If you frequent this blog often, you know that a large part of my life deals with a trailer that sits on a beautiful lake in the Kawarthas.
This coming year will mark our 19th summer in this little piece of paradise, and like most of the others in the park, once the New Year hits, we start counting down the days until the second Saturday in May when we "open up" for another season.
Unfortunately, this summer will be a bit different. It will require a transition for quite a few of us because we lost a good friend over the holidays.
I don't mean to be overly dramatic because I'm sure a few will find it odd that I'm talking about a dog, but this was a special dog. This was a dog that was part of the trailer fabric, a dog that had been around for 17 beautiful years, a dog that everyone loved.
Her name was Jo and belonged to my next door neighbors, Tracy and Dan.
Actually she belonged to Tracy well before she belonged to Dan, because Tracy and Dan didn't become an item until a few years after Tracy had bought Jo to be a companion in the new house she had bought.
From what I understand, Jo was a handful at the beginning. She liked to chew things and she liked to run away. In fact Tracy once told us that way back when, when Jo would run away, she actually hoped she wouldn't come back.
She was kidding of course because Jo turned into a quite the mutt, obedient, loving and extremely loyal. You've heard of invisible fences, well Jo had an invisible leash that was tied to Tracy's ankle. They were inseparable. Tracy was always in Jo's line of site and followed her everywhere.
Even when Tracy would go out on the water her Sea-Doo, Jo would run up and down the shoreline waiting for her to come back.
Needless to say, a lot of us fell in love with Jo, me in particular. Somehow along the way I bonded with this dog and she'd show her affection for me by literally putting her paws around my neck while I was sitting and then she'd put her head on my shoulder.
Sure, it might have had something to do with the bag of jerky-treats I kept in the trailer, but this dog had more depth than that. She was genuine.
She was also a great friend to my dog Billie. Billie was born after Jo, and died before Jo, but in between there was a special connection between these dogs that I've never witnessed before.
When we'd arrive on a Friday night I'd let Bill out of the truck and she'd immediately look for Jo, and they'd go through a bizarre ritual. Jo would growl, Billy would become submissive and roll on the ground, growling Jo would put her jaws around Billy's neck, softly of course, and then they'd jump up and take off never to be apart for the rest of the weekend.
It was a wonderful relationship. Most mornings when I'd get up, Jo would lying outside our trailer door waiting for Bill to come out.
When Billy died back in 2007, one of the hardest parts for me was going back up north and having Jo look for Billy.
Good dogs don't happen by mistake. They're an extension of the people who raise them so that tells you something about Tracy Calderone.
I haven't talked to Dan or Tracy yet and to tell you the truth, I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Seventeen years is a long time to have someone in your life so I imagine they're busted up right now. Hell, I'm busted up. I don't think I could get through the conversation.
I can only offer this. It's what I told myself after Billie died.
Dogs have short lives and the day you get them, is the first day of setting yourself up for guaranteed heartbreak. When they go you just have to keep thinking of the good things, the good times and the special moments.
And thanks to "our" wonderful Jo Jo, Tracy and Dan have a ton of those.
Wouldn't you know it, the best weekend of the summer and I wasn't at the trailer. I've been bitchin' about the weather all year and when the heat finally hits, I have my ass parked in East York on Saturday.
But it was worth it. My good pal and former CFNY colleague Ivar Hamilton hosted his 50th birthday party in his backyard and we had a great time. Another friend of ours, Frank Tamprile also celebrated his 50th.
Like most houses in the city, Ivar doesn't have a big lot, but that didn't stop him from inviting about 100 people to his house for a bash that featured a couple of live bands.
To be honest, I don't know what the name of the first band was, but the second band was the Slime Dogs, or, as we used to refer to them back in the 80's, the Slime Dogs from Hell.
I have a bit of a history with this band because they were the guys I used to perform Snow Removal Machine with at CFNY Christmas parties...... and I did again on Saturday.
Admittedly, I forgot some the lines, and my timing was a bit off, but it's amazing what you can pull off when you just scream words into a microphone and most of the audience is hammered.
I saw some good old friends at Ivar's. Like David Marsden (picture to the left), Kevin O'Leary, Jim Reid and his wife Pauline. Freddie Ball and Pete Griffin's son Dylan. I saw the sweet Leanne Baumann and my American buddy John Elleffson.
Darren Wasylyk and Dan Duran were there as well, but I see those fuckers all the time.
Good food, good booze, good friends, good fun and good weather. It made for a great day.
CFNY boys - Kevin O'Leary, Ivar Hamilton, David Marsden, Jim Reid, Me and Darren Wasylyk.
Huge weekend. The weather wasn't actually too bad, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
Both of my kids made the trek north with their mates this weekend and we were enjoying a nice Saturday afternoon when my daughter's boyfriend Josh nestled in beside me and asked me a question.
Could he marry my daughter?
Wow. Talk about an avalanche of emotions. Josh told he loves Mel, she means everything in the world to him and he'd find it an honour to be part of our family.
It didn't take me long to respond. Delyse and I love the guy and have always felt comfortable while Melanie was with him. I told him parents always have concerns about who their kids end up with, especially fathers with daughters, and in his case, we feel like we've hit the jackpot.
After this noble jesture, Josh and Mel jumped into a paddle boat and set off for a little island on our lake which we've nicknamed Diamond Island. It's nothing more than a big rock but has a steep facing on one side that's great jumping and diving off of.
I spent a good portion of my child-hood on this rock and so did both of my kids. Josh thought it would be the best place possible to get down on one knee and ask my little girl to marry him.
And that's what he did.
Needless to say when the paddle boat touched the dock on the return journey, Melanie was a different person. She got out of the boat, came up onto our deck and called for her mother to come outside.
At that point she announced something that I already knew, her and Josh were engaged.
We had a big group hug and tears were shed as Mel showed everyone her ring and it was at that point that it really hit me. We had reached a huge milestone in our lives. One of our kids was getting married.
Where did the time go? How could this be? It seemed like she was born yesterday, it couldn't be possible that we've reached this point so fast. But we have. And we're extremely happy.
And now we get on with the process of wedding plans. Apparently its going to happen next summer at a place not very far from Diamond Island.
The long weekend, and finally something to report, and it was a howl.
My buddy Jason Wooley went fishing on Monday night but he wasn't out on the lake for long.
On his second cast he pulled the rod behind his head and whipped it forward but the lure never made it to the water. It got stuck in the back of his head, and I mean big time.
The barbed hook was deeply imbedded in his scalp and there was no way anyone but a doctor was getting it out.
He came back to the trailer park and we all gave it a look and a tug, but there was no way it was coming out, so off he went to Peterborough Hospital for a visit that lasted about six hours.
Once again weather wise it was an unsettled weekend in the Kawarthas but the competition was hot and heavy as all the trailer fold got together for our annual bocce tournament.
It's called the Jeff Laird Memorial Bocce tournament and we like to hold it annually, but you might remember that last year sucked the big one as far as the weather went so it got washed out.
This year we decided to hold it a little earlier in case the same thing happened but luckily we were able to withstand the stiff cold wind and mostly grey skies to get 'er done.
I'm the only two time champion in the park having captured the trophy and golden shoes in 2004 and 2005. After a two year drought and then the rain out I bounced back this year and made it to the final only to lose to a good fella named John McLeod.
This was definitely a case of home field advantage. I like to play in one part of the park while Johnny likes to play in another. When it came down to the final we flipped a coin to see who would choose the starting point and McLeod won. I was forced to make the long trek up to the area surrounding his trailer and the battle was one.
At one point I was down 15-10, but I battled back to take a 16-15 lead before losing 21-17. It was a bitter pill to swallow but I have no excuses. I lost fair and square and had to settle for the silver medal and everything else that comes with finishing second.
There were some other highlights.
I spanked Dan Duran's ass 15-3 in my third match and then had to listen to excruciating whining about me delaying the match too often while I waited for other games to play through. I won't go into huge detail only to say with so many people playing, sometimes the road gets crowded and if you have control of the pallino (small ball) you can wait till they pass before throwing it.
Duran the big suck didn't like this. Especially after he was leading 3-1 and I took a 13-3 lead.
Another highlight was my wife's performance. Delyse doesn't have a long or rich history in this tournament but she did us all proud on knocking Mike Kimber out of the tournament in the second round. Kimber is a perennial bride's maid but I think we all have it in the back of our minds that one year he's going to break out and win it all. Not this time and that's more than OK.
A few shout-outs. To April Ansell. Her parents are new to the park and therefore new to the tournament, but this kid (26 years old) can play the game and she zoomed all the way to the semi-finals against me. I had to tame the tigress 21-15.
And again, thanks to Pam Kimber (Mike's wife) she's the organizer of the tournament and the sister of Jeff Laird, who the tournament was named after. She always makes sure that every last detail is looked after and that everyone has a great time.
Yes, Saturday turned out to be a great day and so did Sunday thanks to the pause in grey skies, rain and cool temperatures.
We all hung out, re-hashed the tournament and soaked in the precious sun.
This is a picture of my darlin' Delyse and MIke Kimber, the guy she knocked off.
This is a picture of two future bocce players. Riley and Josh.
And this is a video of the awards presentation after the tournament. It's about seven minutes long, but nobodies forcing you to watch it. Ya peckers!
As I've said many times before, the best part of the trailer is the people. We've made some fabulous friends over the years and among those friends are children.
It's like a communal thing at the trailer. You spend so much time around other peoples kids you start to feel like they're yours.
Such is the case with Josh Bonchek and his brother Jordan. They very much different from each other, but very much the same when it comes to amusing us.
