Hi Folks,
WOW we have reached Issue Four! Olympic fever is gripping everyone at the moment. Some of us over the pond can't see what all the fuss is about. Now, if I had to come up with events suited to our climate here I think I would have to pick, "Puddle long-jumping" (there is a variation on this, "Puddle wading", usually carried out by small boys wearing their best shoes). Or the sport that nearly the whole country could excel at "Stopping your brolly turning outside in in the Wind Championships" Now I think that would be a good sport, I could just visualise all the Americans running out to purchase umbrellas. hehehee. One of the more interesting winter sports here is the "Pedestrian Showering Event". This is where you drive along the flooded country roads, you have to make split second decisions, Do I swerve? Is it safe to drive on the wrong side of the road? Do I drive straight and hope my brakes still work after? Or...............do the pedestrains get it!! <Editor's note> Umbrellas provide no protection to unsuspecting pedestrains in this event!
However, we do feel a little involved in the Winter Olympics at the moment, we have a whole millimetre of snow today. the Irish Luges still work better on wheels than runners though.
What have the sprogs been up to this month? I hear you ask yourself! Well, they decided to test if my CD player bounces. They reported back that it bounced very well, pity it doesn't work any more though. Well it works sometimes if you are prepared to hold the lid down the whole time the CD is playing. Senior sprog is threatening to visit America, so don't say I didn't warn you all. If you meet a 6'2" tall curly-haired blue-eyed young handsome Irish man (Mother's biased opinion) hide all your CD players! errrr.........probably a good idea to hide all your daughters as well! <laffin'>
Our Dear Friend Jo is in hospital at the moment and I know you will all be with me wishing her a speedy recovery and a fast return to Our Community!
CONGRATULATIONS! to Trisha and Tex on their recent engagement! I have ordered a new lilac bridesmaid frock to compliment my bestest purple hat and am avidly awaiting the wedding invitation popping through my letterbox! (Yes, folks, we get our mail really delivered here, through the letterbox in the front door, no walking down to post boxes..hehehe)
Once again we have had such postive feedback on our Community News....here are the snippets.....
"Lynda,
Again well done....enjoyed Lew and Wrench and looking forward to
more from them.I have no pet's now but Lillyrose has such a
informative and needed aticle I enjoy reading every time.Becca
put's such in depth research into her articles you
can't help but enjoy and come away smarter than before....so
thanks
Becca..this is one I take every word as truth. Happi has found
her nitch as gossip ..ua writer lol And the Sprogs lol we can
love everthing they do as like grand parents we can go home and
leave for you to take care of lol...The whole paper is wonderfull...keep
it going.....thanks "
"Lynda,
Pass on to Anon. that he wouldn't have gone through so much
trouble if he had never considered marriage in the first place.
Consider myself, I clean house once a week, do laundry when I run
out of socks( running out of shorts is no big deal unless you're
in an accident or something)and sometimes have chocalate chip
cookies for supper.Not too mention meeting chicks.(Always keep
clean shorts for that.)
The point is, the house is a mess, dinner sucks, but hey, I'm
happy.Life is good! "
"Hi - I am really enjoying the Comm.news. There was a Poem
that Lillyrose shared w/ us all. The one called, "I'm Here
", Oh my gosh...it made me cry. I am a very big animal lover.
I have several animals of my own, and that poem made me sad and
relieved at the same time. It's nice to know/think that we will
see our beloved friends again ! TY"
"Greetings, I have been reading your chat for the past
couple of weeks ,and have enjoyed all of them.The stories are
cute and heart warming,and some full of good clean humor,which is
very rare to see in the internet "now a days". I hope
that you continue writing and keep this chat line going."
Any comments. articles, tips etc, please mail to LyndaAtCasual@Compuserve.com
Lynda [Editor]
Editorial.........................................................................Lynda
Jerked into Reality.... .....................................................Raca
Wrenched Thoughts.......................................................Wrenchofco
Bus Driver? now the real work begins!.............................Tracey
Farewell XIX Winter Olympics........................................Becca
Thanks to an old Chevy...................................................Raca
Love in the Air.................................................................Happi
Nothing was so maddening to me as being in a packed
parking lot with a bunch of empty Handicapped spaces. So many
times I heard myself complain at the unfair advantage of
wheelchair cowboys.
They park next to the door, get on and off planes first, get next
to the floor "seating" at sports events and generally
just get in the way. I never talked to someone in a wheelchair.
What do you say, "how's things going?"
And those damnable motorized scooters. I am supposed to get out
of the way of those wild drivers?
