This day has finally come...

All of these years I've lived to watch my sons in their various activities, most of all hockey. 

All of the early mornings and inconvenient evenings were nothing compared to the joy that Cheryl and I have felt watching them play. 

As much as I love watching the baseball games I confess that the summers were the spaces in between hockey seasons. 

Today, at 4:00, they will play their last game. And it hurts. 

I've known this day was coming and dreaded it. So I tried to put it far back in my mind and pretend I didn't see it coming up fast. 

They're playing for a bronze medal today. It's not as sweet as a silver or gold but it's something special regardless. 

A medal means nothing to me really when I remember all of the golden memories Tyler and Braydon have given to Cheryl and I. 

We've always been proud of you guys.  Whether you won or lost the games, we alway won. 

Win or lose today, you'll always be winners to us.

Pretty Darn Close

Last year around this time I posted about the boys' hockey team winning the gold medal in a shootout ending to a nail-biter game.
I also mentioned that on same day the boys' hockey team had a great end of season party with cake and a fun road hockey game to wrap the evening up.
Plus, we lucked out in a huge way and met the University of New Brunswick men's hockey team who just happened to be partying across the road with the University Cup which they had just won again to be the top team in Canada.
The lads had one of the most fun days they had ever had since starting hockey.

Well, a year later the story isn't quite the same but the important things are unchanged.

Unfortunately, our beloved UNB team didn't win the University Cup this season. They had a great season and did win the Atlantic conference though. That's a huge accomplishment.
I can say quite confidently that everyone who supports them and probably even some who don't are very proud of them for their efforts.

As for our young lads, the season again came down to their team playing for the gold medal.
Once again the game was a nail biter right down to the last second of regulation time and the entire 5 minute overtime period.
And again, it came down to a shootout to decide who would win the gold medal.

I wish the powers that be in the hockey world would make a change somewhere and let them play at least one more overtime period.
Or perhaps change the overtime period from 5 minutes to 10 before forcing a shootout.

If you're thinking I'm saying this because the boys didn't win the game that's not why I'm saying this.
Even last year when we won the game many of us agreed that a shootout isn't a proper way to decide the victor of an amazing game.

With a few seconds left in the regulation time one of our boys took a shot that hit the top crossbar and bounced down. From where I was sitting it bounced down as a goal and out again but I was sitting higher up with an unobstructed view of the net.

The referee and linesmen didn't have the luxury of my view and decided that it wasn't a goal.
No-one can blame them for that. They see what they can and make the best decisions possible with the information available to them.
They have a tough job which I don't envy. Not many people tell them what a great job they have done but many will whine about how bad they think they are. (Hmm, those folks are well prepared to become Municipal Councillors aren't they? Lol.)

I wish I could tell you that the shootout ended with one of our kids blasting the puck into the top corner for the winning goal but that didn't happen this time.

But you know what? Both T and B were shooters for our team and did the best that they could.
Think about the pressure of being that shooter and the goalie facing him.
Every eye in the place is on you.
If that were me I think I'd pass out onto the ice!

T took the last shot. It didn't go into the net but dammit I was so proud of him!
When I went down to the ice and told him that it was a good try he said that he had let the team down.
I told him that there were other shooters too. Just because he was the last one didn't mean he was to blame for anything.
They all did their best under pressure and I was proud of them.
That feeling of his went away pretty quickly thanks in large part to his beautiful young lady friend telling him how proud she was of him. :)

When all was said and done at the end of the day all of the guys were really happy and understood that even if a silver medal isn't the top prize, it's pretty darn close and a heck of an accomplishment.



Out of all of the teams in their level they were close to being the best.

In my opinion with the way the game ended I feel that they are just as good as the other team even though the medal doesn't indicate it.
Someone reminded me that the other team was the team that we beat 5-0 in the Hampton tournament a little while ago.
Each time we played them this season the games were very close. They won some and we won some.

By the time the medal presentations came along I could tell that every one of the guys were feeling good about everything. There were no tears or angry faces anywhere.



Cheryl was the team manager this year and had arranged for the end of season party and events to follow the final game without us having to leave Willie O'Ree Place.
This was an amazing choice on Cheryl's part.
We were able to get one of the party rooms upstairs.
I went and picked up a stack of pizzas which the boys devoured like a pack of hungry wolves.

It was a fantastic sunny day outside so Cheryl had told everyone in advance to bring their street hockey sticks. Awesome thinking again.
I set up some orange pylons in the big empty section of the parking lot and let them have a blast.




But the fun wasn't over yet!
Everyone went back up to the party room for cake. That's it in the photo at the top.

THEN, the boys and a bunch of the parents, family and coaches trucked downstairs again and played the last game they would play this season.
Cheryl is a good sport and still pretty good at getting around on skates so she played for the Parent's team.
I haven't skated in years and am not as nimble so I declared myself the official photographer.
I don't know which kid started it but almost all of them wore one of their spare hockey socks on their helmets. It was quite funny to see.



It's a shame that the fun had to end.
Even though it was clear that all of these guys were totally exhausted I'm betting if someone had told them to do another activity they would have found some hidden energy and jumped in.
No-one cared about their medals being gold or silver. They all had a great time and that's all that mattered.

At the end of the day when everything was finished both boys told me that they had an amazing day and were sad that the season was over.

An amazing day wrapping up a good season where they had a lot of fun and made some pretty good friends.
That's the whole point isn't it?
This is what I want them to feel every year.
That they had fun and made friends.

Another victory.

Stay well,
Tim

Of Ice and Tails

Hello again.

What a weekend we had last weekend.
Not entirely a great weekend but a pretty good ending for the most part.

It started out with a lot of promise and we were all pretty stoked up about it.
The boys had a regular league hockey game in Fredericton on Friday night.
Then the next day we were heading out for the weekend to stay in Saint John and play in a tournament in Hampton, New Bruswick.

We had been looking forward to going back there since last year. Last year the boys' team missed the gold and won silver but this year it looked good for us to bring it home.
B mentioned to me one day last week how good he felt about their chances.

As luck would have it, especially with our Scammells, something happened to screw things up.
At the very beginning of Friday night's game B slipped and landed on the ice directly onto his tailbone.

I didn't see exactly what happened but I knew that he was hurting when he didn't get up right away.
He was able to get up and skate off of the ice. He even tried to go out for another shift but there was no way that was going to happen.
So he left the game to get showered and changed while the game continued.

It would have been almost acceptable if he was in pain that night and woke up the next day feeling somewhat better. At least enough to play in the tournament.
That was not to be.

We applied ice to his tailbone area and gave him ibruprofen to help ease the pain but the poor guy has pretty well been in agony ever since it happened.

For the first few days at home he was up with me to do his paper route but I was the one taking the papers to the door.
He tried like heck to tough it out a bit and do a paper or two but it was easier that he just handed them to me and I dropped them off.
It was better for the last few days and he delivered the papers but it's clear that the pain is still pretty bad.

Cheryl took him to the doctor to get a proper examination.
The doctor doesn't think that anything is broken but a big nasty bruising is almost as bad.
I'm afraid that ice and ibruprofen is all we can do to help him.

