Happy New Year

It seems the Mayans were wrong when they predicted the end of the world on December 2012. Tomorrow is the beginning of 2013, but apparently they never predicted the end, only a change. Let's hope things will change...for the better. We are in great need of changes. There is nothing but bad news every day. I'm glad I'm not a hockey fan. I would be furious with the players and the owners of the Jets. If they don't come to an agreement there won't  be any hockey games next year. The MTS Centre will be empty much of the time. Many people who depend on the games will suffer. I don't even know what everything is all about. Obviously about money. It always is.
Our native population is creating problem throughout the country. Demonstrating in shopping centers and disrupting the movements of trains and other vehicles. They want the government to do something about their living conditions on the reservations. Perhaps they should get after their chiefs who are mismanaging the money they already get. Just my humble opinion. I'm not that well informed about all the problems they have. Only what I read and hear in the news. Maybe we should stop sending money to all those countries who beg for it and use it to help our own people. Many of those countries need to get rid of their corrupt governments and start to help themselves instead of expecting the hardworking and well-to-do countries to feed them. Again...just my opinion.
I count myself lucky to live in a country like Canada where we have the opportunity to work and make a good living and still have enough freedom to let our opinions be known without fear of prosecution. Of course, even we can't write or talk about everything freely without worrying that we might be accused of racism or hate mongering. There is really no such thing as complete freedom. The truth will set you free is only a saying. Speaking the truth can also land you in deep trouble. Sometimes it is best to keep your mouth shut and opinions to yourself.

I wish everyone who reads this a healthy and prosperous 2013. Let's hope the conflicts that tear so many countries apart will end and there will be a measure of peace in the world. And let's also hope our politician stop bickering and get things done, here in Canada and in the good old USA.

A free Christmas gift

Thank you for visiting. I'm giving a free pdf copy of any of my books to anyone who would like to have one. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and tell  me which one of my books you would like. To find out about my book go to my other blog  Herbert's Place. (Click on this link). You'll see all of my books. If you click on the covers it'll take you to my publisher's website and you can find out what the book is all about. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

It's that time of year again. It's Christmas. Time for reflecting, for celebrating, time for presents, and time to get together with loved ones. We say 'Merry Christmas' but how many people really think about what it means and why we are celebrating Christmas? We are so busy buying  presents, turkeys, ham, and all the trimmings for a Christmas meal. Merchants hope to make enough money to offset losses that have occurred during the rest of the year. Christmas has turned into circus for many. There are plenty of people who'll say 'Happy Holidays', afraid to say 'Merry Christmas' as if it is a swearword. Some Schools are not calling their concerts "Christmas Concerts', they call them 'Holiday Concerts'. That is too bad. We are giving in to minority groups who seem offended when they hear and see the word 'Christmas'. There are forces out there who want to change our country and our traditions.
Sure, Christmas is celebrated by Christians to celebrate  the birth of Jesus Christ. I'm not a religious zealot, but I believe what Christ taught. He told us to be forgiving and loving. He preached peace. And that is something everyone should believe in. Let's celebrate Christmas with that in mind. Peace for everyone in the world.

Strange Phenomena

Yesterday when I went outside to clean my driveway I saw the strangest thing on the plastic Snowman. It seemed a piece of string was wrapped around its nose. When I lifted the end of the 'string' off the ground, it disintegrated between my fingers. I discovered it wasn't a real string at all but a string of tiny ice-pellets. We've had hoarfrost on the trees for a couple of days now, but that usually forms on branches, but this string isn't resting on anything solid. It is just hanging there in the air. How that formed is a mystery to me. Here are a couple of pictures:

Not a pretty picture

Not everything is beautiful in this world. We stumble across ugly things every day. I'd like to share this picture with everyone reading my blog. This is what happens when you leave a bunch of beautiful Goldeye in the Smoker for too long. But I have to say they did taste great.

Feast your eyes on this picture:

Don't you just feel like sinking your teeth into one of these eye-pleasing Smoked Goldeye right now?

30,000 kilometers

I know this isn’t exactly a world-shaking event, perhaps not even worth mentioning, but how often do you see this?

When I parked my car in the garage this morning, I looked at the odometer and noticed that it had stopped at 30,000 km. So I took a picture to preserve it for future generations. Well, at least until tomorrow anyway.

The car is a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. We bought it new and now we’ve driven 30,000 km with it. Not much compared to the miles or km other people put on their vehicles, but more than enough since we use it only for pleasure.

As I said, not memorable news, but with all the negative and horrible stuff we see on TV, hear on the radio, or read in the paper, I thought a little bit of positive trivia doesn’t hurt anyone.

Memories of Fall

With all that snow I feel like looking back at a picture I took from our fishing trip a couple of months ago.

I was interviewed

Today I was interviewed by a group of young movie-makers for a documentary they are making about the roots of Harlequin Books in Winnipeg. I don’t write for Harlequin, but since I’m a local writer and I write and publish books that contain erotica I am one of the featured authors.

I must have talked for over an hour about how I got started as a writer, my thoughts on romance and erotica, and about my books. I hope they got enough material to make me come across as knowledgeable and competent. One never knows how they’ll be editing my ramblings. They seemed to be satisfied with what they got and they promised to make me look good. I wasn’t too happy with my voice. I’m in the last stages of a cold and last night I still coughed out my lungs, but that’s how it usually goes. I was glad to be able to talk at all.

They took snapshots of my books and let me talk about some of them. Hopefully, it helps to put my name out there.

It is different to be interviewed on paper where you have more control and are able to edit things yourself. Sitting in front of two cameras, lights on your face, a large microphone hanging in front of you, one clipped to your shirt, and three interviewers asking questions while you are supposed to look only into one camera is a little daunting. Especially, if you’ve never done that before. Once a word or sentence leaves your mouth it’s out there. You can’t edit it away and make it sound better.

I think I’ve done okay, though. I was never lost for words, never hmmed and ahhed.

The whole thing is scheduled to be aired sometimes in April 2013. It depends how the other interviews go and how long it takes to put it all together into one coherent documentary. I’ll be able to view it before it goes live.

What is Success?

I've written an article about what constitutes success. This article is on my writer's blog 'Herbert's Place' and can be found here: http://hegro.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page.html/

When you get to that blog you may get a message: The page does not exist.
It exists, just click on 'What is success?'  and the page will come up. 

Don't quit now

We all get a little depressed at times and sometimes we just want to quit what we’re doing. Here is a little poem I’ve got above my desk to remind me never to quit. I don’t know who wrote it. I’ve had this for a long time.

Don’t quit now!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will

When the road you are trudging seems all up hill

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh

When care is pressing you down a bit

Rest  if you must, but DON’T QUIT !!!