A couple of years ago I went to work for a firm that felt they
should hire such people!
Those in chairs, the blind, deaf mutes, well, it looked like a
zoo.
Near my workstation the motorized scooters were parked each night
for charging. They even got free electricity!
As I watched these folks leave their autos and use crutches to
get into the building I suddenly became and advocate. How mad I
was when a "whole person" parked a handicapped spot.
Watch these poor people struggle from across the
way. The pain as they took those extra steps.
Then I met Nikki. A single parent in her Thirties. MS was
ravaging her body. Many times she hurt too bad to take her chair
to the waiting car at the end of the day. With the help of her 10
years old son and brother in law we carried her to his waiting
vehicle.
Her scooter was not new and slick. A used one which sounded like
a chain saw as it traversed the halls. She would yell Mr. Raca
when she wanted to just talk.I begged her to teach, What an
example to kids this single black mother with MS would be.
Her scooter needed repairs a week after buying school supplies
and books. Even $50 was more than she had. My partner arranged
for Nikki's wheels to be fixed. On a Friday afternoon as she left
work she said "Mr. RACA, God is good, I will be mobile by
Monday."
She died that evening.
In late September I suffered two strokes. My main transportation
is now A wheelchair. Punishment for my earlier thoughts? I think
not. You see, Nikki and the others were God's way of preparing me
for my own trials. From time to time I still hear Nikki telling
me she would be "mobile" by Monday.
By the way, I had better not catch you parking in a handicapped
spot, unless you deserve it,
RACA
Welcome to another edition of my monthly flatulence. Well I guess the first thing to speak of is the Super bowl. In America we root for the underdogs, and never has there been a Super bowl that epitomized the underdog than this last one. There was the all conquering Rams and their "Greatest Show on Turf" against the Patriots. It seems only appropriate that a team called "Patriots" should win, and it’s also proper that they’d be 14 point underdogs. In these times, it’s so right that it’s almost spooky, congratulations New England.
I just got an email to day about Feb. 20th. Seems at 8:02 pm
under military time and some other weird way of time that you’ll
be able to write the moment as 2002,2002,2002. That’s 8:02
pm,20th of Feb. 2002.The only other time numbers converged like
this was on 1001,1001,1001. That was a long time ago, and guess
what, it’ll never happen again, so everyone at 8:02 pm on
the 20th, pause and tip you’re favorite beverage to the
moment.
On other news, your humble correspondent turns 39 this month.
Really, I’ll be 39 for the first time. I’ve decided for
the purpose of maintaining my youth and vitality, that this will
be the last time I have a birthday. That’s right, from now
on I’ll be 39, never to gain another year of age. Feel free
to copy my example.
On the war front, Afghanistan is still free, but they’re
having raids by fellows who think women ought to be dressed in
burka’s. It’s obvious none of these individuals read my
previous column, otherwise they’d presently be in drunken
stupors and world peace would have broken out. Usama Bin Laden is
supposedly still on the loose. I say supposedly for the simplest
reason that if he’s ever announced to be dead, he gets to be
a martyr, and I hope our military leaders are choosing to deny
him that status.
On the home front, there are some nuts who think that the
prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
are being mistreated. They object to them being drugged, put on
an airplane and shipped off to Cuba. I don’t know about the
rest of you, but I’d like some drugs and a trip to the
Caribbean. So while there’s all this moaning over our
treatment of prisoners who have never eaten so well, never
received 2 showers a day, and wearing the best clothes they’ve
had, out in California, a school teacher quits her job. This
particular individual caught 23 students cheating on a test, and
flunked them appropriately. The school board of said teacher
reversed her decision, so the teacher quit. I guess there aren’t
enough ignorant whiners in the world, we need 23 more.
Finally, I’d like to thank everyone for the positive input
on this column, and also thanks to those who thought it sucked
but didn’t say so. Remember, you get what you pay for, and I’m
not paid for this.
I have some hopes for the coming month. I hope the war continues
to go well. I hope the economy picks up. I hope Jo gets out of
the hospital. I hope spring will be sprung. Finally, I hope for a
date with any young buxom supermodel. If any of you know a young
buxom supermodel, send her out to Colorado!
Wrench
Last month, I took you all through the
hiring process, now I’ll take you through training and
actually going out on the road by myself!!
We are told to be at OTC (Operator’s Training Centre) at 8:00
a.m. on March 26, 2001 to begin our training. Our first day is an
orientation day. We receive our Training Binder, our little
"red book" and parts of our uniform. That little "red
book" will mark our progess through our 22 day journey
called Training.
