I STAND WITH ISRAEL...DO YOU?

UNITED TOGETHER!

Last night, amongst the 5000+ strong Jewish and non-Jewish supporters for the State of Israel who were present at the Stand With Israel Rally I was proud. Proud not only to be a Jew, a Zionist, an ardent supporter of the Jewish State of Israel, but most importantly, I was proud to be a Canadian and a Torontonian (ok, technically I'm a Thornhiller, but still you get the picture).

What I was rather disappointed (and I hope I'm proven wrong about this) is that it didn't seem to me as though there were many of our community's youth and/or young professionals et.al. present.

I know that people have their lives to live and socializing can at times take priority, however if you think about the more than 1,000,000 (ONE MILLION) Israelis whose lives have been ground to a halt due to terrorist attacks along their Northern border, don't you think that sacrificing an evening or two to show them that you care, that you sympathize, that you understand - isn't that worth missing out on a pub night or a chick flick or whatever???

You don't have to be political to show your support. You don't have to wave a flag, or be a member of a given political party. You don't have to be an Israeli, you don't have to have ever travelled to the region. You don't have to be Jewish, and you don't have to be apathetic. You have to be a human being and recognize that your fellow brothers and sisters are fighting and dying for their country, for freedom, for democracy, for their basic right to exist. Any Canadian, and human being so adamantly opposed, or worse so indifferent to the plight of our Israeli brothers and sisters should be ashamed.

To those of you whom I know who weren't there last night at the Toronto Performing Arts Centre, please, be sure to be there the next time - and hopefully there won't be a next time. All it takes is to have your heart in a good place and your willingness to STAND and be counted as a true friend.

May G-d watch over and bless the State of Israel, her soldiers and her citizens alike. May they be kept safe and return to their homes and cities and villages and shops and businesses so very, very soon and may the innocent people of Lebanon know peace in the coming days. May they know that their Israeli and Canadian cousins are eagerly awaiting the day to share laughs and meals rather than grief, sorrow and bombs.

Peace.

Done.

EM

"the pic"

So, now that I've figured out how to post pics, I figure it's time to put up "the pic". You all know the story by now, and if you don't then you can ask me and I'll be happy to recount the tale for you over a nice pint of beer.

Ciao for now.

Done.

EM

Support Israel

BRINGIN' THE PAIN SINCE '48!

Dear Hizbullah,

DON'T FUCK WITH US!

The New Routine

Summer is here and with summer comes a new routine. Oddly, for myself this "newness" I speak of is really, well, old. The saying "it's like riding a bike" has come in handy for me the past few weeks as I'm getting back into the swing of things at camp.

Camp, if you don't know, requires some much needed illusion, allusion and best of all confusion (see, it's working already). There's got to be a "new you" at camp. I'm not the same "me" that I am when I'm with my friends or family (though, I will not lie entirely and say that I change so drastically. A lot of "me" is still "me" whether its at camp or at home etc.).

You have to reinvent yourself so as to preserve sanity. I now find myself waking up and in a state of typical zombiness, readying my shiny blue uni, and selecting an article of swimwear for the day. Grab the lunch that was made (thanks mom! Ya, that's right my mom makes my lunch - sometimes - you got a fuckin' problem with that?? didn't think so!!!), or I make my lunch in somewhat of a haste, have some breaky, grab my faux-tilly (thanks Costco!) load up on the sunscreen and stroll out to the mini-bus (yep, the "special" one) and commence my co-captainness of Bus 6.

Then its a bumpy, oft sweltering lil' drive through the familiar scenery of T-hill and voila...destination reached. Unload the lil' cute tikes on their respective cabins/counsellors and its on to meet my devil children. They're not all that bad - but put together as a group of 12 and its a "Dirty Dozen" indeed.

After about 3 fantasmal 35 minute sessions of various activities (be it drum circle, rock climb, archery, golf, baseball, drama, cooking etc.) its off to outdoor instructional swim!!

