You get an apple, we all get an apple!

Warning: This is going to rub some people wrong and is largely opinion based ... albeit informed.

Another fall is upon us and, unfortunately, this one brings the latest versions of TV and radio advertisements surrounding issues brought about by the PC government's negotiations with the education workers of Ontario, each side occupying a polar opposite opinion of the state of schools. As a retired educator, I hold a very biased, yet informed, opinion of the state of classrooms thanks to regularly helping out my former colleagues as an occasional supply, and although acknowledging that I lean right of center toward the teachers and EA's, I truly pray that some common sense infuses the pending negotiations because job action means that nobody wins, least of all the kids.

Ford Nation would have Ontario believe that they are pumping more money than ever into education, refocusing on the three R's and testing performance, pointing a crooked finger at the Federations for being greedy, lazy, uncooperative thorns. OECTA, ETFO, and OSSTF would have Ontario believe that the PC's have short changed the system by over 6 billion during its time at Queen's Park, of manufacturing a state crisis in classrooms, and being completely unreasonable in demands. 

I have to admit that the spin doctors are gamefully employed these days.

Some unarguable facts need to be brought to the table, not the least of which is that schools have quietly become the place where society sends problems it doesn't know how to solve. The family unit has become increasingly disjointed, exacerbated by over scheduling lest "the Jones" look better at parenting, and the family dinner classroom is rarely in session. Combine all of this with a growing willingness to attack, demean, and disparage teachers for "not doing their job", a position often based on media perception rather than first hand experience.

Parents openly criticize both the system and their children's teachers because ...

Parents need childcare programs before or after work because both are employed to fund their lifestyle.
Solution? Schools are tasked with establishing affordable, or better yet free, programs.
Parents send kids to school hungry, the reasons are multiple and varied.
Solution? Schools are tasked with finding a way to feed them ... again, free to parents.
Parents struggling mentally are looking for schools to help their kids who struggle with mental health.
Solution? Schools are tasked to teach strategies, coping lessons, and provide counselling ... at no cost.
Parents criticize schools aren't adequately preparing their kids for the workforce.
Solution? Schools need more career programs and co-op opportunities ... you guessed it, at no cost.
Parents criticize schools for not teaching their kids to understand money while never saying NO.
Solution? Schools are tasked with teaching financial literacy, parenting skills, and life strategies.
Parents criticize schools because their kids are overweight and inactive.
Solution? Schools are tasked with teaching healthy habits, structuring opportunities to move into the day.

Society, and by extension governments, continue adding responsibilities to schools because they're one of the few institutions it has that can actually reach almost every kid, then turn around and ask why schools aren't doing a better job at their "main" job.

The students in today's classrooms bring a host of baggage with them each morning, obstacles that make learning, let alone living, significantly more challenging ...

Kids are vaping or have drug problems, some modelled on parent usage, or through ease of access.
The complaint? Schools have failed to educate students properly about unhealthy choices.
Kids are being bullied, sometimes online at 11:00 at night as kids lie in bed with their cellphone.
The complaint? Schools fail students by allowing bullying despite it being online and outside of school.
Kids are chronically absent, more often than not, absences known to parents.
The complaint? Schools need tighter policies and enforcement officers, but don't dare tie it to marks.
Kids are spending too much time using technology in school ... they can all they want at home.
The complaint? Schools must police the new "NO Phones" policy but allow parents to call when desired.

For clarity, in the school I supply at kids are cooperating with the phone ban, but I suspect that's not the same across the system. Case in point, while refereeing at another school, I queried the students doing the table, and they confessed that their school was not really enforcing the Ministry's new edict. As I have declared on many occasions, the students at my little country school are really awesome and the main reason I still choose to supply there exclusively.

I think possibly some of the answer to all of the above is that Society hasn't allowed schools to focus on their "main" job in a very long time, despite publicly crowing that the system and education workers aren't perfect. Increasingly, schools have become the place society sends those problems that nobody outside of the system knows what to do with, yet is vociferously critical when it can't solve them, and then begrudgingly admits that some problems are too complicated.