One thing that ticks me off about this is that the boys have a practice for the NB Junior Selects baseball team on Saturday and I'm not sure if B will be up for it.

I won't go into it all in this post but we decided that the boys would try out for the provincial team this year. The practices have gone through the winter and the team selection takes place in the spring.

The way I see it, even if they don't make the team they are keeping their baseball skills sharper than most players by continuing through the winter.
In addition, the coaches there teach the guys some great stuff and awesome drills.

We'll see how it goes. At least T will be able to participate and B can watch if he can't participate.

Anyway, back to last weekend.
The first tournament game on Saturday was against Sussex.
It went well and they won that game. It was a dirtier game than we're used to but nobody was injured.

The second game wasn't so great. They weren't able to pull it off.
Coincidentally, remember my last post http://tim4nm.blogspot.com/2012/02/relax-its-just-game/
?
Remember the kid who swatted B with the stick and cross checked him from behind? Guess what team game 2 was against? Yep, they were the home team too.
I told people to watch number 3 to observe his antics.
He didn't disappoint. He was worse than the last time we played them.
Fortunately the officiating was very good and penalties were given where they were needed.

I'm afraid that Game 2 didn't go so well though and our guys lost.
That's okay though. Our guys played a clean game and gave it their best.

We had several hours before Game 3 which gave us time to go back to the hotel to pack up and check out. Most of us did check out but a few decided to stay an extra night since the kids are on March break anyway.
At this point it seemed unlikely to me that our lads would be playing in the finals on Monday. I had to return home to work anyway and would not be able to stay.

Again, B had to sit Game 3 out. His pain wasn't really improving and I didn't want him out there like that. We all agreed that his health was more important.

Game 3 was a bust. They just couldn't seem to catch a break out there. This team was another home team but the opposite of their sister team.
These guys played a clean game of skill which was nice to see.
Their goalie was a wall. The one goal we did get seemed to be a fluke.

Nice try though on our part.
The team had fun and was able to get away and hang around together but it was time to go home.
One victory and two losses wouldn't cut it to make the semi-finals.

Wrong.
In one of those weird twists of tournament fate and points, it worked out that our lads were heading into the semi-finals on Monday while the team that just pounded them was out! That seems weird to me but we weren't going to fight the system.

I wish I could have stayed but it wasn't possible.
Cheryl and the lads booked a room for another night and I headed home.

Now, the team that they had to play in the semi-final was another team from our league in Fredericton. We have beaten them and they had beaten us through the season.
They had won all 3 of their games to get to the semi-finals.
We had only won 1 and lost 2.

Add the fact that B was sitting the game out and wouldn't be scoring against them as he often does.
Another of our top scorers had to leave the tournament Sunday and couldn't be there at all on Monday.

I'd say the odds were stacked against our lads.

But, the hockey logic fairy wasn't around for the semi-final game and whackiness ensued.
Our guys beat the other team handily and was going to the final game later that afternoon.

Another bizarre thing was that the final game was against that Sussex team that we beat in the first game. They had also managed to make it to the finals with a less than stellar tournament record.

B was determined that he was going to play in the final game. I was dreading the thought of someone smacking into him or him losing his balance and falling making his pain worse than ever.

He took it easy though and played defense. He was suffering after the game but at least he was able to go and be part of the team for the big game.

Our guys gave it a good shot but couldn't quite pull it off.
They lost the game 3-2 and took the silver medal.

Pretty darn good considering the day before we were convinced that the tournament was over for us.

I don't have to say how proud I am of them.

Another interesting thing to point out is that for every game Cheryl was behind the bench coaching the team.
She is the team manager and has taken the courses required to be a coach but she had never coached the boys' hockey before.

The team has 3 coaches. Two of them are university age guys. At first I thought that they had taken the coaching positions as part of a school course requirement but I was told that one mentioned that they wanted the experience for their resumes.

If that is the case I think the FYHA should have suggested that they start out with a team of younger players and work up to coaching our boys' level.
At this point in our boys' hockey they should have coaches that are fairly experienced and know a bit more about what they are doing.

In previous years our coaching staff decided that the Captain and Assistant Captain positions would rotate among all of the team members throughout the season. I liked this system a lot, especially since this is Recreational level play.
Every kid on the team had a chance to feel important and be a leader for at least a short period.
It didn't matter if they were the top scorer or fastest skater.

These coaches took their favourite kids and gave them the C and A's and that's it for the season.

It doesn't matter that B has scored a ton of goals and assisted almost everyone else in scoring or that T has showed repeatedly that he is arguably the best defenseman in the league.

In one of my videos from a game, B makes an amazing drop pass faking out the defenseman and giving the puck to a teammate to score a snap goal.
Following the goal, B skates over as the goal scorer is going by to give him a congratulatory fist bump. The other kid skates right past B, the guy who made his goal possible, and heads for the rest of the team.
I'm thinking that the other guy probably didn't see B and missed his fist bump.
It's still an upsetting video to watch though and I feel so sad for B.

I had learned many years when I played hockey that an unwritten rule is that if you score an assisted goal the FIRST member of your team that you seek out to celebrate with is the player who assisted you.
I have stressed that to my guys and they live by it without exception.

I sent a note to one of the young coaches suggesting that he may want to have a little chat with the team and mention this as a suggestion to them.
He blew me off and said that it wasn't necessary.
Fair enough. It's his team to coach as he wants.

One of the young coaches was away for the weekend. The other decided on the day of the tournament that he couldn't afford the cost of the hotel and was not going to attend. I can understand that.

It would have been nice though if he had told us sooner rather than as we were on the highway to the tournament.
No matter. Cheryl stepped up. Her and Coach Raymond took care of business and got the job done.
Nice ending for her first coaching outing wasn't it?

If I sound a tad harsh about the other coaches I apologize but will explain.

The team has a Facebook team page with those two coaches and practically the whole team as members. I had asked to be part of it and was accepted.
It worked out very well. Cheryl constantly sends out emails to the parents about upcoming games and practices and general league goings-on.
Most of the kids on the team never see those emails but are always on Facebook.

When Cheryl sent her emails I was a recipient so I would copy the message and paste it onto the Team group wall.
Numerous times one of the kids would post a question or concern, I would get a copy by email, and get an answer for them.

On the night before the game I was feeling rather sad that I was going to miss the game so I posted this message on the team wall in the hopes that they would see it before their games the next day.

"Good luck in the semi final tomorrow boys. I wish I could be there with you. I'm really proud of you all no matter what happens.
Special congrats to Cheryl who stepped up and went behind the bench to coach like a champ. We know that her and Raymond won't let you down.
Go get em guys. :)"

That seems like a very nice message doesn't it? I wished them luck and toasted Cheryl and Raymond for their great work.

Withing ten minutes or so of posting B had seen it and had "liked" my post.

The young coach who was away for the weekend and was the Facebook page moderator also added a note to my post wishing the boys luck.

Then a few minutes later I recieved an email that the moderator had changed the group from "public" to "private".
I was curious as to what that was about and went onto Facebook to have a look at the group and see what was going on.

It turns out that the "private" thing means that I'm not part of it anymore.
The boys are still in the group and I found out that my inspirational post was removed.
I sent a couple of messages to the coach/moderator to find out what is going on but have not yet had the courtesy of a reply.

