the apple doesn't fall far

father: so? how was camp today?

daughter: good.

father: and? what did you do today?

daughter: uh... we had fun.

father: you had fun, huh? ok, but what did you do today?

daughter: uh... we had free time.

father: ok, and what did you do in your free time?

daughter: uh... we played.

father: you played, huh? ok, so what did you play then?

daughter: we played games, dad.

father: games? like what? like basketball? did you play basketball today?

daughter: yes, dad. we played basketball.

father: ok. and did you play soccer today?

daughter: yes, dad. we played soccer today, as well.

father: ok. and did you play tennis today?

daughter: no, dad. how could we play tennis, dad? do you see any tennis courts at the camp, dad? i mean, seriously, how could we play tennis if we don't...

father: alright, that's enough. don't be rude to me.

daughter: i wasn't being rude. i was just answering your question. you asked me if we played tennis today and...

father: alright, i said. that's enough already. so tell me, when i asked you what you did at camp today, why didn't you just tell me that you played basketball and soccer?

daughter: i did. i did tell you, dad. and then you started screaming at me because...

father: alright, that's enough. i get the point. so is there anything else you want to tell me about camp today.

daughter: uh... no.

(silent pause)

daughter: um... can we go get some lunch? i'm starving.

father: lunch? it's 4 o'clock. why would we be eating lunch at this hour? besides, didn't you already have lunch today? at camp?

daughter: no.

father: what do you mean, no? didn't your mother pack you a lunch today?

daughter: uh... yes.

father: and didn't you eat the food that she packed you?

daughter: uh... yes.

father: so... i guess you had lunch then.

daughter: yeah, but it wasn't really a lunch, dad.

father: what do you mean, it wasn't really a lunch? did you have a sandwich?

daughter: uh... yes.

father: so... what was wrong with the sandwich?

daughter: well... it wasn't really a sandwich, dad. it was only two tiny halves.

father: what do you mean, two tiny halves? two tiny halves? two tiny halves? that's a sandwich! a sandwich is made up of two tiny halves! two halves equal one whole sandwich! did you eat both halves?

daughter: uh... yes.

father: well then, you ate a sandwich! you ate an entire sandwich! if you ate both halves of the sandwich, then you ate the entire sandwich. so what's the problem then?

daughter: well, i, uh... i didn't have any dessert today, dad.

father: did your mother pack a dessert for you today?

daughter: um... i don't think so.

father: well, does she normally pack a dessert for you?

daughter: uh... sometimes.

father: ok, let's see then. you had a sandwich today, right? we've already established that.

daughter: sandwich. check.

father: don't be smart with me, kid.

daughter: yes, i had a sandwich today. go on then.

father: don't be rude to me. listen kid, don't you forget that i brought you into this world...

daughter: yeah, yeah, yeah. and you can take me out. i know. i know. very clever, dad.

father: you're being rude again. alright, so now we know that you had a sandwich today. tell me... was there anything else inside your lunch box today?

daughter: i don't have a lunch box. it's a bag.

father: (taking deep breath) was there anything else inside your lunch bag today?

daughter: yes. would you like to know what?

father: yes. yes, i would.

daughter: well, there was a juice box. which i had for lunch. and a bear paw. and a banana.

father: bear paw? what the hell is a bear paw?

(silent pause)

daughter: uh, you said "hell," dad. you're not supposed to say "hell."

father: (taking deep breath) ok. you're right. you're right. let me rephrase that. bear paw? what the heck is a bear paw?

daughter: that's better. now a bear paw... a bear paw is a soft cookie.

father: a soft cookie? uh... so why is it called a bear paw then?

daughter: it's called a bear paw, father, because it's shaped like a bear paw.

father: don't be smart. (pause) ok, so you had a banana and a bear paw in your lunch bag today. isn't that dessert then? the banana and the bear paw?

daughter: no.

father: no? why not? you had a banana and a bear paw. that's dessert. the banana and the bear paw were dessert.

daughter: no. the banana and the bear paw were snacks. we have snack time, too, you know.

father: snack time? you have snack time at camp? how many? how many snack times do you have at camp every day?

daughter: two. one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

father: two? you have two snack times a day? alright, then. let's see. what did you have for your first snack of the day?

daughter: the bear paw.

