If I could turn back time...

I never thought I’d say this but, I really like a new CBC show. “Being Erica” is about a 30-something woman who feels that her mediocre life is caused by all the bad decisions she’s made in the past. Now she has the opportunity to go back in time, fix her mistakes and, hopefully, change her life. Sure, every week there’s a life lesson for Erica, but the idea of going back in time is what inspired this posting.
What would I do if I could go back in time? To be fair, I have to take the “invest in Google” or “bet on the BoSox” etcetera ideals out of the picture, and focus on the decisions that I made. To be honestly I’d probably still make a lot of the same mistakes over again, after all, it’s those goof ups that made me what am today. Good or bad, I believe this is the person I want to be. But what WOULD I do if I could turn back time?
I WOULD:
 Take a ton of pictures! I’d take photos of places and things that have changed over the years: the nursery fields that I played hide ‘n seek in, the old barn we climbed through a dozen times, my old games I played, downtown Fonthill, Diana Sweets, Warren Knit, the buildings they’ve torn down and all the landmarks that are now gone . Every once in awhile I find myself digging through the St. Catharines library archives searching for old photos.
 Spend more time playing cards with my grandpa. I never thought I’d miss him as much as I still do.
 Say thank you to the teachers that made such a difference in my life. I now know how much that means to a teacher.
 Never have given away my hockey cards. Yes, I had hockey cards.
 Hang on to my games Green Ghost and Mystery Date – they just don’t make games like that any more.
 Have watched the entire Rocky Horror Picture Show at the drive-in; instead of spending so much time with my friends doing what teenagers do at a drive-in.
 Go to school longer. I was so anxious to make my “mark on the world” I just wanted to start working. What was I thinking? I should have stayed in school, all the way to a PHD. It’s a lot harder to do when you haven’t been in school for … a long time.
 NOT have drunk so many gin and tonics at my brother’s wedding.
 NEVER have played baseball on the same team as my sister. Big mistake.
 Have kept a journal during the Blizzard of ’77.
 Slid into second in the Nationals semi-finals face first, saved me a lot of rehab.
 Paid more attention in Mrs. Love’s Home Ec class (maybe I’d be able to make a supper now without the smoke detector going off.)
 No matter how much convincing it would have taken, I’d insist my Grade 9 boyfriend didn’t get in the truck after the dance that autumn evening. Maybe he would still been alive today.
 Have kept all my concert ticket stubs.
 Take a year off to travel through Europe, when I was young and had no kids. Now it’s just a dream.
 I totally would have kept my old “Apollo” stereo, it was so cool, at least I thought it was. I still don’t know whatever happened to it.
 Been friendlier to all the geeks in high school, for they now rule the world.
 Saved all the crazy stories I used to write, back when I loved to write all the time.
 Most importantly, I would NEVER have bought my son an Xbox.
That’s a start – one more thing I would do if I could turn back time, and I still kick myself for not doing – that’s recording all the family stories my grandparents told and written them in a book. To quote Roots author Alex Haley, “when an old person dies, it’s like a library burned down.”

Stopping Time

Last week I asked my students –“if you had the choice, would you rather have more money or more time?” Time was the unanimous answer. The question didn’t come out of the blue but it was a reality that had been gnawing away at me for some time. I’d like to say I’d pick money, you know live each day like it was your last, live it up... but honestly, I’d pick time.


Twilight Zone looked at this opportunity once in an episode entitled “A Kind of Stopwatch”.
I don’t remember the whole story, except some guy gets a stopwatch that can actually freeze time, everyone and everything stops, except for the holder of the watch... Imagine that, stopping time to get all your homework, or your housework done, to get to the place you’re going to without rushing. In this episode, the guy uses it to rob banks. Stops time, grabs the money and runs. During one robbery – the watch shatters. And the world is frozen in time, except for our guy – who now has all the money he ever wanted, but no one to spend time with.
“Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.” Patrick Stewart in the film "Star Trek: Generations"
My next posting … what I would do if I could turn back time?