"Between a rock and a hard place" comes to mind.

In a small way, education workers have themselves to blame because for the sake of the children, those that stay in the career are the type that will so often make things work out,  even if it results in increased stress and expense. Frustratingly, if someone chooses to not go above and beyond, they are vilified, chastised, and in extreme cases, fired for not fulfilling the contract. It really is a case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Look, I don't have solutions, at least not easy ones. What I do have is great empathy for those friends still choosing the system as a career, and I make sure to loudly and publicly announce that at each and every opportunity. 

I dream of an Ontario where we support, not condemn, our teachers / EA's for doing the best they can, whatever their best might look like. 

I also dream of an Ontario whose elected officials, despite their party, show respect for those who willingly accept one of a society's most challenging and important vocations. Helping our young people find their way in an ever changing and ever challenging world has become significantly more complicated and difficult.

Here's the ask ... go visit your child's teacher or EA and sincerely offer your thanks for the effort they extend in their role of assisting you in raising your child. 

They deserve that at the very least.

The marvellous Mr M!

A number of years ago now, the first day of school that September brought with it a cherubic yet devilish grin lighting up the face of one Jay Malandrino, a new hire in the English department at Central. As our first chat proceeded, there was a voice inside me that said this one was somebody to take note of. As the years progressed, that first encounter blossomed into a friendship of epic proportions, the moments we shared filled with more mischievous grins punctuated by raucous belly laughs, and deep ties were forged. 

He's an easy one to like, that JayMal.

Scrub forward in that movie and we find ourselves at a troubling point where glitches on the hardware necessitated the replacement of a vital organ, and the emotions were as raw as you can imagine. At 46 years young, my buddy was sliced from collar to navel and his faulty ticker was replaced with one that until recently, was serving its owner steadfast and true. 

Jay Malandrino is a limited edition!

Quick of mind, hilariously witty, gentle souled, and loyal to a fault, he's just the kind of dude every guy could one wish for as a shoulder to bear the burdens of Life with, and the memories we jointly created while colleagues at ol' BCC are treasured and timeless. He doesn't know it ... until now ... that I would occasionally steal a moment or three to stand outside his classroom and giggle at the amazing way he would interact with his students. He was much beloved in those years, was Mr M, and his students were never shy about letting him know. Eventually the stars aligned so that Ron and I could welcome Jay into our Sr Boys Rugby family, an addition that took an already wondrous happening over the top into the realm of legends, a triumvirate of equally minded type A's, each bringing his own flair, sharing a symbiotic bond that produced accomplishments of epic proportions ... and that's saying something for our program!

Like all good things, the sands of time shifted, and Jay was traded away to cross town rival Innisdale, and although we stayed in touch as much as schedules allowed, it definitely dulled the shine that once was. True to form, Jay quickly made an impact at his new "home", and combining his passion for coaching with his new found love of all things ASD, the lure
of Mr M spreading even further as hoards of new students took a shine to his light, like so many moths.

It would take a long time to list all of the legendary shenanigans we shared, so suffice it to say that he was a true mate, a dude's dude, and as it would turn out, a fantastic husband and dad. What's not to like about a life that plays out that way?

All of that's why the news of his health failing hit so many of us like the proverbial wrecking ball. I knew that he had some issues with his ticker, having multiple procedures aimed at sorting out some electrical issues, but he shared with Ron and I on the sidelines of this past spring's OFSAA rugby, a fitting locale, that he would eventually require a transplant, his heart was slowly giving up. A whirlwind of medical mechanisms sprung into action and the news spread though the Central grapevine that the deed was done, Jay had come through the momentous surgery and was stable, although anticipated complications meant that he still had some mountain left to climb. 

Months later, the three Caballeros were back together, but these minutes were different in a significant manner, the surroundings downtown TO's Hennick Bridgeport Hospital, one of Canada's premiere complex care and rehabilitation facilities. Our reunion was filled with smiles and hugs, words of appreciation and gratitude, laughs, some scrumptious Chinese nibbles, plus a tour of the now defunct Don Jail. What's not to cherish about an afternoon like that? 

