Tuesday, August 12, 2025
A Sticky Situation
Tuesday, August 05, 2025
The world needs more than stories
Back at the beginning of July, I played my first "real gig" at Moose Jaw's Sidewalk Days festival. From almost the first moment I was there, I noticed that there were a bunch of people walking around with nice big walking sticks. I mean - wooden broom handles. But walking sticks nonetheless.
I asked around and was always given the friendly note that you could get one at the south end of Main Street. No one said how much they were or how I was to get one.
So it was that after my performance and before I had a busking shift to start that I mosied my way down to the south end of Main Street to see if I could obtain my own walking stick. But as I approached the booth with a barrel full of broomsticks, I knew I'd been duped. This was no hippie selling recycled broom handles to gullible festival goers. No, this was an evangelical church, and they'd be happy to give you a walking stick and a string of beads. If you listen to a story.
I established earlier this summer that I'm probably not going to be swayed to the Lord by some story, but I did kinda want a walking stick, and I do try and approach life with an open mind. Plus, I kinda wanted to hear this story if nothing else. Boy, was I in for a letdown.
A letdown because there were no stories. Just some old white dude giving me a list of rules I needed to follow - all with "in a Christian church" appended to them. Like 10 minutes standing with this man and he couldn't tell me a single story.
What a waste. I may no longer be a Christian, but I was once, and I know that the Bible is positively PACKED with stories. And Jesus did a lot of work spreading his message using stories. Does anyone remember the good Samaritan or the prodigal son? Like stories abound. But this dude couldn't find one of them to tell me. I wanted a piece of wood, but he wanted my soul - and that's gonna cost more than $7.
So it was that as he reached the end of his checklist of rules and pivoted to "can we pray together?" that I stopped him. I explained to him that there was no story told in the last five minutes. I explained that I had been raised in a Christian church, and the things I had seen had been what drove me away from faith. And that couldn't be bought back with a broomstick and some dollar store beads.
Fast forward to this Saturday afternoon, as I was walking the dogs and thinking about this interaction again. I don't know if I saw a broomstick or a flyer for a local church, or what had me thinking about that. And I was thinking about how badly churches are failing themselves and humanity these days. How these institutions that are supposed to be built on a foundation of charity and love are spending more time trying to control and manipulate.
And in that moment, I stumbled across a man lying on the ground next to the old abandoned church near my house, unresponsive.
I did what the churches aren't doing. I stopped and offered aid.
It's a bit more convoluted than that, to be sure. I tried to rouse him and couldn't. I had to run my giant Newfie home because she was very concerned with this person and was getting loud and belligerent. I didn't have a phone to call 911. I was not in a position to offer easy help. So I ran home, dropped off the dog, grabbed my phone and ran back.
I was able to get the man up, but he was in terrible shape, and I called an ambulance to come offer assistance. The story doesn't have much from there. I kept him safe and gave him instructions, monitored him until the paramedics arrived, then I was left on my own to ponder what had just happened.
And that pondering led me to the place of - could this man have been helped to a healthier place if that church had spent less time trying to con people into faith and more time trying to help the poor? Could the money spent on wooden dowels have been spent on food, education or drug treatment?
I've been thinking a lot about this over the weekend. Whenever I am tempted to volunteer to help others, it's never through a religious organization. And after nearly 2 decades in "the hood" I've never even seen a Christian church lending help. I do see the Sikhs feeding people every weekend. So if I were going to consider a faith, it's more likely to be Sikh or Buddhist. Because those are the people I see actually helping. Faith for the sake of faith isn't enough.
And so ends another tirade about religion. But at least in my anti-religion tirade, I told a story. Actually, I told two.
Checkmate.
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
The myth of myths
It wasn't the first I'd heard, but it was how The Navigator chose to tell me that The Price of Darkness had left the mortal coil last Tuesday.
Ozzy's celebrity was unavoidable in the 1990s, but at the same time, something was missing. You never heard Sabbath songs on the oldies station - only on the rock stations. My parents listened to 1970s music, but they never had Sabbath records. I never saw Sabbath or Ozzy records when I bought old records at garage sales.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
I turned 44
I know, it feels like I already tackled this subject. But this is more about my impressions and behaviour in the week since my birthday.
I noticed the shift not long after last week's post. Because of the rain we'd had the week before, our firewood and tinder were damp, and I was struggling to start the fire. Normally, I'd just persist until I had fire but - I was 44. I didn't want to persist. I just wanted fire. So I grabbed a firestarter cube from my pizza oven kit and got the fire started in no time.
I'm not sure why I'm like this, but given the option between the easy way to do something or the hard way, I am inclined to select the hard way. Especially if I have time and resources to do it. Maybe it's being culturally Catholic. Maybe it's just a belief that becoming fully dependent on tech and shortcuts will erode my ability to do stuff.
But I really am in my midlife now, and it's really become apparent over the last couple of years that I'm not going to live forever. Today we learned that the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, died. I mean, if Ozzy can die, I sure can too. Even if he's got 30 years on me. (Side note: I'm sad about Ozzy dying. We all knew it was coming sooner than later, but it's tragic to see the end of the beginning for so many of us of a heavy-music persuasion. I'm so glad he got to do one last show with Sabbath. I had hoped he would end it all by having a bat bite off his head as the finale of the show. No luck. RIP Ozzy.)
And this willingness to take help has continued. This weekend, after a decade of harassment, I finally bought a licence for Reaper to help me record an EP. I could do it with Audacity. But it's so much easier with Reaper.
