Just When You Think You're Out........They Pull You Back In

I have spent a lot of time in hockey arenas this past year. For a certified “Hockey Mom” this is not an unusual thing but to be honest I thought I was over hanging out in arenas. You just can’t take the hockey out of a Canadian girl.

Greg started playing hockey at the age of 3 or 4 and Kaitlin joined in a few years later when the powers that be finally realized girls are quite capable of playing hockey too. So to summarize 20 years of hockey motherhood, I have experienced 5:30 a.m. practices, double, some times triple booked calendars and of course the laden down van with stinky, smelly hockey equipment.

So the last few years have been pretty much arena free. I got rid of the van and now drive a sedan which only holds one set of equipment. No more team mom for me. But hockey can’t leave me for good. I became a fan of the local Junior A Niagara Ice Dogs. Instead of actually going to the arena I am able to watch the games on the local cable station. Between my day (and often night) job as a principal, my free-lance writing jobs and trying keep Terry and Journey the dog happy, I have become a multi-tasker and I watch the games on TV while doing a million other things in the house.

2011 brought me back to the arena in big ways.

It started with a fabulous Christmas present from my father, tickets to the World Junior Hockey Tournament. The World Juniors is a showcase of the best hockey talent in the world. A preview of the next NHL stars. As Buffalo is just down the road from our place we were able to spend our Christmas vacation at the HSBC arena. I can never remember what those initial represent but it’s where the Sabres play. It was exciting times as not only the hockey was great, but the fans were spectacular. Canadians arrived en mass causing back ups on the Peace Bridge as they were arriving and back ups at the beer gardens once they got there. Good times as we met up with lots of friends, family, neighbours and made new friends. The Canada-Us game was awesome. (can you guess who won???)

As the junior season headed into the play-offs, hockey in our household revved up again. The Niagara Ice Dogs were doing well but the Owen Sound Attack were doing fantastic. The Attack team is from my home town and my Dad is the business manager and past minority owner of the team. The Attack made it to the Memorial Cup which is the Canadian championship of junior hockey. It has been said the Memorial Cup is the most difficult trophy to win in all of sports. As Owen Sound migrated to Mississauga to cheer on the Attack, it quickly became apparent the Hershey Centre Arena had been renamed the Owen Sound Bay Shore South Arena. It was like a high school reunion. People I literally hadn’t seen since high school graduation were there. Not only were the games great but once again the fans made it memorial.(is that a pun….Memorial Cup….memorial times???? Sorry)

Summer progressed relatively hockey free until some how through the Twitter universe I hooked up with a new job possibility. I am now a contributor to “In the O Radio Show”. The O stands for OHL hockey (Ontario Hockey League- the big step for junior hockey players before making it pro) The radio show is not actually on the radio yet but rather on the internet but it is an up and coming business run by a guy who is passionate about what he does and I am confident it is going to be big. (Check it out at www.intheoradio.com) The compensation is little, but the learning and networking I will get is priceless…….not to mention a media pass for the games! Who ever thought those days as a hockey mom at the cold arena in the wee hours of the morning would turn into this? Just when I thought my days of stinky hockey equipment were over I’m back in as I interview players post game in sweat drenched gear.

I will keep everyone posted how my new job as a sports contributor goes. Any ideas for interview questions to young wannabe pro hockey players??

Flyers vs. Blackhawks

The first game of the Stanley Cup finals is about to begin. I have no idea which team to cheer for. On one hand I want Chicago to win because it has been since 1961 since they have last hoisted the cup. 1961 is the year of my birth but it also means it has been longer than my beloved Leafs since they have won the Cup.

I also have a sentimental thing for the Philadelphia Flyers. I remember clearly the first time they won the Stanley Cup in 1974. It was the May long week-end and we couldn’t believe NHL hockey was still playing. I remember my Dad taking us all out to Sauble Beach for a tour of the beach before heading back to watch the hockey. It was very exciting the Flyers were in the finals as they were the first “expansion” team to make it that far. Until then only the original six had ever won the Stanley Cup.

In 1975 the Flyers won the cup again, beating the Buffalo Sabres. That was the first time it was an all expansion team final. It was also the last time the Stanley Cup championship team was comprised solely of Canadian-born players.

So, I still haven’t decided which team to support. It is almost June. It really should be time for me to be thinking of the cottage, not hockey………..but I can’t take my eyes off of the TV waiting for the game.

