Peter Betty TV Crosswords and Crown Royal

I wanted to give Betty some input into my column, so I mentioned three different topics to her and asked her to select one for this week. Well, she came up with a fourth, so here we go.

The last 16 months have been very hard on everyone in so many different ways, affecting everything from employment to interpersonal relationships. Uncertainty about the whole situation is dominating the media and our own lives, as we look to a future which we know will be drastically different, though whether for better or worse isn’t very clear at the moment.

Now here at Chez Montreuil, we have taken advantage of the opportunity provided by the pandemic to work on building our relationship with great success. We have settled on a daily routine, which starts with coffee in front of the television, watching a neverending news channel, in order to keep up with current events. I want to share a few observations with you. One newsreader, in my opinion, sounds like they are reading fortunes from cookies which they have just opened, as they display absolutely no inflection in their delivery. At the other end of the spectrum, some of them sound like they are describing the Hindenburg disaster, as the emotion is definitely “ramped up” during their on screen time. When they introduce a live item, by the way, I always think that the reporter is broadcasting from Mars, as there is always a discernible chunk of “dead air” before the narrative begins, and we are “treated” to the sight of the reporter doing a plausible “deer caught in the headlights” impression. Thankfully, all “good things come to an end” eventually.

Later we get an update on the COVID situation in Ontario and Toronto, based on the previous day’s statistics. I have to say that it is encouraging to see that vaccinations and other preventive measures are working as we confront this damned disease. The decrease in daily cases and the decline in ICU admissions are beacons of hope for us all, indications that things may return to normal for everyone sooner than later. We watch it for a while, but then change the channel, as the whole thing tends to repeat on a regular basis, and I can only stand so much tory.

Then we change the channel and watch crime shows. One series in particular focuses on neighbours who start off on good terms, but have their relationship gradually deteriorate, usually over some pressing issue such as kids skateboarding in the driveway or the street. I am appalled when I see how many times guns come into the equation, blood is shed, children are orphaned and lives are destroyed. My takeaway from series such as this is that just maybe the neighbour who plays loud disco music at 8:00 P.M. isn’t the problem which you might think he is. 

We don’t watch television all day, we also do crossword puzzles. I print off the Globe and Mail cryptic crossword and do it as a way of keeping my mind sharp(er). We do the London Free Press crossword together, on line. If we don’t get one clue, we don’t argue or fuss about it, we move on to the next one. We are always successful at this endeavour, and my goal in having us do it together is to show that we can do a lot when we work together.

Recently I was showing Betty my retirement card and remarked that it was almost 5 years ago. In the midst of reading the good wishes, I noticed something attached to the card. It was an LCBO gift card. When I went to bed that night, I lay awake wondering if it was still valid, as it was almost 5 years old. I resolved to go to the LCBO the next day and “enquire” about its validity.

In other news around here, I successfully installed a printer which Betty named “Harvey”,  and I have ordered, and am eagerly awaiting, the new Tamiya 1/48th F-4B Phantom kit. Betty and I have had our first vaccinations, and we will be getting our second shots next month.

In case you wonder what happened when I took the gift card to the LCBO, well, I now have 3.5 litres of Crown Royal lurking in my cupboard waiting to fulfill its destiny. 😉

See you soon 

=PJM=

A confirmed Cat person, Peter dabbled with being a water boy, a paper boy and an altar boy before finally settling on a career with the Canadian federal government.  Once, in his youth, he ate a Dutch  oven full of mashed potatoes to win a 5 cent bet with his beloved sister Mary’s boyfriend. (Of course he was much younger and a nickel went a lot farther!))

He has retired to palatial “Chez Montreuil”, which he shares with his little buddy CoCo the Fashionable. He is blessed to have the beautiful Betty in his life. He is not only a plastic aircraft modeller, but a proud “rivet counter”. Military aviation and live music are among other interests of his, and he tries to get out to as many shows as he can. He will be here for your enlightenment whenever the stars align. Profile photo courtesy of Pat Blythe, caricature courtesy of Peter Mossman.