Did I Say RUSH?

This is my actual ticket but for a different Rush.

Click on the pic to enlarge

It should have dawned on me by the set and the exuberance of the fans that this was to be beyond my reasonable expectations. The place was filled to capacity, right up to the rafters. The ‘floor’ tickets that Bob got for us placed us right up front near center in row F (6 rows from the stage) Rush Limbaugh never did show up!

Now I knew from the Toby Keith concert in July that this could get loud. I inserted my trusty Kleenex in my ears and sat back to enjoy the show. Just as the performers entered the stage, everyone in the crowd stood up, never to sit down again until intermission an hour and a half later. Why do they bother with seats? A cacophony of sound at 115 decibels pounded my body and resonated my lung cavity to the point I feared my Kleenex ear plugs might catch fire the way a microwave oven heats popcorn to the bursting point.

We were very close to the action

The show was super-charged with energy. These guys are nearly as old as me but they were also obviously in far better condition as they drummed and strutted and sang in falsetto like teenagers. Strobe lights, lasers, great balls of 1200 degree flames fueled and stirred the mêlée to a fever pitch.

Bob got tickets for Sheila Harrison and her husband who sat next to us.

The crowd was very well behaved but Wendy found out what “Mosh Pit” means when fans started to fall and tumble into her after lead singer/bass guitarist/keyboarder Geddy Lee started to lop gifts into the crowd as a show-ending thank you gesture. She was nearly knocked to the ground but I caught her.

My only regret is, because we were over at Wendy’s mom’s house cleaning up junk in the afternoon, we missed Bob’s call to come over to the JL Centre early, to watch the set-up and tour the set of Rush.


Bob, Howard and Wendy

After the show we met Howard Ungerleider who directs and choreographs the lighting and effects. An amazing feat of magic indeed.

Well, that’s two concerts in one year so far. Considering I’ve gone 58 years and never been to one before; that’s quite a record.

I'm Just A 'Rush Concert' Groupie

Tomorrow, we’re going to the ‘sold out’ Rush concert at the John Labatt Centre. Two concerts in one year? Wow!

Above - My nephew Alexander and my brother-in-law Bob. Bob, besides being a lawyer for Rush, is also a well known magician. He is always explaining magic tricks.

Now Rush was never right up there on my ‘all time favorites list’ but my brother-in-law Bob, who lives in Brockville, is the bands’ copyright lawyer and has wonderfully arranged to get us (Wendy and I) a stage pass to tour the set and to join him in the sound booth. (A chance of a lifetime experience. Who knows, we might even get to meet them.)

Click on this link to see the extent of this 'Snakes and Arrows' world tour. http://www.rush.com/v4.html We are certainly lucky to have them here in London.

Bob and my nephew, Alexander dropped by the house last night for Chinese and then they were gone to a movie. Wednesday afternoon we will go to the “John” and tour the set-up and set of the world famous band. We plan to stay and watch the concert from the sound booth. Well "ROLL THE BONES!" Maybe this will make a fan out of me. After all, I'd never heard of Toby Kieth until Wendy found the ticket. (see archives on the left - July 2007 blog)

Since releasing its self-titled debut album in 1974, RUSH has been universally regarded as one of the most inventive and exciting groups in rock, famed for virtuoso musicianship, epic soundscapes, and dramatic lyricism. The band’s extraordinary body of work – which includes such acclaimed works as 1976’s 2112, 1981’s Moving Pictures, 1996’s Test For Echo, and 2002’s Vapor Trails – has achieved worldwide sales exceeding 35 million units.
Fans will experience the technical virtuosity and hard-rocking compositions they have come to expect from RUSH members, Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson.

Rush in 2007

Rush in 1974

Back In The USA

Click any picture to enlarge

We certainly have been to the USA a lot lately. Today John and Linda came down from Grand Bend and we all went over for shopping and lunch/dinner at the Quay St. Brewery.