Several times I reread what I had posted to make sure that it was worded properly in case something in it was misinterpreted. It looks fine to me.

Truth be told, I really don't care.
On the day it happened I was bewildered and wanted to sort it out.
Now that I've thought about it I don't care. I haven't seen him yet since then but even when I do I won't bother saying anything.

It's a shame that the players who took advantage of my informational postings won't be able to anymore. They'll have to rely on the email messages and their teammates now.
I was doing it as a courtesy and didn't mind at all.

The season is less than a month away from being over and petty things like a Facebook group aren't worth caring about.

I will say that if next year the boys are picked to play on a team with coaches like this season I will politely ask that they be switched to another team.
Even if they end up winning the final gold medal as they did last season I don't think my guys have enjoyed this year as much as before.

We still have a great time watching and the boys totally love playing but the team doesn't seem to have bonded together too much.

As manager, Cheryl has done her best to plan team activities such as the bottle drive and the parent/player game.

She spent hours planning for the tournament this past weekend. She arranged for the team to stay in the same hotel at a discount. Cheryl worked with the East Side Marios restaurant near the hotel and planned an excellent team meal at a great price.

The rest should be covered by coaching staff.
A good coach should talk to the players about unwritten rules, manners and matters of etiquette.
An exceptional coach will leave a positive lasting impression on a player that stays with a kid for their whole life.

Not to worry. Hockey season will be coming to a close soon.

There's still a ton on snow on the ground but we're already preparing for baseball season.


Stay well,

Tim

Relax, It's Just a Game

It's been difficult to find time to write this. It's been in my head for a couple of weeks.
I touched on this a couple of years ago in relation to my kids and their attitudes of the sports that they play. My concerns of that time have totally vanished. The boys really enjoy their sports.
More recently I have posted about coaches who take it a little too seriously. More of that is in here.

If games are lost our guys don't sulk or dwell on it. We just enjoy the fact that they're playing and doing their best while having fun.

I admit that there are times when my own frustration level rises but these are usually due to what I feel is poor sportsmanship or less than stellar officiating. I've learned to bite my tongue as much as I can though.

Sometimes I miss when something bad goes down but hear about it from someone else afterwards.
Quite often I dismiss what I saw and figure that I may not have seen it correctly.

One thing that I am thankful and proud of is that my sons and the other members of their hockey team rarely retaliate.
Obviously they aren't always angels but for the amount of garbage I have seen them put up with they're doing darn well.

Check this out though.
Ever since the boys started playing hockey I have done my best to capture every goal and assist on video. I've missed a couple but have done surprisingly well.
I have almost 20 minutes of videos of T and B's goals and assists.

Something else I have learned about my videos is that while I'm catching the goals and assists I ALSO catch what is going on around it.
Several times I have been alarmed/disgusted at things I see.

Here are a couple of recent examples. I have done screen captures from the videos.
These first 2 were from a game back in January at a tournament in Fredericton Junction. Our guys wore the Bruin's black and yellow jerseys.

Both pictures are from the same game.
Fortunately the team they played against isn't a local team and they don't play against them very often.

In the first one that is my son B in the middle.
The player right beside the goalie and B had just been behind the net trying to get the puck. Another player had managed to get it and shot it up the ice.
I was watching and there were no issues with B and the other player. They did some minor scuffling to get to the puck but nobody was being rough or overly physical with the other.
When the puck left they just parted ways.

What we see in this picture is a third kid who was not involved with B or the other taking his stick and hitting B on the side of his leg. It was a pretty good smack too. I drew a blue arrow to show where he hits him.

It didn't hurt B but stung a bit.
You can see tell that everyone else's attention was on the other end of the ice and nobody would have seen this if I had not happened to still be recording.

I am at a loss to figure out why this kid did this. I didn't notice them having any altercations before this but they may have.

Did this kid do it because he was angry that B had scored the first goal against them? Or he feel that B roughed up his teammate when they were digging for the puck?

I don't think there is any excuse for taking a sucker shot to anyone like this. He didn't get called for it.



This next one ires me a bit more since it happened right in plain view of everyone and the other player wasn't called for it.
It's the same team as the one above but a different kid from the other team.

B had been out in front of the net and was in the process of getting over to where the puck was.
He had not had any contact with another player yet and was just going for the puck.

Number 15 on the other team came behind B and crosschecked him as he was reaching the puck.
B didn't fall but was pushed pretty solidly. It could have been very ugly if B had fallen into the boards.

I understand that the officials are only human and can't be and see everywhere at once. They do the best that they can.
But why didn't that linesman right there call this? These are the the officiating moments that irk me. If B had been hurt I would certainly have followed it up.



I openly confess that when I played hockey in my youth I was a hothead. I retaliated too often when someone hit me too hard or swatted me with their stick. I should have been more like my own kids and just skate away.

The biggest difference between when I played recreational level hockey and today's recreational level hockey is that we played a physical contact game from when we were little all the way up.

Physical contact is only allowed in the competitive levels here now, not recreational.

You know something though? As rough as we were with each other in those days we would never intentionally do something to try and actually injure the other guys. Even when we fought we kept our gloves and helmets on and just let off some steam.
The fact was that we knew these other guys. We had probably played on the same team with them in prior seasons. We went to school with them. We hung out with them. In the summer we played other sports together.
I can't imagine how terrible I would have felt if I had actually caused real harm to any of the other guys.

Imagine what people would have thought about me? Imagine walking through the hallway at school and people looking at you as "that guy" who hurt so-and-so.
That's nothing to be proud of. Not in my mind anyway.

The biggest problem that I am seeing in the boys' hockey now are an increasing number of kids who are actually a genuine danger to others.
A bigger problem is that when they have already shown their true colours they are allowed to remain in the league and do it again.

There is one lad who was on our boys team a couple of years ago. He seemed like a fairly decent kid back then. I had nothing against him.

This year he has been suspended for attacking other players.
Once, perhaps his emotions got the best of him. Two or three times, this kid has issues that need to be dealt with by those qualified to do so.
There is no place for them among the others who want to have fun and play the game.
The FYHA isn't a babysitting service or for disciplining our kids.
That's a parent's job.

This is about another boy whose team played against us a couple of weeks ago.
I had not actually noticed his behaviour in the other times we played against them.
I certainly did in this game.

In this game our team was losing for most of the game.
With about three minutes left in the game one of our guys scored and tied the score at 3-3.
I was standing at one of my usual areas behind the other team's goal.
When we got the tying goal I noticed this kid out the side of my eye swing his stick and hit the boards with it. He was visibly crying and obviously angry.
I thought it was a bit much for a player to be this upset at a recreational level but I was happy that we had tied the game and didn't pay him any more attention.

With about one minute left we scored again to go ahead 4-3. It was a great goal too. The kids were passing it well and really deserved it.

Then, with only 7 seconds left in the game my son B raced down the ice and backhanded a beautiful shot into the top corner to seal the game 5-3.

I captured this goal on video. When I watched it later on my computer I happened to notice a brief spot where the kid I mentioned above takes his stick to the goalpost of their net. I wasn't paying any attention to him at the time and missed it.
Here's a screen capture of it. My guy is celebrating and the other kid is swinging his stick.