Life is queer with it’s twists and turns

As everyone of sometimes learns

And many a fellow turns about

When he might  have won had he stuck it out

Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow

You may succeed with another blow

Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt

And you never can tell how close you are

It may be near when it seems afar

So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit

It’s when things seem worst

THAT YOU MUST NOT QUIT !

Perhaps there is a Santa Claus

I went to Home Depot today, even though the weather was lousy and driving treacherous. And I didn't feel great with the cold I've been fighting. Took back the Christmas lites clips. I didn't expect any money because I didn't have the bill, but lo and behold...they gave me a bonus card in the amount I originally paid for the clips. It  pays to be friendly. I didn't make a big scene when I returned the box with the clips. I told them I wasn't a happy customer and it would be a good idea to stop selling those clips. The lady behind the counter was very sympathetic and said she couldn't give me any money but if I would be happy with a bonus card. I was. I am.
Who says there is no Santa Claus?
When I was still in business I used to buy a lot of electrical material from Home Depot. I like shopping there because their prices are good and they keep stuff in stock.
Thank you, Home Depot! Especially the lady behind the counter.
I'll be back.

Christmas Cheer, Love and Happiness

 I don’t like to post negative stuff, but, unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world where everything is just peachy.

Yesterday, since the temperature was plus 4 C, I decided to hang up our Christmas lites outside. Last year I purchased and installed clips on our eaves trough. I took the lites off after Christmas but left the clips in place. So I figured it wouldn’t take me no time at all to put up the lites.

How wrong I was! I climbed up the ladder for nothing. So much for the enjoyment of putting up the Christmas lites. No joy and happiness this year.

The clips I purchased only a year ago just snapped into small pieces when I tried to push the lites into the designated holders. They practically disintegrated. Not just a few of them. No, all of them! Even the unused ones that were still in the box.

On the box it says ‘For seasonal use only’. What the heck does that mean? Good only for one year? Or ‘use only in Summer’?

How can they sell such garbage? I bought these at Home Depot, but I saw the same type at Wal-Mart, just in a different box. I’m sure other stores sell them also.

I bought new clips today. They seem to be okay. They don’t have that ‘plastic look’ to them. We’ll see  how they are next year.The lites are up. Fortunately, the weather cooperated.

I put all the broken pieces back into the box and I will take them back to Home Depot. I won't get my money back because I didn't keep the bill, but they will know I'm a dissatisfied customer.

Here are a couple of pictures. The pieces on the box are from one of the broken clips.

Murphy’s Law or A Hunting Trip to Remember

Everyone knows Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. I found that out this year.

I’m back from our yearly deer hunting trip. I wish I could say it was successful. Well, it wasn’t. I guess after so many successful years it was bound to happen. The signs that things would be different this year were there, but we ignored them.

At first it seemed we may have to cancel our trip this year because of a tragedy in our extended family. We decided to go anyway. There was nothing we could do here. It would be good to get away.

Usually there are six in our hunting party, but one of our friends had an operation on his shoulder and couldn’t come. He was the one with the three-wheeler we used for dragging the deer out of the bush. No three-wheeler meant heavy physical labour, but we had done it for many years, so no huge problem, albeit inconvenient. Another one of our party couldn’t bring his 4-wheel truck. It  broke down and needed repairs. That was not a good thing, because we relied on his truck to pull us out in case we got stuck. It happened many times in the past. No big deal when you have the proper equipment. Just part of hunting when in rough territory.

The next sign was also clear. The weather people forecasted a major snow storm. We hoped it wouldn’t come as long as we were hunting.

Three of our friends left Wednesday morning. When I talked to one of them in the evening I said, “You sound so close. Are you at home?” He answered, “I wish I were. We got stuck in the mud at around 1 o’clock and we finally got the trailer out. We couldn’t  make it to the old camp site. We are at a different spot.” This was at 7 pm.

Another sign to stay home, but we didn’t heed it. We were not to be intimidated by these little mishaps.

My son and I left Thursday morning, November 8, 2012, and headed west...in my van. Not a 4x4 either. We took a portable winch along, just in case.

The trip there was uneventful, the highway was good, no snow, and we even made it to our old camp site with too much trouble. We avoided all the deep ruts in the road that led into the bush and drove across the field. The previous night had been cold and the ground was firm.

By 4 pm I sat in my deer stand and waited for deer to come.

When I got to my stand I got another sign that things would be different. My stand was in poor shape. The first rung of the ladder broken, a busted floor, the shooting rest I used to steady my rifle ripped loose, but I was not deterred. I was happy to be here and I would shoot a deer. Never got a chance. I saw no signs of any deer, only one coyote, crows, and chickadees. And lots of geese flying in the sky, probably heading south. Smart birds.

When I got back to camp my son was already there. He said the area around his stand was flooded and he suggested we join our friends. I agreed, so we left in the dark, searching for them. Something I had wanted to avoid. Driving in the dark on a narrow, bumpy trail through the bush is nerve wrecking and crazy, definitely not recommend, but we managed to get back to the main trail without getting stuck and finally found them.

The next morning we all went out hunting. My deer stand, which was always the closest to our camp, was the farthest away from the new camp, which didn’t make me too happy. I’m the oldest member in the party and it is getting harder for me with every passing year to walk through the bush with my backpack and a rifle in my hands, but I’m not ready to give up yet. I didn’t bother fixing my stand. It would have taken too much time away from hunting and made too much noise, anyway. The seat was still safe, and so I sat waiting for deer that never came.

Nobody shot a deer that day, but we weren’t discouraged. This was not the first time. 25 years of hunting the area had taught us to be patient. We knew the deer would eventually come. We had a good time, ate barbequed ribs, drank beer, and played cards.

The next morning we woke up to a foot of snow and it was still snowing. The predicted storm had come sooner than expected.

We all decided to leave and set up camp in a local farmer’s yard and then carry on hunting.

It didn’t turn out that way, and by this time I wasn’t surprised.

We barely made it out of the bush. The dirt-roads were covered with deep snow. It was impossible to see what was underneath the snow, but we drove on. We didn’t stop at the farm for fear of getting stuck. We were happy to be moving and finally ended up on the highway. Our next plan was to stay the night on a gas station lot. We abandoned that idea when we realized we couldn’t just set up camp near a gas station. So we drove in the storm on a treacherous highway back toward Winnipeg. We didn’t plan to drive all the way home. We would camp on a campground past Brandon. According to one of our friends it would be closed, but they didn’t close the gate.

His information was wrong. The gate was closed, so was the restroom. We had no choice but to set up camp anyway. Right in front of the gate. Not the ideal camping spot, but we were happy to be comparatively safe, out of the bush and off the highway.

They closed the highway around midnight, but we were prepared to wait out the snow storm until conditions were right. We had enough food, a warm place to sleep, and good company. What else did we need? We fired up our generators and life was not bad.