As the lil' shits drown, er, learn to swim, I casually soak the feet in the pool, workin' on the tan [I don't swim b/c a) its an instructional lesson and that would mean I'd either be getting in the way, or getting an unwanted/unnecessary swimming lesson, and b) I've only dressed in bathing suit, wetting it now rather than at 230 would mean that I'd have to endure crotch rot for far too long a time and that's just not in the cards] and overall enjoying the fact that the lifeguards have to put up with my lil' buggers for 35 mins!

After the change its off to one more activity and then...LUNCH.

Now, you'd think this would be a fun relaxing time for us, huh? Nope. Gotta get 'em sitting at their table, eating their packed lunches - of course all of them want the "lunch program" that you gotta shell out extra cash for, which includes a lucrative bag 'o chips...man oh man how they bargain for a bag o' chips.

Then comes the impromptu cabin cheering/ragging contest. My kids have no spirit. None. Zero. I've encouraged their creative juices but it seems alas, that their juice has run out. So while other cabins come up with some creative and let's not forget deafening cheers, my guys just sit their pining for chips.

Clean up and then its two more activities before swim time - indoors!

Here's where I unload, cool off and get wet. Thanks to the extra towels provided by the facility, I can now afford to leave my precious cottons at home!!

Toss a few kids around the pool (they like it), get out, quickie shower to rinse off and its back to the home base (under the big tree) for some popsicles, daily trivia/skill challenges, of which the winning cabin gets a pizza party (you'll note that my kids lost out last week b/c they lacked one particular skill - SPIRIT aka CHEERING. Had they had that, we'd have been the Prized Pepperonis er, cheese err..whatever it'd have been a better lunch for sure...). Then as a bus captain its time to head up the hill, grab the attendance clipboard then do my best boxing ring-girl immitation, waiting for the little darlings to come on home.

Dropped off before 5 and voila!

Rinse, Wash, Repeat.. 6 more weeks... I'm getting too old for this shit - Cap'n Murtaugh.

Hmmm, maybe that'll be my new nicname at camp...hahaha I made myself laugh.

Done.

PEACE (except for the part where we must destroy Hizbullah/Hamas/Syria and Iran)

EM

WAR - I'll tell you what it's good for...

So unless you've been living under a rock for the past 72 hours, it seems that the shit has once again hit the fan in the Middle East and it only appears that it's gonna get a bit worse before it gets...a bit worse?!

While my extended family is spending every spare moment in a bomb shelter, once again the world's general consensus is that ISRAEL IS TO BLAME...hmmm, let's see...Israel pulls out of Lebanon 6 years ago. Israel pulls out of Gaza a little over a year ago, and what happens?? Twice within a period of two weeks, Israel is infiltrated by terrorist scum, soldiers aged 18-23 are kidnapped and killed. What are they supposed to do??

I say carpet bomb Gaza, Lebanon, Hamas, Hizbullah and while you're at it - NUKE Iran and Syria. It's time for the world to wake the fuck up!!! This is the world's war on terror and its being fought by the only nation willing to stand up to terror!!!

Israel is 100% right in its actions - you want to sponsor terrorism and hatred, then you're gonna get burned (literally)!!

If you can't stand the heat of your Katyusha's don't cry when you feel the wrath of the F-16's!!!

Just needed to say it. I don't really care about comments on this one. Too pissed. Too scared to care.


Done.

Peace/War

EM

On Nature

A note to parents who read this blog (it's possible): Your kids and torrential downpours, don't, I repeat, don't mix!

So a wonderful day at camp today: wake up, its drizzling...ok, I can handle that no problem. No sooner than I climb up the steps to the bus and those doors shut behind me signaling the start to my new found hell, do the skies open and yield a steady stream of soaky goodness (working on the aliteration, they don't just accept anyone to teacher's college these days, do they?? DON'T ANSWER THAT!)

