The Throne Room has been invaded.

I've had it, my space has been invaded, let me tell you about it. You know, they say that a man's home is his castle(don't tell my wife that though)and in my castle i had everything where i wanted it, or at least did until the grandchildren started to get older and discovered a few things. Now when i turn on my computer the first thing that comes up is the latest Miley Cyrus news, when i go to my music, somehow Jesse McCartneys music has found it's way onto my playlists. I go to get into the shower and i have to clear out a rubber duckie or two, and if i watch another eposide of "Wizards of Waverly place" it will be too soon. I went to get my lawn mower out of the shed and had to dig thru 4 soccer balls and a ton of badminton rackets and birdies, plus untangle the net that was put away"neatly"(yeah, right.) Now my beer can't go in the main fridge, as it has been replaced by Kool-Aid Koolers, my cheese mysteriously get's eaten and i have rediscovered the taste for Pop Tarts. Buy some oranges for a late night snack? Nope, they are gone before i even get close to them and i swear the one granddaughter should be swinging from trees as she eats bananas like there is no tomorrow. But the final straw occurred this past weekend, for in every castle is a throne room and of course for the modern man his throne room is the bathroom. And so Saturday night i went in to do what i do and as i reached into my Newspaper basket to grab some intellectual reading material i blindly opened what i thought was a book of mine i realized that what i had gotten a hold of was in fact one of my granddaughters Dr. Seuss books. I let out a blood curdling scream as i realized that the last Bastien of my privacy had been toppled, i now shared my bathroom reading material with an 8 year old. How would i explain this while having a beer at the Fish with my friends" Guess what guy's? i had a great movement and read Green Eggs and ham while i was at it. No more maxim's in the crapper..oh, life can be cruel.
Cambridge Conversations

James Robert Hillis..June 25 1924-August18 1997

Last Month the Hillis family celebrated our Mothers 85th Birthday, and needless to say it was a happy time, even though my Father was only there in spirit as he had passed away in 1997. On Thursday June 25th he also would have turned 85 and i am sure a good party would have happened.
In a past story i wrote humorously about things my dad had taught me and while many were based in truth, obviously they were meant to bring a smile to everybody's face,however there were many things that i learned from my dad that were very important to who i am.
He taught me to admit when i was wrong, something that is very tough for many people to do. He taught me to drive, and to respect the road and others on it. He also made sure to let me know that you don't try to be somebody else, just be yourself. He taught me to be careful about what you say about other people, as it could come back to bite you. He taught me the importance of family, even though i didn't know it at the time. And while my Dad was big on involvement in sports, when he realized that i liked watching hockey but was not big on playing organized shinny, he was cool with it and told me to do what i liked. He tried to get me into hunting, but soon came to the conclusion that shooting animals was not in my blood and again was okay with it. But i think the most important thing that i learned from my dad was how to laugh and make people around me laugh as well. Oh, and if you have read the column on things my dad taught me, well, Flatulence and how to use it is still one thing he taught me that i still use well to this day. Happy Birthday Dad.

The Hespeler Communication Network.

One of the things about growing up in a small town like Hespeler during the 60's and 70's was the communication network that existed in the town. A lot of it was good, as a small town we had a volunteer fire department and since my dad was a volunteer the only way to get the information about a fire was for each member to have an assigned person to call. So when the fire was phoned in the system would start. The first fireman would call the next on the list and so on and so on, until everyone was notified, and no matter what time of the day, this would occur. It was never a surprise to hear the phone ring at 2:30 in the morning. If someone was sick or got hurt everyone would find out quick enough, and really anything that happened went through the communication network. Even things that would get you in trouble, trust me i know.
In the day's before Ernie's the building was known as the Queens Hotel and was a regular spot for many of the locals, including my Dad and his cronies and since it sat at the main intersection in town they could sit and watch the town(and the Characters} go by. And that is how they got me. One warm summers evening i pulled up to the lights in my Dodge Coronet, the 8 track spitting out some raucous Zeppelin tunes, and as i was prone to do, i revved the engine a few times and when the lights turned green i spun out, squealing the tires and headed up Queen Street and headed home. Now this was no more than a two minute drive to my place and as i pulled into the driveway i saw my dad standing there with his arms folded and glaring at me like i had let in a game winning goal or something. Upon parking the Dodge and slipping out the door my Dad made it clear in no uncertain terms...don't ever squeal your tires in this town, go to Preston or Galt or even better Kitchener, but do not ever, ever do it in HIS town, and while i am at it turn the music down as nobody else downtown wants to hear that metal crap and wear a seatbelt goddamn it. I stood there stunned! How in the hell did he find out in 2 minutes what i had done? There was no such thing as cell phones in those days, he didn't have ESP, so how? As he explained it later, one of his chums was sitting at the bar and saw me there revving my engine and was on the phone to the old man when i peeled away from the corner, so by the time i got home the whole story was known. And you know what was worst? Later that day i went over to a friends house and his dad laughed at me for getting in trouble doing what i did. That Damn Hespeler Communication network had nailed me and their was nothing i could do about it.