Well which team is it going to be?????????????

Say It Ain't So

The NHL play-offs are in full force. My beloved Leafs did not even make the play-offs this year…..again. With the Maple Leafs out of contention I had to pick a new team to cheer on. I chose the Washington Capitals because in a six degrees of separation sort of way I kind of know the coach. (Although he wouldn’t have a clue who I am any longer)

So along comes the Montreal Canadiens. This is a team that only made the play-offs because they managed to tie the Leafs in the final game and then relied on New York losing their final game! When you only make the play-offs because another team is even worse than you, you don't really deserve to be there.

Everyone assumed it would be a short series with the Capitals having an easy time of it. But as any kind of sports fan now knows, the underdog Canadiens came through and some how beat the powerful Capitals.

All through the series as it became apparent Montreal might some how win, you could hear the thumps of everyone jumping on the band wagon……..including my dear Jen living in Kingston. Because of her proximity to Montreal I can almost forgive her for becoming a Habs fan, but not quite. As much as I always like to cheer for the underdog, I just cannot bring myself to cheer for the Habs.

The next round brought on Pittsburgh. As last year’s defending champs, everyone was saying, the Habs somehow beat Washington but there was no way they could beat the Penguins. Well you guessed it………that is exactly what they did. It took a game seven win in the Penguins arena but they did it! There was literally a riot in Montreal that night in celebration of the victory.

That band wagon is getting very crowded right now. But I still can’t do it. No way, no how, can I cheer for the Habs. Now they are playing the Philadelphia Flyers. They are down in the series two games to none. They are definitely the underdogs. They are the only Canadian team left in the play-offs. But they do have GTA boy Mike Cammelleri who is really cute. Can I do it? Can I actually start cheering for Montreal?

Me….a Habs fan? Say it ain’t so.

March Break

It is now officially over. The annual week off from work scheduled to let us rest up to regain our strength to make it through the sprint of the last term of the school year. During my career I have spent March break in one of three ways:

traveling

OR

hockey tournaments

OR

sleeping on the couch

In the past I have travelled to a variety of places. There was the Carribean cruise I won in a contest. My father actually bought the ticket for me. I still remember the moment my mother called to tell me I had won the big prize and I was upset because I owed my father $10.00 for the ticket. I realize now the biggest prize wasn’t actually the cruise around the Carribean but the fact my parents agreed to baby sit the kids for the week. There were only two kids then, Greg was 2 and Kaitlin was 7 months old……I STILL owe my mother for that one. Years later, thanks to Terry staying home to look after the kids, I traveled to Italy and another year Greece with my colleagues.

Then there were the many years of spending March break in arenas throughout Southern Ontario and Western New York. Greg and Kaitlin both played travel hockey so there was lots of time spent watching kids play hockey at the arena and more time watching kids play mini sticks in hotel hallways. (Ed, do they play mini sticks in Germany?)

Then there were the last few March breaks spent sleeping on the couch recuperating from those years of travel, hockey, parenting, working and, and, and, and, and………As the kids aged and I wasn’t needed as a taxi driver any longer I finally had the opportunity to catch up on my much needed sleep.

This March Break was different. As an empty nester I was finally rid of parental responsibilities and I had enough energy to actually do something. While many of my colleagues were heading south I was most excited about the opportunity to DO NOTHING. I did not achieve my goal but I am quite pleased with all of the things I was able to do.

Here is what I did this last week:

• went to a 30^th birthday party and rediscovered my youth
• cleaned and reorganized the walk in closet so I can find my clothes in the morning
• went for Sunday afternoon drinks at Scorecards even though football season is over
• celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with style at the Lions Hotel in downtown Port Dalhousie (see picture above)
• went for five early morning walks (OK, not that early, but during March Break anything before noon is early)
• interviewed 3 people in preparation for an upcoming article I am writing (improving your business through Social Media.....August edition of Business Niagara magazine)
• networked and made contact with an editor of a new national magazine
• confirmed two new articles to write -anyone know anything about eco tourism?
  
