Mike Rainone
Hammertime
Congratulations and salutations! As hardy Albertans we have just managed to survive the coldest February in 40 years, and with March also coming in like a lion, Mother Nature in all her glory leaves us patiently wondering when spring will finally arrive in all its fresh and wet splendour?
But through all those frigid temps and the constant wind most folks bravely bundled up themselves and the kids and managed to somehow make it to work, to school, to shop, and whatever else was needed to be done to achieve our daily existence. Many of us also chose to stay in the warmth of home sweet home as much as we could, likely doing a little pre-spring cleaning, maybe finding some new games to play and shows to watch, but also having to put up with the ongoing political soap opera and gong show that is unraveling in our federal government.
While our gas and electrical distributors were obviously ecstatic about all the giga-joules and power that they were kicking out over that vicious cold snap, there were also abundant sales of woolly toques and mitts, fuel, jump starts, thermal underwear, and hot chocolate. I believe in the aftermath of the final wrath of this winter that a little extra show of appreciation needs to go to out to those thousands of men and women who have to work outside 24-7 in the emergency and service sectors to keep us all comfortable and safe, to keep our highways and byways clear, and to get the vital supplies and citizens where they need to get to, no matter what the conditions may be.
The central Alberta rock and rumble
While thousands of Canadian athletes, coaches, officials, sponsors, volunteers, and fans of all ages were still proudly watching and celebrating the overwhelming success of the 2019 Alberta Winter Games that were hosted in Red Deer, Alberta from Feb. 15 to March 3, the residents of Sylvan Lake, Red Deer and surrounding communities were shocked and shaken by an earthquake very early on Monday morning, March 4th.
The 4.6 ML quake, the largest ever recorded in this area struck at 5:56 a.m. and would give thousands of people an early and much unexpected wakeup call, with many a coffee pot turned on early and the communication lines buzzing to find out what had just happened. At our condo my wife thought that the neighbour upstairs had fallen out of bed or someone was coming through the window, but I just kept right on snoozing and didn’t realize what was going on until we turned on the T.V. and our family started emailing and phoning asking if we were okay. Apparently when the shake occurred a lot of folks were jolted out of bed and some pets went a little haywire, but aside from a few crooked pictures and rattling cups, there was very little damage reported, and the AER and AGS are currently investigating what they have called ‘a passive and low-frequency earth movement.’
Some free and fun advice on how to make 2019 our year
• Instead of sitting on the couch and waiting for it to happen, let’s get out of there and make it happen.
• Lets smile more, get excited, do new things, and throw away the clutter.
• Try to let go of the negative people and the toxic relationships that thrive on gossip, and then forget those individuals who think nothing of stepping over their friends and manipulating others in order to selfishly achieve their own position and power.
• It’s okay to go to bed early or have an extra nap once in a while, and then it can be a real joy to get up early and enjoy the sunshine.
• For the rest of 2019 lets strive to not gossip, to show more gratitude, to do more fun things that both please and challenge us and others, to be brave, and to feel good about ourselves and never forget our worth and our family and our friends.
Let’s just have a little fun.
• I was never very good at golf so I took up bowling. No matter how bad I throw the ball it never gets lost and comes right back to give me another chance.
• I have found that the older I get the worst my hearing is becoming, but that’s okay, because with today’s high pitched music it all sounds just right to me. People often ask me what’s the best age to be, likely because I have been most of them, but then again it really makes us all feel good when they say that we sure don’t look that old.
When there’s slush, little rivers running down the road, and lots of splashes, it really is time to think about spring, so just dig out some tall boots and then have a great week, all of you.