Except no deer.

The next morning we checked out road conditions. The snowplows had cleared the highway and it was open again for travel, so we packed up and left. It had snowed more during the night and we promptly got stuck in the snow which the snowplows had piled up at the edge of the highway. Out came the shovels. After shovelling the trailer out of the snow we headed back toward Brandon, because there was no way to get into the eastbound lane. The crossing was still piled high with snow. We finally found one that was halfway cleared and got stuck again. Out came the shovels...again.

The rest of the trip was okay, considering conditions. Even though cleared of snowdrifts, the highway was still snow-covered and slippery. We came across two jack-knifed semis in the ditch. Just before we came to Portage La Prairie one of the stranded semis caused the highway to be closed. Semis, trucks, and cars were lined up in a double row at least two km long, waiting to drive on. We were lucky it had happened on the side with traffic heading west, otherwise we would have had to set up camp on the side of the highway. Nothing would have surprised me.

We arrived home safely. Disappointed but happy to be home.

Certainly a hunting trip to be remembered. Unfortunately not fondly.

Curse that Murphy and his laws.

We're set up in front of the closed camp ground where we spent the night

Inside my van. Primitive but perfect on a hunting trip and warm and cozy on a cold, blustery day

Semis waiting for the Trans Canada Highway to open up

Snow...and more snow, but fishing is still good.

A couple of weeks ago my neighbor predicted we'll get snow on the 27th of October. How did he know? Actually, it started snowing already yesterday. I went fishing early in the morning and it was miserable. I'm only a short distance away from Lockport and the Red River, so it takes me less than ten minutes to get there. Good thing, apparently the roads were quite treacherous, causing many accidents in and around Winnipeg. The road I was on was okay. There were only a couple of guys there. Luckily, they weren't fishing on 'my spot' where I knew the fish were. Most of the time somebody is already there. I caught a fish with every cast. Saugers, a relative of the Walleye, but smaller. Some of the fish were not  big enough to be kept so I released them again. However, I had four nice ones within ten minutes. Four is the limit you can keep, and I went home again. My mission was successful, my mission to bring home fish for supper. It certainly wasn't a pleasure trip. It was cold, the wind blowing from the north, sleet hitting your face. What kind of person goes out in weather like that? I'll tell you: only a desperate, diehard fisherman, who may just be a little bit crazy. That's what my wife told me. The only thing keeping me there was the fact that I was actually catching fish.
I was using a 1/8 oz jighead with a 3" chartreuse Single Tail plastic grub on an 8 pound line. I cast the jig into the spot where I knew from previous fishing that fish would be there. Then I retrieved it slowly. When I felt the tug on the line I set the hook. What a great feeling! One doesn't get that lucky often enough.
I went fishing for Walleye last month with my friend and my cousin. We spent the whole day on the lake trolling but I didn't even get a bite. The fact that it was a beautiful day, the lake calm and the scenery great, and spending quality time with friends, made it a great experience. A time to be cherished. Catching a few fish would have made it perfect, though.
Last night it snowed and this morning everything is covered with snow. I'm afraid this time it will stay. The temperature dips way below zero at night and we may not even see above zero temperatures again this year. I feel sorry for the kids when they go trick or treating on Halloween. I remember going with our boys on cold, windy, and wet Halloweens, sometimes we even had a snow storm, but I also remember nice, warm evenings where the kids didn't have to hide their costumes under thick parkas. But there are still a few days left. Perhaps the weather will change and it won't be miserable.
This morning  I saw a few juncos (a type of sparrow) hopping around on the snow-covered lawn. They are late this year. Usually they come much earlier. I filled the bird feeders yesterday. They were empty. We get a lot of birds every day and they eat like crazy, but we love watching them and don't mind spending the money for the seeds. The juncos love to pick on the ground, but with the snow they'll have to go into the feeders.  

Eco Fees - Where do they go?

The newest tax-grab from our government: Eco fees. When I bought my new computer I paid $24.00 Eco-fee. Today I bought a spiral lamp for my aquarium. I paid $2.00. Then I got charged 15 cents Eco-fee, 11 cents GST, and 15 cents PST. In other words I was charged 12% tax on top of tax (Eco-fee). A double-whammy! Okay, we're talking two pennies here, but this was a small bill. What about higher amounts? It adds up. And I really would like to know where this new Eco-fee goes. Of course, we'll never find out. Just like the recycling fee on every bottle of beer or soft-drink. Where does that money go? I remember when our government introduced the GST years back (Conservatives at that time). It was supposed to be used to pay down the national debt. And it  was supposed to be only a short-term tax. Ha-ha-ha. That's what they said a hundred years or so ago when income tax was introduced. But everyone knows: don't believe the government. Once a tax has been implemented it will never go away. Every new party that comes into power promises to get rid of the GST, but none have so far.  The Liberals had their 'Blue Book'. What happened to that?

I realize we need taxes to pay for services, pensions, health care, high government salaries and pensions (oops, that one slipped in), and other things. Without people paying their fair share on taxes a country cannot function. Look at what's happening in Greece. Everyone there wants to retire with 55 with a full pension, but they have a large underground economy and many people don't pay taxes. And the government spends more money than comes in. That's a perfect recipe for disaster.So I'm not really complaining when I have to pay some taxes, but it would be nice to know that  the money is used for the purpose it is collected.

Eco-fee. Apparently it is charged on computers and other electronic stuff. I can see that. We're living in a wasteful society. All these computer parts end up in landfills, but how is an Eco-fee going to prevent that? And why charge it on light-bulbs? The 'energy saver' bulb I bought is supposed to last for 9 years. It'll be a long time until I will throw it out, not like computers, printers, and all the other stuff that is out-dated a month after you bought it. Nothing gets fixed anymore, not like in the old days. You can buy a new printer, for instance, cheaper than it costs to replace the ink-cartridge. So you throw the old printer into the dumpster and buy a new one. What a waste! Years ago, if your TV or Radio didn't work anymore, you went to the drugstore to buy a new tube and voila, the thing worked again. Young people probably don't even know what a tube is. Poor kids, they don't know how to repair anything. It is so much easier to replace it when it's not working anymore.

And we call this progress.