• rented out the cottage for a couple of weeks this summer (certainly mixed feelings about this one)
  
• hostessed a real grown-up dinner party (our neighbours are so much fun!!)
• learned to make tea (don’t even ask why I didn’t know how to do that before!!)
• gathered up all my stuff to get my taxes done (With a father as a CA this one wasn’t very hard)
• had lunch with colleagues (three times)
• visited with Kaitlin
• visited with Greg and my new grand-dog Tyson
• messaged Jennifer through Facebook to arrange her new apartment in Kingston
• went on a bunch of walks with Journey because the weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!
• Shaved my cactus winter legs
• Admired Terry’s new glasses he bought without my help (yes, that was stressful)
• had breakfast with colleagues (OK, technically that hasn’t happened yet…but it’s scheduled for a few hours from now

The only problem is, in one short week I was able to restructure my lifestyle but now how am I ever going to fit going back to work into my schedule????

The Good Ol Hockey Game

The withdrawal has been much tougher than I expected. After all, it was only an addiction of two week before I was cut off. The Olympics. I still find myself rushing home to turn on the TV only to find Oprah and Dr. Oz. No Olympics….although there is no Dr. Phil either, but that is OK….whatever happened to Phil….alright I am digressing.

Anyway, I am sitting here watching a new episode of House, working through my Olympic withdrawal pains and I hear the “ding” of my email. It is an email from Terry who is sitting just a few feet away. What could he possibly be sending me he couldn’t just tell me? When I read the email I quickly understand….he is enabling my Olympic addiction!

It is a link for a you tube video of the entire Canadian men’s hockey team gold winning Olympic run. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. What is a video worth? The words to the song, the great pics, this is a video worth watching.

Click on it fast…..the copyright people will yank it any time now….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8PfX4VS_Lo&feature=player_embedded#

Just when you think you are out, they pull you back in.

OH CANADA!!

Olympic Withdrawal Pains

I am going through Olympic withdrawal.

Yesterday once again I rushed home to turn on the TV only to remember there was no Olympic coverage. I miss it.

I still vividly remember the rush of the hockey game Sunday afternoon. Canada had been on a gold medal rampage and we needed one more gold to create a new record for the most records won by any nation in the Winter Olympics. We also had to win the game not just for the gold medal, but for our nation’s pride. We had to beat those Americans at our game!!!

I have to admit it was close. Too close for my comfort. The tying goal in the dying seconds of the game was a definite let down but it had to be. The hockey gods made it happen in order to allow Sid the Kid to become he next Canadian hero. His winning over-time goal is now the most historic goal of all time. Move over Paul Henderson.

The closing ceremonies were great……better than the opening ceremonies. My favourite was the revue style show led by the one and only Michael Buble. There was every Canadian stereotype imaginable. (I hope Americans did get the joke) The flying moose, dancing lumberjacks, the beavers and even the mounties made BC Place look like a giant gift shop on Clifton Hill (Niagara Falls). I laughed so hard when I saw everyone in the audience wearing their own personal moose antlers. Only in Canada, eh?

Neil Young sang as the Olympic flame slowly dimmed. Then the party got started!

Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Alannis Morrisette, Simple Plan, Hedley, k-os, (yes, we do have black people in Canada). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1254585/Winter-Olympics-2010-closing-ceremony-Michael-J-Fox-helps-mark-end-Games.html#ixzz0h4khFs4M I quickly turned to NBC to get their reaction…..but no, they had cut out of the most glorious moment of the evening for…..wait for it……..”The Marriage Ref”. What the …….????????

I did get good news today. My new best friend in Vancouver, Josh Rimer was able to reconnect the camcorder he found to its rightful owner. Bill from Seattle was so thrilled to get his camcorder back because it had the last footage of his father who recently passed away. Bill was so grateful he told Josh to keep the camera! An affirmation for my belief……what goes around, comes around!!! Do unto others…. http://www.joshrimer.com/using-youtube-to-find-the-owner-of-a-lost-camcorder/

Help me recover from my Olympicitis.

Any ideas what to do with all my time now that the Olympics are over?

The Summit Series

I am sitting with Terry watching the Canada-Russia game.

The pre-game talking heads described vividly the rivalry between the two countries. As Canadians we all believe it is "our game." The first recorded history of our game was described as occuring in Kingston, Ontario where Jennifer now lives. It was first written about in the early 1800's by Lord Haliburton so the Europeans back home could learn how people actually pass their time in the great cold barrens of the new world called Canada. Haliburton named after this man is where our cottage is located. Again I am able to relate our cottage to another blog entry, even in the middle of winter, in the middle of the Olympics...which is where I was actually heading when I first started writing this.

