Moose, Fittwell & Co.

In order to take a bite out of the long winter days, I indulge in one of my most passionate pastimes, exercising! Now for those of you who know me, you need read no further………..

For those of you who are still with me, here’s the scoop.
One of the reasons to exercise is that all my “idols” hang out at the local Fittwell Centre. There’s Uncle Bob Dyck (not a relative), crooner Wayne Motheral, debonair Don Sager, Arnold “007” Wiebe, and Jerry “Biker” Kehler, along with school boy chum Jim “Moose “ Giesbrecht, (2nd generation), who is a local sports legend in these parts. There’s a whole life time here of twisted mangled sinew and thinning hair. All of us being of sound mind and bad bodies attend this facility for various mysterious reasons, unbeknown to us, well for some of us anyway. It’s all about the camaraderie and joy we find at Fittwell, as long as we’re not all there at the same time.
Under the fine tutelage of Facility Director Deanna Pentland CFC, PTS, FIS, NWS, its run like an army boot camp, just kidding, just kidding, don’t panic! I have suggested a name change from Fittwell to the Sitwell Centre, something more appropriate to my style, but that bombed because younger people do attend.

Having gone for several years now, I feel I can offer a few sage tips on the fine points of exercising!

Top 5 Fitness Tips

1. Upon arrival at the Fittness Centre, you are unable to find a parking spot, don’t stress yourself out, just go home.
2. Don't overexert yourself to the point of injury and hospitalization.
As hospital food tends to add to your body weight, defeating the purpose of exercising.
3. Don't go over your allotted time frame on any one exercise machine, but if you do, dock that amount of time from your next exercise.
4. In the locker room, secretly sprinkle water on the front of your sweat shirt, to give that sweaty macho look.
5. Don't be taken in by Deanna's smiling charm, it's genuine.

As I’ve told Deanna “the best thing about Fittwell…… is leaving”.

Oh! did I fail to mention this, “Chicks” work out here too!



Local Legend Jim "Moose" Giesbrecht

Charles "Harold" Atlas

(All Photos & captions by Terry Titchkosky)

(Click on pictures for larger image)

Cheers!

Oscar's 80th

One of my annual rituals since the beginning of television or time, whichever came first, is taking in the Academy Awards. Sunday’s 80th presentation I thought rather drab. One of the issues is in not knowing the new crop of performers or much about them. Jon Stewart the host of 80th Academy came out flat and stayed that way. He is much more suited to the political subtle innuendoes of the day, than the e-talk entertainment scene. Bring back Ellen DeGeneres she’s been the most entertaining and capable host as of late. As for the dresses and gowns very conservative in style, nothing outrageous at all, whatever happen to Cher? There was an absence of any life form like streakers, or any Jack Palace push up’s, or any hint of protests; except for Alex Gibney’s (“Taxi to the Dark Side”) statement regarding torture. The two musical categories for original song and score had a drought, and where left wanting, for some spark of musical creativity. Dwelling on this 80th Anniversary took me back to my youth and the 50th Academy Awards Anniversary. Charlie Chaplin who had been ban from entering the United States in 1952 after 38 years in the States; was accused of "un-American activities" as a suspected communist sympathizer He briefly and triumphantly returned in April 1972, with his wife, to receive an Honorary Oscar, and the longest standing ovation in Academy Award history, lasting a full five minutes. I mention this because not that much has changed over 30 years. Today you could step out of a shower with a towel around your head, and be picked up as a terrorist, because they didn’t like your You Tube material. So much for the 2008 Oscars and our age of paranoia!

Afghanistan

The situation in Afghanistan is certainly a vexing one for Canadians, and even more difficult to assess and put into words. However I believe Larry L’s response to the Globe and Mail, sums it up quite succinctly.

Larry L from Waterloo, Canada writes: There is no doubt this situation is both dire and being swept under the carpet. How anyone believes 51,000 troops will save the day over 50,000 is the height of insanity. A few thousand more troops will not solve this. And no NATO nation is going to provide massive numbers of troops. I do not know the answer on how to resolve this. What I do know is where we are now is a stop gap at best and a declining one at that. More lives and more billions are not going to improve the situation. If we have no solution, we need to pull out and take a different approach. That is not a cut-and-run answer. That is not a typical liberal cowardice ideal. It is just reality. I don't want another dead soldier whose life is tossed away in some fruitless venture. It would be great to think we are stemming the tide, making a real difference. The reality is that every area we secure gets turned back as soon as we move to the next area. The poppy industry is the people's best hope for survival. Who can blame them? We have not inspired the people to stand and fight with us. They take what we give, gratefully, and when we go, they still have to live, feed their families. And so the poppies grow. Wouldn't you do what you had to in order to feed your family? It's sad that we live in a world where the truth is the enemy. It's sad that politicians on all sides feel the need to either lie, cover up or manipulate the truth. The question I'm always asking myself is this: If what we are trying to do in Afghanistan is working so well, if how things are organized is so spectacular, if the reason we are doing what we're doing is so right, then why do you have to do whatever you can to keep the information from us? Does no one understand that the truth is out there? It doesn't take long to find real information from real sources in real places. And it doesn't take long to unravel the web of disinformation. The question why so many accept what is fed to us.