Worst Oscar Moment

I just have two questions about the 2009 Academy Awards.

First and foremost, WHERE WAS JACK NICHOLSON? He always sits in the front row. Was it because his Joker portrayal has been overshadowed by a more compelling depiction or was it sour grapes for not getting a lifetime achievement award? Whatever the reason, it isn’t the same without him. Come back Jack.

Question #2 – Queen Latifah … what the hell were they thinking??! I’m so glad EW included Latifah singing during the In Memoriam montage as one of the “top Worst Oscar Moments.”
I always look forward to this part of the show, a chance to honour the lives of people we grew up with. This year, I’m still shaking my head (and not just because of the whiplash I received trying to read the minute lettering and awkwardly placed screens).
Nearly three hours into the show, they finally decide to flash names and faces across the screen which you could barely see. As I sat through that dizzying excuse for a tribute, I couldn’t tell you who the first woman was (Cyd Charise maybe?), her achievements were overshadowed by Queen Latifah belting out a song, were they serious?
Now I’m pretty sure I saw Ricardo Montalban out of the corner of my eye. Roy Scheider, James Whitmore, Sydney Pollack even Charlton Heston deserved more. And where was Eartha Kitt, Patrick McGoohan, Robert Prosky and George Carlin (over 15 movies and he still doesn’t rate a mention?
The only one that received any respect was Paul Newman. A tribute well deserved.
When it was done, I honestly thought they were joking. Okay, so when do they start the real one? (Sorry, that was a third question.)
If anyone finds a better tribute on YouTube PLEASE let me know. Shame on you Academy!

February 20

Six years ago on February 20, a bar in West Warwick, Rhode Island went down in history for one of the deadliest nightclub fires in history. When Great White (think Once Bitten, Twice Shy) started playing to a packed crowd of over 450 people at The Station it took seconds for their pyrotechnics to engulf the place in flames. When it was all over, 100 people were killed, including a band member and over 200 people injured. A night burned in the memory of everyone from West Warwick, as for the rest of us, to feed our macabre curiosity, there’s footage of the night we can watch over and over again.

One image that’s stuck in my mind didn’t happen that night... but afterwards. It has to do with the makeshift memorial which is the empty lot where The Station once was. One night, a few months after the fire, two guys and two girls pulled out wood from the surviving floorboards of the club and made crosses, one hundred of them.

Originally they were all blank, so people who lost loved ones could choose a cross and decorate them as they saw fit. Some have pictures, beads, stuffed animals, notes and other things; all but five of the crosses have been claimed. It’s not a pretty or well-made site; it’s just an empty lot with hand made crosses and a green dumpster keeping watch. There are lawn chairs scattered throughout the Station graveyard, where survivors still, six years later, gather regularly to party with their long lost friends.
The Station Fire Foundation has been trying to get a permanent memorial put up for three years now. I just hope when it’s finally done, they’ll find room for the lawn chairs.
“Drink To Me Drink To My Health
You Know I Can't Drink Any More.” Picasso’s last words

Rock and Roll Heaven

"Jimi (Hendrix) gave us rainbows. Janis (Joplin) took a piece of our hearts. Otis (Redding) took us all to the dock of the bay. Sing a song to light my fire... Remember Jim (Morrison) that way.
Jimmy (Croce) touched us with that song and Bobby (Darin) gave us 'Mack the Knife'“It’s a classic song, but why no mention of Buddy Holly? Do you think the Righteous Brothers figured they already had a song?
What a hell of a theory … I’d like to think when (if) I make it to heaven I’ll finally be able to see the Beatles play live. That is, if Paul and Ringo beat me to the Pearly Gates.
Have you ever read Stephen King’s take on the song? It’s a short story called “You Know They Got a Hell of a Band. “ It’s about couple on a road trip in Oregon, they accidentally stumble into a small town (called Rock and Roll Heaven) inhabited by late musicians.
The town cop is Otis Redding, the mayor Elvis Presley (who else?).
Along with those immortalized in the Righteous Bros song, the couple runs into Ricky Nelson, Keith Moon, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Cass Elliott, Stevie Ray Vaughan – I can’t remember them all. . And the climax has the ultimate outdoor concert. Get out the lighters!! (Note: the story came out before cell phone lights were used at concerts.)
Sure, it’s got the morbid twists King is famous for (imagine Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison terrorizing the lost couple) but it’s still a great escape from reality.