Many people are comparing tonight's game to that game in 1972.

Any Canadian who is old enough can tell you exactly where they were on September 28th 1972. I was in the library at Strathcona Senior Public School (grade 7) where they crammed all of us in to watch the final game between Canada and Russia in the Summit Series. I can still hear Foster Hewett yell "Henderson has scored for Canada!" This was a hockey series which included so many emotions for so many hockey fans and Canadians who weren't hockey fans (if such a person actually exists)

Everyone assumed the Russian national team coming to play an all-star team of CanadianNHL players would be interesting, but Canada would not have any trouble winning. The trouble was, this was before the time of the internet or other communication "behind the iron curtain." Communism was some dark unknown thing but we were confident they certainly could not play hockey as well as we did. We were wrong.

Game Results	Canada Wins Series 4-3-1
Game 1	USSR 7 - Canada 3
Game 2	Canada 4 - USSR 1
Game 3	Canada 4 - USSR 4
Game 4	USSR 5 - Canada 3
Game 5	USSR 5 - Canada 4
Game 6	Canada 3 - USSR 2
Game 7	Canada 4 - USSR 3
Game 8	Canada 6 - USSR 5

While we obviously eventually won the series we came to realize hockey was no longer just our game.

It took more lessons to really understand.

Nagano, 1998 -professionals were allowed to participate in the Olympics. We believed a medal (certainly a gold medal) would be an easy thing to attain for Canada. We were wrong....again. A lacklustre performance and once again underestimating our opponents meant we lost in the Bronze medal game to Finland. The next Olympics in Utah 2002 we got our revenge by beating the host country's team -USA!

This history lesson is really just reminiscing about how hockey has changed so much during my life time. Once viewed as the ultimate Canadian past time, it has emerged as a game played around the world (even in Dubai). There are just as many players registered for hockey in the US (465,975) as there as in Canada (499,695).

OK.....enough of the statistics. ...although statistics are an important part of our game of hockey. The stereotypical Canadian is polite at all times, we never brag or make our guests uncomfortable..... except tonight in Vancouver!! YES! We are going to win this game against the Russians and we ARE going to win gold Sunday night against those braggart Americans!!

Sorry if I offended any American or Russian readers out there. You know I am Canadian, eh?

Hockey Mom Deja Vu

I popped into the local arena last week-end. As soon as I opened the door the smell of artificial ice, stale hockey equipment and concession stand hotdogs evoked strong memories of my time as a hockey Mom.

I was at the rink to visit my cousin who was in town for a hockey tournament. As I sat with the other parents, I had a whole new perspective. It was déjà vu. Suddenly I was an impartial observer looking down at a big chunk of my past life.

Both my son and daughter played travel hockey. This meant ink-filled calendars identifying practice and game times, not to mention the fund-raisers, additional power skating sessions and of course the social aspects of the team. I believe the organizational and administrative skills of hockey moms can challenge those of any C.E.O.s of a major corporation.

As I sat in the bleachers with my cousin, I flash-backed to those years I was an active hockey mom. I heard the cheering for the goals for and the disappointment for the goals against. I also heard like I did so many years ago, the quiet whispers when a player made a mistake and of course the running commentary of how the coach should be doing his job. Between games there was also gentle kidding about the escapades in the hotel the night before. There is still disdain towards the parent who allows swimming prior to the game. Everyone believes all energy must be saved for the big game. I wanted to step in and tell these parents they are taking it too seriously. I realize now ten year old kids have energy for an afternoon swim, an early evening hockey game and post-game pizza party at night. I wanted them to learn from my experiences. I wanted to shout from the arena rafters it doesn’t really matter. Just let the kids have fun! I decided to keep it to myself. Hockey lessons, like most important life lessons, need to be learned through experience.

The unspoken thing is everyone dreams their kid is going to be the one. While parents know deep down the odds of making the NHL are greater than hitting the lottery, every hockey parent has spent at least a minute or two thinking somehow it might just happen, or at the very least their child will make the select team.

While the dreams of making the NHL never came to pass for my family I feel we have hit the hockey lottery. My daughter still plays pick up hockey with her university friends and my husband and son just headed out the door to play with their men’s league team. After the game they will probably stop and share a beer together while they tell each lies about how well they played. While in hindsight I would have taken my hockey mom duties less seriously, I wouldn’t have given up a minute of the time our family spent together.