This isn't the worst of it either.
A good friend of mine who's son was playing in the game after ours was watching our game from just off to the right of my picture.
He was watching this kid pretty closely. I was stunned to find out what I had missed.

After our team tied the game up this kid took off down the ice after our top player and speared him. Our player went down but no penalty was called.
When our team scored goal number four this boy took a run at his OWN GOALIE and speared him! His teammate!
I was told that this boy is continually smashing and swinging his stick around in games when he is angry.

Why isn't he being dealt with? Certainly they must know that there is a problem here.
If he is being dealt with it's not working.

One day someone is going to get seriously hurt by these types of players.

It's pretty clear to me.
Fix the problem before then. Deal with it now.
If it can't be easily remedied then these kids should be kept out until it is.

My last point is about those coaches who take it far too seriously.

About a month ago we played against the team that has the best player in the league.
This boy has been playing at the Triple A competitive level up until now.
Unfortunate circumstances have made it difficult for his family to handle the extra travel and added expense of playing competitive so he is in recreational hockey this year.

He is an incredible player and consistently scores the majority of his team's goals in every game. Quite often unassisted.
He is a nice boy and I definitely don't blame him for going out there and doing what he is capable of.

What bothers me is the attitude of his coach.
It appears to me that this coach expects to win every game and will not accept defeat.

In the last game against them we were losing 5-4. The superstar had scored 3 of their goals unassisted.

With 1.7 seconds left in the game our player made a great move and popped it in to tie the game.
I had never been so happy for a tie game as I was that night. The kids played their hearts out. Even if they didn't get a victory the tie was just as sweet.

The way I saw it was that there were no losers in the game. Everyone could be happy and satisfied with that outcome.

It appears that I was wrong.
I noted that I didn't see the other coach after the game.

One of our parents told me that as soon as we scored the tying goal the other coach looked furious and stormed out the back door by the team's bench.
He didn't speak to anyone or shake any one's hand. He just stormed out.

If he had somewhere to go in a rush at least he could have called over to the our coaches and then left.
Both teams always shake hands either before or after every game.
How many seconds would that have taken him?

I would expect that if someone behaves like this at a hockey game that it must affect other aspects of their lives.
Are they happy in their lives?
I understand the desire to win and competitive drive but shouldn't there be some downtime where you just stand back and enjoy the game?

Where are Bobby Orr and Ken Dryden? Mr. Orr and Mr. Dryden know more about The Game than anyone else ever could. Perhaps a trip to Fredericton for a little talk is in order?

These are a bunch of kids for crying out loud. This isn't competitive level hockey.
It's just a game after all.
Part of the definition is: Game - An activity providing entertainment or amusement.
Look it up.

Stay well,
Tim

My 40′s Years

The post below appeared at http://www.fortylicious.ca/blog/2012/01/my-40s-years/
yesterday (January 18, 2012).
My friend Heather who operates the site asked me if I would like to provide a guest blog. I was happy to do so.

Stay well,
Tim

My 40′s Years

My Twitter pal Heather Held from http://www.fortylicious.ca asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would do a guest blog post for her site.
I guess she had read a couple of my personal blog entries and liked what she saw.

For those that don’t know, Fortylicious.ca is a web site started by Heather and Dena Pollack as a cool site for people in their 40’s to hang around, read interesting articles, seek expert advice and share things in common with other folks in their 40’s.

Heather asked me if I could talk about being in my 40’s. At first I felt kind of weird about it since I am at the far end of this age group. I’ll be 49 in June.

When I mentioned this to Heather she said to do a piece summarizing something about my 40’s years. Now why didn’t I think of that.

At first I was wondering what to say. Then it came to me.

Some huge and very important things have happened over the last 9 years.

In January 2003, my wife and I packed up from Ontario which was the only province we had both ever known as home, and moved our family to New Brunswick.

Second and more importantly, I have watched my two little twin guys go from being wee kids of 3 years old to become pretty darn close to adults at 13 years old.

These boys were barely up to my waist when they were 3. Now, they are 5’10 and 5’11 tall and have size 12 feet! The good thing with this is that when I am going out I can have my pick of the shoes at the door. They all fit except that the boys shoes are actually big on me. I’m serious. My feet are only a men’s size 10 ½ to 11. Lol.

Think about this though.

In my mind, there are really only 2 stages in life. Childhood and adulthood.

The teen years are sort of a limbo in between but I classify them as almost being in adulthood. Of course old age is adulthood as well but sometimes with a sad regression to childhood.

Within one decade of my life, my 40’s, I have watched my twin sons go from childhood into adulthood.

When I was 39, my sons were little guys singing in their car seats in the back of the car as we travelled.

Now I am almost 49 and both of my sons now have wonderful young ladies as girlfriends and sit in the back seat holding hands with them as I drive.

Many who read this are probably thinking “Girlfriends?? At 13??”. I would usually agree with you but I have to tell you that these kids are mature, responsible and polite about their “relationships”.

Cheryl and I have become friends with the girls’ parents and spent New Year’s Eve with them at our house. It was very nice.

When I was 39, the boys were barely able to stand up on skates and needed us walking with them on the ice holding their hands.

Now I am almost 49, these same boys stand over 6 feet tall on skates and fly like the wind out there in their hockey games.

One is consistently one of the top scorers on the team while the other is one of the best defencemen in the league and guards that blue line like an officer on the beat.

When they were little almost every moment of their young lives was tied in with my wife and I.

Over the last little while we are becoming less of a factor in what goes on in their lives.

That’s not really a negative thing. It is terribly sad to me but it’s a sign that my sons are maturing and becoming more independent. This will serve them well in the years to come.

Two little boys into two handsome young men in less than one decade of my life. That’s pretty huge.

The last and unfortunately the saddest thing about the years in my 40’s have been those that I have lost.

When I was in my 20’s I lost one of my closest friends to cancer. At that time I had never experienced the passing of someone that close to me before. It took a very long time for me to be able to put that loss into a section of my brain so that the pain was lessened. I didn’t think that anything could hurt as much as losing a close pal that I had known almost all of my life.

Then about nine years ago shortly after we moved to New Brunswick we lost my stepfather to cancer. He and my mother had been together for over 20 years but had only been oficially married for a couple of years when this happened.

The worst thing about losing him was that I was all the way over here in New Brunswick while my mother and sister were in Ontario trying to deal with his passing.

It wasn’t easy trying to help mom but we did the best that we could do a couple of provinces away.

Uncle Maurice was my great-uncle. My father’s uncle. He was one of my favourite people in the whole world. I had loved him like crazy for my whole life. One would be hard-pressed to find someone as personable, easy going and fun as Uncle Maurice.

In fact, people in Fredericton still talk about him with great fondness.

When we were moving to New Brunswick one of the biggest things that I was looking forward to was finally being close enough to Uncle Maurice to be able to see him often and let our boys get to know him.

Uncle Maurice passed away with the first few months of our coming out here and we never did get to hang out with him as I had hoped.

In August 2008 my beautiful little sister Hayley passed away of cancer.