Jordan is the laid back senstive type, while his little brother Josh is somewhat different.
On Friday night just after they arrived, we found out that Josh had gone missing in a grocery store for a few minutes because he had decided to climb into an ice cube freezer.
Check this out. When I mention "Mel", I'm referring to my daughter Melanie who absolutely adores this kid.
Here's Jordan's reaction.
As for other stuff at the trailer this weekend. A beautiful Friday afternoon turned into scotch by the fire on Friday night which turned into a cool and windy Saturday, which turned into a drive back to Brampton Saturday night to find a good Jamaican after hours party.
This weekend at the trailer wasn't really a weekend at the trailer. It was more a weekend with some good old buddies on a golf course near the trailer.
If you listen to the audio clips that I post on CanadianThinker.com you know that I do a "hit" with Neil Morrison in Vancouver every Friday afternoon.
Neil does the mid-days at CFOX in Vancouver but most of your probably remember him as Brother Bill who used to do afternoons on the Edge during the latter Humble and Fred years.
Neil is getting up there. He's pushing 40 but he's about to get himself married. He met a wonderful woman in Vancouver named Gabrielle and they're getting "hitched up" on June 26th out on the left coast.
I'm thrilled for Neil because I never thought he'd get married. Hell, I never thought he'd get laid, so this comes as a pleasant surprise to all of us who love him. And that's a lot of people.
Because of his ties to the east (Neil grew up in Brampton) he came back for a stag weekend with a lot of his personal, radio and record company buddies.
On Saturday afternoon we golfed at a despicable little cow pasture in Norwood called Oakland Greens Golf and Country Club and then we went back to Scott Carmichael's impressive cottage on Stoney Lake which isn't far from the tin palace.
Scott has created quite a place on the lake. It includes a wonderful main cottage, and a so-called "barn" that acts as a practice studio for bands. It's freakin' awesome.
Scott's cottage was the location of a Molson Canadian Private Party a few years a back. I saw the fire pit where the Chilie Peppers entertained a few dozen people.
It was a great day with some great friends and we finished it off with some great food and booze.
Here's a picture I love. Me with some of my favourite people. At some time or another we all worked at CFNY together. From left to right.
Martin Streek, Big shot record guy Ivar Hamilton, Q-107 marketing Director Darren Wasylyk, Mineself, Neil Morrison and Edge creative and production manager Rob Johnston.
Thanks to the shitty weather we've had this May, this was the first weekend we actually stayed at the trailer and it was productive.
I finished getting my lot in shape, and we decorated the Tiki Bar for another season. This year's most notable addition is a Blue Marlin that Dan Duran picked out of someone's garbage.
It looks like it's made of styrofoam but it's actually made of some kind of a plaster which makes it a lot heavier than you'd think. It's rather large, but it looks great.
Other than that, the Tiki Bar features the same multitude of lights hanging in basically the same places this year and although we put most of the other junk back up, there were several pieces that looked too weathered so the call has been put out for replacements.
If you're a fellow trailerite, you know the feel, so keep your eyes open for anything that will fit.
It was a gorgeous weekend, especially Sunday, so we wasted little time making our way down to the beach to play bocce. It was more or less spring training with most of the guys getting the feel for the ball and not really partaking in the usual immaturity of insulting each other through some creative trash talk.
The only real drawback to our bocce session was the goose shit. As I told you many times over the past few years, Canada Geese have invaded the Kawarthas and they're getting out of hand.
The beach was covered with crap which made me go into one of my anti-Canada goose rants. It was rather colourful and once again included my insistence that I would offer no mercy while strangling one of the shit machines with my bare hands.
There should really be a culling of the bastards with the meat used to feed the helpless, homeless and hungry. But of course, that makes too much sense.
Speaking of the homeless, Dan Duran almost lost his summer home.
Dans's trailer is rather aged and he arrived this year to discover the front end of the prick had pretty much rotted through to the frame.
Anybody else would have dragged it out the park and lit a match to the fucker, but not Dan.
Where others see work and aggravation, Dan Duran sees challenge and purpose. He literally gutted the thing and rebuilt it.
Have a look. I shot this video just before Dan took some goose off the barbeque.
For those of you who frequent "The Trailer" page of this website I should give you an update.
Yes, the trailer is open, but I haven't slept there yet and I don't plan to until the weather gets better.
I've turned into a weather suck and that's why like a lot of other weather sucks I won't be by a lake this weekend, I'll be near a television in my spacious comfortable home watching hockey.
There was a time when I didn't care what the weather was like, as long as I was up north the rain or bugs didn't bother me at all. I could hunker down in the tin palace and be very content, and I didn't mind throwing on a rain poncho to do a little visiting either.
That has all changed.
I don't want to be anywhere near the trailer when the weather is shitty. I get bored and think of all productive things I could be doing at home.
And I've got to admit, my shitty weather threshold is pretty thin. Not only can I not tolerate the rain that is being forecast for tomorrow, I don't like temperatures cool temperatures with gusty winds, whether the sun is shining or not - and that's what they're calling for on Sunday and Monday.
Yup, I'm a weather suck and that's why there won't be any trailer updates until next week, and only then if it's warm enough for me to step outside, remove my shirt and let the winter flab ooze onto the pressure treated deck.
For some reason my neighbours prefer the cooler weather.
The Trailer - Week Twenty Three - Thanksgiving Weekend
October 15, 2008 @ 08:27
I love this picture because it represents what Thanksgiving is all about. Friends and family.
This is a picure of my kids and their mates. From left to right is my daughter Melanie's boyfriend Josh, Mel, my son Danny's girlfriend Shawna, and Dan.
It's not too often that we all can be together in one place. Young adults have very busy lives and to get everybody together up north at the same time is pretty special.
It's also a lot of fun. Squeezing six adults into the tin palace is a challenge, but its becomes a lot easier when the place is filled with laughter, like it was all weekend.
And it doesn't hurt when the temperature is in the 20's like it was all weekend.
Friday night we had a large campfire, Saturday we hung out and prepared lots of food for our big Thanksgiving dinner at Forest Hill Lodge on Saturday night.
On Sunday, the kids took off to have dinner with Josh and Shawna's families while Delyse and I closed down our little piece of paradise.
The Tiki Bar was dismantled. A lot of stuff was crammed into the shed. I blew out the water lines and then locked the doors.
It has started. The preparations for closing the tin palace got underway this weekend with taking my boat out of the water.
I don't use my boat a lot. I didn't even use one full tank of gas this season. It used to be, when my kids were young and adventurous, we'd go through a tank of gas in an afternoon while tubing or skiing or just cruising around the lake.
Now it sits there week after week until I make a point of going out onto the lake, just to say I did.
And I'm happy to report I went through another summer without any creatures taking up residence in my boat. You might remember a couple of years ago a mink took a liking to my boat and created quite the mess.
He'd crack crawfish at one end, and then shit the other. Sickening.
We had a nice fire and gathering at our place on Saturday night, immediately following a nice dinner of strip loin steaks and spicy beef ribs that we purchased a cool butcher shop in Lakefield.
It's called Flanagan's, and believe me, Flanagan has it nailed. Good quality meats and fish.
On Friday night we hung out in Peterborough. I have my new pad in downtown Peterborough and my wife got to check it out for the first time. Delyse approves. It's right downtown in the café district, extremely cool and very comfortable.
As I've mentioned many times before, Peterborough is blessed with a plethora of great restaurants so we've decided to visit every one at least once over the winter.
Friday night it was 38 Degrees on Water Street. Excellent. Try the Bombay Chicken.
Thanksgiving weekend is the final weekend of the season. We have our big Thanksgiving dinner at the Lodge and then everything that has to, comes down.
After another fascinating and exceptionally enjoyable week in my new job, I welcomed the arrival of my sweet wife Delyse on Thursday night and it kicked off a great weekend.
I went to work on Friday morning, but in the late afternoon Delyse met me in downtown Peterborough where we had lunch at Girdy's and then strolled around the city that could become our home within then next year or so.
After that we made the trek back to the trailer where we threw on some warm clothes and then enjoyed a campfire with some our of trailer family.
On Saturday morning my daughter Melanie arrived and sat around before heading to the beach for a game of bocce ball under warm and vibrant glare of the fall sun. It was good.
On Saturday night we enjoyed another campfire before waking to a cool Sunday morning that turned into a gorgeous Sunday afternoon which featured a fish fry courtesy of my buddy Gerry.
It was an interesting week because things have become ass backwards at the trailer. Usually in September, I'm home in Brampton all week and only at the trailer on weekends.
Not now. Because of the new job I was at the trailer all week and then came home on the weekend.
We were supposed to hold our annual bocce tournament at the trailer this weekend, but the combination of lousy weather and a depleted field forced us to postpone the Jeff Laird Memorial Bocce Tournament till later in the month. (I am the 2004 and 2005 champion - today's picture is the 07 winner, Bruce Mallory)
Once it was called off on Friday morning, I said to my sweet, who had driven up on Thursday night, that I wouldn't mind heading home to see the kids and enjoy some space.
I love the trailer, but when you're actually in the mindset of living there, and you have to do stuff like iron your clothes in the morning, it becomes a little tight and makes you long for the comforts of your brick palace rather than your tin palace.
The ironing board is tippy so when you move what ever your trying to press, the iron wants to topple off so I have to hold the iron with one hand while I maneuver the garment with the other. It's a pain in the ass.
Any, we decided to come home and had a great time seeing neighbour John who embraced me lovingly while blurting the words, "my buddy, I didn't expect to see you home this soon."
I had a fabulous dinner with my kids and their mates on Saturday night, and then we did it again for breakfast.