Sarnia Farmers' Market

9:30 Saturday morning and we've already been to the market and home.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays we like to go to the market. I like the hot pepperettes and cheese curds. Wendy gets the vegetables, meats and flowers.

A Ride in a Hot Car

On the ferry boat to USA - Click to enlarge
It was a nice hot (maybe a little too hot) day so we decided to take the old Olds down the St Clair Parkway down river to Sombra where we caught the $6 ferry boat ride over to Marine City Michigan before we drove back up the American side back to the Bluewater Bridge. I always enjoy this ride but with the temperature hovering around 90, it became a little uncomfortable. I had hoped it would be a little cooler near the river but… Not.

Do you remember how hot it was before there was air conditioning in cars?

We couldn’t get over how many homes were for sale the entire way up the US side. It seemed properties for sale numbered one in ten or even one in five in places! Literally hundreds of them. This contrasts with the Canadian side where we saw less than five “For Sale” signs all the way down river. It would certainly seem to be a good time to buy a waterfront property in the States.

Off to Port Huron on Sunday - Labour Day Weekend

Tom's boat left, Dave's middle, and Ed's right. The Phoenix is is the backgound. Click to enlarge

We took the Phoenix across the St. Clair River to Port Huron Michigan. We traveled up the Black River through 3 lift bridges to Water Street Marina. This municipal marina is right up near I-94. A bonus attraction is a party (liquor) store adjacent to the marina. A brand new store, they bought the license from the former Tom and Gerry's Party store that some of you will remember.

Click the pic to enlarge

A gang from our marina were already over visiting Ed and Penny. We arrived around 2:30, just in time to miss a shopping trip in Penny’s car to TJ Maxx and Gander Mountain. The guys sat around on the dock. Wendy worked on the Phoenix, making shrimp dip and thawing out a few pounds of cooked shrimp. Unfortunately, Brian and Christine; usually part of this group, had a leaky fuel tank and could not make it. Pauline was in Rome. We can't feel too sorry for her missing this!

Ed and Penny were our hosts at their marina in Port Huron. They live nearby.

We say Labour, in US they say Labor. Either way no-one was Labo(u)ring today.

The ladies got back around 4 and a dock party ensued. We all enjoyed somany lovely snacks before moving up to the gazebo to bbq dinner. We enjoyed a great meal and then returned to the dock. We all then went to Ed and Penny’s 41 foot Sea Ray for night caps. Tom always takes a good picture
Joanne and Dave

Ed looks happy, Tom looks serious

Monday we departed at noon and went out on Lake Huron to soak up some rays on Labour/Labor Day, this ominous harbinger of Summer's end before returning to the condo. Hot, sunny and a Caribbean-like breeze, it felt more like mid July than early September.

Goodbye Laurie, I wish we had more time!

Click on the clipping to enlarge

A sad day for our family and a heart wrenching loss to Multiple Sclerosis, a terrible disease.

Such a sad and touching story. Click here to read more about this beautiful and strong young woman and gain insight into her tragic story. Although I did not know Wendy's young cousin well, I share an overwhelming sense of loss. The funeral was today.

$4 Flights and $80/day Cruises, Wow!

October 30^th we leave on our Caribbean 10 day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. I booked our flight through Spirit Airlines $9 Club and got a flight down from Detroit for $4. The best I could find on a return ticket was $79. We are flying down on the 30^th, the same day we embark the ship but we are not returning til Nov 14 which is 5 nights after we are back. This gives us a few days in Florida to try to lose some weight before we fly home. With all taxes and fees included our final cost was $199 total (both ways) for both of us. That works out to $50 each way, each. How do they do that? It costs me more to run my boat to Lexington which is only 18 miles away.

