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Garth Brooks is brilliant. Back when he burst onto the country music scene, some credited him with re-inventing and re-invigorating the genre. He was a blaze of glory with multiple number 1′s and an undeniably energetic stage show when on tour. He was always in the limelight until one day when he surprisingly announced his retirement from the music business. The man was a multi-millionaire who didn’t need to work an extra day in his life. He had young children and wanted to spend time with them. And so…he laid down the microphone for one last time…or so he said. I don’t think anyone believed he would REALLY retire. It was just another brilliant Garth Brooks marketing scheme. Retire from the music biz? At such a young age?? Conway and Hank J.R. must have rolled in their graves.

And then last year it finally happened. Garth announced he was going to do select shows in Las Vegas. No new album, just some stage shows. His kids were now older and he dipped his toe back in the music business, just to see how the water felt. Then a couple weeks ago, the toe became a foot, maybe even a full leg when Garth hinted…hinted, that he may record some new music. And there we have it. Garth’s slow return to country music has begun. Nothing official mind you, just a slow swim…testing the waters.

Will he return? Will he re-invent country again? Perhaps. Only Garth knows for sure. One thing IS sure. His full return, whenever that may be will be huge and like Garth himself, full of surprises.

I just got back from a weekend trip to Niagara Falls. Lana and I and 2 other friends took in a GREAT show at a place called “Oh Canada Eh”. It’s a dinner and a show type of restaurant. I can’t rave enough about how great this experience was. A fantastic dinner with non-stop entertaining songs and acting by some very talented people. Not only were the wait-staff also the onstage entertainers, they would mingle it in with remembering what you had ordered for supper! Now THAT’S talent! I was amazed by this!

This really was a great place to spend 3 hours in Niagara Falls. Here’s the kicker…at the end of the evening one of the performers ran over to Lana and I and asked us if we were from North Bay. She recognized us from the stage as the show was happening. It turns out her name is Meaghan Chapin and for many years she called North Bay her home. She is a talented young lady. A great singing voice and incredible comedic timing. Here we were, hours away from home, in Niagara Falls, unbeknownst to us, being entertained by a North Bay native.

So the next time you’re in Niagara Falls, check out “Oh Canada Eh” on Lundy’s Lane, and watch for Meaghan Chapin. She’s a shining star in a great cast, but North Bay had her first!

Last time I wrote about the fact that I’ll be celebrating 20 years in radio. It’s dawned on me that it’s also the year I turn 40 years old. So with that in mind, here is a list. I love a good list.

REASONS I KNOW I’M GETTING OLD.

1)Some of my kids don’t remember Y2K.

2)Mysterious snaps and crackles when bending over.

3)People 5 years younger than me don’t remember the Bionic Woman.

4)I remember when cell phones were as big as my forearm.

5)I used encyclopedias to research in high school. ENCYCLOPEDIAS!!!

6)I started off in this business playing records. RECORDS!!!

7)Have recently used the phrase, “When I was your age I walked to school everyday!”

8)Remembers the 1980′s very clearly…aaaand it wasn’t that cool kids.

9)Remembers when the A-Team was just a TV show.

10)I have a 16 year old!! Wasn’t I just 16 like yesterday?!?

And there you have it. Here I come 40…be gentle with me.

This will be a very personal blog. It’s about me. It’s about work. It’s about me working here at this radio station. Next month I will celebrate 20 years in radio. Not only 20 years in radio, but 20 years at this very station here in North Bay.

I’ve had 2 jobs in my entire life. I was a bag-boy at the, then, IGA in Mattawa and I’ve worked here at the radio station. That’s it. 2 jobs. I feel blessed to have a great career in a great industry.

I started my job placement right out of Algonquin College at what was then CFCH and CKAT. My first duty as a radio-guy? Assembling a BBQ for a prize give-away. I don’t know who won that BBQ 20 years ago on CFCH, but I apologize…I had never assembled a BBQ in my whole life. Hope it worked.

My 20 years thus far has had it’s ups and down(as in any job), but I must say that the good times, the fun times FAR outweigh anything negative.

I wonder sometimes what has happened to some of the “names” from the past. John Jacobs gave me my job as my school placement was finishing up and the evening announcer didn’t show up for his shift. I have to thank that evening announcer(who’s name escapes me), and I have to thank John Jacobs for taking a chance on a VERY green 19 year old announcer from Mattawa. Either that or he was VERY desperate for anyone!

I’ve had great bosses…aaand some not so great bosses. I’m not naming names(I’m not THAT crazy). I’ve learned in this business that you often run into the same people again and again. But I will say this, my best bosses either by coincidence or by me being a keener happen to be my current ones. Rick Doughty is down to earth and always understanding and Peter McKeown is…well…Peter McKeown. He’s taught me everything I know about being an announcer and he’s also taught me some jokes to use at public events. Some of them I use over and over and over. Like I said, Pete taught me everything he knows. Seriously, I’ve been very fortunate to have such a mentor in my professional life.