Yesterday I saw my sister Nancy and my mother Junie P. who, for some reason, didn't think she was going to see me until after Thanksgiving. The woman actually thought I'd stay up north during the week "and" weekends until the park close.
I could never do that to my mother.
Anyway, it's Monday morning and I'm about to jump into the car and head back to Peterborough where I'll tackle my second week as program director of the The Wolf and 980 Kruz.
I have several more meetings, a United Way Breakfast and the home opener of the Peterborough Petes, whose games we broadcast live on 980.
I'll be spending at least another fortnight in the tin palace before moving into a place in downtown Peterborough - but I'm happy to report my darlin' Delyse has ironed all my clothes for this week so I won't have to wrestle with a goddamn ironing board.
To say this was a weird weekend would be a gross understatement - and it had nothing to do with the leaves that are already changing.
Thursday night I packed up the car with a lot more clothes than usual, because this time I wasn't coming home.
All weekend long, the same thought kept pumping through my mind. I have to work on Monday, but I don't have to go home. For years and years a weekend at the trailer in September meant an early departure on Sunday afternoon, early to bed on Sunday night, and then up at three-thirty to go to work.
Even during my forced sabbatical, I always went home on Sunday nights in September, because that's what everybody else did.
Yesterday was especially freaky. The weather sucked so me and my darlin' decided to head into Peterborough to kill some time. But we both took our own cars and after browsing around, and the having a light meal at "Hot Bellie Mama's" in Peterborough, we went our separate ways.
It was quite emotional. (not really)
We embraced on George St, and just before kissing her full on the lips, a looked into Delyse's eyes and said. "And so it begins."
This was reference to the fact that for the next several months I'll be staying in Peterborough, while my sweet stays in Brampton. It's not going to be easy, but what the hell, you've got to do what you've got to do and that's what we're gonna do. Ya buggers.
I looked Delyse in the eye, told I loved her, and then watched as her silver Volvo pulled out into traffic and disappeared in the distance.
I got into my car and headed the other way, back to the tin palace, which will be my primary residence for the next week or so until I find something more permanent in downtown Peterborough.
Getting up this morning was very peculiar. I got up, had a quick shower, did my radio bit with McArthur in London, and then ironed some clothes before jumping into my car and heading down Hwy. 28 for work.
What a fantastic weekend. The weather was perfect, and the tin palace was full of my favourite people.
It's not too often I can get both my kids in the same place at the same time these days, but it all came together this weekend as Delyse and I enjoyed having Melanie and Danny and their mates for a great weekend.
Melanie and her boyfriend Josh arrived on Saturday morning, while Danny and his girlfriend Shawna arrived Saturday night.
It was Shawna's first visit to paradise and she left with the same mind-set that everyone else does. She wants to come back. Good food, good times and good people, it works every time - especially when the weather is near perfect.
On Sunday afternoon we organized the biggest and best raft party of all time.
My buddy Brian Collins has a raft that measures maybe ten by ten, but after you hook up three pontoon boats to the son of a bitch, all of a sudden you have a enough room for about thirty people.
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to show you, because I was out of the raft and didn't have my camera in my bathing suit, and yesterday I forget to download some pictures from other people. Maybe I'll post some later in the week.
Put it this way. It was good. Very good.
We also enjoyed a new family member. Melanie and Josh got a new dog a couple of months ago, and he's a beauty.
"Bones" got his name because when he arrived at a shelter near Guelph back in the spring, he was nothing but skin and "bones." Melanie saw him on one of those "petfinder" websites and fell in love.
We're not completely sure how old he is, but he's a wonderful little guy. He's docile, obedient for the most part and extremely affectionate.
We're convinced that during his "Littlest Hobo" time he experienced some that things that have made him a little skittish, but everyday he's just gets better and better.
This weekend he was pleasure to have at the trailer, and we can't wait till he comes back.
I was home for most of the week but headed for the tin palace alone on Thursday afternoon.
Of course when I arrived it had just rained, but it cleared long enough around the supper hour to sit with a few friends and talk about all the lost moments this year because of the bizarre weather.
After dinner on Thursday night it rained again, stopped again, and then rained for most of the night.
On Friday morning there was a patch of blue to the west of us, so a couple of my buddies and their wives decided a boat trip from our lake to Bobcaygeon would be a idea.
They asked me if I wanted to go, and not having anything else to do because my "friends" Mike and Brian decided to go golfing with their wives instead of me, I accepted.
It was weird. I can never remember the weather patterns and skies that we've had this year. Although we enjoyed sunshine most of the way, there were swirling black clouds all around us and we could see several rain storms in the distance.
The trip was uneventful until we were just entering Bobcaygeon. I was driving in a boat with my buddy Glen and he was just in front of my buddy Jason.
Glen has an 18 foot boat with a 90 Mercury on it, while Jason has a 21 foot monster SeaDoo boat.
As we approached Bobcaygoen, Glen pulled back on his throttle and for a split second, Jason who was fast approaching didn't notice. All of a sudden he was too close and his natural reaction was to pull back on the throttle.
Unfortunately SeaDoo boats don't respond very well without thrust and the boat was momentarily out of control and broke the wake literally inches away from Glen's boat. It lifted the boat out of the water.
My buddy Dan Bonchek screamed at Glen to "hit it" so we could pull away from the huge hull of the SeaDoo boat that appeared ready to crash down on the back of our boat.
At first I didn't realize what was happening in the confusion, so by the time I turned around all I could see was the bottom of a huge boat coming towards me. But at that split second it was the turning point of the near tragedy. As the big boat lunged towards us, we barely pulled out of its path.
It was that close.
Where I was sitting would have taken the full brunt, which means if it didn't kill me I would have probably been shitting into a bag for the rest of my life.
It took everybody a little while to wind down because to be honest, it wasn't pretty and no exaggeration. With another second the wrong way, it could have been ugly.
It shows you how quickly accidents can happen, and explains some of those inexplicable things you hear on the news some time and wonder how the hell they can happen.
Well they can. And there was absolutely no alcohol involved and Jason wasn't being careless because his boat was full of little kids.
It was just one of those things.
After having a bite to eat in Bobcaygeon we headed home, a race against the usual impending rain and the locks closing in Buckhorn. We beat them both, but not long after arriving home, the rain had its way and lasted most of the evening.
I gave up on Saturday. I packed up the car and headed home because I was sick of the rain and the dampness and I was lonesome for my wife, who, after working all week, decided she wasn't going to drive for two hours to sit inside a tin box.
Good call.
We hung out on Saturday afternoon watching golf and the Olympics and then yesterday we enjoyed a great day with out kids and their mates.
Melanie and Josh, and Danny and Shawna had dinner with us and then we all decided to hop in the car last night and catch the 10:35 showing of "Step Brothers."
Not being a huge Will Ferrell fan I was reluctant at first, but I didn't want to waste an opportunity to go out with the kids.
The movie turned out to be OK. Very funny at the beginning, stupid in the middle and then amusing at the end.
Meanwhile, there's not a lot I can grab and send as far as trailer highlights go. The week basically stunk weather wise and if affected the mood of everybody and everything.
Including my buddy Dan Boncheck who found something wrong with the Tiki Bar.
Delyse and I left the tin palace on Thursday night and returned home for her brother's 30th anniversary party in Cambridge. It took place on Saturday, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Being home on a long weekend isn't my favourite thing to do, but like anything else it all comes back to attitude. We have a swimming pool and a Tiki Bar at home, so there are a lot worse places we could be on a Saturday in the GTA.
On Sunday Delyse turned to me and said, "I'm sort of glad we came home, I'm enjoying this." Then she took a sip of her sangria, which was remarkable in itself because this woman rarely drinks.
We went for a long walk yesterday and then went for a swim, and then later on in the afternoon I vacuumed the pool. It was during this time that I was took a stroll down memory lane thanks to my Starchoice Satellite system and music channel 909 which is called Flashback 70's.
While removing some lint and crap from the bottom of the pool the song "Alone Again" (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan came on.
I hadn't heard it in a long time and it's a good thing because I was quickly reminded of how aggravating this song is. Although it has a catchy tune, the words are downright depressing and I've often wondered what Gilbert was thinking when he wrote it.
I can understand being bummed out about being "alone" all the time, and I can understand writing a song about your hard luck, but the "naturally" part always struck me because it's so negative and self defeating. The guy expects the worst to happen.
The ending kills me as well. Sad stories often have good endings or optimistic messages attached. Not this one.
The song starts with him threatening to kill himself.
In a little while from now
If I'm not feeling any less sour
I promise myself to treat myself
And visit a nearby tower
And climbing to the top will throw myself off
In an effort to make it clear to who
ever what it's like when you're shattered
And it ends with his mother and father dying.
I remember I cried when my father died
Never wishing to hide the tears
And at sixty-five years old
My mother, God rest her soul,
Couldn't understand why the only man
She had ever loved had been taken
Leaving her to start with a heart so badly broken
Despite encouragement from me
No words were ever spoken
And when she passed away
I cried and cried all day
Alone again, naturally
Alone again, naturally
It really is one of those songs that you'd like to ram a pitchfork through your speakers when it's playing. It's every bit as bad as James Blunts, "You're Beautiful."
The unsettled weather continued to blow through the Kawarthas, but it was still a good weekend.
A lot of my weekend buddies started holidays this week, so there was a certain air of levity to the world, and that was enhanced by the buzz created by the creation of Tyrania.
It was great the way all the (adults?) at the park bought into what the kids had come up with and carried it right through the weekend. Some of the guys have vowed to take control of Tyrania through any means necessary.