Winter is coming

With the first winter storm of the season early in October we are reminded that soon the white stuff will be here to stay. Fortunately, the snow melted away again, giving us enough time to finish the yard work. My wife and I worked like dogs these last few days to clean up the fallen branches from the willow trees, cut down the dead tree trunks (from the willow trees!) We piled everything into a huge mountain in the garden. This morning it looked like rain and the wind was at 25 km/hr gusting to 35 km/hr. Not a good time to make a fire. But I got lucky. The wind died down a bit, so I lit the match. The dry branches burned fast, the flames were high, but  there was no danger. The grass was still wet from the night and any flying sparks couldn't do any harm. Everything burned within half an hour. Now there is only a small mountain of white ashes. Mind you, they are still hot and glowing inside. While I supervised the fire I cut the willow trunks with my chain saw and my miter-saw into bite-sized pieces to be split later and burned in our stove in the basement.
When we built our house and planted the trees and shrubs in the yard (we have 1.4 acres), we made the mistake and planted willows around the perimeter. Not a good choice! Willow grow fast and within a few years we had a nice wall of trees around our property, but the problem with willows is the branches are brittle. They break off easily. After every storm we have to pick the fallen branches from the property. We pile them up in one corner and burn them in the fall and in the spring. It's a lot of work, time-consuming and can get exhausting, especially since we aren't getting any younger, and with every year things take a little longer to do and get more tiring. The only positive thing is that we don't have to buy firewood for the winter.
Today I saw a robin in the bird bath and I'm wondering if it is normal for robins to be here still at this time of year. We have lots of sparrows, chickadees, bluejays, blackbirds. The finches are gone. I also saw one junco. There are usually more around at this time. Perhaps they will still come.
Instead of working I would have liked to go fishing this morning, but the work needed to be done, and the weather is not encouraging to go fishing. I want that to be fun.
I'm looking forward to go deer hunting in early November. I can hardly believe that another hunting season is only 3 weeks away. It will be a bit of a disappointment this year. I bought a scope for my muzzle-loader and a new scope for my rifle. I was hoping to shoot deer with both rifles, now they screwed that up for me. We can only shoot one deer this year, either with a bow, a muzzle-loader, or a high power rifle, because, apparently, the deer count is down. I don't know if that is so. The last time we went fishing in the Whiteshell, we saw so many deer, most of them females with two fawns, which makes it difficult to believe that  the numbers are down. I am anxious to find out how many deer I'll see this year during the hunt. That is usually a good indicator.
Hopefully, we won't get too much snow too early. Neither do we want it too cold. Over the years we've experienced many different conditions. Sometimes we had no snow, sometimes lots. Sometimes it rained, other times it snowed or sleeted. Sometimes it was too warm, and other times we froze on our stands. But we diehard hunters take it all in stride. As long as we can get out there and enjoy the great  outdoors.
There are many people who believe hunting is wrong, but that is their opinion and their right, as much as it is my right to go hunting and fishing. Our sport creates a lot of jobs, brings in millions of dollars and finances the upkeep and preservation of animal habitats. There is a lot of talk about going 'green'. Well, hunters are all for it. We want to make sure that the forests are not deforested, that the animals have sanctuaries where they can breed and where they are safe.
Hunters love nature and the animals that share this planet with us. We don't shoot them indiscriminately. What we shoot, we eat. Most people in the Western World love their meat. Beef, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys (remember Thanksgiving?), they don't grow as vegetables in the garden. Somebody has to raise them, kill them, and cut them into steaks, roasts, hamburger, fried chicken. Somebody makes the sausages and the bacon. Think about that.

Goldeyes - how to smoke them

This is the second time I’ve smoked Goldeyes in my electric Masterbuilt smoker. I used a different recipe than the last time. After freezing them for about 2 months I thawed them overnight in the fridge. In the morning I washed them well, dried them with paper towels, then I rubbed them with coarse salt and a liberal dose of garlic powder. I left them in a cooler for 2 1/2 hours to cure. Then I rinsed them well and patted them dry with a paper towel.

I dried them on a rack in a cool room for about 1 hour until the skin glazed over and felt tacky.

In the meantime I preheated my smoker for 45 minutes, following instructions that came with the smoker.

After tying pieces of twine around the tails of the Goldeye I hung them with hooks from  the top rack in the smoker. I smoked them for 2 hours at 200 F. Once the smoker shut itself off I still left the fish in the smoker for another 30 minutes for everything to cool down before I opened the door and removed them from their hooks. The fish were smoked a beautiful golden color. I put them onto a grill on a cookie sheet and left them in the cold garage (at a temperature of about 10 F) until they were cold to the touch, about 45 minutes.

We had the two largest for supper and they tasted as delicious as they look on these pictures:

         

The first winter storm

How quickly things can change. Woke up yesterday morning to our first winter storm of the season. Blowing snow, high winds, and cold. Brrr. I already hate it. The snow is staying and today it is still blowing and the snow hasn't stopped coming down. I went hunting for geese with my son on Wednesday. It was only 2C in the morning, but later on the sun came out and it turned into a nice and dry day. We didn't get any geese, never even fired a shot. The geese were flying too high and had no intentions of joining our little flock of decoys. But it didn't matter. I spent the morning outdoors and had a little quality time with my son. Those are the precious moments in my life and I cherish them. Time is moving fast these days and I realize I may not have that many years left where I am still healthy and strong enough to go hunting and fishing. But at the same time those activities help me to stay in shape and I will keep at them as long as possible. And when the time comes where I can't go out anymore, I have my pictures and my memories.

Our backyard 2 weeks ago

The view from our window today

The stubble field where we hunted October 3. Nice and dry.

How to smoke Goldeye

After my first not quite so successful attempt on smoking Goldeye  a few weeks ago, I bought a smoker from Cabellas. A Masterbuilt Electric Smokehouse with digital controls at the top and a meat probe. I smoked 4 Goldeye today and they turned out great.
I took the frozen Goldeye out the freezer yesterday. After they were thawed out, I put them into a brine and kept them in the fridge for 10 hours. After that I washed off the brine with clean water, dried them and left them on a grill in the fridge for a few hours, mainly because my smoker wasn't ready yet.
When I took them out of the fridge, they had glazed over nicely and were ready to be smoked.
After preheating the smoker for about 20 minutes at 275F I put the 4 Goldeye onto the rack in the smoker. The Apple chips were already smoking nicely. I had to add some chips after about one hour.
I smoked the fish for 2 hours at 200F. After the smoker shut off I still left the fish in the closed smoker for another 20 minutes, then I removed them from the smoker. Unfortunately, the skin stuck to the grill and it took some doing with a knife to pry them loose, but that was okay, because we only eat the meat. They were done and the skin just peeled off the meat.