father: ok, and what did you have for your second snack of the day?

daughter: nothing.

father: nothing? what do you mean, nothing?

daughter: nothing. i didn't have anything for my second snack.

father: no? why not?

daughter: because i didn't feel like eating.

father: ok, then. so that means you still had a banana sitting in your bag at lunch time. well, i guess that solves our dilemma then.

daughter: dilemma? what's a dilemma?

father: problem. i guess that solves our problem then. a dilemma is a problem. i guess that solves our problem then.

daughter: how? how does that solve our problem?

father: because. because you could have just had your banana at lunch. after your sandwich. as dessert.

daughter: but i was saving that banana for my afternoon snack. after lunch.

father: but you just told me that you didn't have the banana for your afternoon snack. so you could have just eaten that banana for dessert. at lunch time.

daughter: but how was i supposed to know at lunch time that i wasn't going to eat that banana for my afternoon snack? jeez, dad.

"you don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back." - william d. tammeus

slowly but surely i am indoctrinating my daughter into the church of genesis. and you have to admit that phil is certainly in fine voice in this 1980 performance:

p.s. sorry, lc. i published your comment before i took a look at the link. uh... can't exactly publish videos like that. hope you understand, kid.

party of one

so i just got back from lawrence plaza (or is it lawrence square?) on this, the most hottest of hot days. i'm talking about that really crappy mall near lawrence and allen road, by the way. anyhow, i had to renew my vehicle license plate sticker thingy (135 bucks, kids!) using one of those service ontario kiosks. i was a bit hungry, too, so i decided to stop by the fortinos inside the mall and grab a bite to eat. i ordered the chicken fingers and fries (even though they're called chicken strips and wedges at fortinos... those snobs). then i pulled up a chair in the seating area so that i could enjoy my chow in relative peace and quiet.

as i was laying into my grub, i began to stare at all of the passers-by (or is it passer-bys?) making their way through the world's crappiest mall. as a result, i was reminded of a game my mother and i used to play at yorkdale when i was much younger, say 15 or 16 years old. what would we do? well, we would sit in the food court and count the number of attractive people who would walk by over the course of an hour. yes, i know it sounds kinda shallow and pathetic, but it was fairly cheap entertainment and it did pass the time rather efficiently.

anyway, back to lawrence plaza (square?) and lunch at fortinos. (wow, my two-year-old just asked me to play mamma mia on youtube. the kid is obsessed with abba. imagine that. my daughter knows maybe 200 words and two of them are mamma and mia.) as i watched the local gentry stroll to and fro, i began to undergo what some would describe as an out-of-body experience. suddenly and without warning, i found myself floating above the seating area at fortinos looking down on all of the patrons, including myself. and what a wonderfully surreal feeling it was. initially i spotted the lady seated next to me just as she accidentally knocked her plate of food onto the floor. at first it looked like a dish of thinly-sliced cucumbers but upon closer inspection, i was able to identify the mystery vegetable as zucchini. i also observed a trio of businesswomen sitting down for lunch. one was thumbing it on her blackberry. one was digging into a thermos filled with some sort of stew. and the third, i swear to you that the third was busy checking me out. (i guess my hair looked pretty good this morning.) i also spied an elderly couple huddled around a table for two. they were sipping on free coffee refills. they looked like they had been sitting there for quite some time, perhaps an hour or so. but they seemed content. (maybe they were keeping tabs on the number of attractive people walking by.)

just then, and still suspended in mid-air, i recognized andrea bocelli's "con te partiro" blaring over the supermarket's pa system. (maybe it had something to do with all of the italians who shop at fortinos.) and it was at that precise moment that my floating, out-of-body self began to focus on my seated, chicken-finger-and-fry-eating self way down there on the floor below. and suddenly i was a boy again, playing catch in my backyard on goldenwood road with my best friend, michael. and then i was a teenager again, riding shotgun in the soupmobile (long story) driven by the one and only, jayman. and then i was a first-year student at osgoode hall, crouching in the corner of the quad and deliberating over whether or not i had made the right decision in choosing law as a career. and then i was walking down the aisle in the somewhat-sketchy wedding chapel at north york civic centre (hey, we couldn't exactly get hitched in a church or a synagogue, now could we?), sweating like a stuffed pig. and then i was standing next to my wife in the maternity ward at women's college, right after our first child had just been delivered, sobbing from both emotion and hunger as i hadn't eaten for hours because seven had taken her damn sweet time making her grand entrance into the world.