It's a debate I've always had with myself. What is the balance between building skills and knowledge through hard work and practice, or making life manageable through the conveniences of the modern world? I think that the Amish have perhaps gone too far in the wrong direction, but at the same time, I'm glad I held off on TikTok to wait and see what happens. I'm grateful to have a car to drive to get groceries, but at the same time, I'd love to eat at a restaurant or bar without 100 screens in my face.
But now, I'm 44. So that's going to help my decisions for the next bit. Maybe the easy way is the way. And if I'm wrong, I've made it this far without knowing how to tie a proper Clove Hitch. Probably I can make it another 44 years without that knowledge.
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Happy Birthday - to me?
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Tuesday, July 08, 2025
The Search
Last week's post was openly lazy, but there was a reason I had become so lethargic by the time I sat down to write (dictate) the post.
You see, Rhonda and I had spent most of the afternoon on a crusade to find a most unusual thing - Co-Op Gold Ginger Ale.
Ginger Ale? I know. I thought much the same at first.
It started when we stopped at the Co-Op to fill the car with gas. Rhonda commented that she'd had a Co-Op ginger ale on her trip home from Winnipeg the week before, and we should grab some. Alas, the cooler had none left.
After the gas station, we needed to stop for some groceries (namely the hamburgers I needed to grill up in last week's post). But again, the coolers were empty and the shelves had been wiped clean. Well, that was a bit unusual.
We had some time before we needed to pick up Jonas from a friend's house, so we decided - what the heck, let's see if we can find some at the Co-op grocery near his friend's house. Again, no ale in sight. So we tried the gas station next door. Empty.
Things were starting to get weird.
The next day, I was in the south end and needed a Slurpee, so I stopped by the South Albert Co-op. No ginger ale.
At this point, it turned from fun curiosity into an obsession. I don't even care to drink the beverage. I just need to know it exists. It has become my holy grail.
On Friday, I dragged Jonas all the way to North Winnipeg Ave. Co-op only to leave empty-handed again.
And so this story continues to progress without a resolution. As recently as last night, Rhonda stopped at the Co-op grocery store and left with another ale fail. I have some holidays next week, and while we'd planned to go to Buffalo Pound for some camping, I'm prepared to cancel and spend the week scouring Western Canada for this soda.
I've made a police-artist sketch of the soda, if you see some, please let me know. Take pictures because it might be gone once "they" figure out we're on to them.Tuesday, July 01, 2025
Lazy Deck Day
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Why you do me so dirty Strombo?
I recently watched a video essay by one of my generation’s spokespersons, George Stroumboulopoulos. It’s an essay about aging, about our moments as a generation, and he focuses on the legendary soundtrack for the movie “Singles”.
Now, I admit, this wasn’t a soundtrack I was actually that
into at the time. I had plenty of others. The soundtrack to Cable Guy, Godzilla,
Empire Records – even my first CD: the Wayne’s World soundtrack. But the songs
on this soundtrack are the bands that defined my younger years and are the
foundation of what we were into during that 1990-1996 era.
He talks about the legendary years of 1965-1969, and I
realize that not only did we have a similar movement of music and culture, but a lot
of what happened in the late 60s helped define the early 90s. Jimi Hendrix and
The Beatles were as essential listening as Nirvana or Soundgarden. And it makes
me feel very old to realize that there is more time between Nirvana and now
than there was between Hendrix and Nirvana.
Sigh.
Maybe the essay shouldn’t have made me feel sad, but it did. It’s as though the cycle didn’t come around again. That time of youth coalescing to create something new and expose the excess and abuse of the music industry. Or maybe I just don’t see it because it’s not rock and roll. Because the cycle didn't come back around and pick me up. It was for someone else.
And then again, maybe it’ll come in the next couple of
years. The world really is in a bad way, and people are standing up around the
world. Something I’ve learned in developing Jeremy and his Kazoo is that the
kazoo is an instrument of protest. Maybe I’m the one on the cusp of the next
cultural movement. Not that I have the energy or, frankly, the knees for it.
I mentioned to The Navigator when he was over a couple of
weeks ago that I’d been watching a lot of JHS Pedals content on YouTube. One of
the most fascinating things I’ve learned through that was how the intersection
of rock music and technology created so much of that late 60s sound. Jimi
Hendrix with the wah and fuzz. Clapton with overdrive. The Beatles and flanger.
All this to say, these changes come with the innovations of
the time. And I think our time is defined by the innovations of social media
and the internet. Hank Green talks a lot about this and how similar uprisings happened after the printing press. Maybe the movement happening now will be
easier to see in a decade or two.
So what of it all? Nothing really. Just an old man
bellyaching about how good we had it while I sit here and listen to the Singles
soundtrack streaming on Spotify.
But George also talks about all of the people on that soundtrack
who died too young. And about one who they wanted on the soundtrack that also
didn’t make it to 30. And that just doubles down on the feeling of being old,
of being fragile and finite.
And it makes me want to make music. To connect. To make a
zine, copy a tape, hang posters and just do all of those things that social media
has taken. To be human and connected in person again.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Time to get moving along
I've mentioned my frustration with work and life a couple of times over the last year. It's such a weird position to be in because in the same breath that I'm fed up with my place in life, it's a nice enough rut that it's hard to get out of. I don't feel particularly motivated to apply on jobs or run off to the woods.
Yet another modern Catch-22 of my own making.
The Navigator visited this weekend, and we had a chance to talk about work. We talked about his recent job move and what he's doing to find himself in the right position. It was inspiring to me. Being at the same company for 18 years makes switching jobs an anxiety-filled proposition. But here he is, looking at his options mere weeks after starting a new job. Far out.
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Photo of me with handsome nephew Capone for context. |
Who knows.