Easter Sunday

Dark humour probably isn't the best way to start an Easter Sunday posting, but I can't resist sharing the following article which was discovered by Roy Mandy.

Canada Helping to Save the Economy:

        To help save the economy, the Government will announce next month that the Immigration Department will start deporting seniors (instead of illegals) in order to lower Old Age Security and CPP costs.  A major study concluded that older people are easier to catch, offer less resistance, and—most importantly—will not remember how to get back home.

        Be sure to send this notice to your relatives and friends so they'll know what happened to you! . . I started to cry when I thought of you . . . then it dawned on me --I'll see you on the bus!

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Mardi and I did a small shop for Kathryn today (it was hard to find a store open!) and met her while she and Anna were walking Kimi.

The four of us (and the dog of course) then made the quarter mile hike to my sister Judy's.

Covered a couple of family bases today.  Felt good!  And the walk was more exercise than I've had for quite a while.  Over 3,000 steps!
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Unfortunately, I can't get to see Barbara and Jo-Ann who live in Ottawa and that won't likely change for a few months.  I have concerns because they both have underlying health issues and are entering the age demographic that is at risk.  I know they will take care during these dark days.  

Love you both!

The four of us had planned a Maritimes tour for this summer and that has now been indefinitely postponed.
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Glad that I was able to visit China twice over the years.  Wouldn't want to go back there now, or in the near or distant future!

Actually, going back to the U.S. is not in the cards for a while.  Their failure to provide universal health care is coming back to haunt them and has made their experience with COVID 19 so much more devastating than Canada's.

Prior to this disaster, their life expectancy was four years less than ours - 79 versus 83 -  mostly at the expense of their poor who can't afford decent health care (although they do shoot each other a lot more than we do).  That gap will only widen over the next year or two.

OK, so my age is now equal to the average life expectancy in Canada.  I intend to prove that I'm really above average!
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Talking about shooting reminds me that gun and ammunition stores, target ranges and the like, have been declared essential services in the U.S.  Gun sales are booming.  They are a sick country!  

Civil War - The Sequel isn't far off I'm afraid.  If this virus doesn't set it off, then Trump's defeat in the next election surely will.  And, scarily, it's the Republicans who own most of the guns!
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Mardi "attended" church via their audio service on Good Friday and again today, and I know she has shared part of the written sermon with you.  I am not a believer, but I hope that those of you who are have received comfort on this day of renewal.

We'll meet again tomorrow.  Stay safe and well.

Another Day

Today's birthday girls are Sue and Reggie.

It's hard to get Sue to pose for the camera, so I am showing a five year old picture of her and family as I was about to abscond with 12 year old Ewen (notice her hanging on to him!) for our Grand Canyon crossing adventure.   

As an aside, Ewen is now the tallest member of the Craig family at 6 foot 3!

And here is Reggie (she's the pretty one in white, hugging her best friend, Drew).

With school paused, Reggie is an essential worker at Arby's these days.

All the best to both!
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Now that I have regained my composure from yesterday's post it is probably time for an explanation for some of my newbie readers.

David's line: "It must be satisfying to have lived long enough to see your son grow up." was only partly self-deprecating humour.  David is keenly aware that the many triumphs and occasional tragedies that we have shared as father and son were earlier denied to me by the premature death of my father when I was 14.  My dad would have been extremely proud of my son!
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Pretty maudlin!  I should be old enough to handle this stuff by now.
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Stopped by the greenhouse to deliver Sue's card and it was like one of the scenes from Field of Dreams.  Give it away and they will come!  A stream of cars were driving up to the greenhouse, turning around in disappointment and heading back to the road again.  Wish that I had taken a picture!

When David finally opens we can only hope that they remember to come back.
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Take care.  Stay well.  Enjoy your Easter Sunday.

Good Friday

This has been seen as far away as the shores of Lake Huron (thanks Nadine).

WOW!!!  Talk about "paying it forward"!  Thank you Niagara Regional Police Service!!!  This is definitely a "Good" Friday!
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And then, I got the following message from David:
Well, gave the last lily out at 1:17 PM today. Its been fun but exhausting. Now for the clean up.

By the way I kept back 4 cases in case of family emergency.

The seven day total was 32592 given out at the road with an additional 500 given out here and there.

So, over 33,000 Lilies given away.

That's about the same number we should have sold and shipped the week before.

