated like a professional? It doesn't make sense. If she's going to trade on her looks one day, she can't be offended when people don't treat her with the respect that Howard Cosell had.

I suppose it got what she wanted, and that was more publicity. The sad thing is that it hurt the women out there who are actually capable of doing a good job.

TABLOIDS AND THE TRUTH

````` One good thing about not being rich and famous is that there's nobody willing to sell a person out for profit to some tabloid. I just read the paper and came upon a story wherein a boxer apologized after being secretly filmed doing cocaine. This comes right after revelations by hookers of other sports stars partying with them. A few years ago, most of us can probably recall how Kate Moss was filmed doing drugs by a friend, as was Pete Doherty. Ah, the joys of fame.

`````I would hate to think of what hidden cameras would capture me doing around my house. First of all, I should be cleaning and I'm not; the place is a mess. I'd probably be stuck on an episode of "Hoarders." I used to be really anal about this sort of thing, but I'm in a very down mood. Sometimes I walk around the house in very unfashionable ensembles....oh, the horror. Glamour Magazine would place one of those black electrical tape-like things across my head and I would definitely be a "don't." On other occasions, I place the headphones on my skull and what comes out of my mouth could get me charged for animal cruelty, as the poor cats scurry off to escape the noise. They should have used me to sing out of the helicopter on "Apocalypse Now" in their attempts to scare the denizens of the jungle; it would have been much more effective then Jimmy Hendrix or whatever it was that they played. They probably wouldn't have had to fire a shot. They'd have committed suicide themselves just to escape the torture. But, all joking aside, who hasn't danced around their house or done something embarrassing? Now, what if somebody were to set up a camera and sell it? That's what some famous people are facing.

`````I have written previously of those who are stupid enough to allow others to film them naked. If they don't think they'll share it when they break up, they have another thing coming. The same thing goes for the people who text racy photos of themselves to guys they don't know well. If you want to contribute to your own demise, go for it. I have a problem when it's done without your knowledge, however. That needs to be against the law.

`````There are people who sometimes try to make a huge issue out of a nonevent; the fact that two people might have known each other hardly makes a conspiracy. I recall during the last election that there were several attempts to suggest that President Obama and Bill Ayres had a relationship that was unprofessional, given Ayres' background with the Weathermen. Obama would have been a child when all of this took place, and Ayres is now an instructor. Unless those same people are going to say that every student in that man's classroom is also a terrorist by virtue of the same contact, it's an inappropriate arguement.

`````It is scary to think how a person could swing any contact I might have had in the past to look bad. There are already records of what we check on-line. Sometimes I Google some very odd topics and my reading choices are all over the map. I'm sure some profiler could come up with something scary if they opted to do so.

`````Many years ago, I knew somebody who had nothing but bad luck with roommates. She wasn't making a lot of money, so she had to share. In her first choice, she lived with a male (platonic), who ran up the phone bill, took a bunch of MDA one night, then jumped out the window. She hardly knew the guy; he was younger then her and they rarely crossed paths. But, now she had to somehow explain his death. She also had to pay off the bills and her credit was bad for a while as the rental had been in her name. Another time, she shared with a guy who she knew a bit. For some reason, I always had an odd feeling when I talked to her on the phone and I used to tell her that I felt like somebody was listening. Sure enough, one day the cops showed up with a warrant. He was under suspicion for several robberies and dealing. She'd had no idea again. So, our phone conversations probably had been listened to. As it turns out, there was nothing to substantiate the charges, but she was ridden with nerves for a while. I used to joke with her that I always hoped that if she ever married that she'd pick her husband better then she picked her roommates. Like it or not, she was labelled by people she really didn't know but with whom she had chance encounters. She was young then. But, let's say she were now to run for office or become famous. How could this look? It would be on the front page as a scandal from her past.

`````I guess it's because of this that I do not necessarily believe gossip when I hear it. I always think that one needs to dig deeper as well. It is possible to set people up. For instance, somebody can snap a photograph of some bimbo hanging off of an individual, but it doesn't mean that they were together. She may have approached him at a party, chatted him up, then asked for a photo for Facebook. Next thing you know, he's being accused of cheating. It's all well and good to appreciate those tabloids as the escapist entertainment that they are, but we mustn't believe them. After all, everybody has things going on that could "look bad."

THE CRINGING KID

CBC News - British Columbia - Sauerkraut explosion prompts quarantine

I have to provide the link to this story. The comments must be read as some of them are very funny. You just know that the kid who brought this lunch probably wishes that his parent would get with the program and pack PBJ like every other parent.