In a small classroom, there are 12 other people with me. Training
starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. each day, with one day
of training taking place from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., so that
you experience "night driving". We are paired off with
the person who is going to the same division. My training partner
is Wil, he is the person I will spend the next 22 days with.
We have to take a Defensive Driving Course, then it’s off to
drive a bus for the very first time!! Fortunately, they take us
out in a low traffic area and the first thing they teach us is
how to turn this huge vehicle we are driving. We spend about 2
hours each day driving.
Day 10 is our first test, called the Mid-Test. We both aced the
test!! Night driving is a bit strange at first. Mirrors are
extremely important when you are driving a vehicle that is 40
feet, 8 inches long. You use your right mirror to watch the curb,
especially when making turns. We’re also learning how to
park on a down-hill grade and an up-hill grade. Who will ever
park a bus that way???
Our next test is for Air Brakes. Yes, we have to know all about
how the braking system works. What ever happened to touching the
brake, it stops, things are fine?? Again, 80% is required to pass
and we all get through this too.
The next day is the biggest test of all. We are going for our
license upgrades. In Ontario we have various grades of licensing.
I have what is called a G license. I can drive a car or small
truck with that. In order to drive a bus you require a C License.
We are all together again, only this time we find out that 1
person is no longer with us. So, we started out with 13, 1 was
training elsewhere, and we are down to 11 of us. We have to do a
written test first, again 80% to pass, then off we go for our
practical test. Wil decides that I can drive first!! Off I go,
nervous as can be, but manage to pull it off!! We all hang around
together, watching for buses to pull in so we can go out and
congratulate each other as we pass the test. The Instructors load
us all onto a bus and off to the License office to receive our
new Temporary Licenses. We are all now officially CZ Licensed
drivers (C for the Bus, Z for Air Brakes).
Now we go into what they call "Revenue Service". That
was probably my toughest day of training. The multi-tasking, and
getting used to things, but somehow we get through it. We also
have days scheduled with a "Divisional Trainer", where
we go out with a driver, work his crew and he evaluates us.
Training ends with 2 final tests. A driving test and a written
test. We pass both of those, and are now going to be working at
our divisions with our own crews.
Probation is 10 months long, with the first month being training.
So when you leave OTC, you have 9 months to go!! It’s a very
heavy burden when you are new.
I call in for work, as I’m on what is called the Signed
Slip, where you fill in for those that are sick. I get my first
official by myself piece of work!! I work the first part of my
crew with no problems. Keep my time, bump the curb a bit, but
that’s normal when you’re new. The second part of my
crew, I can’t keep up at all!! I keep getting later and
later, even with senior guys out there helping me, but I manage.
Dealing with the general public is no easy task. Especially when
some of them view us with such disgust. They seem to think that
anyone can do our jobs. Well to those that think that, I say,
give it a try, we’re hiring!! Others just are thankful that
we’re there to get them where they are going. I’d say
99.9% of the customers make it worthwhile, it’s that .01%
that you’d like to kill.
Sign-Up is an experience the first time you attend one. I had a
choice of 3 pieces of work by the time it got to me!! We can
choose things like, Vacation Board, Spareboard, a Crew, a Swing
Crew, the terminology is endless. I had a choice of 3 late relief
crews, which meant working from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. or
something close to that. You see that is another thing, the days
of 9 to 5 are gone. We work strange hours, for example, my report
time at the division could be 5:41 p.m., and I take over my bus
at a subway station at 6:03 p.m., and then when I finish, I take
the bus back to the divisioin for 2:41 a.m. Our schedules
coincide with the bus schedules.
I drove my very first snowstorm on January 31st. What an
experience that was!! Fortunately, schedules go out the window
and safe driving take precedence. I had one woman scream at me
for being late because she was so cold. Some folks think we can
run on time, even with all the traffic chaos that goes on during
storms. I just took my time and did the best I could.
The people that I work with are terrific, from co-workers to our
Route Supervisors to our Maintenance Department to Management.
Safety comes first. We’re transporting over a million people
a day, whether it be on the buses, on streetcars or on the subway.
Our job is to get them there safely.
I’m happy to report that my 10 months probation has ended. I
signed off on my final performance evalation the day of the
snowstorm (January 31st). It’s a big relief to be out from
under that microscope called probation. I had a few glitches
along the way (during my first 3 months), but since then it’s
been smooth sailing.
I’m very proud of what I have accomplished this past year.