As I write this, Jay is mentally preparing for his escape ... he is scheduled to be released into the warm embrace of his beloved wife Robin, and the group hug of three adoring boys, each the apple of his eye. He still has some work to do, the complications of his surgery slowly waning, but he'll be home with his peeps and the worst of his ordeal should be in his rear view. 

Here's to you Jay! I love you like a brother!

What are we waiting for?

Climate Change ...

For some reason there remains debate about it's existence on the various social media platforms, despite the entire scientific community trumpeting both its validity and consequences. People are dismissing it with a wave of their ambivalent hand, and it doesn't help that certain political leaders have publicly condemned the overwhelming proof of significant changes happening right before our collective eyes, attempting to convince their followers that the science community is bunk. Despite the warnings from our most learned minds, people who by the way have nothing to gain from spreading misinformation, a vocal number of keyboard warriors continue to fill the Internet with half-truths or blatant lies in an effort to convince those straddling the line that those same learned minds are all "quacks" bent on fear mongering. 

What puzzles me is why ... what do they hope to gain? Or, is it what they hope to maintain?

This piece was a direct consequence of a Nature of Things episode I streamed about the causes, the potential impacts, and the signs that we're nearing the point of no return. Hosted by Sarika Cullis-Suzuki, daughter of the iconic David Suzuki, the episode examines our changing predictable weather patterns, the rise in extreme weather events, the alteration of the Jet Stream and AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation), and drop in salinity of the planet's oceans due to ice cap melt. 

Atmospheric scientists and meteorologists vehemently argue that Arctic warming rates, weakening ocean currents, and Jet Stream altered dust patterns are triggering extreme heatwaves, intense hurricanes, and volatile storms. These scientists offer irrefutable proof that invisible air forces are behind the rapid shifts in weather patterns affecting daily life globally ... and warn that continuing down our present path will only result in more significant changes. 

Give the video a watch (CLICK) if any of that interests you.

Suzuki enlists experts in various fields to explain how the interconnectedness of Nature, when disrupted, will precipitate significant changes with a cascading effect on what we have come to treat as normal, throwing the proverbial monkey wrench in the gears of the global economy. One of the most chilling sentences comes thanks to Ben Kirtman, a leading climate modeller, and I'm paraphrasing, "Even if we stopped polluting CO2 and methane completely today, there'd be 30 more years of warming." Even if Kirtman is off a little on his calculations, it's entirely likely that things could get significantly worse before they get better.

That is heavy stuff!

The air quality warnings in July 2026 are a direct result of those shifts in weather, the horrendous outbreak of wild fires across Canada and their resulting smoke plumes that drift 1000's of km as the winds blow, only existing due to the extreme heat and drought conditions brought on by those factors listed above. Actual climate change involves things that are difficult to see in everyday life, and those with their heads in the sand are quick to protest, "I'll believe it when I see it!", but when those same are forced inside due to the hazardous conditions like those few days, it would be ridiculous not to acknowledge something's not right. Millions of hectares ablaze is releasing untold amounts of new CO2 into an already impacted atmosphere. 

Unless you're a US politician, and then the issue is Canada's incompetent forest management ... SMH.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that these wildfires aren't anything new since they've been happening for millions of years, and with Canada's Boreal forest being the largest continuous one in the world, much of which is inaccessible, prevention management simply a ridiculous notion. Most of those wildfires were the result of lightning strikes but the composition of the forest floor with all of the peat, windfall, loam, and detritus, fires might lie smouldering for a while before a full fledged ignition. What has changed is the level of infrastructure that is consumed by these wildfires, contributing its chemical release to the smoke, causing increased concern when it travels 1000's of km to denser populations.

