Gary McDonald "inRefinement" by A. McPope

 

I found my first set of golf clubs 65 years ago in a Pawn Shop on Church Street close to Maple Leaf Gardens in downtown Toronto. The bag, including the full set of used clubs cost just $2.00 less than my weekly pay of $28.00 for a 40 hour work week at Litho Print (my first full-time job in the printing business). I didn't notice that they were right hand club heads until I was home and ready to take a few swings in The Big Yard. Whoops. Could I get a refund for these clubs? Why? Because I batted left handed and shot hockey pucks left handed too. Now was the time to hit right handed golf clubs from the get go. With Arch, Rich, Bill, Eddie, Keith and a few others who wanted to try their hand at a rich man's game we drove out to a golf club in Pickering. Wilson Patterson was the pro at the PGC who showed us the ropes and told us about golf etiquette: just keep up the pace with the group ahead! Very important because a game should take close to four hours, and time is money. Mr. Pa...

On Greg's last visit to Port Credit we discussed a winter visit in Shawinigan and set a rough date. I flew on Air Canada passes instead of Via Rail and Terryl did not join me on this trip. Greg met me at YQB and within an hour and a half we were home enjoying a cool one along with a light lunch. Nathan had previously sent us some new professional photos for his budding acting career and I thought it would be a nice start to this post. Marie-Lou arrived home at 18:00 and after a couple of hugs and hellos she was out the door on a half hour 'cleansing run.' Her day was filled with patient appointments, administrative duties and solving problems that sometimes a 'run' is the best activity to put her professional activities behind her--at least until tomorrow.  Greg and Marie-Lou have lived in Shawinigan for 14 years where they built their family home: a large four bedroom, three bathroom, furnished recreation room and one large swimming pool fronting plenty of land tha...

  Singapore study and work centre for the masses. Athens Library and Theatre under a glass roof and floating substructure Athens Library and Theatre steps and path 150 Meters long. The top photograph is in Singapore. The middle and bottom photographs are in Athens. We've been to both places and I took these pictures (not while we were there) but when The Smithsonian  televised  the story to my home.  These creations are Architectural, Engineering and Structural masterpieces. Why? Because the building in Singapore is a living breathing pile of concrete creating its own air, air conditioning and heating system in Singapore's warm and humid climate. The two pictures of the building in Athens is built on a sloping hill with the structure floating on top. Why? Because earthquakes shake the city of Athens and the building moves to and fro with the disturbance. The glass solar panels of the roof generates the building's power source. This post is a plug for a televisio...

The first step on board AC890 to Rome   Let me start by saying Terryl and I have known each other for twenty-five years. We started 2023 with a plan to do something special for our Anniversary Year. Ten months preceded this symbolic first step where we have enjoyed Canada with friends and family; all the while the "travel itch" tugged at our vital organs just like it has from the very beginning for Terryl and during our time together, for me. With 32 hours remaining prior to takeoff on AC890 to Rome we are vacuuming plastic bags of clothing and sealing them shut into our luggage consisting of one checked bag and two carryons. (It worked before and will again.) We are fortunate to be flying J Class to Rome and then Venice on a High Speed train on Oct 17 where we will check into a hotel in a Murano former glass blowing factory that will be our base for three nights before boarding Regent Splendor. October 16, 2023 It's done. All the preparation: booking Regen...