It could get interesting as the week unfolds.
Something else I should mention. I did another boneless leg of lamb the old fashioned way. Not on my gas barbeque, but on my traditional barbeque that doubles as a fire pit and I cooked it over charcoal.
This time I made no mistakes, I nursed I through the 70 minutes it stayed on the grill and took it off at precisely the right time before letting it rest for about twenty minutes.
It was rare. Very rare, just the way we like it.
This week I’m going to post a few pictures for you. Good friends had family members visit this weekend and we all gathered by the Tiki Bar on Saturday night to watch the sunset. (The above picture is my buddy Dan Bonchek and his son Josh)
This is my friend Jackie and her parents Dave and Ann.
This is my friend Darren with his mom Helen and his sister Kendra.
Delyse and I didn't arrive until late Saturday afternoon because we wanted to do a bunch of stuff around the house before settling in paradise for the better part of the next two weeks.
Saturday afternoon was glorious weather wise and Saturday night was just as good as we sat by a fire in front of the Tiki Bar and listened to some great music.
On Sunday, the focus of the day was the fifth wedding anniversary of our good friends Darren and Lori Wasylyk. (picture)
They got married on the lake and its hard to believe five years has gone by since then. They said their vows on a dock by the beautiful lodge that's right beside us, and then we had a party that started in the lodge and ended by a campfire in front of their trailer.
It was a fabulous time and a fine example of how a wedding should be. Nothing but your best and closest friends, in a location you love. It's way better than the archaic church and formal reception expense and bother that more and more people seem to be getting away from.
Yesterday, to mark Darren and Lori's fifth anniversary we went for dinner at a cool restaurant just down the road. It's called The Old Bridge Inn at Young's Point, and the food is fabulous.
Meanwhile, the two pictures below are a couple of shots taken by Dan Duran, who've I've explained is a magician with a camera.
The first shot is a picture of me and my sweet in front of the Tiki Bar, and the second shot features my feet in front of an empty scotch bottle. Bells Scotch, ya buggers.
Me and my sweet didn't arrive until after eleven o'clock on Friday, so it was unpack and to bed for Delyse and a quick beer for me by the fire with good friend Danny Bonchek.
On Saturday I fell into a drink-fest.
A stroll down to the Kimbe's turned into the sampling of several summer drinks, or as I call them, "broad drinks" (even though Delyse hates it when I use the word broad) Very fruity and sweet. I just take little sips because sugary drinks give me headaches like someone is taking a Mikita with a three/eighths drill bit to my head.
Instead I indulged in a few beers - a couple of Caribs, a Stella and a Sleeman Clear, all courtesy of my good buddy Peter Grove.
After a few hours of talking and laughing and saying stupid shit, we decided we'll all eat together that night, so we pooled our resources and had a big smorgasbord at the Kimbers.
I had a hunk of steak, a hamburger, some lovely asparagus wrapped in bacon and some sweet potato fries.
After that, it was back into the booze but once again I backed off the sweet shit and opted for Scotch, something that never gives me a hang-over.
My buddy Mike Kimber cracked a 26er of Bells, and by two a.m., me, Kimber and Dan Duran had drained the some of a bitch. But there was no yelling, arguing or punches thrown. We just laughed our bags off while saying suggestive things to our wives.
All in all, a very enjoyable night which was highlighted by Dan Duran snapping away with his digital camera.
I've mentioned before on this blog that Duran has a wonderful eye with a camera, and sees things that most of us don't. He has an amazing talent, and later on in the week I'll publish some of the pictures he took on Saturday night.
He also took some video of me saying a speech. Or declaring something. Or making a bizarre point of some sort. Hopefully I can post that later in the week as well.
And speaking of pictures, the shot I posted above is a picture of my wife Delyse and two of her trailer friends Karen Collins and Pam Kimber.
It's just another by-product of whats been so good about heading north every weekend. The friendships we've made will last a lifetime.
Delyse, Karen and Pam have been close "buds" for 17 years. They've shared a lot. Raising kids, handling husbands and enjoying each others company.
They've laughed together, cried together and sipped many cups of tea together.
This is my friend Mike Kimber. He’s sitting on Dan Duran’s dock, enjoying a wonderful day in paradise.
Talk about a wonderful weekend.
It started with a round of golf at Hawk Ridge in Orillia, before a fabulous dinner at the Ossawippi Express Dining Cars, and then on to the Steely Dan concert at Rama.
The Steely Dan concert was fabulous. I won’t go on too much about it, because it’s one of those things. You had to be there to appreciate it. Two hours of solid entertainment.
I’m a lucky guy. I’ve been blessed with so many things in my life, and this weekend was just another indication.
I spent Friday night with a three of my closest friends, and then after everything I mentioned above, we drove from Orillia to the Kawarthas on Saturday morning to spend the rest of the weekend with more friends and family.
The weather was perfect, which allowed us to enjoy our first "raft party" of the season.
We had another fine Canada Day weekend at the trailer. The party took place on Saturday night, and I’m happy to report nobody brought a gun. Imagine that?
We combined the countries birthday with the 50th birthdays of our good friends Jerry Richard, Dan Duran and Jill Ramsay.
We gave er’
Other than that, we did what most people did; we danced around the weird weather.
Right up until Tuesday, the weather in Kawartha changed every ten minutes. From beautiful sunshine and warmth, to grey ugly unsettled skies that brought frequent bouts of rain.
But we made the most of it and yesterday I finally got to uncover my boat for the first time in a couple of weeks and it was nice to get the little skiff out on the water and have some fun.
I should also mention a flu bug I had over the weekend. Apparently, it’s going around, so beware.
No runs, no vomiting, just a nauseous feeling with achy joints. I took Gravol which seemed to help a bit, but it wasn’t until I popped a couple of Advil Liqui-Gels that things were brought under control.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend with wonderful friends celebrating a wonderful country.
The big moment of the weekend came on Saturday during a bocce challenge on the beach.
After taking a shot I noticed something in the distance, and it made my heart flutter. It was red and white and round it looked an awfully lot like something I had been looking for.
A couple of years ago, for my birthday, my buddy Darren bought be a life preserver with the name of our lake on it. He got it custom made on-line. It was the perfect compliment to the Tiki Bar, and looked great hanging from the roof.
A few weeks ago, when we were decorating the Tiki Bar again, we couldn’t find it. The life preserver was missing. We looked high and low, in every cupboard and cranny, but came up with nothing.
It became obsessive with me. I looked under the dock, under the deck and even checked at home thinking I may have brought it home accidentally, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.
We finally accepted the fact it had either been stolen late last year and we didn’t notice when we were closing down, or it had somehow blown off and again, we didn’t notice it was gone.
I didn’t have the heart to tell Darren, and that’s why I lied to him when he asked where it was last week.
Thinking quickly, I told him it was at home, and he quipped that “at home isn’t up north” and it didn’t make any sense.
But I wanted one more week to look and I even went on line to see if I could find where he bought it so I could order another one.
But then Saturday happened.
I took the shot, looked in the distance and there was the red and white circle, lying on the sand near the fire pit. As I approached I prayed it was my life preserver and not some other life preserver that looked like my life preserver.
It was mine. The one I had been looking for, for weeks. Lying there, a little scuffed up and dirty, but having survived the winter after obviously blowing off the Tiki Bar last fall, floating down the lake about a quarter mile before beaching itself where somebody picked it up and left it on the beach thinking it was an actual life saving device.
Me and my sweet headed up late Thursday night so we’d have the whole day Friday.
We woke up to the rain on Friday morning so we bolted into Peterborough to pick up my new barbeque at the Friendly Fires on Hwy 7.
Back the fall I had done a favour for my barbeque pal Naz Cavelarro during Grey Cup Week, and the return gesture was a Weber 320 which is the perfect barbeque for me.
It’s sem-portable with a huge cooking surface and it fits on my deck nicely without taking up too much space. And talk about performance, heat the main responsibility of any barbeque and this baby gets up to 600 degrees in no time flat.
On Saturday night we did a couple of racks of lamb and some lamb chops and they were done to perfection because I was able to slap the bastards on with the grill clipping somewhere between 500 and 550 degrees.
Wonderful, just wonderful. Thank you Naz and thank you Danny at Friendly fires.
The weather turned out to be a bonus. Better than the forecast, so I was finally able to get my boat into the water. She’s a beaut.
A 1987 Thundercraft with a 60 Johnson on the back. I’ve had the boat for 16 years but she’s still going strong. Last year I put new seats in it, and this year I updated the cushions in the bow.
I don’t spend a lot of time in my boat, so I don’t see the need to invest in a new one. Not only that, but I’ve grown attached to this one and by making small improvements it’s starting to get a vintage feel to me.
I’m keeping this boat for as long as I can. I should have taken a picture, but I forgot.
Instead, I offer the two “above” pictures of my friends. The first one is a close up of my buddy Dan Duran. Normally, he’s a handsome brute, but I must say, in this picture he looks like a geek.
But let me tell you, the man is a wizard with a camera and my house if full of framed “Dan Durans.”
The picture beside the “geek” picture is my friends Darren and Bruce. This picture was taken at night, with no flash on my little Nikon Coolpix 13. I didn’t think such things were possible, but Dan Duran showed me it was. He’s a wizard.
The picture was taken during the first “official” trailer party of the year. It took place at Duran’s and featured good friends, good food and a couple of women who drank too much.
What a difference a week makes. The weather this weekend was near perfect for late May, and it made for an enjoyable weekend at the tin shack.
On Friday, I had the opportunity to play golf at Glen Abbey and I kept everything in perspective.