This is the brine I used:

1 liter (or quart) of water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of apple juice
1/4 cup pickling salt
1/2 cup light soy sauce
a dash of black pepper
a dash of onion powder
a dash of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Hy's seasoning salt (some people use Lawry's)
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Even though they tasted good, I'm always on the search for a better recipe. I used to get smoked Goldeye from an acquaintance once in awhile and I liked the way they tasted. When I called him up and asked him for the recipe, he told me he couldn't give it to me, because the recipe has been in his family for 100 years and it took him 38 years to perfect it. I was a bit peeved about it, but I have to respect his reasoning. My thoughts are different on that. If I have something I enjoy I like to share it with other people.
When I told a friend of mine about my brine and how I smoked the fish, he laughed and said "Never use sugar on Goldeye". This is how he prepares and smokes fish, using a dry-rub:
He rubs them with pickling salt, pepper, garlic powder and real garlic. Then he leaves them sitting for a couple of hours. After that he washes them and lets them dry. Then he smokes them. He assures me they taste great. He promised to smoke one for me. I may just use his recipe the next time.
Here is a picture of how the smoked Goldeye looked:

 Note: (November 17, 2013)
I couldn't get the results I received here after this again. The fish split in the back and the bellies opened wide. I'm only using the dry rub now. It is faster and less messy. Here is the link to the way I smoke my Goldeye now and they turn out fine. (Most of the time anyway. (^_^):

Smoking Goldeye - again.

My first reviews have been published

My reviews of the Best Western hotel in Hill City and the Comfort Inn in Bismarck have been published on Tripadvisor. If anyone is interested here are the links:

Best Western Plus Golden Spike Inn Suites, Hill City, SD

Comfort Inn, Bismarck, ND

The Black Hills. A trip to remember.

I’ve been absent for over a couple of weeks now, but I’m back. By back I mean back from a short holiday we took. Went down to the Black Hills and the Badlands in South Dakota. We left Sunday, September 2 and came back Monday, September 10.

The weather was great and the trip went well. The last time we were in that area of the US was in 1968. A long time ago. Things have changed from what we remember. The heads of the American Presidents in Mount Rushmore are still the same impressive sight, but they’ve erected a huge parking house and an elaborate construction for viewing the heads. And we had to pay to get in. That’s one of the somewhat disappointing things. It is expensive to see all the attractions. We also went to see Crazy Horse, another huge and impressive project, but it cost twenty bucks admission. Fifteen Dollars to drive through Custer Park and another similar entrance fee to drive through the Badlands. I believe it was Fifteen Dollars also. I’m not sure.

We stayed in Hill City, pretty much the center of the Black Hills and close to all the attractions. Our stay at the Best Western Plus Golden Spike was pleasant. Nice place with a comfortable King size bed and great continental breakfast in the morning. In the evening we dined in various restaurants, had great steak ($11.95 for a 9 oz steak) at the Alpine Inn, and fine foods at other nice restaurants. The prices are quite reasonable and the portions large. Perhaps a bit too large sometimes. No wonder people gain weight eating those large meals, especially for lunch.

Our first visit was to the Museum in the Black Hill Institute in Hill City. It features skeletons of dinosaurs. The largest attraction is Stan, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, one of the skeletons discovered in the Black Hills. Also many impressive geodes and other beautiful rocks on display.

Another attraction we visited was the Rushmore Caves, and we were treated to an exclusive tour, because my wife and I were the only ones going at that particular time. We had a nice time with the guide and were able to ask many questions which he answered. Quite an experience to see the natural caves and squeezing through some narrow passages. When we asked if they advised corpulent people about those narrow passages, we were told they don’t want to offend people. I’d say better offend than have them getting stuck.

Keystone was another interesting town. It is one of the oldest cities in the Black Hills. Half of it is old and the other half new. We went to a Western Show in a pub, which was quite entertaining and funny. One of the three players was Seven feet two inches tall. His name was Big Dave Murra. The other player was Michael Paul. The third one was Jerry Allan. He said he appeared in various Western Movies. He sang two songs and I wished he would have sung more. He had a great voice.

On our way home we stopped at the Reptile Gardens in Rapid City. It cost $11.00 a person to get in, but there were plenty of poisonous and non-poisonous snakes in addition to huge crocodiles and alligators to see. Many of these places are privately funded so we can’t really complain about the high admission fees

After we passed through the Badlands we stayed overnight in Kadoka. Not much there, but we had supper at Club 27 Steakhouse. The prime rib was a nice size and tasty. Paid $17.50 for a 10oz steak (including the salad bar). Yes, there was a bit of fat on it, but that’s what gives it the taste. We can’t get a 10oz prime rib for that kind of money here were we live.

Sadly, not all the food was great. I had the worst sandwich at the Rising Bread Co, located in the West Acres Mall in Fargo. $6.99 for a half sandwich w/soup. I had the bacon/lettuce on pumpernickel. Not much room to put anything on the tiny half sandwich, and it was so greasy my stomach was upset for the rest of the day. It was an awful sandwich that was overpriced.

But everything was forgiven and forgotten when we had lunch in the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks the next day. If you ever visit Grand Forks and you like Chinese Food eat at the Grand Forks Magic ChopStix. One of the vendors in the Mall. Reasonable prices and good food. We ate there last year and liked it. This time didn’t disappoint either. $5.68 for a Combo. We pay at least $8.00 here for the same Combo.

I kept a diary and I’ll be doing reviews on tripadvisor for every hotel we stayed in and also for every restaurant we ate lunch or supper. Most of the reviews will be favorable. I’ll be posting the links here as they happen.

Unfortunately, when you have a good time everything seems to move much quicker. One week is too short and it passes too fast. Now over a week has passed already and we’re back into our old routines. There was so much to do when we came back. The garden needed attention. With the temperatures dropping to around Zero Celsius and even lower at night I was forced to pick all of the tomatoes and peppers. And there were plenty this year. We made Salsa enough to last us through the winter. But it will be nice to eat hot Salsa in those cold evenings.

More next time.

A giant goldeye

Well, not exactly a giant, but I caught a Goldeye that's 39 cm (15.5 in) long. I'll be applying for a Manitoba Master Angler Award. The minimum length to qualify for an award for Goldeye is 35.5 cm (14 in). This is the first fish I'll be registering. Many years ago I caught a Black Crappy that was 14 inches long. The minimum length for an award is 12 inches. Unfortunately, this fish was caught in Ontario and didn't qualify in Manitoba. I can still prove I caught the fish, because it is hanging on the wall on a plaque in my basement. I'm not having this Goldeye mounted, it is too expensive, but I'm happy to finally have caught a fish I can get an award for. Instead of a mounted fish I'll have a certificate I can hang on the wall. Besides, I can still smoke this one and eat it.

I took a picture of the Goldeye. It has already been gutted and scaled, but it still looks good.