Killing Yourself To Live

… Is an interesting book written by rock critic Chuck Klosterman.
It’s about Chuck’s road trip across America to visit the death sties of rock stars like Duane Allman, Kurt Cobain, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, (in a Ford Taurus no less! ) It’s a great premise, but Klosterman has an annoying habit of getting off topic and ranting about his personal life (which no one really cares about) but when he finally makes it to these sites, it’s a good read. I read the book 3 years ago and can still picture him trudging through the frozen soybean field in Clear Lake Iowa.
“It takes maybe 15 minutes to drive out to the gravel road near the crash location, and then it's a half-mile walk through a bean field. As I walk along the fence line toward the unknown marker, I find myself considering the relationship between plane crashes and rock 'n 'roll. If you're a dead rock star and you weren't a heroin addict, odds are you died in a plane….” Klosterman writes, “At one point, I start to think I must have made a miscalculation, because I've walked a long way and I still don't see anything on the horizon except more beans. Maybe I took the wrong road. I consider turning around. But then - seconds before I surrender and go back to the car - I find the spot where three legends died in one depressing coincidence.
This memorial is small. Without question, the craziest aspect of the Holly-Valens-Bopper death memorial is that nobody could ever find it by accident; it's just a tiny metal cross in the middle of deep nothingness, decorated with Bud Light beer cans and empty cigarette lighters and somebody's Blockbuster card.”

Thanks Chuck… but If there's a rock and roll heaven,
Well you know they've got a hell of a band

Roses?

“A single rose can be my garden...a single friend, my world.”
Well, here it comes, another Valentine's Day where we are inundated with ways to spend money we don't have; and to share sentiments we could probably do just as effectively with a little creativity.
Think about it - would you prefer a store bought card or something handmade? A dinner out, or a romantic evening at home with candles and with someone who cares enough to make supper and surprise you?
And then there are roses, the meaning of each colour, do guys really know what they're saying with these flowers?

Red - The lover's rose a symbol of love and passion.(Often given by guys who are too afraid to say the "L" word)
White - Represents young love and affection. So why don't more men give white roses? Maybe their aversion to PDA? Or because it also says "I am worthy of you."
Yellow - Friendship, joy and caring - my favourite rose, it says "I care". It's also so bright on these dingy winter days.
Pink - Deep pink = gratitude and appreciation while paler pink means admiration and happiness.
Orange - Enthusiasm and eagerness, you can probably picture the person that would send this colour rose. I'd like to think it means adventure and great things to come.
Peach - SUCCESS!! When someone has achieved something great - a peach rose is fitting. Remember that on graduation day.
Green - Fertility and fruitfulness - so beware if someone sends you green roses without warning.
Blue - Means mystery, the impossible or unattainable. (SPOILER ALERT) Makes sense since there a no real blue roses, they are created by dyeing white roses.
Black - It's too bad this flower has such a ominous meaning - death, sadness and farewell because it really is a beautiful flower. For the optimist a black rose can also mean the beginning of new things and a journey into unexplored territory.
Purple - Want to rock her socks off? Send a purple rose the true colour of passion, it's tied to enchantment and desire, and giving a purple rose sends the message of love at first sight.
That's it, I'm adding a purple rose to my Bucket List.
But that's another story altogether.