SPECTACULAR GOAL!

Well, Sid the Kid did it!

The dream every young Canadian boy has probably had at some time……..to hoist that Stanley Cup above his head! It was a great game last night and I was surprised how emotional I got to see that cup being presented. They call it the prettiest cup in all professional sports. To me it signifies attaining a life long goal………and at the age of 21 Sidney Crosby reached his goal.

Crosby is the same age as my middle child Kaitlin. In fact, Kaitlin managed to finish her soccer game and watch the final minutes of the games with me. After the game she chatted with me about how busy she is going to be this summer. As well as playing soccer, she is taking her last class to graduate with a business degree from Brock University. She is starting a new job in the finance department at the board office. She will still be slinging beer at TGIF’s. The thing she is most excited about is she is back on the water this summer rowing.

Her goal is to win a Henley gold on the rowing course. http://www.henleyregatta.ca/henley-2009.php

Sid attained his goal at 21.
Kaitlin is well on course (pardon the pun for those who know rowing) to attain her goal of winning Henley gold…at the age of 21.

I am 47……….I don’t even have a goal let alone on my way to attain it!

My goal for the week-end is to get the laundry finished.
My goal for the summer is to lose 15 pounds.

I need a SPECTACULAR goal.
A picture taking worthy goal.
A goal that involves hoisting something above my head.

Anyone out there in cyberspace have any suggestions on goal-setting?

Is this just a sudden mid-life crisis?

Can I suddenly start training to run a marathon?
Could I have anything interesting to say to write a book?

Who knew that watching some kid with a trophy over his head would cause me to think I have yet to achieve something big. The question is………….what is that something??????

Game 7 ~ Stanley Cup Finals

In spite of what some of my blog readers may believe, I am really not THAT big of a hockey fan. I hardly even acknowledge the NHL season while they are playing their 80 regular season games. Being in close proximity to Toronto, I try to ignore the constant bombardment about the Toronto Maple Leafs . Usually about how bad they are. (They didn’t even make the playoffs this year) But, being a Canadian, there is no ignoring the game tonight………….Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

I always seem to cheer on the underdog team which means definitely I will be cheering for Pittsburgh Penguins. Team captain Sydney Crosby is sooooo close in attaining every boy’s childhood dream, and yet he is still just a kid himself……hence the moniker “Sid the Kid.”

It just seems odd to me after the regular season, 3 series wins so far in the play-offs, and 6 games already played in the final series, the cup will be awarded to the winner of one game. It makes for an exciting game for sure. I don’t know if I could even stand it if the game goes into over time. Not only would this mean the cup came down to one game, it would come down to the next goal……………just like those road hockey games that had to end because the street lights came on. But I am digressing to childhood memories…yet another post for another day.

So tonight, I will be an absorbed hockey fan, yelling at the TV set and listening intently to what Don Cherry has to say. (Don is definitely worth his own post, but for those of you non-Canadian types you really have to check out this amazing Canadian icon………seeing is believing) http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hockeynightincanada/coachscorner/

Tomorrow I will have moved on to something else putting hockey aside until next play-off season.

Any suggestions out there for my NEXT temporary passion?

Hockey Night in Canada......and further south!

I am all set for tonight’s hockey game. This is game 6 of the final NHL series, back in Pittsburgh. The Penguins have to win tonight or the cup will be handed to the Red Wings again. Not that I care that much about the outcome, it’s just that I don’t think I can stand listening to dear son Greg going on and on all summer long about how great his Detroit team is.

A couple play-off series back I was cheering for the Washington Capitals. (Did I mention I always seem to go for the underdogs?) The reason really was because of the coach. Bruce Boudreau, Coach of the Washington team actually coached Greg when Greg was young. Bruce runs the Golden Horseshoe Hockey School each summer and Greg went about 4 summers in a row. Bruce, through his connections with the NHL and AHL always had professional players and professional referees come to the camp and it was a big thrill………for the parents. Greg enjoyed the ice time but the lunches are what he remembers best. Bruce, having kids of his own about the same age (they went to high school with my kids) knew it was all about the food. It wasn’t meeting Johnny Bower or having Don Koharski ref his game, it was having pizza and wings and a Big Mac Greg remembers!