The weather was perfect for golf, and was playing with a couple of my best buddies and I wasn't horrible, just the usual bad, but not horrible.
It's a tough golf course for someone of my ability, which made me remark to the fellas at one point, I don't call this place Glen Abbey, I call it Glen Abacus, because that's what I need to keep track of my score!
Anyway, after 18 and a cold refreshing beer I headed back to Brampton where I picked up my lovely and we continued on to paradise.
After arriving we sat by the fire and I got into a global warming argument with my good friend Dan Duran. I take a more realistic, more rational Stephen Harper type approach to global warming, while it's apparent that Duran, prompted by the hysterical rantings of CBC radio and such, would have everyone on bicycles tomorrow.
At one point Friday night I told Dan I didn't want to continue our conversation, which isn't always the best tact.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore" I said.
"That's no way to debate an issue." Said Dan.
He's right, but I've been up this road with Duran so many times over the years, and we get nowhere, that all it serves to do is put a knot in my stomach, so I'd prefer to relax and talk about things like "culling" the bastard Canada Geese that are shitting all over my lawn.
Saturday was another beautiful day and it started with me and my sweet going for a long walk to the end of our lake. There are several steep hills along the way, but it's great for exercising the legs and removing an unwanted portion of my wife's ars.
Saturday afternoon was Tiki Time. A few of us got together and decorated the Tiki Bar for the 2008 season. It's a fun process because there's really no "set" format. We just grab strings of lights and start going round and round until we run out of them.
We throw up some signs and knick knacks, put the roof on and we're ready to go.
By Saturday night we were all gathered around the bar watching game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Too bad the game sucked.
Sunday was a day for finishing off some planting, going for another walk and noticing how much Dan Duran's son Colton reminds me of his dad.
He's like a mini-me to his old man without all the unrealistic and socialistic baggage.
Thank goodness I spend a lot of time with this lad during the summer. Hopefully I can have enough influence on this kid before he wants to do something stupid like become a member of the NDP.
A Victoria Day weekend came and went and I didn’t go north. I just can’t handle shitty weather any more.
It used to be, I didn’t care what the weather was like, I just loved being in the Kawarthas even if it meant being huddled inside watching movies.
Not any more.
My wife and I got up on Friday morning and we weren’t going to be fooled by the nice day that was unfolding. We put an eye towards the forecast and it wasn’t too encouraging, so we made a call.
We’d stay home on Friday and if the weather forecast proved to be wrong on Saturday morning, we’d head up north.
Saturday arrived and we still weren’t convinced there would be any major turn around so we decided to stay home, and it proved to be the correct choice.
Saturday was unsettled and cool, Sunday provided a steady downpour and Monday was downright frigid.
We stayed home, enjoyed our spacious home, entertained some relatives, watched a lot of hockey and planted a tree. Yes, a tree.
My sweet wife Delyse has always wanted to plant a birch tree in front of our house, so on Saturday we went and bought a little sapling.
It will take years to mature, and we’ll probably be long gone before we can actually enjoy its full splendour, but that doesn’t matter, we accomplished something on the weekend that gave us both a small measure of pleasure and warmth.
We’ll watch it grow as long as we’re here, and even after we’re gone it will give us a reason to drive by the “old house” and see how much the birch tree has grown.
This is my friend Bruce Mallory. He’s a magician with a barbeque.
How is it that some guys have the touch and others guys don’t. I have to admit, that for every half dozen steaks that I barbeque, maybe one of them turns out exactly the way I want it.
Bruce bats .1000, and it doesn’t matter where the meat comes from. On Saturday night we had our first barbeque of the season at the trailer and Bruce took control of the Broil King and he was given steaks from three different places, and all three we exceptional.
Bruce isn’t one of these guys who keeps flipping a steak, he get the barbeque really hot and then leaves them alone, flipping them once and testing them with his thumb, never does he have to cut into the steak.
It really is an art. It’s a talent, it’s a gift and he’s got it.
Saturday night followed a hard day of work about the tin palace. There was stuff to move out of the shed, lots of leaves to rake and other small jobs that add to one big effort.
It’s the same thing every year. I had up there for the first weekend having convinced myself that’s there’s not really that much involved to open up, but once you get going, you realize that people who own cottages must have a bitch of a time.
I arrived at the trailer late Friday afternoon and it was good to see my buddy Brian Collins with his usual collection of fishing buddies. They love to fish – almost as much as they love to drink beer and eat. Brian also likes to make frequent references to “the big guy”, which is exactly what you think it is.
Dan Duran was there. He forgot to bring beer and Bailey’s again. But he’s got a lot on his mind these days.
And what’s left of my good friend Darren was there as well. Darren dropped about 30 pounds over the winter and he’s a new man. Long and lean and extremely conscious of what he puts in his mouth these days. He eats a lot of berries.
It was also a bitter sweet weekend for the group.
Out beloved park managers Shawn and Brenda have decided to move on and that can be upsetting. Good managers are like your favourite pair of jeans.
You like the way they fit and they’re very comfortable. That’s the way Shawn and Brenda were and we’re going to miss them.
A few years ago we had a terrorist named Jim running the park, and you’ve always afraid there could be more than one of him on earth.
Hey everybody, I probably be won’t be posting anything on FreddieP.ca tomorrow, because later this afternoon I plan to head north and open the tin palace and start trailer season 2008.
It’s my favourite time of the year. A new beginning and reengagement with a bunch of great people who’ve been a big part of my family’s life for close to the last two decades.
It doesn’t take much to open up.
Turn the water on, take a bunch of stuff out of the shed, make the beds, hook up the satellite and give her.
Once again this year I’ll keep you posted on the week to week happenings. I realize its not of interest to all of you, but its there if you care.
This picture says it all. The Tiki Bar has become the focal point of our summers and yesterday we had to dismantle it for the winter.
The lights and accessories come down, the roof panels come off and we pack it all away with heavy hearts.
Closing weekend it always a bit of a bummer, but this year it was made a little more palatable with the warm weather. We've had years when we closed down with flurries swirling around our heads. This year it was close to 30 degrees and humid.
We managed to cram quite a bit into the final weekend. A Tiki Bar get together on Friday night and our big Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday night at the lodge. After the dinner we were in the hot tub and then jumped into the cold lake and it was the most exhilarating feeling you could imagine.
On Sunday we played some bocce ball and then barbequed steaks and salmon over the open fire - and yesterday we closed up - almost - some of the other guys are going up again next week so I left a couple of job undone so I could make one last trek before facing the fact that winter's coming.
I should also mention that we held our annual awards ceremony on Saturday night during our Thanksgiving dinner. We recognize those who've committed and accomplished over the summer.
This year's big winner was my lovable neighbour Jerry Richard. He set an awards record capturing seven while eclipsing the previous record of six held my Brian Collins.
Jerry is quite the character with a heart of gold.
You have to be a pretty good sport to take the pounding that Jerry did Saturday night, but he took it all in stride and I'm sure looks forward to next year when we make someone else the target.
What a great weekend at the tin shack. I took a slow drive up on Friday and stopped off in Peterborough for lunch. A place called Girdy's on Hunter Street.
It's neat little place with good tasting food and good looking waitresses. I had their curried chicken wings and a Heineken and it was quite enjoyable, although they glaze the curry on the wings and I'd rather they be dusted.
On Friday night we had a gathering at my friend Dan Durans trailer for a nice dinner and then several different cocktails. The night ended with a couple of women drinking tequila off my breasts.
Saturday was another fine day that afforded me the opportunity to get my boat out of the water. It's always a sad time when the little skiff comes out of the water because it's another thing that marks the end of the season.
Just prior to taking my boat out of the water however, my friend Dan Bonchek got me to inspect a pile of shit that was on his dock. He wondered whether it was from the mink that had been living in my boat.
It wasn't. The pile of shit was much bigger and it looked like it had pine nuts all through it.
We determined it either had to be something bigger than a mink but we could't figure out what it might be. Dan was terrified it might be human shit and someone was leaving a message.
But another guy from up the lake put his mind at ease when he confirmed it was beaver shit. Beavers had been doing a lot of damage around the lake and one just happend to take a shit break on Danny B's dock.
Saturday night me and my buddy Darren cooked steaks over the open fire and sat by the campfire till midnight. We all took it easy and nothing transpired like the night before.
Sunday it was a mid morning nine holes at Marvel Rapids in Apsley and then I headed for home where my wife made some delectable meatball sandwiches.
It was a very low key weekend. Good weather, good friends and good food.
Just a lot of hangin' out sitting the in sun with a little bocce thrown in and a couple of good campfires.
When I first arrived on Friday I had a few tense moments. I hadn't been up to the trailer for three weeks and I had left my boat covered, so I was anxious to see if that rat bastard mink had returned to his favourite place on the lake.
I slowly pulled back the cover with great apprehension. The last thing I wanted to do was clean up three weeks worth of mink shit and all hundreds of crawfish shells.
Wasn't I the happy hoser when I looked in and saw nothing? The boat was clean as a whistle and it actually smelled great.
On the recommendation of someone I placed "Bounce" fabric softener sheets throughout the boat. I was told rodents don't like them.
Anyway, the boat was not only clean but it smelled like a fresh load of laundry
.
On Saturday I spent a couple of hours fixing my satellite system. It was taken out during an electrical storm during the last week of August so I had to install and new dish and receiver.
Everything is back up and running better than ever.
Saturday night I barbequed a couple of pork tenderloins to go with some sweet potatoe fries Delyse had bought at one of our favourite restaurants in Peterborough called "Hot Bellie Mama's" on George Steet.