As with so many things in life there is an 80 / 20 rule. 80% of the people were great, 20% just wanted free Lilies.

It must be satisfying to have lived long enough to see your son grow up.

I Love you, take care, hug you soon.

Dave 

I'm nodding my head through my tears.  Well done son!  I am a proud and lucky man.

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Spent today holed up in the apartment.  Finished another game of Skip-Bo and I had a miraculous comeback.  After four months, I now lead 9 games to 7 with a 1,000 point lead - 7,230 to 6,230.  No doubt I will pay for this!

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But, we're claustrophobic.  We'll head to the greenhouse tomorrow for some fresh air and to maybe help with the cleanup.

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Talk again tomorrow.  Stay safe and well.

Freedom - Day 7

Life is surely different in a pandemic!  It's been several days since anything showed up in my "Spam" folder.  I'm beginning to fear that I am being forgotten!  First sign of depression I guess.
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Even the cars are social distancing!

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Watched CHCH News at 6 p.m. yesterday.  They did a really nice job of reporting on David's initiative.  And apparently got Premier Ford to comment as well!

Stayed up past my bed time to watch the 11 p.m. news.  But no repeat on David's story.  However, Matt has forwarded the link to the video.  Thanks Matt!

https://www.chch.com/unable-to-sell-easter-lilies-grimsby-grower-gives-them-all-away/

Saw that the government is going to help any business that suffers a 15% drop in revenue.  A drop from when?  David's income for the January to March period is always about zero.  Hard to get 15% lower than that!  
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Mardi and I made "essential" trips out today.

Mine was to Lifelabs for my monthly blood check (it's been nine weeks).  Results were what they should be.

Mardi's was to a dentist to deal with two lost fillings.  
She goes back on Monday.
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I was up three games at Skip-Bo a few days ago - an unheard of margin.  But I'm about to lose my third game in a row, so things are almost back to normal.
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Sorry, but not much other news today.  We'll reload tomorrow.
Stay well.

Freedom - Day 6

Today's birthday recognition is for A.J. Bullivant.  Congrats!

Mom delivered a card, but no hugs 😢.

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Apparently, the video trial yesterday didn't go too well per Roger.
We trialed Webex today and it was a disappointment.   Video & Sound were significantly poorer as was ease of use. 
So we will be using Zoom this Thursday at noon.   I know Bud will be ecstatic! 
It will be password protected ( Editor's note: I deleted the password to protect the poor devils ) and everyone will be placed in the waiting room until I approve them.   We will also have document sharing turned off. 
Looking forward to seeing everyone again. 

Best Regards,
Roger Craig
Good luck guys!
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Getting back to Barry's item about the guy who coughed outside the LCBO, here's what happened in Tennessee.

Police arrested a man after he allegedly, intentionally coughed on people in a Tennessee Walmart, while yelling he had COVID-19.

District Attorney General Matthew Stowe said in a press release the man's actions were an act of terrorism. He was charged with violating the terrorism hoax act reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.

Justice served!

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Had an email from David this morning asking if I would like to deliver a few cases of Lilies to my favourite pharmacist for him to give to his customers.  I called Sam to make sure he was OK with it and this afternoon we went to the greenhouse to pick up the loot.

CHCH was on hand.

Not sure when the interview will be aired.  I'll be watching the 6 o'clock news.

As usual, the sacrifices are being gobbled up quickly.  David has donated almost 30,000 plants so far! (It's a bit like COVID 19 - the numbers are rising faster than you can count).

So, we loaded up 6 cases of Lilies and headed for Kingmount Pharmacy.

Told Sam he could distribute them as he saw fit - maybe send one out with each delivery.

So, now we're snug in our apartment once again.  Games of Skip-Bo are next.  I'm signing out now before I have to report my losses.

Stay well.

Freedom - Day 5

Today it's a shout out to Sean for his 26th birthday.  All the best Sean.  Nice outfit - the Craig tartan!

It was amusing last night at the party to hear Sean answer the phone with this salutation: "Trillium Hill.  We'll have more Lilies tomorrow morning".  Certainly shortened the conversations!

So, the blog has already mentioned Chloe's, Roy's Sean's and my birthdays.  Yet to come this month are:

• A.J. on the 8th
• Sue and Reggie on the 11th
• Matt on the 17th
• Mardi on the 21st
• Wayne Hilts on the 23rd.
• and David just missed - May 2.