-SIDE NOTE - ROGERS WIRELESS CUSTOMER SERVICE HOLD MUZAK HAS TAKEN ITS PENULTIMATE TURN FOR THE WORSE!!

Anyhoo, so we get to camp and its raining...so we're huddled off into the Arts n' Farts, er, Crafts tent - soon it smelled like farts (and no, it wasn't me, honest!) - so now we're stuck in this 30x50ish sized tent that's bolted into the ground (important info for later). All our specialty activities have either been cancelled or are being delivered directly to us, so that we don't have to move.

LUNCH TIME...yum. While we're eating hot mac n' sauce (it wasn't cheese) Mother Nature and G-d Almighty take the weather into overdrive...we're still in these shite tents, stuffy, and the kids doing what they do best (deafening lil' suckers) - when the longest, loudest, boomiest crack of thunder ever heard by human ears lets loose - and wouldn't you know it, so too cometh the wind, the rain and the pain!

The tent's walls are wailing in the wind - and who's job is it to secure them b/c the other 16 yr. old staff are shitting their pants too much to worry about their kids?? Uhuh, so here I am doing my best Giligan impression, girls and boys alike are crying, surely a tornado is imminent...and what's the plan, you ask??? Why, let's somehow get these guys onto waiting buses and take them down to Newtonbrook Bowlerama for some hectic bowling action! WOOHOO!

By the way, I'm amazed at the strength of my cabin - these lil' guys (9-11 yrs old) are lifting the size 14, 15, 16 pound bowling balls like they were made of paper - but man when they let 'er rip..I think we broke the floors and the gutters!!

So, after nearly losing 4 kids and 7 of them almost breaking their toes (or someone else's) we get back just in time for me to climb off one stuffy, steamy yellow-mobile onto another so that I can accompany good 'ol BUS 6 home - the highlight being that it stopped raining and we could open the windows...

I had such a wonderful day. To think, only 33 more just like it!

PEACE

Done.
EM

NOW BLOG THIS, NOW BLOG THIS...

The Blogger has returned...long live the Blogger!

After a lengthy and rather ill-conceived absence from the blogosphere, much like Superman (and Captain Jack Sparrow) - I HAVE RETURNED!

So much has happened I just don't know where to begin, though I hear the start's as good a place as any, however, seeing as how I like to mix it up - I'm gonna work my way backwards...

TODAY - Toronto Gran Prix (a.k.a. Molson Indy) - fantabulous (its a word) day! Jodi and I attended the race in fantastic fashion and witnessed an amazing crash at Turn 3...no drivers were hurt in the hurtling of all things fibreglass/metallic. Further to today, Italia 'as 'a won da Worlde Cupa! Viva L'Italia! (AZZURI, AZZURI) - Marty's hurtin' at that one (though I will admit I did pick Portugal and they still bested Rooney et.al)!

LAST WEEK - Richmond Hill Country Club Day Camp - I am now spending my days with the kiddies all coddled in their country club environment, whilst the boys play rock n' roll, these kids just eat, burp, go hyper, swim, more hyper and well...its just Camp, right? At least I can work on the tan.

PRIOR TO LAST WEEK - Basically, been on m' arse waiting for Teacher's College to get under way. Been seeing friends, new and old alike and enjoying their respective company...

BIRTHDAY - Part a) Snorkelling with Sharks in the D.R.!!! Part b) A surprising surprise party - to which I truly had no clue was in the works up until I spotted the RKT NGN outside JoJo's house...shoulda' moved the vehicle...but it was a thoughtful idea nonethenone. Part c) Culminated this weekend as darling Jodi bought me a 3-Day Pass to the Gran Prix of Toronto (aka Molson Indy) of which I'd never attended - GLAD I DID NOW! WOOHOO! I had lots of fun...lots of walking...the best part was when I ______________ (Jodi knows this part)!!!!

Now you're all caught up more or less...more consistent bloggage on the way kids!

A'Salaaam Aleychem....


PEACE.
Done.

EM










I miss him too JoJo. :(