I also grilled some calamari that was frozen in a bag but was surprisingly good when dipped in balsamic vinegar.
After dinner me and my buddies Darren and Bruce cracked open a bottle of Jack Daniels and we sat by the fire to midnight.
Sunday I hardly moved my ass. It was a good weekend.
A fabulous Labour Day Weekend weather wise, but it was a bag of mixed emotions at the trailer.
Last Wednesday night an electrical storm blew across the lake and some big time damage for a few of us.
I lost my satellite dish, my satellite receiver and a new television set. From what I can gather, lightning hit the dish on top of a hill behind by trailer and traveled down the line through the receiver and into my TV.
It doesn't amount to a lot of monetary damage because I have a spare receiver and spare dish and there's a pile of television sets around my house. It's more the aggravation.
My buddy Darren lost his satellite system as well but it was my friends Mike and Pam Kimber who took the worst of it.
The entire 12 volt electrical system in their trailer was knocked out and it cost several hundred dollars to replace.
This storm was so violent it blew out strings of lights at Kimbers site that weren't even plugged in. They were just lying on the ground, but the combination of the rain and the lightning bolt sent a pulse through the air that wiped out everything.
My misfortune had an attachment to it on Sunday. While riding my bicycle between my place and buddy Bruce's to test some equipment, I lost control of my bike on a hill and wiped out.
I was left with the road burn, or gravel burn or whatever the hell you want to call something that usually happens to seven year olds.
I was going down the hill, not very fast, and I could feel myself losing control in the soft dirt but before I could correct myself it became apparent that I was going lose it, so I put my arm out to brace my fall.
The result is an ugly scrape and a sore muscle in my chest that hurts every time I get up, or laugh, or cough or fart.
I should tell you there were some good points to the weekend besides the weather.
On Saturday night we put my new natural barbeque to the test and it was great.
It's a fire pit that has a removable grill above it and you can cook big hunks of red meat over naturual firewood. It was great.
On Sunday we used the smoker again, the one I featured on video a couple of weeks ago.
This time we did a leg of lamb and we removed it at precisely the right time. It was so good, I got permission to pick up the ravaged leg at the end of the night and gnaw on it much like a dog would.
I'll leave you with this. One of the best features of my piece of paradise, but time is running out.
Yes, it was a huge weekend at the trailer. To some, the most important weekend of the year.
It was The Fourth Annual Jeff Laird Memorial Bocce Tournament. A unique brand of bocce played on a gravel road and introduced to us by our good buddy Jeff who passed away suddenly in 2004 at the ridiculous age of 41.
It involves both genders and to the winner goes the most coveted title a trailerite could ever want. Even those who've won Stanley Cups.
I've mentioned a few times that Boston Bruins assistant coach Craig Ramsay is among the friends I have at the trailer.
Craig bought a beautiful unit three years ago, right after he won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and since then has fit in quite nicely.
Over the past week or so I took it upon myself to work with Ramsay on his game in preparation for the touranment and it culminated with his winning his first round match.
Both Craig and I lost in the second round and it was especially bitter for me, because after winning the big prize in both 04 and 05 I've been ousted in the early rounds the past two years.
This year I lost to Pam Kimber. Yes, Pam is a woman but there is no shame in losing to this gal, she can bring it. If there's any shame it should go to her husband Mike who I beat in the first round.
I contemplated my setback with my good friend Dan Bonchek who lost in round one and we realized the key to failure.
The two finalists were my good friends Bruce Mallory and Dan Duran.
Bruce has been nipping at the heels of the front-runners for years, while Dan Duran has made an early exit every stinkin' year since we started this thing way back in 1996.
But this year, Dan played steady and he played patient and he mastered the weight of his ball all afternoon until it came down to this.
Here is the gracious loser.
And later that night The Fourth Annual Jeff Laird Memorial Bocce Tournament ended with the presentation of the Golden Shoes and the Murial Batley Trophy.
The Golden Shoes have become emblematic of the tournament - the shoes were actually worn by the first ever champion, Donny Patterson. (no relation)
We took the worn out sneakers off his feet, painted them gold and from that day on they've been the most coveted object in the trailer park.
The Murial Batley Trophy was added a couple of years later. We have no idea who Murial Batley is - we just found a softball trophy at a garage sale and rather than take her name of it we thought it would be cool to leave it on.
Here's the presentation - and please note, John McLeod finished third.
This is my friend Sylvia Grove. She is the wife of my friend Peter Grove and they are the parents of Christie Grove. The Groves are nice people.
It was a big weekend for Sylvia because all her trailer friends got to acknowledge her 50th birthday. Fifty isn't easy to take, so we all lent our emotional and spiritual support.
Part of the festivities included an evening "booze cruise" around the lake. Women only.
All the gals from the trailer park got together on a pontoon boat equipped with lots of coolers and shooters and such, and they toured the lake well beyond dusk.
Please let it be known at this point that the driver did not drink and was well equipped from negotiating the lake at all hours of the day.
Furthermore, although this so called "booze cruise" started with the women "mooning" those on shore, it ended with none of the women feeling the effects of intoxication to the point of showing their tits.
The weekend, although unseasonably cool for the most part, provided plenty of sunshine and the opportunity for a wonderful barbeque on Saturday night.
While the women set sail for laughs and merriment, the boys stayed back to eat big hunks of meat while scratching our nuts.
The following is a series of videos to let you appreciate the evening that was - Saturday, August 18, 2007.
Small victories. On Friday morning I golfed nine holes at Kathiwano and I broke 50.
I needed a 25 foot putt on the ninth to do it, but I did it and I'm so glad I did because I basically stink at the game and 49 establishes a new benchmark for me.
Golf is an extremely aggravating game that can play on you hole to hole. So often what you did on the sixth hole can affect what you do on the seventh. If you play the game at any level you know what I'm talking about.
On Friday I had a three foot par putt and ended up with a five, and on another hole, a par four, I was on the fringe in two, but ended up with a six.
Each time I carried these woes to the next hole. Point being, if I hadn't - if I had shaken off the anguish like I should have, I could have probably done better than a 49.
Other highlights from the weekend. My wife learned how to make fantastic fresh Tai Spring Rolls and a great drink called "After Eight." It involves rum, Baily's, creme de menthe, club soda and chocolate ice cream.
I got a deep sliver a week ago and I spent most of Saturday afternoon trying to dig it out to no avail. And while I was doing this, a spider bit my foot and it's still puffed up this morning.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to send out best wishes to my friend Gus who's not a trailerite, but a cottage owner on our lake.
Wednesday night he tripped on a dock and fell and smashed his elbow. It needed surgery. Poor bugger.
And I'll leave you with this. This is my friend Colton who's the son of my good friend Dan Duran.
I don't have a lot of time for writing today because I've got a lot of physical work to do.
This is a picture of my dock which contains the Tiki Bar and a sitting area. My wife, who is always looking to improve and expand things thinks we need more room for the sitting area and she wants to incorporate our fire-pit into it.
So for most of today and part of tomorrow I'll be expanding the dock/deck/slash sitting area.
It won't involve much. It will measure 14' by eight feet so there other than having to cut five, sixteen foot 2x6's it won't involve much more than having to screw boards together.
There could be a bit of challenge securing the platform out over the water, but several pieces of 4x4 usually does the trick, and if you use enough of them you can take all the bounce out of the floor.
I'll take a picture when it's done so you can see the results.
However, before I get working on the dock today, I have to pile a load of firewood I ordered from old Merv Bullock.
Merve is the main supplier of fire wood to me and my neighbours. He's a nice old bugger who gives you prompt service and usually a quality product that burns like it's supposed to.
Some of the old bastards up here will drop you a load of wood that you'd swear was stored underwater for a few a months.
But now Merv, he gives you a nice load with a good measure of hard word mixed in with the other stuff.
The greatest thing about the trailer is what it means for kids.
As a kid my summers were spent near a lake, I more or less raised my kids on the very same lake, and now that they're grown, it's nice to see a new generation of kids enjoy this wonderful place.
The picture you see is my daughter Melanie on the right, and her best friend Kate who've spent their summers together since they were nine years old. Now they're in their mid-20s and happily remain trailer trash. Saturday night they paid a visit to the Tiki Bar.
Exposing your kids to the "north country" is very important because opens up a whole new world they simply can't appreciate while stuck in the city.
Yesterday for example a little fella named Ashton experienced his first "tube" ride and he's barely two years old. Granted, his mother was with him, but it's the first step in what will probably lead to skiing or wake boarding in the very near future.
The kids swim and fish and catch frogs and enjoy campfires and walking through the woods. It's endless.
Yes it's enjoyable to watch their faces moment to moment as new experiences a presented to them constantly.
And what's especially enjoying is watching a kids face when they arrive for the first time, or they're old enough to actually appreciate and take in what they see around them.
Our friend Lori has a niece named Maddy and although she's been here before, now she's of an age where she notices everything around her and this past holiday weekend was so beautiful she got to experience it all.
Swimming, a ride in a boat, a ride on a ski-doo and lots of interaction with a pile of other kids. A jammed packed weekend that at times can actually be overwhelming for a kid who's just over a year old.
She enjoyed herself very much and we all enjoyed having her around for the weekend.
She's a great little kid… and a pretty good dancer.
Neighbour John had a break in his busy schedule and I just happened to be up at the trailer by myself so we put two and two together.
John would grab his three boys and head north for a couple of days of fishin', boatin' and tubin'.
What a pleasure to host these fellas. I've told you before that John has six kids and they're probably the most obedient kids I've ever encountered. With great frequency I find myself in John's house and most of the time, you wouldn't know he had any kids.
