time for a semi-annual post.

i don't have a clue who even checks this anymore, so maybe let me know if you read it. anyways, on to the actual meat and potatoes of the post.

Memory Lane.
people always refer to it as a road. travelling down life's highway, etc, etc. yesterday i took a road trip to go visit a friend at the lake. we fished, had a campfire, and all the other stuff people do at the lake. it was wonderful.
it also opened up the flood gates to a whole lot of memories. you see, i was at loon lake. the lake that we all used to go camping at when we were children. as i drove into town i made a special trip just to go to annie's store, i drove down to jumbo beach to go and see the ice cream place (it wasn't open yet, i got there really early in the morning). as i headed into the campground there were changes, there's a new administration building before the golf course and entry gate. i decided i would go down by meewasin beach and see how bad the goose lake road was. more changes, they added a whole new loop of campsites at meewasin, also, the goose lake road was so well taken care of it could have been tackled by a car. a car! i turned back. went in to the stabler point campground. more changes, the boat launch has been expanded, they added another entrance to it, with one central wood pick up/garbage/recycling area as well. they also added a mini-golf course and an ice cream shack (which is a freaking rip off joint!). my friend was staying in site 89. i know a lot of you are thinking what i thought, "nice, middle road right down by the beach path! great site!" and it is, same spot as before, that's one thing that didn't change, the site numbers. a lot more stuff did change tho. every site at stabler point is now electric. no more running cords thru the bushes and paying someone $2/day to share their power. and also, the purple girls grandparents weren't in their spot. i don't know what happened to them, but they were gone. it made me wonder. more changes, the beach was packed. like super packed. like more than it ever was when we went there. remember when we used to be able to ski and tube and kneeboard right from the shore at the beach? not anymore. there was so much constant boat traffic it would be hazardous to even attempt it. and the sattelite dishes, oh my goodness. what is up with people needing sattelite dishes at the lake? i swear i counted over a dozen of them. portable on tripod sattelite dishes. granted, it would be cool to be able to watch the rider games up at the lake without having to go into town or to the clubhouse at the golf course, but still, when did late night games of kaiser, canasta, mennonite madness, cheat, and jack ass by lantern and sing songs by the campfire get replaced by watching television in your camper? it saddened me that these people were at the most beautiful place in the world (argue it all you want, but if you don't agree with me, you're wrong)and couldn't get away from technology for a couple days.
so anyways, we went fishing, caught some jackfish (northern pike) it was great, always is. it wasn't on goose lake, but it was still awesome. we had a campfire, played some guitar, and stayed up late visiting. it was wonderful. i woke up this morning, went for breakfast with my buddy, went in to town for gas and some groceries, and then headed back to the campsite. a normal day. i went for a walk down to the super packed beach, took a couple pictures (which are all up on my facebook) and walked back up and across the campground to the funny tree. you all remember the funny tree? well, this is more change, and probably one of the saddest changes, on sunday the campsite was hit by a massive storm which included a plow wind. there were no injuries to people, but trees left, right and center were blown down. one of these trees landed on the funny branch of the funny tree, and put enough pressure on said branch to crack. not completely thru, but enough to where the tree that we all loved climbing on and having our pictures taken on will probably be cut down. or at least the funny branch will be removed soley for safety reasons. it's like the end of an era. i took pictures of the tree, knowing it would likely be the last time i ever get the chance. it made me sad. i then continued down the path to the water. one of my favorite places in the world. the end of the funny tree path right by the water. there used to be a bench there. it wasn't there anymore. but i still stood there for awhile and just took it all in. and that's when it dawned on me. that place is heaven. when we all die, and we pass thru the pearly gates, we'll all be reunited at stabler point. and we'll go fishing at goose lake again in grampa's old aluminum boat. and uncle john and uncle henry will take turns trying to toss out of the tube behind their boats, and we'll teach the young ones how to catch minnows beside the parked boats. we'll play beach volleyball, and run up and show grampa the seashells we found as he sits on the bench in the shade wearing his pants and button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. we'll play horseshoes at the campsite and throw rosehips at each other. we'll go for bike rides down to jumbo beach for ice cream and get the soft ice cream with the chocolate dip. in the evening we'll all sit around the fire and uncle henry and auntie brenda will grab the guitars and the little ones will get much needed sleep, being gently lulled by the singing outside. and then we'll wake up in the morning and do it all over again. it'll be perfect. it'll be wonderful. it'll be heaven.

another rememberance (veteran's) day (ish) post

i know i'm a little early, and that's fine. there's nothing saying that i won't have another post on the 11th.

lately i've been asked by a few people about my opinion about people doing christmas decorating before rememberance day. to be honest, i had never really given it much thought until now. it had never bothered me. people get far too into the decorating. for all holidays too. i know people who even decorate for the olympics. but nothing for rememberance day. now, that being said, i don't think that it should be celebrated like easter, or halloween, or christmas. but it should be respected. rememberance day should be a sacred day. it's the day that we set aside to remember what our forefathers, and new to me as of last october, our friends, have sacrificed so that we can live unopressed lives. free to celebrate whatever holidays we choose to celebrate, believe whatever we choose to believe, live wherever we choose to live.

now, some people will say well, i choose to remember what jesus did for us. and that's fine, that's why we celebrate christmas. other people say well, i don't believe in war, well, that's you're perrogative, war doesn't need you to believe in it. it's real. the fact still remains that if it were not for soldiers we would not have the freedoms that we have. if it weren't for a bunch of soldiers in WW1 the british empire would have been taken over by the germans. at the time, our country was still very influenced by british rule. and again WW2. if not for soldiers the nazi regime would have dominated the world.

even now, a lot of people are against the fact that Canada and the US are involved in conflicts in the middle east. heck, even i don't like that there's a war going on. i'm actually pretty happy that canadian forces are pulling out of afghanistan. but the fact. how many of us are quick to forget the reason why we're there? how many of us see sept 11 on the calendar and think of it as wednesday? who remembers the date of the bombing of the train in london, or the subway in spain? to be honest, i don't. what i do know is that our enemy is absolutely content bringing the fight to our house. and they have no problems using deadly force against non combatants. i mean heck, 3000 people died on 9/11. over 6000 were injured.

that is why we have soldiers. they take the fight to our enemies. they fight so we don't have to. so their children, and our children don't have to. they pack up and leave their spouses and families behind. and a lot of them don't come back.

so, if i'm asked again if decorating for christmas before rememberance day bothers me, i'm going to say yes. yes it does. leave the santas and frostys in the basement, don't pull out the reindeer or nativity scenes quite yet. the only wreaths being hung should consist of poppies. let your christmas celebration start after we remember why we can celebrate.