A few months later on New Year’s Eve we lost my mother to cancer as well.

As hard as Andy’s passing had been to me when I was in my 20’s the passing of my mother and sister a couple of years ago has had the most profound effect on me.

I guess if one tries to weigh things out the years of my 40’s haven’t been so great but they haven’t been completely rotten have they?

I’m not going to say anything to predict what my 50’s will hold. I don’t dread them as many people do. A year is only a measure of time after all.

True age is a mental state.

Just try to enjoy today and continue along safely and I think everything will be just fine.

Stay well,

Tim

Tim is a 40-something part-time municipal councillor, current provincial government employee, married father of 13 year-old twin sons who lives in New Brunswick, Canada and has no problem telling the world exactly what is on his mind.

His personal blog page can be found at http://tim4nm.blogspot.com/

Safety? Who cares about safety?

There's something I'd like to mention that happened last Thursday night.
I've discussed it on Twitter and Facebook already but I'm able to give more details here.

Our boys' hockey team was registered to play in a hockey tournament in Fredericton Junction this past weekend.
For those who don't have a clue where the heck that is, this is from Google Maps. Fredericton Junction is the B on the bottom. New Maryland (where we live) is the A at the top of the purple path line.




It doesn't look like much really. It's about 35 kilometers (22 miles for my American friends) and takes about 1/2 and hour to drive on a normal day.
A NORMAL day. That would be without a wild blowing snowstorm or freezing rain.

I should add that you can't tell from a Google map but that road is pretty well unlit the whole way and is mainly forest on both sides.

Anyway, back to the topic.
Last Thursday started out pretty well. The daytime weather was nothing out of the ordinary.
However, some nastiness and freezing rain was forecast for the late afternoon to early evening.

I've always loathed this but many tournament organizers don't seem to realize or care that people have jobs and kids have to go to school. They begin weekend hockey tournaments on the Thursday night in order to squeeze more games in.

Our sons were actually going to miss the team's first game that night.
It may seem crazy but there was a good reason. Really.
They were going to the school dance which was supposed to have taken place just before Christmas but was postponed due to the weather (sigh) and rescheduled for this night.
Both boys had been looking forward to that dance so much. Both of their girlfriends were going with them and it was going to be a really nice evening.

Guess what? The school heard the weather forecast and postponed/cancelled the dance again. I guess it will be a Christmas/Valentine dance.
They cancelled all after school activities for that day.

Ah well, that meant that they could now play in Thursday night's hockey game.
Before that I had to take T to his piano lesson and then pick up his young lady friend to go to the game with us.
Cheryl was taking B to pick up his young lady friend and we were going to meet at home and head to the game from there.

Somewhere around 5:00 or so Mother Nature decided it was time to give it to us.
It started out looking like a misty rain except that it froze into a sheet of ice on my car windshield.

As I was waiting for T at his piano lesson I had a call from Cheryl that the hockey game that night was cancelled due to the weather. That made a lot of sense to me.
Especially as I drove along in a line of cars trying to slide and skid our way up the Hanwell Road hill in Fredericton.

The weather wasn't nice at all. Truth be told, I was a little anxious at the thought of travelling that icy dark road to get to the game.

Here's where it gets weird.

What I didn't realize was that the decision to cancel the game was made by our team's coaches and Cheryl who is the manager. Not by the tournament organizers.
Our folks made the right choice.

However, when they called the tournament organizers they were told that by cancelling we would forfeit the game and it would go on the board as a 3-0 loss for us.
There was nothing in the tournament rules saying this but they made it up right then.

I also found out that the president of the Tri-County league who was running the tournament commented that the roads weren't bad.
It's possible that what he saw out his window was different from what we saw but I don't think it could be that far off.
I'm sorry pal. The roads WERE bad.

He made a snarky comment that the Grand Lake team had made it there so we should be able to as well.
What he didn't account for was that the Grand Lake team played over an hour before us and did their travelling before the storm hit.

Of course our first game was against the home team who could probably walk over to the arena. There's no reason for them to need to cancel the game. They didn't have to drive in what we did.

Something completely floors me about this guy's mentality.

Exactly 4 years to the day on Thursday, a horrific accident took the lives of seven young basketball players and a teacher and injured four others who were in the vehicle near Bathurst, New Brunswick.
They were returning home from a basketball game in Moncton in a 15 passenger van. There was a light freezing rain and poor visibility.
The coach who was driving lost control of the van and veered into the path of a large truck.

This struck the hearts of everyone and saddens and haunts New Brunswick.

Many lessons were learned and new rules and regulations came about as a result of this terrible tragedy.

The one biggest thing which I take from it is that no matter what, no matter what type of event or game is on the line, it doesn't matter who is supposed to be somewhere doing something, OUR KID'S SAFETY HAS to be the priority.

It's a shame that there are still people out there who haven't learned this yet but their education isn't going to come at the expense of anyone else if I can help it.

There was no sense arguing about it.
We accepted our loss and played the other two games on Saturday.
We didn't win but the guys played solid hockey and enjoyed themselves.

B had a goal in the second game and won player of the game. T shut down several plays that were heading towards our end with his defensive skills.

We were proud of them all and everyone got home safe and sound.

Stay well,
Tim

Stuffing

I'm stuffing the blog with this post and our family is stuffing this week.
We are stuffed with things to do and I really don't think we could fit any more in.
I'm not complaining though. It's an awesome week.

I'll start with Sunday. Even though the weather wasn't the greatest it was a great day.
Coincidentally, it was Father's Day.
I don't think that I have mentioned this but the boys have started their summer hockey league and have already played 3 of the 10 games.
I'm the main coach of the team.

This is the league that mixes all levels of boys and girls from beginner to Triple A. The biggest rule is that they have fun. Another rule that I greatly admire is that any one player is only allowed to score 3 goals in a game. If they score 4, they get a penalty and the goal doesn't count.

Our team hasn't started off so well. We've actually been pounded in each game so far. We're trying to be positive about the whole thing but I can't help but notice how mismatched the teams are.
I won't dwell on it but there was some shiftiness when the teams were being selected by some who have been doing this for a while and enjoy winning more than some other people do.
Not to worry, we were told that if the teams are eneven that there will be a realignment soon. We'll see.
Honestly? I don't care. I like the kids we have on our team and would prefer not to lose any of them for the sake of a few more goals.

Anyhoo, the kids played a game on Sunday evening and I enjoyed it. Even though we lost.

My father and step-mother made it out which was great.
They are very busy folks and don't really live very close to us so it becomes difficult for getting together.

After the game the boys, Cheryl, my dad and step-mother and myself headed over to Swiss Chalet in Fredericton for a late dinner.
We were pretty hungry by this time and fortunately the Father's Day mobs were long gone when we arrived. We practically had the whole place to ourselves. Sweet.

The next item of awesomeness (awesomeality, awesomeivity?) is that our Baseball season started last night! I'm an assistant coach this season.
It feels like so long since we last played. Actually it has been a long time.
We've been having practices but gametime is where it gets good.

The team that we played last night was actually the team that we beat in the final game last season.
They were pretty good but didn't seem to have what they had last season. Not yet anyway. The season has just started and much can, and likely will change.
Our guys won 14-4 which set a good tone to start the season off.