They're quiet, polite and I've got to be honest, for all the years I've known this family I've never seen the kids fight. It really is remarkable, so hosting the four fellas in the close confines of a tin shack was no problem whatsoever.
We had a lot of fun and the most uttered phrase over the two days was "Thanks Mr. Fred."
John's kids call me Mr. Fred. They always have and I hope they always will, and what a pleasure to do anything for these boys because they genuinely appreciate it and they tag everything with "Thanks Mr. Fred."
It doesn't matter if you take a fish off their line, give them drink or take them out in the boat you get nothing but respect and manners. They're good boys.
John and Ally have done a fine job.
Meanwhile I was anxious to get job up to the trailer so he could check out the current status of Tiki North - and I just happened to capture the moment on my precious little Nikon.
I'd like to offer one more thing today. I have lots of friends at the trailer, but I'd like to introduce you to my newest friend.
Yes, it was a special time having my two long time CFNY buddies at the trailer and Saturday night we all gathered around the Tiki Bar.
When you watch this video please be warned there is some swearing. I admit its needless swearing and only demeans the website and all those involved…but it's reality… a moment in time in the reunion of some long time friends.
The storm that hit the GTA on Friday night didn't really materialize into much in the Kawarthas, we got some rain, but it was much needed.
I spent Friday power washing my entire empire. The decks, the docks and the tin palace.
Power washing is extremely enjoyable when the temperature is 31 celsius - the mist blows back into your face - its very refreshing.
Saturday afternoon saw another bocce battle on the beach with most of the boys trying figure out what's happened to my game this year. It's up a notch or three.
Saturday night featured a lovely spaghetti dinner at Bruce and Lisa Mallory's, and then it was a trek up to the Tiki Bar to crack and bottle of cheap scotch.
All in all, not very eventful but extremely enjoyable.
And I recieved some good news on Saturday afternoon. After a year of trying to find a lower unit for my engine, a guy near Bobcaygeon got her fixed up in a week.
I really appreciate what this guy did for me but he's a bit of an odd ball.
On Saturday morning he phoned me and started giving me crap because the power tilt on the boat wasn't working.
It was weird. For some reason it was my fault the power tilt didn't work react exactly the way he wanted.
"When was the last time this thing was working." he bellowed into the phone.
"Last year." I said.
"Well it's not working now, and I can't start the engine." he declared.
"I don't know what to say." I retorted. "I'm the customer, and you're the mechanic, so I guess you should fix it."
"You bring it up here and I have no idea what's going on, so you can seen where I'm coming from." he said.
"No I can't see where you're coming from. I gave you the boat to fix it and now you're on the phone yelling at me, and to tell you the truth Chris, you're pissing me off. Fix the damn' boat."
He called me a half hour later and the boat was fixed. I hope he didn't spit in it.
The weekend got off to a disturbing start thanks to my perennial arch enemy the Canada Goose.
About three or four families have chosen our part of the lake to raise their young and every spring and it's become a huge pain the ass.
I have a little beach area at the foot of my lawn and this allows easy access for the big fat bastard geese and their hungry little goslings to invade my property and cover it with shit.
Friday was unbelievable.
According to eye witnesses, shortly after I left the preceding Sunday the geese made invited themselves over and enjoyed my healthy lawn every day at precisely the same time.
Three families; six adults and approximately 20 babies walked from one end of my lawn to the other eating and constantly shitting.
When me and my darlin' arrived on Friday we spent the first hour filling a plastic pail with crap. If there's one saving grace, it's this.
Goose shit is more or less compacted grass with some kind of natural goose adhesive that keeps it together. In other words, it's easy to rake up and that make the job somewhat easier.
However, hundreds of pieces can still slip between the rake spokes so you still pretty much have to go over your entire lawn to make sure you get it all - because if you don't you can track inside or even slip on it.
I love nature and I love animals but I've really grown to despise Canada geese. The population is out of control and something has to be done about it.
Apparently geese are enjoying the same situation as wild rabbits right now. An epidemic of mange a few years ago reduced their natural predators so now they have free run.
They're dirty, and you have to wonder, if they shit that much on my lawn how much shit is going into the lake.
I'm not a violent man but I really can't help it. I have to fight off the urge bash every goddamn one over the side of the head with my shit shovel.
Meanwhile, before I left last night I constructed a "trip line" out of long sticks. I positioned them a few inches above the water line and this is supposed to prevent them from coming ashore.
Geese have a tough time stepping over things and if they're impeded in any way, they'll just go to the next lawn.
Hopefully it works. I'll let you know.
Other stuff from the weekend - Saturday was bitchin' hot so there was just a lot of layin' around, swimming and pounding back the beers.
Saturday night it was feast time at my place. My buddy Darren came up for dinner and we pooled our resources.
He had beef ribs and lamb, I had steak and jerk chicken. Most delicious, most nutritious.
After dinner, everyone gathered at the Tiki Bar to watch the hockey game.
I'm surprised at the split amongst my fellow Trailerites. It seems that down in the city, the vast majority of people want the Ducks to win the Stanley Cup. ABO.
But up north, there's a split. Here's a little video that I shot early in game three, when things were going Ducky.
Me and my darlin' didn't arrive till late Friday night and we bunkered down to watch a movie.
Saturday morning I had to spend the first hour of my day cleaning up goose shit from my lawn and then I helped Delyse plant some flowers.
After that it was down to the beach for some bocce ball and a round robin affair saw me win all three of my singles matches and then I ended the day with a doubles victory.
My arch rival Bruce Mallory took a spanking on this day. He had me 8-2 in the singles match before I stormed back to win 15-12. And then Mallory, paired with Peter Grove, gave up an 8-3 lead in a doubles match that was eventually won by me and Brian Collins 15-13.
Mallory may have crumbled on the bocce pitch but he bounced back with a great performance in front of the barbeque. He came up to my place and cooked up some of his signature beef ribs.
Add that to some jerk chicken and salmon and we had quite the feast, which leads me to another cooking tip.
Try sweet potatoes on the barbeque this way. Cut them in slices about a quarter inch thick, cover with olive oil and then grill on low heat until soft. Good, very good.
Saturday night we sat by the fire and listened to some great tunes and then Sunday we woke up to rain so we loaded up the truck and headed for home.
Last week I mentioned that we had decorated the Tiki Bar with all kinds of lights and other cheesy decorations, but I forgot to take a picture. Well here you go.
And below the picture is a video of the actual decorating party taking place.
You never like to see a guy get fired, but hey, I have to look at the bright side and Craig Ramsay's firing by the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday means I might have more company at the Tiki Bar this spring.
I made the disclosure last year that I don't frequent just any trailer park; I have my unit parked at a park that's like no other park in trailer park history.
It's such a nice place it attracts the upper end of trailer trash and that's why one of my tin palace neighbours is Craig Ramsay.
Ramsay has a beautiful unit - like a freakin' cottage on wheels - but because of his commitment in recent years as assistant coach of the Lightning, his summer season was rather short.
We didn't see him until the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and he was usually gone by the last week of August.
That could all change now.
Unless Rammer gets a job "pronto" he could be up at the trailer within a couple of weeks and that's welcome new for me. I'm usually bored and lonely through June until everybody starts taking holidays in July.
Last year, Rammer and I bonded pretty well. We introduced him to bocce ball and this opened the door for him to slide into all other aspects of trailer culture.
The most memorable night of the season last year was our progressive party during the long weekend in August.
It's like a traveling dinner party. You go from trailer to trailer sampling all kinds of different foods - and I must say, Ramsay offered one of the highlights - he makes a fabulous pieaya
Later on we made our way up to Tiki Bar and that's where the attached picture was taken.
Again, you never like to see a guy get fired but considering my situation this will allow me and Rammer to bond even more.
Who knows, within the next week or so we could be sitting at the Tiki Bar cheering on the Anaheim Ducks.
And I'd like to thank Jeff Marek and Bill Watters for giving FreddieP.ca a plug on Leafs Lunch yesterday. They were talking about Craig Ramsay, and my Tiki Bar came up.
Despite the schizophrenic weather this long holiday weekend, we still had a fabulous time.
The highlight of the weekend was the decorating of the Tiki Bar. We've decided this will become an annual event on May 2-4.
Everyone got together on Saturday afternoon and treated the occasion like a "tree trimming" at Christmas.
Several people donated signs and lights and other "ornaments" that made the Tiki Bar look as tacky as it should.
A significant highlight this year is a palm tree made out of rope lights. During the day it looks kind of wonky, but at night it looks spectacular.
But what kind of a goof am I? I took pictures of us decorating the Tiki Bar during the day, but I forget to take a picture of it all lit up at night. Look for them next week.
I should mention another highlight of the festivities of Saturday was the birthday of our good friend Gus O'Brien.
The old bugger turned 70, but no shit, he doesn't look a day over 60.
Gus is a great guy. Extremely generous and thoughtful always thinking of what he can do for somebody.
Gus donated about four strings of lights for the Tiki Bar, and he's the guy who found the palm tree down in Lakeland, Florida.
He's a good man and he loves a good rye and diet coke, of which he had many on Saturday.
Week two at the trailer was extremely enjoyable. I shot up Friday without the little woman and hung out with a few of my buddies and my beloved dog Billie.
Friday night I paid a visit to my friend Brian Collins who was having his annual guys weekend.
It was the opening of the Pickerel season and every year Brian has his brother Paul, a normal guy named Bill and an abnormal guy named Aubern up to his trailer for a little fishing.
I lucked out and a simple hello turned into a great game of bocce, about six beers and a steak dinner. After that we watched game on of the Anaheim-Detroit series.
