Posts from — August 2011

Hi, my name is Zachary, I am an “Ultimate” Orphan.

Oh! I know my Mommy and Daddy love me lots and I love them lots too; but I also know they love to play Ultimate, so sometimes I become an Orphan.

This weekend I am staying with Namma and Pops while Dad and Mom play in the Kamloops Tournament called “Big Thirst”. The team they are playing on is called “Pure Syrup” and they did really well last year and won the tournament.

Sometimes I get to go to the Ultimate field and watch or sleep while Mom and Dad play and sometimes I get passed around our ultimate friends so my Dad and Mom can play together. They are really good players and work well togther so teams like them to be on the field at the same time during a crucial point in the game.

My Dad is a “Handler” and my Mom is a “Cutter”; mostly she is a mid-field “Cutter”; but I know she can also play “Deep End Strike” if she wanted.

My Mom and Dad’s friend; I call her Aunty Jill, is staying with us this weekend at Namma and Pops, she also plays as a “Cutter” or a “Deep End Strike”.

So between my Dad and Mom and Aunty Jill I expect that there will be a lot of plays that go;” Up Field Pass, Up Field Pass, Swing Back, Cut Over and End Zone Score”, or something like that.

We haven’t talked about it but they may use a “Horizontal Stack” or a “Split Stack”. Actually I’m hoping that they get a “Callahan” this weekend……. those are the most fun to watch.

I love spending time with Namma and Pops. On Saturday morning we went to the Kamloops Farmers Market and met GGMa and GGPa. It was fun to see them, but I got tired fairly quickly and there were so many people that I was a little overwhelmed and we didn’t stay that long. But we picked up some fresh corn for dinner and some fresh peaches for a fruit salad, I can’t wait to taste everything.

Hopefully Mom & Dad’s team, “Pure Syrup” does well and has a successful Ultimate weekend, that way Mom and Dad and I can talk about all the great plays  in the car all the way to our next big adventure.

Unusual title……….. but darn true.

Sunday one of our home circulation fans sounded like it was about to fail. We are having a bit of a heat wave here in Kamloops so lots of air movement is the key to keeping cool.

Anyway, when I turned on the upstairs fan in the morning it did not start spinning right away on low speed and you could hear the windings growling as they were trying to get the blades moving. It fired up okay on high speed and then ran fine on low speed but I just don’t want to take a chance of the windings stopping and then it dead short and potentially causing a fire.

The fan was one that my Mom bought when I was about 12 years old, so that would be about 45 years ago. I am sure my sisters and brothers will remember it well. Over the years I have taken the grill off and washed it, cleaned the blades and blown the build up of air dust out of the electric motor. But besides that it’s been trouble free every year for the last 45 hot Kamloops Summers.

You will also note that the grill cover holes are large enough for a young child to get his or her fingers inside so that they could possibly touch the fan blades; definitely does not meet CSA kid proof standards of today. However at last count none of my siblings, or our own two boys or nieces and nephews have lost the ends of any fingers.

So this got me to thinking. What can you say that you could buy today and expect to be using 45 years later?

Certainly not a circulation fan to keep you cool in a hot Kamloops summer. If you get 10 years out of a new fan consider yourself lucky.

It’s definitely not a computer. Those are outdated 45 days after you purchase them.

Not golf clubs, unless you are an antique collector. Technology on those changes almost as fast as computers.

For some it may be a car? But that is quite unlikely, unless you are a very serious car collector.

Perhaps a Grandfather or Grandmother Clock or a Dining Room Table or a Painting. You know something that will be in the family for years?

Our expectations have changed and we have become a throwaway society!

So it’s a sad goodbye to our reliable and trusted fan after 45 years.

On Wednesday of last week we met Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad in Merritt for dinner. After dinner we headed back to Kamloops with Sage and Conrad so they could have a summer vacation with Pops and Namma.

We survived the first night with only a little bit of separation anxiety; that is Brenda and I having our free time to ourselves……. ha! ha!

Thursday morning we headed to the B.C. Wildlife Park, this is always popular with the grand-kids. The newest display was the baby grizzly bears, the B.C. Day Weekend was the first time they were to be on display to the public. Another highlight was the Birds of Prey Show. Sage got to help feed the Barn Owl. She held a button that rang a buzzer and when instructed pushed the button and the owl flew to the sound and would find the  meat that the trainer put on a wooden post.

They really enjoy seeing the animals, experiencing the many attraction at the park and most of all riding the Miniature Train or for Sage having ice cream at the Blue Heron Cafe.

After the wildlife park we headed to Prince Charles Park and the Wading Pool. It is so much fun, as the water is warm, there is lots to do and lots of other kids to play with.

It was hard to get them to leave at 5:00 p.m. however all the other families were headed home for dinner so that made it a little easier. Everyone slept well after a very busy day.

Friday was opening day for the movie “Smurfs 2”. So after a morning spent at Riverside Park playing on the playground equipment and then at the beach, we headed off to the Cineplex Odeon. Brenda (deserves a medal for this one) took both kids to the movie which gave me a chance to get caught up on some other stuff.

After the movie it was off to Aberdeen Mall for shopping at Claires and for Conrad and Pops to ride the escalator 147 times and the elevator 52 times. He gets quite bossy when he is at the elevator controls and people aren’t moving in or out fast enough!

After dinner it was off to Music in the Park and more playground and beach time.

Saturday was going to be a very busy day. First we had a surprise of a train ride on the Kamloops Heritage Steam Train 2141.