It took decades of ignoring the consequences to arrive at the place where we are now, making possible solutions to the damage extremely difficult, expensive, and inconvenient to our accepted life style, but the mountain of evidence has reached Everest proportions prompting potential consequences for billions on the planet. I need to point out, however, that the fear mongering about of human extinction is bunk, IMHO, and only feeds the flames of those who argue that the scientists are wrong. The impact of the changes will most certainly change the way we co-exist over the coming decade with increased natural disasters, violent weather events, disappearing coastlines, and declining farming successes, all of which could legitimately lead to the deaths of millions, if not billions, in the most extreme outcomes.

However, if you didn't know, Nature will always win.

Look at Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst (so far) nuclear catastrophe, as proof that Nature will always find a way to reclaim the damage we humans have inflicted on her. Despite lingering radioactivity, populations of grey wolves, brown bears, European bison, and Eurasian lynx have returned to the area and thrive in densities similar to, or higher than, uncontaminated nature reserves. (LINK) The scope of the forest takeover where approximately 70% of the abandoned territory has now reforested, untended gardens and ruined structures have been actively reclaimed by vegetation, demonstrating Nature's power to reclaim her own once left behind after humans move away. It's worthy to note that those 1000's of hectares of new trees are busily scrubbing the CO2 out of the local atmosphere.

I am in no way purporting to be an expert on climate change, but I am interested, and I am trying to help where I can by examining habits that contribute to the problem. The purpose of this is to ask readers to stay well informed from REPUTABLE sources, and make any changes that are comfortable (or even mildly uncomfortable) in an effort to help, no matter how small. It's a huge issue and the entire planet needs to embrace solutions to mitigate and manage the damage our greed has inflicted on our home, the only habitable choice for us at our present technological abilities.

What are we waiting for?

Tip Toeing along on the edge

The news lit up like the night sky on Victoria Day with PM Carney ordering the negotiating team home from Washington, a disappointing yet emphatic response to the US's last-minute changes made to the proposal from Trump's team that were unconscionable, unjustified, and unreasonable, according to Carney. Mark Wiseman, Canada’s ambassador to the US, was quoted by the National Post saying it wasn’t just a single issue that prompted talks to collapse late Friday, but a variety of things. As reported by the National Post, Wiseman used the metaphor of a handshake deal to buy a house, only for the would-be buyer to learn that appliances weren’t included, the furnace had no warranty, and neither the garage nor the yard were on the same property.

Dean Blundell is credited as the mind that created the below in blue italics.

According to a Google search, Dean Blundell works as an online political and social commentator, operating his digital media brand Crier Media (formerly DeanBlundell.com) and publishing commentary on X. After his long career as a shock jock morning host on Toronto's 102.1 the Edge and a subsequent stint on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, he shifted away from traditional radio to digital content creation. Though he previously ran a large digital podcast network, he scaled back those operations due to online monetization challenges, focusing instead on independent digital commentary and digital media.

The find-out portion begins now! So where does this go? 

Let me tell you where it goes, and why I think Trump folds before the leaves change.

Expect a fury of announcements this week. Start with what Carney has already announced, on the record. Dollar-for-dollar retaliation on Trump’s $28 billion, coming September 8, targeted at steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics. Focused, surgical, aimed at red-state supply chains, with more support for Canadian workers layered on top of the $25 billion already deployed.

That’s the announced part. 

Now the part I believe is coming, and why the math forces it. For eighteen months, Carney has resisted the export tax. Reporters have asked him about it since the Trudeau days, when Ottawa first war-gamed export levies on oil, uranium and potash. As recently as late July, standing in Alberta, he waved it off: “I don’t see the value of it.” Reliable supplier. People trust us. All of that.

But listen to what he said next, because Carney never wastes a sentence: “There’s other things we can do if we need it.” And then listen to what he said Saturday, after they came for our sovereignty: “Canada fuels American growth. I don’t think they want us to stop sending any of that.” And in his address to the country: “Canada has what the world wants. And we will not allow any nation to determine our future.”