This blog probably comes off as a little self-serving, but 20 years only comes around once. So this was it. Maybe in another 20 years from now, if I’m lucky, my boss Kevin will let me blog again after recording my “Country Oldies Show” that I’ll have in the year 2030. Make sure to tune in then. I’ll be playing the classics from the 90′s the 00′s and the 10′s…

Community rumour this week says that the new Learning Library up at the university may be named after former Premier of Ontario and Nipissing MPP Mike Harris.

Just saying the name, still after all these years, engenders MUCH opinion and lots of strong feeling from people in this area(and I would imagine the whole province).  A Facebook group has started up. It’s been created by a student and joined by many students and non-students. It’s a group opposed to the naming of the library after Mr. Mike.

Listen, I don’t know if it should be named after him or not. I actually think that nothing should be named after politicians. Someone, somewhere will ALWAYS be upset. I’d rather see the library building named after someone who put in lots of time as a teacher or maybe even a former librarian. Someone who poured knowledge and time into former students, not someone who poured in lots of cash. Don’t get me wrong…Money is important, vitally important to institutions like colleges and universities. Without donations from benefactors many institutions would close or be very sparse in courses and classes or books or…libraries.

I’ve always liked the anonymous donations myself. They seem more genuine and of course without strings attached like having the persons named plastered across buildings and signs.

So, is it too soon to name a school library after Mike Harris?

Mike’s been out of the public eye for a few years now and some say that time heals all wounds…how much time, I guess, is the question.

I could write this blog about the recently announced city tax hike of 3.45 %, but it may give me a headache and also make me angry. I feel overtaxed(thanks water & sewer and HST and 3.45 % city tax rate etc etc…), but I also feel like no one thinks it’s worth fighting. So does that mean I should give up talking about it? Am I wearing people out? Certainly no one is showing up at city council meetings or public budget meetings to voice their displeasure. Sorry…that’s wrong. Someone DID show up. Chamber of Commerce president Sean Lawlor showed up at a meeting to voice his feelings on the proposed tax hike and was summarily shot down and had his integrity called into question by some council members. Any wonder why “normal citizens” don’t show up? Who needs THAT public tongue lashing.

So I won’t write about yet another tax hike on top of my property assessment going up. Let’s buy more “idling devices” for city vehicles instead of teaching staff to TURN OFF THE TRUCK instead. That’s too simple…and too cost efficient(free…well, maybe the cost of a few sheets of paper for memos). So I’m not going to write about that either. It makes me mad.

You also won’t hear me suggesting that it’s time to stop blaming the province on the funding formula problem as a reason to raise taxes to make up for the short fall. It’s such an old story and old excuse. So is blaming previous councils for the “fix” that we’re in by the way. Honestly. THE FORMULA IS BAD! Yes..we all agree. It’s been YEARS that the formula has been bad. Instead of waiting there with our collective hands out, waiting for the formula to get fixed…GO OUT AND FIND WAYS OF GENERATING FUNDS THAT ARE NEW AND INNOVATIVE!! Okay…now I’m yelling. The headache is coming on…

Glad I’m not blogging about any of that today………..I need a nap.

Well it took exactly 8 and a half hours after Mayor Vic’s announcement that he would not be running in this year’s election, for “Silly Season” to set in. What’s “Silly Season” you ask? Well, it’s that time when an election season is in full swing and people say and do silly things in the hopes of getting their name in the newspaper or on the radio. Do these things need to make sense? Do they need to be well thought out and bear much weight in importance? The answer is “NO” to all of the above.

It seemed the heavens opened up on silliness from the Mayor’s announcement to that night’s city council meeting (8 and a half hours), when Chamber of Commerce president Sean Lawlor appeared before council to ask council to reduce the upcoming tax increase and they could do it by cutting out 300 thousand dollars somewhere in the budget. This is certainly within his right to do. He’s the Chamber president(and a tax payer by the way), and has been elected to speak on behalf of that group. Not everything needs to be voted on by the 900 members of the Chamber for it to bring weight.

Councillor Vaillancourt asked about Lawlor’s motives. Was it personal or on behalf of the 900 members? WHO CARES!!!! Who in there right mind wants a 3.45 percent increase anyway??!! “Do I like higher taxes? YOU BET YOUR BOOTS. Bring it on!”….

Come on…

City Council always says that they never get input from the community of tax increases… HERE’S AN OPINION BY THE CHAMBER PRESIDENT!! It’s shot down…So where does that leave regular folks like you and I? No wonder no one wants to give a public tax opinion from the podium at city council.