As always, we were very proud of T and B.

The pitching duties were divided into two innings each. B played first base and was the second pitcher on the mound.
At first he let a couple of pitches get away and seemed to be getting a little upset but managed to rein it in and bring his focus back all by himself.
He pitched two solid innings.

T was outstanding on third base and center field.
One huge shot was smacked out toward him and would certainly have been a triple. That is, if T wasn't on the job. He made it look easy as he jogged over and pulled the ball out of the air to make the out.

How did these guys get so good? I don't remember being that good. :)

Continuing in my awesome week, TODAY is my birthday.
I know that you Facebook pals out there already know because I spent quite a while this morning thanking everyone who posted birthday wishes on my wall.
Thanks again everyone. I have the best friends in the world.

For my birthday present, I want a nice sunny day outside and to watch my sons play baseball again.
What luck! It's a lovely sunny day out right now. I hope it stays that way for another 7 hours or so.
And look! There just happens to be a baseball game scheduled for tonight in Nackawic. Nice.
We have never played against a team from Nackawic before and have no idea what to expect. Nackawic is a mill town and for all we know the baseball players will all be lumberjacks built like Paul Bunyan. :D
It will be fun no matter what.

Nackawic is about halfway from my office to Fredericton so I will be meeting my crew at the ball field near the big axe.
It's true! Go here and see for yourself! It's the world's biggest axe. It's huge.

Town of Nackawic

After the game if all goes well, we'll be celebrating the victory and having birthday cake at my dad's house a short distance along the river from Nackawic.

That's a pretty amazing week isn't it? And it's only Tuesday. :)

Tomorrow we just happen to have another hockey game at Base Gagetown.

As thrilled as I am at how this week is working out but the boys are more thrilled than I am.

This is their last week of school.
Grade 7 is a wrap.

Holy moley, wasn't it just recently that I posted about their first day at Middle School? Two years can't be done already can they? They are? Wow.

I distinctly remember asking very politely for time to slow down just a little bit to let me keep up.
I suppose that's not going to happen.

I'll just try to enjoy the ride then.


Stay well,
Tim

Goals

I decided a while ago that I don't really want to make the things in this blog too timely.
I DO want to talk about what's on my mind at that moment but want to make it so that years from now (assuming this blog is still in existence) people can go back and read and be interested in what I've written.

There's a few people that don't agree with me but I have concluded that anything hockey related is timeless.

Whether it's talking about the greatest hockey player who has ever lived, Bobby Orr, or the greatest hockey players that I know personally.

Of course I'm referring to T and B, my hockey stars.
Last weekend they played in another tournament and once again they came charging out with another gold medal.
B got himself another hat-trick in a 5-1 victory in a game that counted more than I can tell you.
This was against a team that the kids play against in their regular league play and the victory was as sweet as it gets.

That team is the one that every other team wants to beat but doesn't always manage to do so.
The coach has no kids of her own on the team and has had a team every year that we have been in the league. That's a commendable thing.

However, she's not known as an overly pleasant person and has a "win at all costs" attitude.
She is known for "playing the bench".
I would guess that the top players on her team play an average of 2 times more than the others who are not quite as skilled.

We have watched as the hotshots go off the ice, sit at the front of the line of kids on the bench and go right back out again at the next shift change while the others who were already waiting continue to do so.

Our boys have never been on a team that this has happened. And they never will.

This is shameful on any team but beyond unacceptable in Recreation level play.
All coaches in the FYHA are required to adhere to the Coach Contract which details respect and fair play.
One of the points is -We will treat all players fairly and with respect and ensure all players receive equitable ice time throughout the season.
I don't believe for a moment that this is the way it's being done on that team.

I don't know how they get away with it but I'm sure someone must have spoken up about it before.
From what I have seen of her and if the stories that I have heard from kids that have been on her teams in the past are true there is no chance that she will ever have my sons playing for her.

That's all I will say about her since she isn't here to defend herself.
Plus this is a good news blog today so I won't waste any more time on that.

Oddly enough though, she wasn't at the game when we beat them. Ah well.


Ever since the boys first started playing 4 years ago I have been taking pictures and recording videos of the boys' games.
My intention has been to get almost all of their goals on video. I just thought that it would be cool to see how they develop and grow over time. Much like the videos that I post of them on YouTube playing drums and piano.

It sounds rather like the movie "The Truman Show" but I'm happy to know that there are friends out there who enjoy watching my little Trumans grow up.

In fact, we've made some pretty great friends from YouTube, Facebook and Twitter who we have not yet met in person but who are faithful followers and supporters.

One chap who I shall call Marcus is a fan and supporter of many people on the social media and is always there with an encouraging word to keep spirits up.

A couple of years ago I had posted a YouTube video of one of the guys playing music. They are listed under Drumming Wonderboy and Piano Wonderboy.

I have the comments section set up so that I must approve a comment before it will be posted and others will see it.

On this occasion some slimeball scumbag left a nasty remark that I won't bother repeating here.
I was quite upset about it and mentioned it to Marcus.
Marcus put it all into perspective with his supportive attitude and positive spirit and all was well again.


Anyhow, the sports videos haven't really been done to post on YouTube but more for us personally.
I just wish I had used a better system of saving them for easy reference.

Over the last few weeks I have been searching through disks, memory sticks and camera cards in an effort to gather every hockey video and photo together into one file folder.
I'm sad to say that I have not been able to catch every goal that the boys have ever scored on video.
In fact, I will always regret that I had to be at an NBSCETT Council meeting one Saturday morning 4 years ago and missed the first goal that T ever scored.
I do have B's first goal and most of the goals for both boys since then.

Following Saturday's games I downloaded the day's videos onto my computer.

I decided that I would try my hand at creating a compilation video of the goal and assist videos that I had for both guys using Microsoft Movie Maker on my computer.

I joined the videos together and added some cool music.
It's just over 10 minutes long and came out pretty well in my opinion.

When I watch it I can't believe how much these little dudes have changed and grown in such a short period of time.
I wanted to insert it into the blog here but it didn't work for me. I'll probably put it on YouTube and put a link on here in the next few days.

It's a work in progress. The season isn't over yet and we have another tournament in a couple of weeks.
I'm sure there will be plenty more goals to be added soon.

Stay well,
Tim

What would Bobby Orr do?

Something very sad happened this hockey season in the Fredericton Youth Hockey Association.

This is not what you think but a wonderful little sportsman was lost to us.
Last year this little guy and his brother scored 1 goal each but had the best time they had ever had.
They would leap out of bed on cold early mornings and rush to get onto the ice as soon as they were allowed.
Last year's team won almost every game but that didn't matter to the boys.
They just loved being there.
And we all loved watching them as they had so much fun.
There was a couple of guys who were a little intense sometimes but Coach Chad usually knew how to settle them down to get back to fun.
Overall, it was an amazing year. The team came in 4th overall but everybody became great friends, kids and parents.
And my boys only scored one goal each.

I don't want to say their names on here so I will call my sons T and B.
T is a solid little defenseman. He reminds me a lot of myself from my hockey days except that he is much quicker on skates than I ever was.
B is forward. He switches between left and right wings as well as Center.