The reliable-supplier doctrine was built for a trade dispute. This stopped being a trade dispute the moment American negotiators demanded control over our language laws and our trade relationships. You don’t owe reliability to a counterparty who just tried to paper-annex you. Every constraint that kept the energy weapon in its holster died at midnight Friday. The premiers are already screaming for it. Ford listed the arsenal out loud: oil and gas, critical minerals, electricity, potash, uranium. The only person who was holding it back was Carney, and the Americans just spent two weeks teaching him why he shouldn’t.

Now flip the board and look at Trump’s side of it, because this is where it gets genuinely dark for the White House.

He is running a 50% tariff war against his largest energy supplier during an oil shock. Hormuz has been functionally closed to commercial traffic for five months. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is sitting at 293 million barrels, the lowest since Reagan’s first term, drained at record pace and pumping at 61% of design capacity. There is no cavalry. The Gulf isn’t coming. OPEC isn’t coming. The only country on Earth with millions of barrels a day of spare heavy crude, pipelined directly into US refineries that were literally built to run on it, is the one he just tried to annex with a term sheet.

Midwest refineries cannot substitute Canadian heavy crude. That’s not politics, that’s chemistry. An export levy on Canadian oil doesn’t hurt Alberta; American refiners eat it and pass it straight to the pump in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Ten weeks before a midterm. Same story with uranium for their reactors, potash for their farms, and the electricity keeping the lights on across the northern border states.

And behind all of it, the thing I’ve been writing about since April 2025: the bond market. The 30-year at levels not seen since 2007. Bessent’s emergency buybacks erased by the market in 48 hours. Japan, China and the UK all selling at once. Foreign central banks dumping $230 billion since February. A president who, asked about Treasury yields, threatened to use the military on his own creditors. And Canada sitting quietly on $460 billion of that debt, fifth-largest holder on the planet, having added over $100 billion to the position since I started telling you this was the play.

Carney’s Checkmate: How Canada’s Quiet Bond Play Forced Trump to Drop Tariffs

Trump needs Canadian oil to keep the pump price down. He needs Canadian creditors to hold his bonds. He needs a deal to hold his midterm. Canada needs none of those things this week. That asymmetry is the entire story, and it’s why I think he caves, publicly, dressed up as some “beautiful new framework” he’ll claim was his idea, before September 8 makes the front page of every swing-state paper.

He walked into this thinking he was shaking down a branch plant. He was actually picking a fight with his gas station, his grocer, his power company and his banker, all of whom turned out to be the same guy, and that guy ran two central banks.

Understand what almost happened Friday night. A foreign government attempted to acquire, by contract, control over Canada’s trade relationships, cultural protections, official languages policy, auto industry, and provincial procurement, with a unilateral-enforcement whip attached, and they tried to do it in the dark, at midnight, on a deadline they manufactured.

The 51st state thing was never a joke. It was a mission statement. Friday was the paperwork.

It failed because one guy read the document. Now comes the invoice, and it gets paid in September tariffs, in energy leverage, and in Ottawa, no longer having any reason to hold back, and in a bond market that just watched the United States try to defraud its fifth-largest creditor at a signing table.

I told you about the bonds eighteen months ago. I told you about the snapback yesterday. I’m telling you now: Trump just started a sovereignty fight with the one country that can raise his gas prices, his food prices, his electricity bill and his borrowing costs simultaneously, and the man deciding how hard to squeeze spent his whole life learning exactly where the arteries are.

Elbows up. Find out.

Granted, Blundell is not the only voice shouting advice about turning off the energy and farming taps, as it were, but everyone that I have chatted with about this is very cautious, citing it's a "use it once" type of action. I'm the same as so many I have discussed Trump with in that I don't understand why we even continue attempting to negotiate since he's proven time and again that he'll say something today and then change it before dawn on the next day. That's not negotiating, at least as far as I see.

The one thing that Trump cannot change is the amount of US Treasury Bills that the planet holds and the economic fallout if those bills are ever called. The beginning of that has already occurred when Japan announced its intention to sell off 1.1-1.2 trillion of it's T-Bills to prop up a bottoming out Yen. Just recently I read that Trump has directed the Treasury department to sell more short-term T-bills and use that money to deal with the long-term T-bills that are being cashed ... not sure if I understand this strategy but it sounds like there's some nail-biting going over the amount of debt they have.