Lockport Dam Festival 2012

This weekend is the Lockport Dam Festival. We took a drive there yesterday afternoon to check it out. We looked at the vintage cars, but didn't go into the fenced-in area where the main stage is and  where the vendors have set up their tables. It cost $15.00 per person. We don't care much for the music anyway and just to look at the vendor's tables doesn't justify spending that kind of money. We went to the Festival 2 years ago and didn't have to pay anything. At first we wanted to go to Stonewall for the Quarry days. They have a parade, vendors, stuff for the kids, and a show, and it doesn't cost anything, but it rained yesterday morning, so we didn't go. People don't like to pay to see these events when there are some that cost nothing. I don't know how well the Lockport Dam Festival was attended, but we didn't see that many people.
We went to see the fireworks in the evening. There were many people there to watch it. That was free. We set up our chairs in the park by the river and enjoyed it.. It didn't last that long, but it was a nice display.
When I read in the paper last week that they charge admission I sent them an email wondering if admission was also charged to watch the fireworks and see the vendors, but I never got a reply. I guess I wasn't important enough to receive an answer.

Goldeye. Goldeye, Goldeye

I went fishing this morning to Lockport. I got there early (for me anyway) at 9:30 am. There were already quite a few guys there. I found a place and threw out my bait. I used pieces of Nightcrawlers. I bought a dozen a couple of weeks ago and didn't use up all of them. You only need a small piece which you cut off with a knife. I use a small scissor. Less messy. I kept the ones I didn't use in the fridge, but today they were all dead. By all I mean the three remaining ones. So I used the dead pieces. They worked. When I ran out I used frozen minnows. They also did the trick.

I didn't catch anything at first, but I got stuck among the rocks at the bottom of the river a few times and lost the hook and the sinker. I managed to retrieve my float though every time. Getting discouraged, I tried  fishing with a jig. My first cast was successful and I caught a nice Sauger (a relative of the Walleye). I got stuck again with my second cast. Lost the jig. The same thing happened the third time and the fourth time. I didn't even get a chance to actually fish. After I lost six jigs in a row I switched back to the small hook with a piece of worm, a small sinker and a float about 4 ft above the hook. I threw the whole thing into the water and let it drift with the current. I didn't have much room to play because of all the other anglers. It is easy to get tangled up with another line.

Well, I finally hooked into my first Goldeye. A nice fat one. The rest is history as the saying goes. I left 11:45 am with 9 Goldeye and 2 descent Saugers. I was happy.

At home I scaled the Goldeye, gutted them, and then we put them into the freezer until I'm ready to smoke them. Apparently, they taste better after they've been frozen for a couple of months. The last four which I sort of smoked on the Bbq didn't really turn out. Now, with all these Goldeye in the freezer I am practically forced to buy a smoker.

The two Sauger I caught have supplied us with a nice meal tonight, together with the two smaller ones I caught the other day. Sauger don't get very big. One fish is usually barely enough for one person. Sauger, like Walleye, have white, flaky meat and taste delicious when lightly dusted with flour and fried in butter. My wife and I we don't care much for breading fish. Walleye are quite pricey to buy in the store. They usually sell for about $27.00 a kg in Manitoba. I've seen them even for around $37.00.  Smoked Goldeye are also considered a delicacy and not cheap to buy. Goldeye are only good when they are smoked. The meat is greasy, soft and too mushy to be used for anything else.

Anyway, it was a good day, especially since I tried to catch some fish yesterday on the other side of the river since the strong north wind made fishing on the side I usually fish difficult. Yesterday I caught only one small Sauger which I released again.

Here is the proof I actually caught some today:

Folklorama 2012

This is the last week of Folklorama in Winnipeg. Last week Monday we went to the Portugal Pavilion. It was a disappointment. The entertainment was amateurish and my great disappointment was the food. We had pork on a bun. 2 thin patties of pork on a bun, no mustard, or anything else. It was dry. A hamburger would have been better. The beer was good.

Wednesday we visited the Chilean Pavilion. The food another disappointment. We ate Chicken Empanadas, which to me are nothing but Pizza puffs. A large pocket of dough filled with chicken pieces in sauce. It was hot (oven-hot). I had been looking forward to a nice dinner, since Monday was such a disappointment. I could have had the dinner, which consisted of three Empanadas. One filled with chicken, the other with pork, and a third one with cheese. I don’t know what I expected, but I thought Chilean food was better than that. At least the entertainment was not disappointing. Besides local performers they also had a group, I believe, from Toronto. We enjoyed that performance. Very professional and entertaining.

Tonight we went to the Cuban Pavilion. We ate Pork loin (a bit tough, unfortunately), rice with beans, and salad. And drank a bottle of beer with that. My wife and I were happy with the food. The best though was the entertainment. None of the entertainers were professionals, but they put on a great show. Such talent! We watched them dance different dances. All of the girls were beautiful and the guys handsome. And the show was quite long. We left the Pavilion happy and felt we received value for our money.

We would have liked to go to more shows, but it can become costly. It cost $6.00 per person to get into one Pavilion. And the food is actually a bit overpriced when compared to fast food restaurants. Years ago it was more affordable.

This weekend is the Lockport Dam Festival here in Lockport, but they are charging an admission of $10.00 to get in. That’s not worth it to us. We were there two years ago and didn't have to pay anything. They even had a free shuttle bus taking people from one side of the river to the other. Now they are charging admission. We may just drive to Stonewall. They have a festival going on this weekend also and it is free.

We might go to watch the Fireworks, though, in Lockport on Saturday. Probably from our car parked on the street. I don’t feel like paying for it. This is supposed to be a community event, not a moneymaker.

Am I a cheapskate?

The Icelandic Festival in Gimli, Manitoba

Last Sunday we drove to Gimli for the Icelandic Festival. We've been going the last couple of years. Walked through the Viking village and talked with the 'Vikings' about life a thousand years ago. It was quite informative and interesting. You have to be dedicated to sleep in those tents for a few nights. The nights are getting cooler now, but, as one of the 'Vikings' there told me, they were quite comfortable with their thick furs they use for bedding. People in those days lived surely primitive, but they were skilled in making their clothing, weapons, and other things they used in their daily lives. The pace was slower and people spent their time making useful things, not spend it yapping on their cell phones and watching TV, or sitting in front of their computer all day long. They didn't spent as much time shopping either, the way we do. They foraged what they needed from nature, or traded with others.

I'm not saying I would like to live like that, but it makes you think about values in our lives.

Like every year we went to the Country Boy Restaurant for lunch. It is still called that, but on the sign outside it says 'Diego's Kitchen. Authentic Latin America Cuisine. Now they serve enchiladas, tortillas, and other Mexican dishes.

We found out they have new owners, which means changes. It seems every time a place changes hands, the new owners have the desire to change things. Why would anyone want to change something that has proved to be good? The place used to be packed, this time it wasn't, while the burger stand next door couldn't handle all the customers. This was the Icelandic Festival. A chance to make money.

We ordered our usual: Pan fried pickerel (or walleye), with fries and salad. $10.95. Not a bad price.
What a disappointment! Instead of 2 filets, they way it used to be, we received 1. The outside was much too dark and crispy. We got less fries and a smaller portion of lettuce. They put pieces of Mango fruit into the lettuce. I like mango, raisins, nuts, cranberries, pineapple, oranges and other fruit. Even jello but not in my lettuce!!