The reason I mention Bobby Orr in the title is that he was arguably the best hockey player of all time and one of the most humble.
Over a year ago I found a DVD of Bobby Orr's greatest plays.
The boys and I have watched this so many times the disk will wear out before too long.
We are in total agreement with Don Cherry that Bobby was the best to ever strap on a pair of skates.
He would skate circles around everyone and punch the puck right past the goalie almost every time.
He was the first defenseman in the history of the National Hockey League to win the annual scoring title. Several times.
Other player that shared the ice with him found their statistics rise as well. Bobby made everyone shine. Derek Sanderson and Phil Esposito scored most of their career goals thanks to Bobby's assists.
He cared a great deal for his teammates.
One of the most dramatic videos I have seen is of Keith Magnusson of the Chicago Black Hawks taking a cheap shot at Derek Sanderson when he wasn't watching.
Like a bolt of lightning Bobby shot over and took Magnusson on and handily pounded him.
Whenever he scored a goal Bobby would briefly celebrate with his teammates and then skate away with his eyes down to the ice ready to continue the game. I could never imagine him with the stupid fist pumping and dramatic gloating we see from players today.
He was poetry in motion taking the puck from one end to the other.
Bobby just wanted to play the game and play it well to the best of his abilities.
Ever since I was 7 years old I was number 4 in every sport I played as tribute to Bobby Orr. I still do to this day.
I remember the day Bobby was forced to retire because of his failing knees. It was so sad.
My sons know all about Bobby and his grace and humility. We have talked about this extensively.
T has been number 4 last year and this year. The amazing thing is that their team became the Bruins which was where Bobby played most of his career.

This hockey season something changed dramatically.
It was most likely due to the fact that the boys were second year and now the senior members of the team.
T continued to be the spoiler of breakaways and defender of the blue line. But he was much better than last year.

B found his groove and became a goal scoring machine.
It was amazing to watch. He made it look so easy the way he stepped around the other players.
At the end of the season he was the second highest goal scorer in the Atom C level.

Along with the transformation to scorer something troubling happened.
I mentioned that we lost a great little sportsman. This was B.
Oh yes, we gained an amazing player but the sportsman sadly disappeared.
For the life of me I can't figure out why.
We continued to congratulate and encourage him for every play if he scored or not.
What started to happen is that if B went in to score and missed he would smack his stick on the ice and get so angry.
There were many times that he was so busy fuming that he didn't even see his own rebound and missed perfect scoring chances.
We tried explaining this to him.
It was embarrassing to watch. I had seen other kids doing this but never imagined that one of our guys could become like this. As it turns out, the top scorer in the league was a poor sport too. I'll get to the relevance of that in a moment.
A couple of times I had the coach bench B to show that I was not happy at his behaviour.
Sometimes it actually worked.

The kicker came at the very end of the year when the Allstar team was selected from every team.

B was not picked.
Neither was the top scorer in the division.

T was picked along with 2 other players on the team.
Not because they were the fastest players or were scoring machines but because they were good sports and enjoyed the game.

I was very pleased to see that. This is the way all selections should be done.
I was impressed that B did congratulate T and the others for the game.

I think he'll come around in time for next year. At least I hope he will.

I wish I could speak to Bobby Orr and ask him for advice on this.
What made him the way he was and the amazing sportsman he was?

What would Bobby Orr do if he was in my position?

Stay Well,
Tim


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Canada's Sport

During certain months of the year, all across this country, thousands of families focus their lives on this sport.
After a long tiring work week the parents of these budding little athletes drag themselves out of bed on the weekends before some farmers get up to tend to their livestock.
The sun doesn't even want to wake up yet so it stays hidden.
Up and down streets kitchen lights pop on so that these poor souls can find some measure of help from the miracle of caffeine.
The kids rush down a bowl of cereal before they grab their gear and pile it into the freezing cold vehicle.
The streets of every city, town, and village spring to life with the convoys of mini vans, cars, pickup trucks and SUVs winding their way to the sports palaces.
Every parent wants their kids to have fun but there will be some kids who will stand out from the rest and rise to the top.
Most kids have their sports heros. The names of the heros find their way onto the equipment.
Some of these kids will one day have their names on equipment and become heroes to future kids.
We all know them.
They are on television promoting food, restaurants, cars, snacks, furniture, hair products, underwear, outerwear, deodorant, electronics, and anything else you could possibly think of.
We love the professionals.
We hate the professionals.
We wish we could have been them and are glad we never turned into people like them.
It is the sport which combines us all and unites almost every Canadian.
This sport defines us. It defines our country.
International supremacy is fought for using this sport but it is Canada which repeatedly shows the world that we are the best.
Yell it with me.
LACROSSE!! LACROSSE!! LACROSSE!!
What did you think I was talking about?
Lacrosse is Canada's national sport.
Many of us have heard this and I still find it unusual.
Actually I think that it may now share this honour with hockey.
But still, share?
Don't get me wrong. I love lacrosse. It was one of my favourite games that I ever played during my school years.
I really wish that more kids played it.
I remember many years ago in Toronto Cheryl and I went to see a Toronto Rock lacrosse game at Maple Leaf Gardens.
It was fantastic. There was so much energy in that place and the game was like trying to watch a lightning bolt.
It struck me how unfair it was that these outstanding young men who were more fit than any of us could ever hope to be had to go to their day jobs the next day after blowing away a crowd that size.
You would never see their names hanging from the rafters of the Gardens.

These are the types of people our kids should idolize. Not the spoiled multi millionaires in the NHL.

That's just my opinion.

By the way, our wonder lad scored 4 goals in yesterday's game and 1 goal in each of today's games.
It was something to see.
The other wonder boy played the blue line like a true master. He almost scored too!
Our team is the Bruins and he is #4. Just like Bobby Orr. The best hockey player of all time.

Just like my wonder boys.

Tim

Yikes!!

I would like to dump a little cliché in here if I may.
What a difference a day makes!
Or in this case six days.
You recall my last blog that one of our sons scored three goals in their team's 5-4 hockey victory last Sunday.
This morning I could feel that something wasn't quite right and the energy was not quite there.
Sure enough, our lads lost 8-0.
The other team had some amazing little players.
We didn't seem to have a chance.
Many of our kids have a natural chemistry with each other. On the good days they just click. One passes the puck and knows that the other is there to get it.
This skill is rare.
Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr had this magical ability.
It was a foresight that they used to place themselves exactly where the puck was going and place it where they wanted it to go.
I suppose even the greatest players of all time had their off days.
This morning it seemed like our entire team was feeling funky.
They just seemed to meander around waiting to see if the puck would come to them so that they could go with it.
The other team made sure that it didn't get to our scorers.
I'll tell you something though. I was really darn proud of our boys.
Nobody complained when the puck went into our net or if they missed a breakaway shot.
Everyone took it in stride as an experience on the other side of the win/lose equation.
They all lined up after the game politely shook hands with the other kids.
These guys are just happy to be out there playing!
My little superstar used to have a difficult time accepting a loss situation last year. He wasn't the worst but I wasn't happy with it.
He has completely changed now and is like his brother.
Our other star is a solid little defenseman who digs in and gets the job done.
You want that puck cleared out of our end? Give him a moment and he will be delighted to take care of that.
Keep the puck in the blue line? Not a problem.
And if he does happen to miss it he hustles and chases that thing.
His heart is in the game. He doesn't want to try and be a Bobby Orr and score a bunch of goals.
He wants to play and have a good time.
They both do.
For that we are enormously proud.
It seems Cheryl and I are doing pretty good so far.
Forward we go.
They have an exhibition game tonight against a team not in the FYHA in Burtts Corner.
Let's have fun.
By the way, the picture above is of the arena we usually play in. The Willie O'Ree Place.
I took it as I was driving away this morning.