We live in interesting times folks, and no one I know has a working crystal ball.

The only thing that pundits in Canada agree upon is that we should all be prepared for some short term pain before any long term gain.

It's been a tough stretch

It's been a really tough stretch of late, with yet another of my friends crossing over, having lost a battle with a significant health concern. What makes this situation particularly difficult is one, he was a really great friend for a really long time and two, he was as fit a 70+ year old that you could ever meet. Being in my 60's now, I still feel that there are plenty of great years ahead that might be filled with more weddings, more grand children, or family milestones of the like, but my sense of mortality has been shaken to the core over the past 18 months as a number of friends, former colleagues, and former team mates have succumbed to a wide variety of maladies. 

Doug Eves was one of the nicest people I think that I have ever known. Quick with a genuine smile, a razor sharp wit, and a warm welcoming demeanour, he attracted people like moths to a porch's bright light on a dark summer evening. He always had time for you, be it for advice, for consoling, or simply a chat, and he was always present, like you were the most important thing in the world right then. Travelling a similar path for such a long time, we shared so many great moments that our friendship developed that magic when we could pick up right where we left off, despite it being a while since we last chatted, especially after he retired from teaching in the mid 2000's. Inevitably, our encounters would take place on the lakefront trails when he was jogging or walking his dog. See, that's the thing, Doug was an activity junkie, maintaining his high school physique throughout his adult life, and it really shook me that he might suffer an early death.

The quality of our relationship made the news of his passing really difficult to receive.

I first met Doug Eves as a student. Yep, he was a relatively new teacher at my beloved Barrie Central, and I was a high school jock without a care in the world. I didn't have Doug as a teacher, but I was blessed to be on the receiving end of his wisdom as a grade nine wanna-be hooper where he and Al Stevenson were coaches. He was a quiet sort, so imagine my surprise when coach Eves walked from the wings in the infamous Teacher Assembly and crooned out a reasonable rendition of Duke of Earl with the Huddle-rock band. I never asked him why he stopped coaching guys and focussed on girls after our time together, and I hope I wasn't one of the reasons, but Barrie's infamous snow days gifted us a bunch of afternoons to play with and against each other, I time I look back on with a huge warm fuzzy!

When I was hired by the SCDSB for an elementary position at Maple Grove PS, I became reacquainted with Doug the parent as his children Megan and Daniel were standout hoopsters and I was coaching or refereeing. While I was on a first name basis with Megan, we had limited interactions outside of the basketball court, but his youngest Daniel was a different story since we faced each other first in the Elementary Simcoe County championships, and then GBSSA Championships once I made the jump to secondary. Dan was a major component of those extremely talented teams, HIS victories I might add, and you always remember those that got you. Doug and I fostered an adult friendship that seemed to grow steadily with each passing year.

When I made the leap from Maple Grove to Central, Doug was a well established teacher celeb and for the first time, our friendship became professional in nature, even coaching together a handful of times, but it deepened when I joined the lunch time trotters for the daily jog around the bay. All manner of topics were broached during those slogs, and while I gasped out the occasional retort between gulps of much needed air, Ol' Dougie glided along like a gazelle with nary a care, hardly raising a sweat or his breathing alongside me. Another of our Central traditions was to play "Lunch Bucket" with a bunch of other teachers once in a while, and I vividly recall a 60+ Dougie gliding his way around the court, nailing those "Russian Spot" J's like it was his job. 

Super nice, super fit, super athletic, super smart ... if you didn't like Doug, there was something amiss.