It’s been an interesting journey. Many of you have been
through that journey with me, with words of encouragement and to
cheer me on. For that I say THANK YOU my friends. You words and
knowing that you are here have helped a lot.
Tracey
We will soon be saying
goodbye to the world once again with the closing ceremonies this
weekend. These Olympic games have been jam packed with
outstanding performances, personalities and of course controversy.
But then what would an Olympics be without those three things?
<S>
Who will forget the Love Story between Sale & Pelletier? Or
the flawless performance of Sarah Hughes? The gracefulness of
Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze? The dramatic ice dancing of
Anissina & Peizerat? The triumph of Alexei Yagudin over his
nemesis? The amazing speed of Catriona LeMay Doan? Or the jumping
ability and joyful exuberance of Simon Ammann? Or the stunning
upset of Belarus over Sweden? Or Derek Parra making sure his wife
knew he loved her and letting the world know it too? Or America
coming to terms with the art of curling and trying our best to
understand it?
The crashes, the spills. The quads, the triple triples. The hat
tricks, the icing. The McTwist, the spread eagle twister and iron
cross. Hog line, skip and swingy ice. Belly down, head first and
g-forces. Gates, bibs and clean edges. The sprint, freestyle, the
parallel tracks. The learning of the language of these winter
sports and the acceptance of languages of our fellow man.
The Winter Olympics is all that and a chance for all of us to
come together. Not as individuals or countries or medal winners
but as one people, one world, one planet. A time of peace and
harmony that is usually only enjoyed every 2 years. Yes there is
conflict. There is cheering. There are hopes and dreams. Some
come true, unfortunately some don’t. But the warmth and
oneness of seeing a person, not a country, do well....do their
best....and take pride in that ... is the true spirit of the
Olympic movement. One I hope will continue for a very long time.
Congratulations to all the Olympians of these Winter Games. No
matter if you won or lost. Broke a record or didn’t see your
dream come true. You were there. You were the best of the best
that your country and your sport had to offer. Take pride in that.
Cherish the memories. And let "the fire that is within"
help light the journey your life will take you from here.
Becca
I am sure many of you will find this hard to swallow, but as a
young man, I was less than well behaved,
At one of my first boy scout compute our troop went to a local
private lake. One those filled with "summer trailers"
and a well stocked lake. A few of us more adventurous Scouts were
caught doing unproper things to a local restroom 
facility.
We were marched to the front of the assembled troop, which looked
like a small army with an attitude. The Scoutmaster removed our
kerchiefs and announced with great disdain we were an
embarrassment to the troop, our familles and basically humanity
itself.
With a voice you would use to summon the Gods he announced the
troop was no longer allowed to camp at this park. Using a
condemning voice due a southern preacher he banned our poor souls
from his troop forever.
The next summer I was playing sandlot baseball when this fella
named Harold drove up in a broken down station wagon. It was so
bad, he kept the back of the vehicle full of dollar used tires as
he always had flats.
Harold shocked me by calling me by name. He stated he was from a
small church that wanted its own scout troop. In my usual humble
tone I told Harold it was all right with me if they did so, and
walked back to the games. He followed me explaining the scout
district office had told him of my ripping success with the other
troop.
Wanting to get rid of this interruption I told him I would go
with him to the next meeting. And returned to the game.
The following Tuesday I was totally amazed to see the same old
man and the same old pickup at our daily game. I told him I
really had no intention of going to any scout meeting.
Suddenly Harold looked ten foot tall as he reminded me I had
promised to go and he expected me to live up to my word. That was
lesson one of many lessons to come..
We roamed the streets
and alleys of my hometown as we worked our way to our sponsoring
church, The scouting office has supplied this fearless old man a
list of 15 "bad scouts." He had 11 of stuffed in that
old wagon.
We had many wonderful outings in that old wagon. We were a poor,
ragtag group but we were led by Harold. We kept our promises and
he taught us to be honorable men.We learned to trust and be
trustworthy.
Nine of us "shamed 11" joined the sponsoring church and
are active today along with our spouses, children and
grandchildren. All thanks to a beaten old Chevy and its wonder
driver. An old man named Harold.
Raca
Thats it for this month Folks! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
Get writing those articles for next month! Mail them to me at LyndaAtCasual@Compuserve.com We want all your contributions, don't be shy! This is a paper by the members for the members......that means YOU!
Please remember, this is a fun/interesting/informative addition
to the many features on offer at Casual Chat, critique is welcome
but nothing that attacks members, personalities or other fora
will be welcome.
Lynda [Editor]