I didn't go to Gimli on Lake Winnipeg to eat Mexican food. I wanted fish. After we finished eating, we checked out what the people next door ate. They did have 2 filets, nice and golden brown. I guess next year we'll go the Chris' Fish and Chips next door. We may have to wait in line but it'll be worth it.

We felt like eating ice-cream, but they wanted over $3.00 for a small cone. We went to Robin's Donuts across the street. I paid $2.39 for a big scoop of strawberry swirl soft ice-cream in a sugar cone.

The secret of making money in any business is not high prices. It is better to sell for less, make less profit on each item, give the customer a little more than he/she expects, and in the long run a business will make more money by selling more items. A savvy businessman knows that. Buyers always love bargains and they will flock to the place where they'll get them.

I smoked my first Goldeye

Yesterday I caught 4 Goldeye in Lockport. I scaled them, gutted them, washed them and put them into the fridge. In the evening I put them into brine and left them overnight in the refrigerator. Some people say that it is best to freeze them for a few months before smoking them. Apparently, it makes the meat firmer and pulls out the oil, but I wanted to try out smoking them before I spent money on a smoker. 

In the morning I soaked roasted oak chips in water for 2 hours. The oak chips come from wine kits. They always include a small bag of oak chips, but I never use them. I’ve saved them over the years.

I took the 4 Goldeye out of the fridge, took them out of the brine, rinsed them, dried them with a paper towel, put them on a rack and left them for about 1 ½ hour in the basement to dry and to glaze over (so they can absorb the smoke but retain moisture).

Then I prepared my 2-burner gas barbeque for the smoking:

1)     I removed the rack from one side. Then I put more briquettes on the side without the rack. I took the oak chips out of the water, squeezed them dry and wrapped them with tinfoil. I punched holes into the top for the smoke to escape; then I put the package with the chips on top of the briquettes.

2)     I lit the burner, using only one. I left it on high with the lid open until the oak chips started smoking a bit. Then I put the fish onto the warming rack on the unlit side.

3)     I turned the gas control knob to its lowest setting. The temperature crept to about 275 F. Then I shut off the burner and let the temperature inside the barbeque cool down to about 180 F. Then I lit the burner again.

4)     After 2 ½ hours I shut off the burner and let the barbeque cool down with the fish still inside.

5)     The barbeque was cool after 1 hour. I used a spatula to loosen the fish from the grill. Some of the skin stayed behind, but that’s okay. We don’t eat the skin anyway. The meat looked good and the fish had a pleasant smoky aroma. We put the fish onto a baking sheet and put them into the fridge.

The problem was to keep the temperature from going above 275 F. Once I had, by mistake, 2 burners going on low for about 10 minutes and the temperature rose to nearly 400 F until I noticed it. Not good.

It was a tedious job. I left the burner on for about 5 minutes, then shut if off for about 10 minutes, and then I lit it again. This I did for the entire 2 ½ hours.

Note: I will buy a smoker. It will make life so much easier. This is actually the first time I smoked anything and I wanted to try it out. I searched the internet for advice and for recipes. I found plenty of both, but nobody advises you how to tell when the fish are done. I cut into the skin of one fish after 2 ½ hours and it separated easily from the flesh, so I figured it was done.

Here is the recipe I used:

1 liter of water

¼ cup pickling salt

¼ plus cup of brown sugar

½ cup of apple juice

¼ cup soy sauce

½ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. garlic powder

A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce

Evaluation:

We had them for supper. They were not great but edible. The taste was okay, but the meat was still quite soft. Maybe I should have smoked them longer. I think if they would have been smoked in a smoker and not my barbeque they would have been better. The way I did it wasn’t really the way to smoke them, because there was no consistent supply of smoke. Actually, there was probably not much smoke at all, because the oak chips were not even charred. I can use them again. I think I’ll wait until I have a real smoker before I smoke goldeye again. I will use the same recipe.

I went fishing

I took a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and went fishing in the Red River in Lockport. Lockport is only about 3 km away from our place. We fish near the dam. The fish come up from Lake Winnipeg  and are stopped by the dam. They congregate in the turbulent water below the dam in great masses. Many anglers go there every day to try their luck. Sometimes people fish shoulder to shoulder, especially on the weekends and when the weather is nice. Sometimes whole families are there. Not really a place to go if you want to spend a quiet few hours of fishing.

I was lucky and caught 7 Goldeye and 2 Sauger. The Sauger were a bit on the small size. The limit for Goldeye is 10, so I'm still 3 short of my limit. Should I catch more they'll go on my wife's license. I scaled them with a scaler-board I got from my son years ago. I've never used it before. It works great. You just insert the tail of the fish into the clamp at the end of the board and start scaling them fish with a scaling-knife. The fish are slippery and it is hard to hold them.The scaler-board makes it so easy. Once they are scaled I gut them, wash them and put them into a freezer bag filled with water (4 fish in a bag), then I freeze them until it is time to smoke them. Probably in the fall when the weather is cooler.

I used a 6 pound test line on my rod, put a floater about 4 feet above the hook. The hook is small, tipped with a piece of night crawler (a large worm). Then I throw it into the river and let it drift in the current, hoping to catch a fish. Some guys there didn't use a floater. They fish the bottom. I tried it but gave it up. I got hung up between the rocks at the bottom of the river and lost a few hooks and the sinkers, not to mention a few feet of line.

I also caught a carp and a tiny catfish (about 3 inches long). I don't keep the carp. They are too greasy and taste muddy. Some people keep them. They must really spice them up for them to taste like anything I'd want to eat. Obviously, I didn't keep the catfish either.

Speeding is okay, even if you kill someone

Apparently, it is all right to drive over the speed limit, according to one of our judges. This judge ruled that, even though some young man hit and killed a 91 year old woman while driving 100 km/hr in a 60 km/hr zone, he is not criminally responsible for killing a human being. This young man didn't drive recklessly, because everyone speeds on that stretch of road  where it happened.

Wow! Let me write this again: he didn't drive recklessly, even though he drove at least 40 km over the speed limit!

This opens up a whole can of worms. It means anyone can speed and get away with it, because people speed on every road. I see it every day.

Our son had a serious accident when he was younger. He came home late one night, being tired he dozed off and, consequently, rolled his car, demolishing it completely. He was extremely lucky to come out of it alive. The cops and rescue people who arrived at the scene couldn't believe he survived the crash. He was charged with reckless driving, had to pay a fine and received demerit points on his license.

But speeding and killing another human being while doing so is okay and not considered reckless driving. I don't see the logic in that.Something stinks to high heaven with that case. I hope the children who lost their mother and grandmother in that horrific accident put in an appeal.

