Bonnie is taking Conner to Saskatoon for a visit and they will be gone for two weeks. Conner is going to get to meet his Grandfather, Aunt and Uncle for the very first time so I dont mind so much. It’s gonna be tough and it was already this morning when I had to leave for work and say good bye. I got a little choked up, this will be the first time since he was born that I will go longer than 15 hours without seeing him.

I’m sad!

I grew up watching Playboy Buddy Rose on Big Time Wrestling out of Portland and All-Star Wresting here in Vancouver.

Gawd I hated him but he left such a mark on the Wrestling scene back in those days.

I still remember when the fans would Jeer and Taunt him with chants of “PLAYBOY BUDDY RUMPROAST, PLAYBOY BUDDY RUMPROAST!”

RIP Playboy

Aprille is my Step-Mother, my fathers second wife and mother to my three siblings Tristan, Trevor and Elyse. Aprille has been in my life a real real long time. I remember vaguely my Dad introducing Aprille to me after he started dating her, gently very gently. I was not a very happy child and was prone to fits of anger and I threw quite a few tantrums in my time. To say I was thrilled with Aprille at the beginning would be a lie. I am sure I didn’t make things easy on her but from my point of view she was taking my Dad away from me. Being from a divorced situation meant that I rarely saw my Dad and when I did I wanted all of him to myself. Hell I didn’t even like it when my older brother would tag along for my Dad weekends. So when Aprille started to show up for my weekends I recall alot of animosity on my part.

This lasted for what seemed like an eternity in my young mind but in reality was only a short period i’m sure. Well Aprille eventually grew on me when it looked like she wasn’t headed anywhere. I remember quite fondly when the three of us went to watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The scene where they are in Indian Palace eating a Banquet which consisted of Bugs, Snakes and Monkey Brains. Aprille had assured me that that was not how people of that country really ate. Actually I think that was after they had gotten married.

Around that time just after they had gotten married I became quite defensive of Aprille to my Stepfather Pete and older Brother Kevin. Whenever I would go over to their house for the weekend or comeback I would be taunted about me smelling like Curry or what have you. Usually by Kevin and to a lesser degree Pete, Pete seemed to encourage it which added to the list of many of things I didn’t like about him. I remember calling both of them out on their what I called racist attitudes. I was so upset I locked myself in my room. Now I am not calling them Racist. My Brother for the most part was pretty much an idiot and didn’t know any better, this would be proven to be false later in life with the choice of friends and women he desired. Pete on the other hand should have but he grew up in a very small farming community which basically consisted of Ukrainians. But as someone who was in charge of me should have seen the damage that that type of talk did. Yet it continued until my Mother stepped in and put a stop to it for the most part.

As the years passed and Aprille began bringing in children to this world I started to see her in differently again. She was now a Mother to my siblings and that to me became sort of a second chance at being a brother. I never had a close relationship with my Brother Kevin and younger Sister Chelaine but here I saw an oppurtunity to do things differently. From day one I saw Aprille raise the kids into who they are now and I have ot say I am impressed for the most part.

Then a few more years passes and I saw something else which impressed and endeared Aprille to my heart even more. It was her view on the Family. The Family of course has to be the McCauley’s. We saw things so alike and wished things could different. So tired we were of the endless bullshit and bitterness that we saw tearing the Family apart. Unfortunately I think any effort on our part will be futile and it will take a momentous event to turn things around. That event I hope Isn’t what I think it is.

Recently my Wife Bonnie and I brought into the world our Son Conner and I would not have gone as smoothly with the aide and assistance of Aprille. Last Christmas at Dinner Aprille mentioned that she would be more that happy to help out during the Labour process. When Bonnie and I went home it was Bonnie who said she would feel very comfortable having Aprille there. Before that we had talked about having my sister Chelaine and her sister Katherine be the sole helpers. Since the due date was fast approaching Bonnie made the decision to ask Aprille to help her along. For that I so grateful to Aprille, she made that day so much easier. After going through that before more recently than anyone else It was a no-brainer.

I wanted to make sure that I said to Aprille that even though we were not blood, I wanted her to consider Conner her first Grandchild and that she was in fact a Grandmother for the first time. I think she took it exactly how I wanted her too. Since Conner’s birth she has been wonderful beyond words.

So I just want to say thank you Aprille for everything that you have brought to my life. Thank you for my Brothers and Sister, thank you for being a Wife my Dad deserves and thank you for being a second Mother to me. You may not have known it but you shaped my life just by your presence in it.

All the Best on your 50th Birthday

Second round and quite easily if I do say so myself. I love the St.Louis Blues because my second cousin Bernie Federko played for them but Damn is it sweet to be the first team into the 2nd round of the Playoffs.
The Canucks have never swept a team in a seven game series in the Playoffs and with less than 30 secs left in the first overtime Alex Burrows squeaked a wrister by the St.Louis Goaltender Mason. Mason I thought was absolutely amazing in the series. Even though he lost 4 straight he kept the Blues in every game. I think this guy is the real deal and I can’t believe at 33 years of age he has come into the player he is. 10 years toiling in and out of the NHL and finally he is here! I look forward to seeing him do well for St.Louis in the future.

As for my Canucks they get anywhere from 7-10 days off now before they play again and that is just fine. They have a few injuries that they will need to heal up to hopefully face the winner of the Calgary/Chicago series.