Our cruise on the premium Holland America Maasdam was about $80 per day converted into Canadian Pesos $1700 for both of us. (outside cabin) There are some islands we’ve never been to as well as some familiar stops, but the main attraction is our old friends from previous cruises. Holly and Barry, Cheryl and John and Sharon and Greg, Unfortunately our good friends Donna and Pete can’t go this time due to business convictions. Hopefully they can work it out and join us. Other good friends from previous cruises have written to say that they have family commitments or have to work (bummer!) but the ship is not booked at this time so if any of you have any inclinations toward a fall Caribbean cruise, go for it! We’d love to have you aboard.

My First Fall (In The Water I Mean) It Had to Happen Sooner or Later

Saturday evening was the Bridgeview Marina member appreciation party. We decided to go there by dinghy (after all this is Venetian Village) so I got everything ready. Chairs, cooler, camera etc.
As I was loading up, I noticed the dinghy had come untied. I dashed over to the boat beside ours. Down to the swim platform I raced. I reached out as the dinghy floated by. Holding on to the folding ladder on John’s Bayliner I extended my reach. Just as my fingers touched the dinghy, the ladder released from its stored position and I was going in. Splash! I immediately thought of my wallet, then the cell phone on a strap around my neck, then the digital camera in the pocket of my shorts.
Bridgeview Marina managing, co-owner Dave Brown calls everyone to dinner
I guess most people would have resigned themselves to the reality that we have some losses here but later, at the party, I couldn’t help thinking I should be back home working on this problem. I was not really enjoying myself for being so stupid so we left early. The rib and fish dinner was superb though. Wendy enjoys her ribs while I sulk. (pictures taken by my other camera)

This story, amazingly enough, has a happy ending. If this ever happens to you, follow these steps. What have you got to lose? First have a good strong drink. Then, remove any batteries as soon as possible. Also remove any chips or memory cards. Shake out as much water as you can. If it fell in salt water, you would have to actually rinse it in fresh water to remove the corrosive salt. Use a hair dryer to heat the phone or camera and dry it out. Do not attempt to power up until the device has sat for at least 12 hours and you can no longer see any evidence of moisture in the screen or lens etc. Electricity and water don’t mix. Be patient and thorough about drying everything or you could fry some of the micro circuitry. Oh, by the way, take everything out of your wallet and spread them out flat. Unfold any papers so they won’t stick together. This picture was taken with my "revived" DMC FX9 digital camera. A survivor of a 5 ft deep plunge in my pants' pocket. Looks like I have an entire Monopoly game in that wallet.
Sunday, I couldn’t wait to see if my efforts were worth it. I couldn’t imagine what water would do to all the tiny mechanisms in the digital camera. The anti-shake mechanism adjusts the lens to compensate for tiny vibrations and a little motor advances and retracts the Leica lens system. I figured the cell phone might fare better. At least the only moving parts are the microphone and speaker diaphragms. I figured the thousands of microcircuit parts should function if dried thoroughly.

Everything powered up as normal. I made a call and took some pictures. Miraculously, every function on both gadgets worked. Even all my addresses were still there. I did have to reset the time and date on both.

I don't know how many times I've dropped this little Panasonic DMC FX9 camera, but it has been truly amazing. The anti-shake feature guarantees excellent pictures. I was already looking on eBay to get a replacement when it came back to life. Talk about LUCK!

Our Dear Friend's 80th

Years seem to come and go quickly but our dear friend Pat never changes. I suggested to her that "You can never have too many birthdays!"
The "Circle of Friends" and their beaus met at the magnificent Idlewyld Inn in London on Thursday for a delightful get-together. Unfortunately Mary-Helen and Bud had a previous commitment, otherwise the entire group made it.

Barry and Barb (above) and Greg and Hazel (below)

Patricia and Greg (above) and the Birthday girl Pat, with Tom and Ron (below)
Anne, Wendy, and Joyce (above) Ron (below)
Pat (above) graciously allows another picture. I had tenderloin (below) Excellent!
Barry, Barb and Murray (above) Joyce and Ron (below)