I was following a car along Hwy 3 the other day, going from Greenwood toward Midway. The driver ahead slowed down to 55 km/h on every corner, no matter that the road conditions were near perfect and the signage clearly said you should slow to 70 (or in the case of some drivers—speed up to 70).
I took note of the license plate; they were from B.C.
Remember the good old days when you’d see a driver riding their brakes going down every hill and almost coming to a stop on a lot of the corners? And you would check out their license plate and notice they were from Alberta.
Those days are gone though. Nowadays the hot, fast cars and trucks are out of the Patch and these folks are in a hurry to get someplace. Of course they are probably not Alberta born and bred—most likely from a single industry resource town in B.C. and they are rushing home to spend a few days with their family.
Grads vs. Dad this Friday
Grads vs. Dads is a springtime tradition here in the West Boundary–each year the grad class straps on some skates and grabs a hockey stick to go up against their parents.
It’s not only a tradition, but it is also a very important fundraising event for the grads. Each year the graduating class has a rite of passage known as the grad ceremony.
To pull the show off they have to raise the cash to pay for the party—always a challenge, but even more so this year.
The BCSS Class of 2015 is playing a challenging hand for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the class is small—and if many hands make light work, then fewer students manning the oars means it is going to take a bit longer for the boat to get to its destination. Another thing that got in the way of this particular grad class was the fact the school year started two weeks late. So things had to be tweaked and reorganized and many things were pushed back a week or more.
The hockey game this Friday night at Midway arena is an important one for both teams: for the kids because it is their grad, and the parents because it is their kids’ grad.
One of the highlights of the night for those who like to take a bit of a gamble in life are the many baskets that are raffled off. Your odds are way better at a grad fundraiser than at the Lotto BC wicket, that’s for darn sure.
One thing I could never quite understand is how the government lotteries work. You give them some money to buy a number—either you pick the numbers or they do. It doesn’t matter much, because at the end of the transaction they know your numbers.
Then it is time to pick the winning numbers. But you don’t need to worry your pretty little head about that part. The lottery people will do it for us and then tell us whether anybody won or not.
The first lottery in Canada was illegal, actually. Montreal wanted to run one to help pay for Expo 67. But federal law said no lotteries were allowed.
This didn’t faze the mayor of Montreal though—they went right on ahead with their lottery and named it: Tax Voluntaire!