and then, just as suddenly as my out-of-body experience had begun, it was over.

i think i know why i underwent this experience today, as opposed to yesterday or tomorrow or some time next year. i think it had something to do with a piece i read last night. in any event, i guess it was time for me to confront these feelings at last. and now i have.

so what is the point to all this silliness? because i truly believe that all good prose should come with a point - a message, a moral, a call to action, something that speaks to the reader on a personal level. on an emotional level. so what then is the point of this post?

um... i'll get back to you on that one. for now, i hope the following will suffice:

"oh, and by the way, you know when you're telling those little stories of yours? here's a good idea - have a point. it makes it so much more interesting for the listener." - planes, trains and automobiles (1987)

the song that inspired a post:

small talk (or why sometimes it's easier to simply change the title rather than try to explain what i meant by it)

evidently it's hot out there. i know this because i've ventured outside on at least a few occasions over the past couple of days and my somewhat compromised respiratory system tends to react rather negatively to conditions of overwhelming heat and humidity. that said, even had i not journeyed outside in recent days to ascertain the true depths of the current temperature spike, i would have had little difficulty appreciating the full extent of the present weather phenomenon. how come? because apparently the warm weather is the only topic worthy of discussion of late in this g-dforsaken city. crisis in the middle east? (something's happening in the middle east?) oil spill in the gulf? (someone spilled something in the water?) lindsay lohan's going back to prison? (is she the one from zoey 101?) but let the mercury rise a few degrees above normal for a day or two and suddenly, we have a full-blown crisis on our hands.

i hop onto the elevator and before i can say "good morning" i'm met with a perfunctory "hot enough for ya?" from one of my neighbours. why, it's so hot out there that the other day, a cockroach knocked on my door and asked me for a glass of cold water.

i place my groceries on the checkout counter and before i can say "good afternoon" i'm met with a cursory "so how 'bout that weather?" from one of the cashiers. why, it's so hot out there that even the beads of sweat on my forehead are sweating.

i amble through the front doors of my condo lobby and before i can say "good evening" i'm met with a disingenuous "it sure is a scorcher out there" from one of the concierges. why, it's so hot out there that i think i just saw an a/c repairman drive by in a mercedes.

and i don't even know where skomer island is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Xd_RqCdaw&feature=PlayList&p=9BEF1888ED7E8E43&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=40

frighteningly off-topic, and a little harsh in my not-so-humble opinion, but still... pick a side already, fence sitters: "the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." - dante alighieri

p.s now really, is there anything more delicious than an oreo cookie ice cream sandwich at 1 o'clock in the morning? in fact, have you ever noticed that most of the memorable episodes in our lives tend to unfold at 1 o'clock in the morning?

p.p.s. now how could i have forgotten this one? and i'm really starting to dig this embedded video thing. you were right, js:

do as i say (everybody cheats)

adults are always telling young people that it's wrong to lie or steal or cheat. but if that's really the case, then how come i know so many adults that lie and steal and cheat?

from the truck driver who parks in the no-parking zone on my street every morning to the soccer mom who uses her connections to register her kid before anyone else has had a chance to the politician who portrays himself as champion of the working class but secretly accepts kickbacks from big business to the doctor who recommends a particular brand of medication in exchange for "free" samples to the smoker who doesn't think twice about lighting up on the lawrence west subway platform to the lawyer who uses his mobile phone in the car despite recent changes to the law to the dentist who triples his fee for patients with private insurance to the unemployed salesman who pads his resume with phony work experience to the convenience store owner who charges sales taxes but fails to remit them to the government to the civil servant who snoozes through half the work day at his desk to the dry cleaner who bumps up her prices for customers paying with a coupon to the car pooling mother who thinks nothing of blowing through a stop sign because she's in a hurry to the professor who tells his wife he is faithful but keeps a girlfriend on the side to the sneaky homeowner who tosses his household garbage into the dumpster behind a local restaurant to the private contractor who bills his clients for services he didn't perform to all those honest folks out there who claim never to lie or steal or cheat but do so anyway.

so how come then?