After I retired, I qualified for the bi-weekly "Mayor's Meeting" of Old Fart Central teachers, regularly held at one of Barrie's finest establishments, a time to kibitz and guffaw about life, old shenanigans, and our joint passions. I'm definitely of the opinion that Doug's passing hit me so hard because much of our shared moments traversed so many eras in my life. Our group had already lost a few members when it became obvious that Doug was struggling with something causing some communication challenges. Sadly, it wasn't long after that when he and his family needed more help, and our visits became less frequent, though just as fulfilling for both of us. That's Doug in the white sitting beside me in the photo at the right.

Tragically, I was all set to make the trek into Barrie to visit Doug again with long time buddy Ron, also a dear friend of his, when we received a message that Doug had passed early that morning. Even though my previous visits were warning enough that his condition was worsening, the end is like a slap in the face, especially when it's a great friend who was so healthy and vibrant for so long. Like the song, "Only the good die young", but at 73 Doug was supposed to have far more time with Diane, his own children, and his grandchildren. 

If you wish, this is the link to his obituary CLICK 

Dougie, you'll always be close to my heart, and that amazing smile will live on forever in my mind. Those of us you left behind will cherish our moments forever. Enjoy the pain free jogging that Heaven offers.

Heart broken yet grateful

It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster this past week, with my heart breaking over the passing of an old university chum then filled to the brim by the generosity of our in-laws. I feel like I have written far too often of late about the emptiness of losing those who occupy a special place in my heart, but then time spent with loved ones, especially grand children, does its best patch job, all lessons in this game of Life.

The week started out on a low note with a message from one of my old football team mates that another of our brothers had been taken far before his time, the victim of an irreversible health complication. Greg Baun and I played on some pretty amazing Gaels teams in the early 80's, conditions that were emotional fertilizer for germinating close ties with tremendous staying power. Greg, the son of Maple Leafs legend Bobby Baun, inherited his family's outstanding athleticism making him a potent force on the gridiron as a punishing fullback, perfect for the option scheme that racked up total offense stats much to the detriment of our OQIFC opponents. As impressive as that may sound, it was Greg's off-the-pitch qualities that were even more impressive, not the least of which was his affability. The brilliance of his 1000w smile entered the room well before his face appeared, quickly followed up with a snappy remark, a good natured jib, or a glowing compliment, traits that endeared him to many of those who were proud to call him a buddy.

An often overlooked quality of Greg's was his gritty perseverance, a trait that not only served his athletic successes, but perhaps more importantly, impacted his business interests even more wholly. Whatever it was that was the focus at the moment, Greg poured himself entirely into the quest, successes racking up consistently. 

Tony, Ross, and Bauner

One of the traditions I am eternally grateful for is the passion of so many of my FB chums for staying in touch, the highlight of which would invariably be our reunions every few years, but another developed more recently, the brainchild of our team guru Ross 'ODO' O'Doherty, when those that could gathered every Christmas to share a meal, a beverage, and countless stories. It was during many of those holiday events that my friendship with Greg had its embers stoked as we shared more of ourselves, especially the more recent family developments. True to form, those conversations were accompanied by that glowing 'Bauner' smile.

My beliefs allow me the confidence that you'll somehow be aware of how much we will all miss you Greg, and the power of our collective love will, in its way, make whatever the next place you're in brighter and blissful. 

As low as that felt, the mood quickly improved with an invitation to join our Maddi+Chris+Wynnie at Chris' parent's cottage in the Haliburton area, a Shangri La I've shared thoughts about before. Tony and Cheryl Cove are a special type of generous, sharing the life they've built with open arms and a huge smile. Their place up north is both impressive and homey, situated on Eagle Lake with a full frontage of sandy beach, nestled in the thick forest that dominates that part of the world. We've been invited to enjoy before, and this time was no different, despite the lack of cooperation from Mother Nature, but the company was stellar, the conversation was plentiful, and the feelings of appreciation palpable. Not to be outdone, the offered fare was delicious and decadent, my belly's ballooning size at the end of the night signalling a caloric Olympic record. 