Seems to me that there must have been a lot of what I call "July vacation creations" in our families!

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Noted in the news that Zoom shares have slipped over security concerns and rising competition.  Some of my friends were using Zoom to stay connected despite the privacy risks.  That was a bit like ignoring the 2 metre distancing rule by thinking that nothing bad can happen to me.  Thankfully, they are now shifting to Web-Ex, a Cisco product that is supposedly more secure.  Nevertheless, I'll take a wait and see on that one.  Besides, I obscured my computer camera a long time ago and probably wouldn't be able to clear it up anyway.
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The U.S. Supreme Court, loaded with Trump's conservative judges, has ruled that Wisconsin cannot delay its primary election vote.  So voters in that state who want to use their right to vote must risk their health in the process.  Brilliant!
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The CBC has an item about Ravensbergen Greenhouses giving away 10,000 plants.  Sue has advised that CHCH will be visiting Trillium Hill Greenhouses for a story.

David's main claim to fame so far has been on Instagram from an "activist wannabe" member of the Young Liberals castigating him for "selling" plants and being open illegally.  Apparently that person either can't read or doesn't know the meaning of FREE, and isn't aware that farms have been deemed an essential service.  Ah, young enthusiasm!  Of course, anti-business attitudes always boil beneath the surface of the Liberal veneer.  Sorry Gary - if the truth hurts, I had to say it!
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It seems that every day I add people to my email distribution list (most of them request it, if you can believe that!).  If the newbies want to catch up on previous issues they can check out the blog:
dorsalsdiary.blogspot.com
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Visited my barber today.   Well, actually it wasn't a long trip - we share the same bathroom.

Hope she doesn't ask me to return the favour - not sure that I could control my impulses😉.

I built the vanity that's behind me.  Can't wait to get back at the kitchen when things settle down.
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We intended to go out for a walk today but the drizzle kept us in.  Only made it to the garbage and recycle bins.

The weather tomorrow looks more promising.  Talk then.  Stay well.

Freedom - Day 4

After I closed off yesterday a thank you note slid under the door from the lady in our building who had requested a Lily (that Mardi had delivered).

Then we got this email from David.
I’ve always said, “if you are willing to lose money you can sell a lot of product. “ well, I proved that today. I doubled expectations and gave away 8,000 Lily’s! That is a one day total of $40,000.00 at wholesale prices. This picture was taken around 5:00 PM. It was the first time since 7:45 AM that no one was in the driveway. However, just after I took this they started rolling in again. We might move the last 800 that are left in the driveway today. Not to worry I still have 20,000 more to go. I put in 10 hours flat out, no lunch, just to keep up with demand. Actually, it was a fun day. I was busy instead of just sitting around. We had almost 8,000 hits on our Facebook page yesterday and today. A few more than our usual one or two for the week.
I might be trending.

A quarter of a million dollars worth of product is a lot to spend on an advertising campaign!  Hopefully it will pay off in the long run.   In the meantime it's spread at least that much joy!
"Proud dad"!
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So, today is my birthday.  It's also the birthday of my much younger friend Roy Mandy.  Happy birthday Roy - sorry you're not invited to my party!

You know, when you reach the age of 83 you have learned everything there is to know - now if I could only remember some of it.
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There was an article today regarding a young couple from Quebec who fled to a native community in the Yukon to escape the virus.  They arrived in -30 C weather without even gloves.  The article goes on to state:

Otto and colleagues at McGill are conducting research on whether people's cognitive functions are being negatively affected by the virus. He said he wonders whether the panic caused by COVID-19 can cause excessive rumination, or a stress response, which he said is known to throw off higher order cognitive function.

"So the simple question you can ask is: are people just getting dumber right now because they don't have any bandwidth or capacity to actually do what they need to be doing?" he said.

Good question!  I remember where I put the rye and coke so I'm OK.

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So, this afternoon we headed to David's for my birthday party.  As we turned in to his driveway we saw nothing but empty carts.

I have never been to a birthday party quite like this one!  We sat at separate tables.  After Mardi and I had finished eating, Malcolm and Esther arrived...

..and took our places so we moved into the aisle.

In a way, I wish we had social distancing when I was a kid.  Then I wouldn't have had to put up with the "bumps" on my birthday.

Great chili Sue.  Thanks for a wonderful (if a bit strange) party.
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Nothing special planned for tomorrow.  We'll see what we can stir up.