my second favourite quote from my second favourite film:
"everybody cheats. i just didn't know." - breaking away (1979)

p.s. when i ran into her majesty at the track the other day, she reminded me that the last time we met was in 1980 at the lyceum ballroom in london, england when rock legends genesis put on perhaps the greatest concert in the history of live music. try listening to the following back to back:

and in this corner...

well, it certainly was an interesting day. i attended the 151st running of the queen's plate at woodbine racetrack (never even had a chance to bet on the race... too crowded). i stood behind macy gray in the coat check line-up (apparently she was in town for a free concert and man oh man, is she ever tall, especially with her hair standing on end). i enjoyed high tea with queen elizabeth II (more on that tomorrow). oh, and i got into a bit of a scrap with an old man (tonight's subject matter for what will hopefully prove to be another scintillating post).

confirming the old adage that life is indeed stranger than fiction, the aforementioned tilt began when an elderly patron (i'm guessing the old codger was roughly 70 years of age but full of spit and vinegar) became upset after spotting me in an area of the racetrack technically reserved for paying customers of the in-house dining room. now in my defence, i wasn't sitting in that area because i actually wanted to be sitting in that area. no, i was only sitting in that area because i was waiting for the enormous royal-watching throng to disperse so that my best friend and i could exit the racetrack. but when i tried to explain this fact to my septuagenarian friend, he became even more enraged and suggested that i do something to myself which i'm quite certain is near next to impossible given the laws of physics. that's when greybeard rose from his seat, racing form in hand, and began to approach me in an openly hostile manner. at first i figured that he just wanted to speak to me face to face in order to share some of his thoughts on the british monarchy. but before i could say "inveterate gambler," the saucy oldtimer was right up in my grill hurling invectives that would make even a sailor's ears spin. why, he was pressed up so close, i could practically smell the cigar on his breath. surprised? so was i, but not as surprised as i would be given what was to come next.

to make a long story short, the spunky ol' senior charged at me (yes, he actually charged at me) before bumping me hard with his arms and chest a couple of times. now if any of you have ever been involved in a genuine skirmish you already know that the first few moments of the physical altercation are usually characterized by feelings of utter shock as you grapple with the realization that you are indeed involved in a physical altercation. but within seconds i regained my composure as it suddenly became clear that gramps was essentially challenging me to a duel.

what are you doing, bud? was all i could spit out on such short notice. "why don't you just get the hell out of here, punk!" was his somewhat churlish reply. i'm trying to leave, pops. don't touch me again, i shot back. "why don't i just help you leave then!" was his angry response. at that moment, a young woman (it turned out to be the old man's daughter) stepped in between rocky and me and began shoving the elder combatant away from the fracas. you're lucky i don't call the cops over and have your father (i guessed) charged with assault, i cleverly slipped in. "my father didn't assault you," the female referee answered back. look, lady. only one of us here went to law school (i guessed again) and i am telling you that your father just assaulted me. (you can look it up folks... assault... ccc section 265(1)(a)... a person commits an assault when, without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that other person... yup, that was definitely an assault alright.) "you didn't go to law school," rocky jr. scoffed. at that point i turned to my best friend waiting patiently to one side. um, (insert name of best friend here), did i or did i not attend law school? "uh, yup. he definitely attended law school," (insert name of best friend here) asserted in my defence.

and that was basically how the tussle came to a close. my camp went one way, my opponent's camp went the other.

so there you have it. a firsthand account of the great woodbine racetrack dustup of 2010. i wouldn't have believed it myself had i not witnessed it with my own two eyes.

"never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes." - native american proverb

accidentally stumbled across this hidden gem thanks to an eclectic youtube train mix and the shuffle mode. sure it's cheesy and corny and impossibly sweet, but it does possess a certain charm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhmSZvViaOk

brain teaser

every september, on the first day of school, i usually provide my classes with a series of letter equations designed to test their general knowledge of insignificant data, better known as an i.q. test. a letter equation is a common expression or fact containing both words and numerals where the words have been replaced with initials. for example, 52 c. in a d. means 52 cards in a deck.

below i have formulated 22 additional letter equations for your intellectual and emotional consideration. some are easy. some are difficult. some are downright impossible. but in any case, please do not rely on google to assist you in this endeavour as to do so would entirely defeat the purpose of the exercise. besides, as greek playwright sophocles once wrote: "i would prefer to fail with honour than to succeed by fraud." or words to that effect.

and so, without further ado, and in no particular order, let us begin:

1 m. in t.

