Dee's diary
Published Tuesday December 2nd, 2008
Curling, figure skating; Artie the Aardvark; and Christmas
I'm not what you would call an avid sports fan but I enjoy watching baseball, selected hockey games and curling.
Forget about football. It's way over my head. My favourite sport is figure skating. The grace and beauty of the women skaters, the fire and power of male skaters, the precision of the pairs combined make a great afternoon or evening's entertainment. It is unfortunate that the national television network doesn't see fit to air more of the skating ... and curling competitions.
Who cares about soccer matches in England or Brazil? Canada has it own skilled athletes who need support from the public if they are to bring home medals from international competitions. Curling, that Grand Old Game, (without fights, assaults, etc., as seen in hockey games) received a bum rap a few years ago when air time was severely cut to allow coverage of other "sports."
Remember Jamie and David, Canadian figure skating pairs champions who had to fight a panel of international judges for the gold medal they rightfully won at the world's competition a few years ago?
The gold was awarded to the Russians but later the two teams shared the gold medal.
Judging has been a bone of contention for some time, especially in ice dancing, but that seems to have been settled with a new system of judging one of the more popular competitions in figure skating. With the new season under way, Canadian athletes are predicted to make the podium in major competitions.
Artie Aardvark
One coffee break when I was still working at the Bugle, the subject of hobbies came up. I mentioned that I have a collection of pigs. Managing editor Jim Dumville said he always wanted a hobby and expressed an interest in collecting ... aardvarks. I thought to myself, "This is not going to be easy." Aardvarks are elusive creatures. I scoured shops across the province and into Maine and managed to find only one aardvark to start Jim's hobby. The last time I checked his collection still totals one.
About the same time, a classified ad appeared in a U.S. newspaper: Lost - pet aardvark. Description – basically your everyday common aardvark. Long, pinkish snout, one tail, hairy in spots, not overly attractive. Waddles with noticeable limp in right rear leg. Answers to the name "Artie." Last seen on a leisurely stroll down Main Street.
Your reward: Getting rid of it!
Christmas Everywhere
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight
Christmas in lands of the fir tree and pine
Christmas in lands of the palm tree and vine
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white
Christmas where cornfields stand sunny and bright
Christmas where children are hopeful and gay
Christmas where old men are patient and gray
Christmas where peace, like a dove in its flight
Broods o'er brave men in the thick of the fight
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!
For the Christ Child who comes is the Master of all
No palace too great, no cottage too small
Christmas chores
Do the shopping. Trim the tree. Decorate the house. Address cards. Wrap presents. Plan meals. Do the holiday cooking. Work long hours at the office. Attend school and church concerts.
No matter how busy I get I always seem to find time to gain weight!
Weekly Smile
A young man from the city was hired to help out on a small dairy farm. He was enthusiastic and wanted to learn as much as possible about farming in the brief time he would be working there.
The couple who owned the farm explained that the baby heifers eventually would become milk cows in the herd, while the baby bulls are sold for veal after a few months.
One morning he rushed in to report that a new calf had arrived. "It's a veal!" he proudly announced.
***
Soon after a young woman started work for a local newspaper, a man zoomed through the editorial department.
"Business is booming!" he announced.
The supervisor sighed.
"I get worried when he says things like that," she remarked. "He's in charge of obituaries."
The Last Word
Enjoy your age before it's past; Don't try to be 18 so fast; You're only 14 once, my dears, but you'll be 39 for years.
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