Tim

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The Greatest Doctor Who Ever Lived - Part 2

I suppose that I could jump into this one with comments and opinions about the silly state of our country's federal government and the bizarre fear that Canadians were mere days from being taken over by Separtists, Socialists, Anarchists and the morons that accompany them.
Or, I could talk about how my photo pal Stephen Harper convinced the Governor General to giving him and his minority Conservatives (including my pal Keith Ashfield) a reprieve until January 2009 from being overrun by the twerps mentioned above.

No siree, I'm not going to do that. There will be plenty of time in January to talk about that if I choose to do so.

I'm going to start this one off my announcing to the world that one of my sons got his very first hockey hat trick on Sunday morning!!
In all the years I played hockey I only scored two goals. That's all.
Last year they only had one goal each but so far he has scored 5 goals in 4 games.
Darn right we're proud!
That's real NEWS! Isn't it? These are the most important things in the world.
Seeing our children doing well and having fun at the same time.

Cheryl and I do not push and nag our boys to excel and be the best at everything they do. We would like them to do their best, but they don't have to BE the best.
They are playing to have fun!

If they happen to develop or discover that they have an extraordinary skill in the process that's wonderful, we'll nurture it in a loving way.
Don't get me wrong. We will continually tell them that they have the ability to be great if they put their minds and soul into it. That's inside them as it is with us all.
But that's up to them.
Far too often we have seen parents pushing or pulling children to win and that nothing else will do.
It's not up to me to say that they are wrong. In fact, I'll bet that their kids do win quite often.
I just hope that they enjoy the path getting there.

The only thing we will insist on is that they are involved in some type of sport or activity in the summer and the winter.

Their interest in music has been a fabulous bonus to us.
Cheryl and I are overjoyed that the lads enjoy playing the drums and piano.
They are pretty good too! The lessons are not wasted by any means.

I suppose this big preamble is a perfect lead-in to my next Dr. Seuss book item.
My favourite book ever written by the good doctor also happened to be his last. I wonder if he knew that he wasn't well and set out to write the most brilliant and educational story of his life?
The first time that I saw this was when the boys were very little and we lived in Mississauga, Ontario. That was at least six years ago and they are ten now.
The public library in Meadowvale Town Centre was perfect for kids. The children's area had big piles of books on the floor with mats to crawl around and get comfy while reading everything in sight.
I thought that I knew all of Dr. Seuss' stuff but I had never seen this one before.
I sat down and started to read it. As I did so I knew that I was holding one of my favourite books ever.

I bought a copy of my own so that I could read it to the boys (or myself) whenever I wanted.
I have done just that. It has been a little while but I guarantee I will be digging it out tonight to read to them again.
I'll talk about it more after you have a chance to read it yourself but there are certain parts that I choke up every time I read.
Hopefully you'll see what I mean.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! was first published in January 1990 and talks about life and its challenges in the way that only Dr. Seuss could do.
It is written in the style of his classics such as Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, but this one has specific characters including a narrator and the person reading it.
He calls the young boy “you” and this boy initiates the story's actions. This character helps us to identify with the book.

I learned on the internet that in the United States and Canada, Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a popular gift for students graduating from high school and college, with its biggest sales every spring.
This book sells up to 300 thousand copies every year! That's incredible!

I'll stop rambling so that you can read this for yourself. See if you agree with me.


Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

---Dr. Seuss


See what I mean? Was I wrong? I don't think so.
The story is so motivational while being cautious at the same time.
The title tells you that you're setting out on a big wonderful journey. The content emphasizes this too but warns you of the speed bumps that you will encounter.
I can't think of any other person or possible way to talk to kids about the trials they will face in life.
Youngsters may not see past the Seussisms and wonderful pictures in order to see the deeper wisdom of this story. But I'll bet that as they get older and start to experience life this story will make more sense to them.

As I read this to my sons they don't understand why Daddy gets tears in his eyes and chokes up when he gets to the " All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot." part.
One day I hope they have children of their own. Then they will understand this feeling.
The feeling that I can't bear the thought of them being alone in the world at any point and there will be nothing I can do to stop it.
As a parent I wish beyond measure that I could always be there for our babies and shield them from the ugly parts of life and the "dragons" that are hiding out there.

Reluctantly, I see it realistically and know that this is not possible. I can't always be there.
One day I won't be there at all and that thought pains me.

You and I need to have faith that when our children reach those "waiting places" and arrive at their "mountains" that they have equipped themselves with the right equipment to make that climb much easier and have surrounded themselves with the right people to make the journeys a little smoother.
As parents it is up to us to educate our kids so when they "look up and down streets" they will have the knowledge to see why a street may be a "not-so-good" street and say "I don't choose to go there."
With the help of the great Dr. Seuss I should be able to do my part.
Could there possibly be a more fun way to do so?


Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)


Tim

And so it begins....

I was mentioning the little bit of snow the other morning.
Today we woke up to this. It's still coming down.
I just took this as I drove past Fredericton city hall after my Saturday morning coffee mob thing.
Actually it's only 9:40 a.m. but I've been up for many hours already.
The boys had a hockey game at 6:45 today so we were all awake and bushy tailed by 5:15.
I want to tell you something interesting.
On an average weekday when we are working and going to school it's pretty tough to drag our behinds out of bed at 7:00.
On hockey mornings we get up before most of the world but we pop out of bed raring to go.
I barely have time to open their doors to tell them it's time to get up and they're already half dressed!
We love our hockey, that's for sure.
I haven't personally played for many years. I can still skate but with the extra pounds I've accumulated my ankles don't take very long to scream in pain.
One of our lads scored his first goal of the season this morning. What a thrill!
The other lad almost scored a winning goal with only a few seconds left in the game!
As it was we (do you like how I say "we"?) tied 4-4 which was perfect.
Our boys started hockey last year and were the first year guys on the team. It took a while to get their grooves but it was a great season.
Now they are the older boys in the division and have that experience behind them.
They are doing a very good job of becoming team leaders and motivating the others.
It doesn't matter if they win or lose, they are just completely stoked to be on the ice.
We are very proud of them.

Back to this weather.
I wasn't overly surprised about this snow since my family and friends in Ontario have been telling me about all of their snow for many days now.
It's a darn good thing that Cheryl kept at me about putting the snow tires on the car two weeks ago.
If it was left up to me I would be scrambling around right now trying to find some and get them installed.

One thing is certain. This is only the first of what will undoubtedly be a long cold New Brunswick winter.
Bring it on! We're ready for it!
We've started hockey!

Tim