Cooper Street Relic: A Hespeler Rock band from the 70's

Cooper Street Relic: A Hespeler Rock band from the 70's

Hespeler Hideout photos

The Hespeler Hideout

I always wanted a fort and in the summer of 1974 at the age of 17 i got one. The fact that it was shared with about a dozen other guys was not a problem as it became our little hideout. A place where we could go and drink our beer and smoke our silly cigarettes without being bothered and of course entertain girls.
It sat on what is now Holiday inn Drive across from Jacob Hespeler High School and back by Hwy 401. The beauty of it was the fact that back then Holiday inn Drive stopped at the Holiday Inn and past that all the way to Townline Road was nothing but Forest, Tress and brush, plenty of trees and brush. The only way in was by foot and that suited us just fine as the Police could not get in without us seeing them and by the time they did we could be long gone. As for the OPP coming up from behind on the 401 they would be as visible as my receding hairline is now. And besides, i think the local Constabulary's were quite happy knowing that we were not bothering the citizens of the village.
I don't remember who built it or how we found it, but it was there and on any giving Friday or Saturday night you could find us sitting around the fire and just carousing and enjoying the waning day's of our youth, and if it rained, so be it we had a good roof on it. One winter we even used it despite the danger of having a fire inside of it, of course trekking up there on a cold February night was a chore but the rewards were worth it. So what brings this story on, well let me tell you.
I drive past the spot almost every day and think about the good times that were held there but had not set foot up there in almost 35 years, until yesterday. With my wife working and myself having a day off, no yard worl to do i took my camera and went for a drive and for some reason i pulled into the little parking area and stood facing the hill that the fort was on, and i began the walk up there. And the walk was just as i remembered, arduous but enjoyable, and when i got to the hill and found the spot where it stood i felt peaceful. I thought of friends that had were no longer with us and friends that i never see but for some reason i saw them there. I saw the fort, even though it was long gone, i saw the fires and i saw the forest. I know it sounds corny but i enjoyed those 20 minutes i spent there like none that i have in a long time. And as i left, reality hit me as i looked around and saw an open field., industrial malls,factory's and a busy road that at one time was deep in trees and dirt and steeped in nostalgia. Why did we stop going to the fort? I guess we thought we outgrew it, but now i am not so sure.


Photos of the remains including some of the tin and rocks used for the structure are on the previous blog.

Smiles from Above

Sometimes it seems that the mind can play tricks on you, or does it?
Baseball has been a big sport in my Dad's family as far back as i can trace. My Great-Grandfather, my Grandfather, my Father and his brother all played at one level or another. My brother myself and 4 of my cousins all played at the amateur level and reached the highest levels possible.My Younger Sister still plays on a regular basis as does her daughter, and the next generation now plays as well as my Grandson and one of my granddaughters play the game and enjoy it. And here is where i am leading up to.The sky was a little overcast as Ben and Monica's game began, and as i watched the game i lay in the grass and looked into the clouds and for a brief minute could have sworn that the clouds formed the faces of my Great-Grandfather, Grandfather and my Dad and they were smiling to see another generation of ball players in the family. After Ben singled in a run i looked again but the clouds were gone and the game went on.
Were they really looking down or was my imagination wanting them too? It really doesn't matter because i know in my heart they were there.

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When i Was a Teen

When i was a teenager growing up in this town words had a slightly different meaning:

Memory was something you lost with age
An application was for employment
A program was a television show
A cursor used profanity

A keyboard was a piano
A web was a spiders home
A virus was what you caught
A CD was a bank account

A hard drive was a long drive with my family
A mouse pad was where the mice lived

And if you had a 3 inch floppy, you just hoped nobody ever found out!

My how times have changed!

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What i hated as a kid, i still hate today.

The following list is a compilation of things i hated as a kid and i still hate today.

Being Nagged
Cleaning my room and making my bed
Just getting started on a trip and having to go pee
My Mom yelling at me, now she just does it by phone.
Brussels Sprouts
The voices in my head telling me I'm a goat
Getting dressed up
Still not old enough to 'Know it all"
First my Mom and now my wife won't let me run with scissors
Being spanked because i am a bad boy.,.wait..sorry wrong list for that one.


That is just a few of the things i hated then and now.