There is always talk about making our roads safer, but nothing ever gets done about it. People still talk and text on their cell phones while driving. They drive without their seat-belts on, pass in no-passing stretches of the road, drive slow in the left lane on the highway when the signs say: Slow traffic keep right, drive through red lights...and they speed. Young criminals will steal cars and take them for joy-rides, sometimes causing serious accidents, even killing people, but they never get punished enough. Most of them are repeat offenders.

I got a $200.00 speeding ticket a few years back while driving 10 km over the speed limit in a construction zone.I was caught with one of those cameras. The sign said: 60 km when workers present. There weren't any workers there when I drove through that part of the highway. Many drivers got a speeding ticket that day. And on other days. The whole thing was nothing but a tax-grab. It had nothing to do with driving safely.
I am not a speeder. I always follow the traffic signs. This may sound like the whining of a kid who got spanked for misbehaving a little, while his brother got away with throwing a rock through the neighbor's window, but what I mean is it seems the wrong people get punished most of the time for minor infractions, while the serious offenders get away with their crime.

Real speeders should get fined heavily. If they get into an accident and hurt someone they should pay dearly with a hefty fine and loose their license. If they kill someone they should face jail-time. That, of course, depends on other circumstances also, but they should never get away with it scot-free. Drivers, who are caught using their cellphone should get fined a minimum of $500.00 and receive demerit points on their license. Instead of setting up traffic cameras, the cops should be out there on the streets and watch the drivers, watch for erratic drivers who are weaving in and out of traffic, drivers who go through red lights. Drivers who rev up their engines and take off like rabbits when the light turns green, drivers who are actually speeding on purpose. Records should be kept of offenders and repeat offenders should get higher fines, even loose their license.

Sounds harsh? These measures may save many lives. Possibly even yours. Like I wrote in one of my previous blogs, we live among idiots. They are everywhere, even on the road driving a car. The next one may just be headed your way.

Be careful out there and have a nice day.

We're being screwed

Why are gas prices still so high? The price of a barrel of oil has dropped to the low $80.00 level. A few weeks ago it was even below that. It is strange, when the price of oil goes up only a couple of dollars the gas prices soar, so why don't they go down when oil prices drop?
Because the oil companies are playing with us, in a way stealing our money, just like the banks when they raise their interest rates to unreasonable levels.
Oil is ruling this world, that's why we have wars, that's why we don't have electric cars or cars with motors that run on other, cheaper fuels. And our governments do nothing about it because they are controlled by the oil companies. In many ways the economy is also controlled by the price of oil (as it is by the interest rates). High gas prices mean high transportation prices which translate to high produce prices. Everything is connected to the price of gas. The state of our economy can partially be blamed on the oil companies.
I wrote a book, a mystery, Bullet of Revenge, that touches on the subject. The book will be released by the end of this month. I will announce it here, even though I'm not using this blog to advertise my books.
Perhaps you are interested.

Spanking...a new revelation. Or: It's not my fault. Blame my parents or my teachers

 Researchers have discovered that children who get spanked develop paranoia and become drunks. Wow! Where the hell do they come up with that one? It never amazes me what the ‘experts’ come up with. How old were these researchers?

If that were true then every one in my generation should be a paranoid drunk! I was spanked when I was a kid and I’m not paranoid, I drink very little alcohol. I don’t smoke, either, even though my dad smoked a pipe. (That one little tidbit is for those psychiatrists and psychologist and researchers who believe children always copy what their parents do). None of my friends from my generation have problems with paranoia or alcohol. None of them do drugs, either. Something that can’t be said for the new generations who grew up not being spanked when they misbehaved. Their parents probably let them do anything they wanted.

What a revelation! Now I finally know why there are so many drunken and homeless people downtown. They were all spanked when they were kids. My theory is they may not be in their position had they been spanked a little and taught some discipline, but that’s only my theory. I’m not an expert in these matters. I only use my brain to figure out things I observe.

I find that many kids these days have no respect for older people, their teachers, policemen (policewomen), even their parents. Parents are not buddies to little children. Their job is to teach them and discipline them when they do something wrong. A little pat on the naked butt never hurts their tender psyche.

Undisciplined children get a rude awakening when they grow up and suddenly discover they can’t get away with doing anything they want. There are certain laws they must obey. If they don’t follow rules they get punished, either with a fine or even sent to prison if their crime warrants it. Had they been punished for misbehaving when they were small they may have learned respect for rules and the law. And some kids need a little more than just being talked to.

Why do people always have to blame somebody else for their problems? Instead of saying: “I’m a drunk or a drug addict because I got spanked when I was a kid,” they should say, “I’m a drunk because I can’t control myself. I never learned any discipline; I was never taught how to control my urges. My parents didn’t punish me when I did something wrong because they didn’t want to hurt my psyche, but, yes, I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Some people gamble, some take drugs, some drink excessively, some are paranoid. Some people are just plain crazy. Some don’t know how to handle money; they borrow too much, overextend their credit, charge their credit accounts to the limit, buy on impulse. Some men beat their wives, their children. Some get into fights, some steal, break into cars, rob people. Some rape women and abuse children. When they get caught they blame it on something or other, never take responsibility. Like Vince Li, who murdered a guy and cut off his head, because he heard voices telling him to do that. It wasn’t his fault. He is in a mental hospital in Selkirk now and doing fine…according to his doctor, who is probably a psychiatrist. I don’t know if he still hears voices. I wonder if he got spanked when he was a kid.

The problem is that people confuse spanking with beating. No, you don’t beat your children. Neither does a husband beat his wife, (or the other way around. It happens!) It’s a crime and should be punished severely. Inflicting pain on others is a crime. Spanking is not inflicting pain. I got spanked, on the buttocks with a belt. Spanked with a belt not beaten with a stick. The belt was soft, so were my buttocks. Sure it hurt, but it didn’t cause any permanent damage. My dad never hit me anywhere else, never in the face, on the head, or on the chest or back. He never took out his anger on us children. When we got spanked we deserved it. He was stern and taught us respect for rules and the law. We had respect for our teachers, the police, older people, and our parents. We did not call older people by their first name, we called them Mr or Mrs. In some cases perhaps ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunt’, but never by their first name only.

I cannot agree with these researchers. Paranoia, drunkenness, and other problems are not caused when children are spanked. People develop those things as they grow older. Some people can’t cope with life so they take refuge in drugs or alcohol. Some people are just born with bad genes. Not their fault. My advice: deal with it. Don’t look for causes and don’t blame others. Get help. Try to solve your problem. Learn to meditate. Pray. Get busy. Maybe even get a job if you don’t have one. Educate yourself. Take up a hobby. Get into sports. Do something but don’t mope and feel sorry for yourself. And above all: Don’t blame your parents for your problems! You and you alone are responsible.