It’s been long rumoured that Lawlor would run for a seat on council. I can only assume this is where Councillor Viallancourt was heading with his questioning……Aaaaand with THAT, “Silly Season” was launched.

Will it get better between now and the fall? Oh no…it will only get worse…and very very silly.

This is the season when wishes come true right?

Here are some hopes and wishes I have for the new year.

I hope we ALL become less obsessed with Jon and Kate Plus their divorce. I still can’t believe she was named one of Barbara Walters most Fascinating People of 2009!! What??! Kate Gosselin??!? Is this what the world has become? A reality show ”star” has become one of the most Fascinating People in the WORLD????!!! Lord help us!

My other hope for 2010 is that we’ll hear a little less about Tiger Woods’ marital infidelities…although with more ladies coming out of the woodwork left and right, this one might not come true.

I hope we “tweet” less and talk more…I hope we “google” less and read real books more….

I hope we genuinely care more about our neighboors and I hope we do a better job of caring for the poor and those who have less than us.

And finally…Sing with me….”On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to meeeee…NO H.S.T.”

Well, one can hope and pray right? If we ever needed a Christmas miracle, it’s now.

Here we are approaching the Christmas season. The stores and malls are encouraging us to spend, spend, spend. It’s good for the economy. In the long run, it’s good for all of us. Sounds like a plan. It IS the time of year when we all spend like crazy as we seek out those perfect Christmas gifts. Here’s the problem this year with the plan to “help the economy”. The 2010 that awaits us in the new year seems like one frought with extra expenses, extra taxes and extra cash flying out of our collective wallets.

Just before the holiday shopping season, the provincial government solidifies the H.S.T.(which no matter how you spin it, no matter what beautiful coat of paint you brush on it…still stinks in the long run……and the short run for that matter.). I’m not done…North Bay Hydro wants a 5 dollar a month increase on your electric bill, and city council is looking at yet ANOTHER hike in water and sewer bills(to the tune of a possible 6.9%)…and that ain’t even the eventual city tax hike we’ll also see in the new year…

So….how are all these announcements this month going to encourage us to spend more money this Christmas season, knowing we’ll have less to spend in 2010…Sometimes timing is everything…Sometimes I wonder if those “in charge” really know what they’re doing. More importantly I wonder if they know “when” they’re doing it.

“We’re adding a  tax and raising Hydro and water and sewer…BUT go out and spend, spend, spend…It’ll help us all get out of this slump.”

Where will the leaders of our various levels of government be when we’re in a slump in January when the Christmas bills come in? They’ll be there…with their collective hands out, palms up, asking us to pay up and pay more for the same level of services….

Bah Humbug!

When it comes to H1N1, the media has been accused of fear mongering. All the news stories, the commercials, the clinic announcements, the focus on the “deaths” stories, (when hundreds more recover quickly)…it all becomes a bit much right? The majority of the content on my last couple of morning shows has been H1N1. Am I contributing to the fear mongering? Are the accusations true? Yes…I sadly confess that I probably am. It’s a hard topic to avoid. It’s hard to present a balanced opinion when a seemingly healthy 12 year old hockey player is dead due to this flu virus. As a parent it’s frightening. But let the fear mongerer now bring a bit of perspective.

I just read an article yesterday that detailed that 166 “children” died(in the U.S.A) from regular flu between 2004 and 2007.
86 more between 2007 and 2008….There were no media reports on any of these deaths that I remember…BECAUSE it was the regular flu…The fear of this new flu have whipped us all in a frenzy…

As a parent of 5 am I worried? Absolutely. Am I worried about what’s in the H1N1 shot (mercury etc…) still untested in Canada? ABSOLUTELY….Do I wonder why 1 in 4 doctors refuse to get the shot? Yep.
Do I worry that a 12 year old hockey player has died? Yes!
Do I worry that my son Denver can leave the house and get hit by a car? Yes…

The media does it’s fair share of fear mongering and in most cases I disagree with that assessment…In THIS case, we may have taken it too far.

The highlighted quote (above the headline) on the front page of today’s newspaper is this quote from Dr. Jim Chirico. “This virus attacks younger people and one death is too many but it’s likely there will be more deaths.” That’s at the top of the page, and just below that is a LARGE headline screaming, “FIVE KIDS HOSPITALIZED”. It isn’t until you get to the end of the article (on the second page), the very last sentence is another quote from Dr. Chirico. “The public needs to be reassured that the majority of those infected with the virus feel rotten for a couple of days, but they will get better.”

Now should THAT last quote have been the headline? Should our newscasts begin with the number of people who have recovered instead of the 1 death that day? Believe me when I say that it’s a hot topic of discussion around the water cooler here at the radio station.
A LOT of questions……But as a parent I AM burdened by this issue, and hope to balance things out in coming days and pray that there IS more to balance out with.