The Home Routes concert series had a fantastic kickoff with a real performance and a halfby  Mr. Morgan Davis on September 24th.

Home Routes is a scheduled system that allows grassroots musicians to go on tour across Canada thanks to volunteer hosts like Tim and Jean Cameron here in Thompson.  It allows us to have music that wouldn’t normally make it up to more remote communities.

What  I enjoy the most about it, is how down to earth the performers are, and how great the setting is for the shows!  It’s a very comfortable environment, with great people, and amazing music!

I enjoy going even just for exposure to new music that I wouldn’t have normally sought out otherwise.  And I have yet to be disappointed!

I couldn’t help but grab one of Morgan’s albums, and I highly recommend checking him out on Facebook if you enjoy some great laid back blues music. 

And what resonated with me the whole night, was a comment someone made along the lines of:

“If you don’t know what you’re going in to, you’re left much more open to the mercy of the music, and what kind of emotions it can invoke.”

So don’t pass up a chance to enjoy these great performances just because it’s labelled “blues” or “country” or whatever else, because another comment I heard was:

“I didn’t even know I liked blues until today!”

All the ticket sales go straight to the performers, and the next one comes up Oct.22^nd.  Get your tickets today by emailing cameron8@mymts.net or give them a call at 204-677-3574!

Fall is my favourite time of year. I love the crisp, cool nights, the warm days, and the leaves changing colours. But one thing I really love about fall is all the new seasons and series of TV shows. This week saw the beginning of a show that I think has great potential. “Gotham.” There have been tons of movies and shows surrounding the life and adventures of Batman, but very little about the one Gotham City police officer who actually trusts him – Jim Gordon. “Gotham” is about Gordon’s early action as a junior member of the force, in a city rife with corruption and soon-to-be super villains. After just one episode, the audience knows roughly how The Penguin comes to be, and there are brief cameos by both Edward Nigma (i.e. The Riddler), and a young girl named Ivy, who’s seen watering her houseplants. I can only assume something devious and dastardly in episodes to come will turn her into the dreaded Poison Ivy. One pilot episode in, this show’s got potential, in spades.

That was Monday night, but it was Tuesday night I was most excited for. It was the night of the first episode of season two of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” a show that follows the lives of certain members of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. It’s a government organization tasked with combating superhuman and alien threats on the planet Earth, in conjunction with other Marvel super heroes, such as Thor or Captain America.

I’ve always been a big super hero and Marvel fan, and ever since the rebirth of their heroes on screen with “Iron Man” in 2008, I’ve been hooked on everything Marvel. The cool thing about this show is that it directly coincides with the events happening in various Marvel movies as they’re released, while still allowing the characters to grow and learn in their own, unique experiences, completely separate from anything happening in the Marvel movies. While there is a lot of crossover and tie-ins, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” remains its own, unique TV show.

If anything’s become clear from this, it’s that I’m a really big fan of anything to do with fantasy, super heroes, etc, and these two shows falling on back-to-back days actually help heal those early week blues. I actually have something to look forward to on a Monday, and even a Tuesday. And if that doesn’t prove how good these two shows are, and can hopefully continue to be, nothing does.

I remember when I participated in the Walk a Mile In Her Shoes for the first time in 2013, I was astounded at why anyone would ever wear high heel shoes by choice!  But after becoming more educated at the event, I decided to walk again this year, and will again every year I am able.

Many of us don’t understand why anyone would ever choose to stay in an abusive relationship, be it physical or mental abuse.  But it is not up to us to understand why, or criticize them for doing so.  It’s up to us to make sure that they know it is not normal, nor acceptable, and that there is somewhere they can go for help.  It also falls on us to make sure our children know that violence perpetrated against another person is never okay.

Walk A Mile in her shoes is one of the events that raises funds for places that women can go in a time of need and know that they are safe.

That place is the YWCA’s Women’s Centre here in Thompson.  I am proud to have walked along with 53 other men locally to raise awareness and funds to keep this centre going.

The fact that some of the top fundraisers gave their prizes back to the YWCA in support of more fund raising activities just made the event that much better!

We have some seriously amazing people in our community!

Wellness on Wheels took place on September 12th.