Of course, the highlight of the trip was our Energizer Bunny Wynnie's playful antics, entertaining 6 sets of adoring eyes sparkling with a love that spilled over the rim, and 4 sexagenarians rolling around on the floor, mimicking the babbling of a busy little soul. Having just passed her 1st birthday earlier in July, Wynnie almost skipped the awkward walking stage, opting instead for running as her developing powers mental powers left us bewildered and pleased. Even when her year one MMR vaccinations left her with an uncomfortable low grade fever, she babbled and danced herself content, much to the delight of the willing audience.

Were that not enough, the trip was punctuated with a group trip to visit my MIL Pearl in Haliburton with Maddi, Chris, and Miss Wynnie in tow, a Great Grandmother's first chance to see Wynnie at her frenetic explorations. With the significant distance from their home to Haliburton, Pearl doesn't get a lot of opportunities for visits, but the Cove cottage is a short drive away, and she couldn't have smiled any wider. Nap time signalled the end of the visit, kisses were offered, hugs were given, and we enjoyed a brief but tasty lunch with Pearl prior to pointing the RAV toward the Beach. 

I still found my thoughts wandering back to some 'Bauner' memories on the drive home, but thanks to the injection of Cove generosity, a lengthy visit with our little cherub, and the satisfaction that Pearl was healthy and well, the memories generated happy feelings of remembrance, not the sting of loss. 

Another week of retirement comes and goes, and it's still pretty darned wonderful.

RIP Greg

What is your deepest fear?

I love a good movie! We have Prime and Netflix so between the two, we must have access to 3000 or more movies, but the struggle is REAL in finding something that we both feel is worth the investment of a 5 minute preview. In some cases, the trailers help, but less than half of the movies that tweak our curiosity have trailers, so it's the age old roll o' the dice on some. Unfortunately for us, our batting average is not far off what the Blue Jays are these days, and that's disappointingly low ... in both cases.

Easily one of my favourite movies is Coach Carter, and at the risk of throwing a spoiler out into CyberSpace, it is well worth the time, even if you're not a huge basketball lover. The story centers around a real person, Coach Ken Carter, who returns to his alma mater after much personal success, as head coach for the varsity boys team, and along the way, changes the bulk of the team's lives through his unusually strict and demanding style. My favourite moment surrounds one of the more needy players, Timo Cruz, reciting a powerful quote in response to being challenged by Coach Carter, "What is your deepest fear?" The quote is originally from the book, A return to love, by Ms Marianne Williamson, 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

The first time I watched the movie, I was as impressed by these words as most, but the deeper meaning escaped my understanding at the time, and only re-watching delivered the impact the screen writer intended. I had to rewind a couple of times to make sure I grasped its full message. I don't mind admitting that while it did not change my life in some Eureka moment, its urging did bring a sense of peace to me as I continued to pursue excellence nearing the end my career, and I do feel that I became a better coach because of it. By embracing successes with pride, despite what naysayers commented, I consciously urged my players to do the same that they would brighten their own darkness in a wholesome sense of accomplishment.

I was doom-scrolling recently and stumbled upon a little video with Lawrence Fishburne from the movie, Akeelah and the Bee, that was focused on this same quote, again meant to enlighten a young mind. I immediately recognized the quote from Coach Carter, and had to look into it a little deeper. Of course a message this powerful would be applicable in all manner of situations.

Somewhere along the way, as society developed the ability to share information more widely, we allowed the anxieties of other's insecurities to rob light from our successes to abate their fears of failure in an effort to diminish our celebrations of achievement. The goal was to taint success with warnings of negative emotions like arrogance or hubris, like we were directly responsible for their envy. In today's social media driven world, the visceral reactions to people's good fortune or skill is hard wired through negative feedback loops that play out on a daily basis, the immediate impact of negative self-talk visibly evident through non-verbal demonstrations. 

I personally endeavour to celebrate the successes of those around me in an effort to allow their light to shine like a beacon, and while I fall prey to rare occasions where those old negative thoughts arise, it's far easier than one might think to learn this new mindset, allowing the darkness of inadequacy to be abated, brightening our mood, our thoughts, and our expressions.

Give it a try ... what have you got to lose?