Anyway…..all of this memory lane walking is because of something fascinating I discovered while watching Hockey Night in Canada before one of the Penguins/Capitals play-off games. Road hockey in front of the White House! I have even signed up for their messages on Yahoo! Each week a bunch of guys (no girls??) get together and play road hockey on a section of the street shut down to traffic in front of the White House. Yes, THAT White House. I think that is amazing. A Canadian pastime is now becoming something for all Americans to see! I am trying to convince Terry to make our summer vacation to Washington. Not to see the Smithsonian or anything like that but to play road hockey! The only thing missing is that no one needs to yell “CAR!” (I think only the Canadian readers out there will get that)

Game One - Stanley Cup Final Series

My Pittsburgh Penguins did not do very well tonight. A 5-0 loss to Detroit. While watching the game tonight I was vividly remembering our latest family outing.

Last Thursday on my way to work, my cell phone rang. It was my sone Greg asking me if I wanted to go to a Stanley Cup final game. Before I calculated exactly how much this excursion was going to cost I said yes. Of course MY credit card had to be used! By 10:00 a.m. Greg was on-line and was able to score 4 tickets to game 1 of the Stanley Cup final series between Detroit and Pittsburgh.

So last Saturday afternoon with my husband Terry driving, Greg and his girlfriend Kim in the back seat, we were off to Detroit. It was a pretty uneventful drive until we were between London and Windsor on the 401. I was engrossed in a book when I heard Terry swear and say we were about to be pulled over by the police.

The police office came up to the passenger side so I rolled down my window. Standing there with a great big smile was the youngest, cutest looking cop I have ever seen! She very politely explained Terry was driving 131 in a 100 kph zone. She went on to add this section of highway has seen an abnormal amount of accidents due to the lack of median. She then headed back to her car to write up the ticket.

Terry stepped out of the car at this point and asked her if it was OK to go and visit the woods. She agreed and off Terry went into the trees at the side of the road in front of a cop and the other hundred people zooming past us on the 401!!! No one said Terry had any class. When the officer came back to the car, she asked Terry to get back and went on to tell us because we looked like such a nice family she reduced the ticket to no points and only a $50.00. We thanked her profusely and commented how we appreciated her kind manner.

Terry did slow down a bit (with my backseat nagging) and we arrived at our hotel room to get ready for the big game. Kim and Greg donned their matching Red Wing jerseys while Terry and I kept on our civilian garb. We headed to a city bus stop where we got on a bus and went through the Windsor tunnel and through customs. I was going to give some motherly advice to a young gentleman on the bus who was upset about getting hassled from the customs inspectors. I was going to suggest if he removed the massive dollar sign tattoos around this neck it might make his entry into the USA easier. I decided to not get involved.

As we entered "The Joe" we were all given white towels to cheer with and we then headed for the pizza stand for our dinner. Looking around I had never seen so many jerseys being worn. Literally, Terry and I were some of the very few people not wearing a jersey. Most were Detroit but there were lots of Penguins jerseys too, considering we were in the Motor City.

The game was a blast! While I wasn't happy the Penguins were on the wrong side of the score sheet, (I always seem to cheer for the underdogs) the arena was rocking! Attending a game at the Joe was a cross between a great hockey game, a rock concert and a karaoke party! In my other life, I am sure I must have been a back up singer for Bette Midler, so while the goals didn't go the way I wanted, I sung along with the crowd anyway.

NHL rules says the music can only be played when the players aren't playing. That doesn't stop the crowd! Never really a fan of KISS, suddenly all of the words came back to me, and 20, 000 other people. At the end of the game we all sang together "I Want to Rock and Roll All Night.......and Party Every Day!"

The bus ride back through the tunnel was much louder and rowdier than the way over. Lots of not so watered down American beer can do that to a bunch of twenty-something-year-old hockey fans. I did feel sorry for some poor kid from London Ontario, the apparently sole Penguin jersey wearing rider on the bus.

All in all, it was a great week-end. Lots of fun. A great family outing even if only half of the family was there. Daughter #1 Kaitlin was very upset we didn't have a ticket for her. Daughter #2 Jennifer couldn't figure out why anyone would actually want to go to Detroit.

As we travelled back along the 401, at almost exactly the spot Terry got the speeding ticket, we saw a car crumpled up in the ditch. Several people were out of their cars heading toward the crash. We could hear the siren wailing from the ambulance on the way. A severe jolt back to reality.

The rest of the series we are back to being common folk, watching the game on the TV. But in the background I can still hear them play KISS and I still sing along.