2 o.e.j. in a d. of c. (hint: scan up)

3 w. on a t.

3 j.b. (plus 1 f.)

4 s. in a y.

first 5 b. of the o.t.

7 d.s.

7 c. of the r.

7 d. with s.w.

9 p. on a b.t.

10 p. (and 3 t.) of c.

10 d. in a p.n.

16 o. in a p.

26.2 m. in a m.

30 c.m. in a f.

31 f. of i.c. at b.r. (originally)

48 c.s. of a.

118 c.e. of the p.t.

540 d. inside a p.

1024 g.b. in a t.b.

approximately 1500 l.l. on the t.

525,600 m. in a n.l.y.

that's it. answers to follow.

it's no wonder that ferris took the day off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmxpftPFXZg&feature=related

p.s true story: as i was typing out the letter equations above, i began to draw a blank on the answers to several of the questions i had just listed. in some cases, it took me twenty minutes or more to recall the solution to the riddle i had created. in other cases, i still cannot recall the solution. whoops. oh well, i guess the mind really is the first thing to go.

p.p.s. good job, all. a few corrections... and some help. 48 contiguous states. 118 chemical elements. as for the unsolved puzzles, one, look carefully at the eyes of the jacks in a deck of cards. (update: just as i hit publish post on this update, i received the correct answer. bravo.) and two, as for the second-to-last puzzle, think celine dion. that's all. good day... and peace.

by the way adb and jc, do you know each other or something?

greetings and salutations

speaking of uncomfortable, it certainly was an uncomfortable moment at the promenade mall yesterday when i bumped into an old friend from university - a female one - and i was forced to make a quick decision as to the appropriate mode of greeting. what to do? what to do? go with the traditional handshake? (shaking hands with a woman always seems a little, uh, strange to me.) maybe props or a high five? (wait a minute. this is a forty-year-old woman we're talking about. i can't give props to a forty-year-old woman.) perhaps an abbreviated hug? (too much physical contact. too many body parts intertwined.) or do i take a chance and go in for a kiss? after all, we were fairly close back in the day. and i know there are parts of the globe where greeting with a kiss is fairly common, for example, in latin america and southern europe and stretches of the middle east. and if i did make the call for some lip action, what type of kiss should i be looking at? i'm not ostentatious enough to deliver a credible air kiss. i suppose a quick peck on the cheek seems reasonable. but then the question becomes: how many pecks? one? two? three even? i should mention that my friend is of colombian descent. and i know there are rules spelling out the acceptable number of cheek kisses depending on the country of origin. colombia? colombia? what the hell was the rule again for colombia? and which cheek do i start on? the right or the left? questions. so many questions.

in the end, i settled on a single peck to the left cheek. cautious but not cowardly. poignant yet not overbearing. simple yet not overstated.

methinks the original caped crusader was the best caped crusader: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMD2TwRvuoU&a=V1ODldkrXZg&playnext_from=ML

"good morning, and in case i don't see you again, good afternoon, good evening, and good night." - the truman show (1998)

it's a family affair

as i watched my two daughters galavant through the narrow aisles of the old navy outlet at the promenade mall today (30% off practically everything in the store!), i couldn't help but ponder just how dissimilar my two girls are from one another. the fact is that both kids have been raised in the same household by the same two parents and have attended the same programs and institutions with the same level of love and support surrounding them in almost every aspect of their daily lives. and yet, the two are like night and day. night and day in different time zones, that is. oh well, so much for the nature vs. nurture debate. for instance, my seven-year-old is still somewhat physically awkward for her age while my two-year-old's level of athleticism and co-ordination is highly advanced. meanwhile, seven is highly sociable to the point where she clearly feels more comfortable in the company of others. two, on the other hand, is perfectly content to chill in her room for hours on end playing with her toys and reading her books. seven has always thought of others first, even as a very young child, often helping out her classmates in need. two... well, the jury is still out on that one. and the list goes on and on.