We arrived at the station about 45 minutes early and got in the line up so we could get the correct side of the outdoor rail-car. Once we boarded a few minutes later the train ride started and took it’s regular route out to the CN Junction and then back to the Old CP Station. As we neared the CP Station the train received mail that train robbers were in the area and sure enough we went a little further and the tracks were blocked and out of the trees came three banks robbers firing their guns. They stopped the train and got aboard looking for gold. This was very exciting for the kids.

What a great morning.

After the train we headed to Riverside Park for a picnic with GGMa and GGPa. Once lunch was eaten Sage and Conrad headed for the water to make new friends and get as wet as possible.

A couple hours later we headed home, got changed and Conrad and I went over to Tom Ecclestone’s house to look at his garden train(s). Tom and Paulette have done an amazing job of setting up a very extensive train display in their back yard. 2 different layouts, many switches, bridges, waterfalls, etc…………. it was almost too much for Conrad to absorb, but he was totally enthralled.

Tom had set up Thomas the Tank Engine and Percy the Engine on the upper track and Conrad was wide eyed as he watched these two speed around the track and villages. Then their grandson Aiden got the lower track going with an old fashioned steam train complete with bell, whistle and steam sound…….. well that was just too much for Conrad, he kept running back and forth making sure everything was running correctly and all was working as it should be; when it didn’t he made sure everyone knew there was a problem.

Before leaving Tom took us to his garage which is completely filled with trains, tracks, villages, mountain displays, tunnels, bridges, etc……….. truly amazing. Conrad and I were overwhelemd with everything; what a great display and true commitment to a hobby of a lifetime.

Sunday we planned to make it a little quieter. So after a quick visit to Walmart to pick up some clothes for the kids we came home had a quick bite to eat and then headed off to Prince Charles Park and the wading pool. GGMa and GGPa met us there and we had a good visit.

After the park it was back home and some backyard fun with the canoe and water hoses. Both kids were pretty tired at the end of the day and slept very well on their last night.

Monday we headed to Merritt to meet their Dad and Mom and have a picnic in Merritt’s Rotary Park. Jeff, Lindsay and Zachary also made it over from Kelowna; Zachary got passed around so much he must have felt like an Ultimate Frisbee.

It was the end to a great summer vacation for Sage and Conrad and it was a  great family gathering.

Well on Wednesday there was no way I was going to miss being a Caddie, so I had decided right after Monday’s experience I was going to get to the golf course extra early for the Wednesday Pr0-Am. When I was originally contacted I was told to be at the golf coure by 5:30 a.m., however I set the alarm for 3:45 a.m. and arrived at the course at 4:15 a.m. and even arriving that early I was number 5 on the list of Caddies. The one thing I forgot was my camera; oh well, I was here for the experience.

The Wednesday Pro-Am is not optional for the pro players. If it is requested by the tournament organizers and sponsors they are required to play in order to play on Thursday and Friday which gives them a chance to make the cut for Saturday and Sunday.

At about 6:00 a.m. the Caddiemaster arrived and he started assigning caddies to golfers bags I was in the first group and was assigned to Marc N. who was from Toronto and was the director of sales for Samsung and Bell Canada. After Marc had breakfast we headed over to the driving range. The range balls were lined up in large buckets – ProV1, ProV1x, Srixon, Callaway, Bridgestone, Nike….. all the major name brand golf balls and all of them were brand new. From there we headed to the practise pitching/sand trap green and then over to the practise putting green.

Brenda was watching Global T.V. morning news and she said she saw me in the background. Shortly after 7:00 a.m. we headed to the first tee and to meet the other players, get our Caddie Bibs and meet our Pro player who was Anthony Kim. Fortunately Marc had a camera and gratefully forwarded the attached pictures.

Anthony was very friendly, easy going and it was a lot of fun to be with this foursome. Right at the start he offered to help the amateurs with their golf game, especially with reading the greens and making putts.

Anthony’s caddie was his college roommate Brodie. He asked me where I was from and I said a small town in the interior he had probably never heard of; when I said Kamloops, he said he lived in Kamloops for a couple years. His brother owns a landscaping business in town. Small world isn’t it?

Anthony said that the Shaughnessy course conditions were as tough as anything they had played on this PGA Tour season, even tougher than the British Open. What made Shaughnessy so difficult was the narrow fairways, the course length, the exceptionally deep rough and the very small greens. On one green he putted the ball and it seemed to run across the green forever. I asked him how the greens and the speed compared to The Masters, he kind of chuckled and said Augusta fairways are as fast and as manicured as the Shaughnessy greens and the greens at Augusta are twice as fast.

The round went fairly quickly and our group ended up at -9 under par. After turning in the Caddie Bib to the caddiemaster he asked if I wanted to go out for a second round. I said, why not I am here now and would probably not get this chance again.

In the afternoon round my amateur player was Lindsay H. who is V.P. and C.F.O. for a gold company in Vancouver. He made the round relaxed and enjoyable. Our playing pro was Brian Gay and his caddie was Kip Henley. Brian was friendly and very accommodating to all the fans, however he is very focused when it is time to hit the ball.

Kip was very easy going and readily offered advice to the playing amateurs and to the other caddies. Kip was the winner of Big Break II – Las Vegas; he really made the afternoon round a lot of fun. The team finished at -5 so not quite as good as the morning group.

So, what a day and what an experience and I will do it again when the Canadian Open gets back to the west coast.