On Saturday I did some more puttering around my tiki bar and then headed up to my buddy Bruce's to bum another meal. Bruce makes outstanding beef ribs on the barbeque and Saturday night only enhanced his reputation.
On Sunday I more or less sat around and waited for the arrival of my good friend Donny Patterson (no relation) who usually visits me for a couple days at the beginning of the season.
Donny just built himself a new motorcycle (a Honda something) and he couldn't wait to hit the open road. He lives in Hamilton so it was quite the road trip.
And it was quite the visit. Between Sunday and Wednesday morning Donny and I had several beers, a couple of road trips to Buckhorn and Lakefield, three great meals and just as many bottles of wine.
However on Monday it got a little tense because my holding tank got full and pump-out day isn't until Tuesday, so Donny and I were staring at the prospect of having to use the communal outhouse until Shaun the park manager brought the honey wagon up the road.
It not so bad for a guy if you only have to take a leak but if you have to have a sit down you've go all the way down to the beach area.
Well let me tell you, wasn't I pleasantly surprised when I heard the unmistakable baffle of the worn out exhaust on the honey wagon Monday afternoon.
Shaun had decided to get some practice in for the upcoming season and he thought he'd pump a few on Monday and then pump the rest on Tuesday, and lucky for me I was on the Monday list.
It meant I could enjoy the comfort of my own throne and not have to go outside in the middle of the night if I had to have a squirt.
It may not sound like much, but believe me, it made my day.
And come to think of it, this may be as good a time as any to show you exactly how this aspect of the trailer park works. A lot of parks offer a system whereby your holding tank is directly connected to the main sewage line. Not our park.
"It's now Monday at 8:30 pm. I'm in withdrawl and need my Freddie P fix. You can't still be at the aluminum cottage. Get back to your obligations."
Al
Yes Al, the weather was so fantastic on Sunday that I decided to stay over until Monday, and as I pointed out in last Thursday's posting, I didn't have the technology to update FreddieP.ca from the Kawarthas, so I had to take a couple of days off.
But it was great.
The tin palace is open and fully functional and it didn't take long to get right back into the regular swing of things.
We cooked big steaks over the open fire, sat on the dock and stared up the lake, and I traded Stanley Cup hats with a couple of other guys who also bought a case of Bud Lite.
I dumped my Ottawa for a Calgary, and traded one of my Tampa Bay's for a Detroit.
I also put the roof on my Tiki Bar, and although I haven't added all the lights and accessories yet, in this video you can still appreciate how it's taking shape.
Roughly seven months ago I left you with this story. It was finally installment of "The Trailer" for 2006........
"Yes, it's always a sad day when we have to close-up the trailer for the season. It's a long off-season - like seven excruciating months.
But it was a good year. The weather was great, everyone stayed safe and the new dimension of the Tiki Bar provided a lot of fun.
On Saturday night we all gathered the Lodge next door for our annual Thanksgiving blowout which featured a fabulous pot-luck meal, a goofy little awards ceremony and then some bizarre dancing.
The weather was absolutely spectacular this Thanksgiving Day weekend, so that made the heavy hearted job of closing-up a little easier to take.
This picture is just another moment in time, part of the process of protecting yourself against a miserable winter. That's me and Dan Duran, our friend Pam and her dad Papa Doug lowering a Tiki Bar roof panel.
Don't be sad it's over. Be glad it happened."........
Well I'm happy to report that a new season of "The Trailer" begins this weekend.
As a matter of fact, I'm picking Dan Duran up this morning and we heading north to open up.
Opening up is a lot more fun that closing down and it looks like we're going to have some great weather over the next few days.
And that could pose a problem as far as FreddieP.ca is concerned.
I'm going to take my laptop, but there's a chance the technology won't be in place by tomorrow to allow me to post from the Tiki Bar. I may not be able to post again until Monday.
I'll try, but I can't promise anything. Keep checkin' in.
Until then, enjoy this picture. It's sunset off my dock.
If you frequent this blog often, you know that a large part of my life deals with a trailer that sits on a beautiful lake in the Kawarthas.
Wouldn't you know it, the best weekend of the summer and I wasn't at the trailer. I've been bitchin' about the weather all year and when the heat finally hits, I have my ass parked in East York on Saturday.
I saw some good old friends at Ivar's. Like David Marsden (picture to the left), Kevin O'Leary, Jim Reid and his wife Pauline. Freddie Ball and Pete Griffin's son Dylan. I saw the sweet Leanne Baumann and my American buddy John Elleffson.
Huge weekend. The weather wasn't actually too bad, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
Stayed home for Marty's funeral. Ivar Hamilton, Alan Cross and David Marsden were amazing.
Once again weather wise it was an unsettled weekend in the Kawarthas but the competition was hot and heavy as all the trailer fold got together for our annual bocce tournament.
As I've said many times before, the best part of the trailer is the people. We've made some fabulous friends over the years and among those friends are children.
This weekend at the trailer wasn't really a weekend at the trailer. It was more a weekend with some good old buddies on a golf course near the trailer.
Thanks to the shitty weather we've had this May, this was the first weekend we actually stayed at the trailer and it was productive.
Speaking of the homeless, Dan Duran almost lost his summer home. 
For those of you who frequent "
I love this picture because it represents what Thanksgiving is all about. Friends and family.
It has started. The preparations for closing the tin palace got underway this weekend with taking my boat out of the water.
It was another wonderful time in the Kawarthas. 
It was an interesting week because things have become ass backwards at the trailer. Usually in September, I'm home in Brampton all week and only at the trailer on weekends.
To say this was a weird weekend would be a gross understatement - and it had nothing to do with the leaves that are already changing.
What a fantastic weekend. The weather was perfect, and the tin palace was full of my favourite people. 
I was home for most of the week but headed for the tin palace alone on Thursday afternoon.
Delyse and I left the tin palace on Thursday night and returned home for her brother's 30th anniversary party in Cambridge. It took place on Saturday, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
The unsettled weather continued to blow through the Kawarthas, but it was still a good weekend.
Delyse and I didn't arrive until late Saturday afternoon because we wanted to do a bunch of stuff around the house before settling in paradise for the better part of the next two weeks.
A low key weekend. 
This is my friend Mike Kimber. He’s sitting on Dan Duran’s dock, enjoying a wonderful day in paradise.
We had another fine Canada Day weekend at the trailer. The party took place on Saturday night, and I’m happy to report nobody brought a gun. Imagine that?
The big moment of the weekend came on Saturday during a bocce challenge on the beach.
It was a great weekend at the trailer.
That's more like it.
Saturday afternoon was Tiki Time. A few of us got together and decorated the Tiki Bar for the 2008 season. It's a fun process because there's really no "set" format. We just grab strings of lights and start going round and round until we run out of them.
This is my friend Bruce Mallory. He’s a magician with a barbeque.
Hey everybody, I probably be won’t be posting anything on FreddieP.ca tomorrow, because later this afternoon I plan to head north and open the tin palace and start trailer season 2008.
This picture says it all. The Tiki Bar has become the focal point of our summers and yesterday we had to dismantle it for the winter.
What a great weekend at the tin shack. I took a slow drive up on Friday and stopped off in Peterborough for lunch. A place called Girdy's on Hunter Street.
It was a very low key weekend. Good weather, good friends and good food.
A fabulous Labour Day Weekend weather wise, but it was a bag of mixed emotions at the trailer.
My misfortune had an attachment to it on Sunday. While riding my bicycle between my place and buddy Bruce's to test some equipment, I lost control of my bike on a hill and wiped out.
Yes, it was a huge weekend at the trailer. To some, the most important weekend of the year.
This is my friend Sylvia Grove. She is the wife of my friend Peter Grove and they are the parents of Christie Grove. The Groves are nice people.
However, before I get working on the dock today, I have to pile a load of firewood I ordered from old Merv Bullock.
The greatest thing about the trailer is what it means for kids. 
Our friend Lori has a niece named Maddy and although she's been here before, now she's of an age where she notices everything around her and this past holiday weekend was so beautiful she got to experience it all.
Neighbour John had a break in his busy schedule and I just happened to be up at the trailer by myself so we put two and two together.
Yes, it was a special time having my two long time CFNY buddies at the trailer and Saturday night we all gathered around the Tiki Bar.
A fabulous weekend weather wise.
The weekend got off to a disturbing start thanks to my perennial arch enemy the Canada Goose.
Other stuff from the weekend - Saturday was bitchin' hot so there was just a lot of layin' around, swimming and pounding back the beers.
This was a low key weekend at the trailer.
You never like to see a guy get fired, but hey, I have to look at the bright side and Craig Ramsay's firing by the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday means I might have more company at the Tiki Bar this spring.
And I'd like to thank Jeff Marek and Bill Watters for giving FreddieP.ca a plug on Leafs Lunch yesterday. They were talking about Craig Ramsay, and my Tiki Bar came up.
Despite the schizophrenic weather this long holiday weekend, we still had a fabulous time.
I should mention another highlight of the festivities of Saturday was the birthday of our good friend Gus O'Brien.
Week two at the trailer was extremely enjoyable. I shot up Friday without the little woman and hung out with a few of my buddies and my beloved dog Billie.
"It's now Monday at 8:30 pm. I'm in withdrawl and need my Freddie P fix. You can't still be at the aluminum cottage. Get back to your obligations."
I'm going to take my laptop, but there's a chance the technology won't be in place by tomorrow to allow me to post from the Tiki Bar. I may not be able to post again until Monday.
Site Feed
Recent Posts, Recent Comments & Categories