What an event!  The people who got behind this to make it happen all deserve so much credit for creating a great evening of fun, music, and an all around good time. 

Never having been out on a “Bike Jam” before, this was an experience and a half for me.  We had some laughs along the way, and created quite a stir around town to support Suicide Prevention Awareness.  I’m sure at some point those that didn’t know what was happening, looked online to figure out why there were a bunch of people biking down the street with loud music and big smiles.

Worldwide Suicide Prevention Day was Sept. 10^th, and Wellness on Wheels was held in conjunction with the day.  It was very well attended, with live music, skateboard displays and more!

If you need help, and are dealing with some rough feelings, talk to someone.  The Manitoba Suicide Line is 1-877-435-7170.

Leftover Lego’s?!

Do you remember Lego?!    My favourite Lego set had to be the Star Wars Millennium Falcon.  Man, that was fun!

I fondly remember Lego as my favourite toy  - the one that I was always being asked to clean up.

I never quite understood why my family had such a problem with it.  After all they weren’t using the floor at that particular moment.  But then I started stepping on them and quickly realized that they weren’t just doing it to be mean.

Anyway,  my Lego ended up being sold at a garage sale when I was considered too old for them, but if you have some kicking around your place that are not being used, there is a way that it can keep kids smiling!

Take your Lego down to the Thompson Public Library during the months of September and October!  They are hoping to  hold a Legp workshop in November and could always use more.  Plus that will keep it from ending up underfoot, or buried in the storage space. 

Earlier this week, the Toronto Blue Jays made it clear that centre fielder Colby Rasmus would not be returning to the team next season. He’s also basically been benched in favour of younger guys who are hoping to take a starting roster spot into next year.

Personally, I think this is best for the team. Rasmus joined the Jays three years ago, in a trade that had no viable reason to be made. At the time, Toronto had four very capable, very good outfielders, but they needed pitching, and badly. So the General Manager went out and made a trade – giving up an outfielder and a pitcher…for Colby Rasmus, an outfielder. I’m sorry, WHAT?!

Did it improve the pitching? No, he’s not a pitcher. Did it improve the defense? No – time and again I’ve watched Rasmus miss easy fly balls in the outfield, take bad routes to balls hit into the gaps, and wildly miss cut-off men when throwing the ball back to the infield. Has it improved the offence? No – during any given at bat, Rasmus is more likely to strike out than anything else.

Hearing that Colby Rasmus would not be with the team next year actually left me feeling better about the options in centre field, and knowing that the Jays are using this September to evaluate their young talent makes me even happier. The Jays are neck-deep in a playoff race right now, and while their chances of making it are slim, they’re there, and we have a better chance with any of the team’s centre fielders that aren’t Colby Rasmus.

Although, in a twist of baseball fate, Colby Rasmus pinch hit for the Jays in the 10^th inning on Thursday night, and hit a solo home run that won them the game 1-0. Could this be foreshadowing of the bat we could’ve had, the bat that will no longer be with us? Let’s hope not.

Back to school.   Three little words that make some kids cringe and others dance for joy.   The same can be said for parents.

When my children were little - I'm talking kindergarten, grade 1 - they were still excited about the prospect of school and being with their friends.  In later years, though, the thrill wore off and school became a bit of a chore.    

I wasn't keen on sending my kids off to school, either.  I enjoyed having my kids at home, summer holidays or not.  We always managed to do a lot in the day when my kids were home.   We were busy, but we ran to our own schedule and if we didn't feel like doing something today, we didn't.  After all, there was always tomorrow.  

I still have wonderful memories of trips to the Thompson Public Library in the morning and the afternoon spent on the couch, taking turns reading the books my kids had chosen for us.   Or we'd head out to Paint Lake for an afternoon in the water.   Or their friends would pop by to play in the toy room (aka the basement) on a drizzly afternoon.    And somewhere along the way we'd manage to back some cookies or muffins.  Hey, you've got to keep your energy up somehow, right?     

There were no lessons, no schedules, no place we HAD to be.   That's what summer was - and should be - all about.   FREEDOM!  

So, if your students aren't really keen on heading back to the classroom in September, can you honestly blame them?   I know I can't.