but in retrospect, i suppose i shouldn't be all that surprised by the distinctions that exist between my two daughters. after all, my older brother and i were also raised in the same home by the same mother and father and yet those who are familiar with us have a hard time believing that we originate from the same stock. to begin with, my only sibling has always been extremely tan and buff. me... a tad pale and lanky, some might insinuate. moving on, i am fairly shy and withdrawn. my brother is more genial and extroverted. i was an excellent student back in the day. my brother had other priorities in school. i was somewhat hard-hearted growing up, while my big bro was known to be quite sensitive. our goals are different. our morals are different. our personalities are different. anyhow, you probably get the picture by now. and that's just what i'm willing to share with you.

hey, maybe it all comes down to a question of degrees. degrees of similarity. degrees of difference. degrees.

oh, and the real inspiration for today's post? i ran into my father today at the promenade mall. i haven't seen my father for quite some time now. the old man hasn't changed a bit.

it is what it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YZpbYqOw4o&feature=related

"the family. we were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." - erma bombeck

a day at the fair

the family and i spent the better half of the afternoon at downsview park celebrating canada day today. the main attraction was a second-rate fair featuring rickety amusement rides staffed by sketchy-looking wanderers. there was also a full complement of inspection-worthy bouncy castles for the youngins, not to mention a sadsack petting zoo, balloon bustin' clowns, overpriced food stands, and shaky-handed face painters. good times.

anyhow, there were two incidents in particular from today's patriotic turn in the sun that stood out for me. both involved the delicate etiquette of lining up.

first, after spending a good thirty minutes queuing in the afternoon heat, i was just about to plop my two-year-old onto a faded merry-go-round pony when suddenly, a local yokel decided to jump in front of me and place her little johnny on the last available horsey. pissed is an understatement. i mean, what's with this sense of entitlement anyway? so i gave the mannerless madam a piece of my mind. her response? ms budinski swore that she didn't see me standing there in the line-up. uh yeah, that makes sense. after all, i'm only 6'3" and today i was decked out in my bright orange old navy t and shiny white swimming trunks. you're right, lady. i can see how i'd be easy to miss.

last, in just about every other conga line i joined this afternoon, i was faced with egregious violations of my personal comfort zone. such transgressions usually took the form of trailing perpetrators unintentionally coming into contact with my backside. at other times, those positioned immediately in front of me were apt to shuffle backwards only to locate my size 11 sandals. now really, was that necessary? step off, people. just step off.

oh, and lest i forget, the port-o-potties on site were so foul and malodorous that i nearly passed out within milliseconds of taking my first breath. i would rather spend a month on a deserted island teeming with parasitic tsetse flies than be forced to endure another moment in that nightmare of outdoor plumbing.

by the way, the kids had a good time today.

p.s. downsview park was also home to the 2003 toronto rocks concert for sars which attracted almost 500,000 fans, one of whom was me. everyone in attendance that day agrees that ac/dc stole the show away from the headlining stones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBZTngutxRo

p.s. thanks for the nice comments, jc. much appreciated.

p.p.s i will have you know that my comma placement was absolutely flawless in this post. and as for challenge and change... jamais.

geography

continents. countries. cities. states. provinces. six minutes and fourteen seconds. on your mark. get set. go.

ottawa anchorage edmonton new jersey yellowknife edinburgh hamilton north carolina alaska antwerp pretoria arizona ann arbor regina africa asia akron new york kalamazoo oshawa argentina alberta (g-d damn a's) afghanistan new zealand detroit toronto oslo ontario oshawa (no, scratch that... already said oshawa) ohio orange county (no, not a city) ohio ohio (can you think of one?) orlando omaha austria australia arkansas st louis spain napanee el salvador rhode island delaware eritrea amsterdam missouri india (time)


"home is not where you live but where they understand you." - christian morgenstern

p.s you're right. i am giggling to myself. your comments are almost as amusing as my original post. almost. one, "geography" was a game that kids of my generation played in the back seat of their parents' car on long road trips whenever mom and dad didn't want to be bothered by their little brats. two, i have no choice but to moderate my comments now because some folks just don't know how to play by the rules (no naming names, no bashing other readers, no links to weirdo websites, etc.) three, what's orillia? four, speaking of ross, i did go crazy once trying to remember the names of the '76-'77 montreal canadiens, easily the greatest team in nhl history. five, "who reads your blog during the summertime anyway?" harsh.