Mimi's Father is in the Hospital this week, First off - Mimi, my thoughts are with you, your family, and your Dad. I hope for the best.

And now some insight into how crazy this world really is: and may I add that the timing of this Meme is un-real as I was just released from the hospital yesterday after spending 6 crazy days and nights.  So this meme is also going to provide you with a funny, but not so funny story.... Ok Let me explain:


Last Monday night I was taking my oh-so-lazy pooch Gibbers for a walk through the trails at one of the city parks. It was about 9:30 at night and dark out at this point. (got to love Alberta's Fall) Normally I do not walk through the park or the trails, as I have many other spots to go and this place is quite the distance from my home.  The long walk seemed like a good idea.

Walking in front of me for about 25 minutes was a young women, with a long jacket, and a small poodle, she was a good distance in front of me, and had been for the entire time. I could only see highlights of her when she passed under the light.  (did I mention it was dark out?)

The trail was lit by street lights, but it was still very dim. and most of them burnt out as they are going to replace them with in the next month or so.

As I continued on my journey, suddenly I could see her stop dead in her tracks, from my point of view she was just standing there, not moving, and I did not know why.  I continued walking, as I did, I noticed the figure of another person with the women, but they were staying in the shadows, that's when I noticed that she was standing there with her both arms elevated.  Then I knew what was going on.... our young women was being robbed... I forgot my cell phone at home.

Always wanting to be the hero I moved over to the tree line and started a steady jog to her position, Gibbers, never leashed, was more than happy to join me.  As I moved closer I stopped dead in my tracks, He was now right next to her, he had a gun, he grabbed her chest, this was not just a robbery.

I think I stopped thinking at this point, I made a quite dash towards him, I could now hear the perverted crap he was saying and Our young lady crying almost silently.  neither of them noticed me yet. I was now running full dart on the grass.

Not yet knowing what hit him, he got tackled, football style. But it was not good enough, he still had control of the gun and quickly got back to his feet. as did I.

we stood and looked each other in the eyes, he started talking like some gangster punk. with his weapon now pointed at me. even with a good opportunity our Young Lady did not run, instead, she stood back, held her dog, and watched the show.

Life lesson #1, don't point a gun at Mr. Lance, The fight was on. I was close enough, it was time to fight, I gave him two swift hit's in the head, one from each side.  He did not shoot, he should have. I kicked the gun hand and meet him with two more hit's in the noggin. still, he did not shoot or drop the gun, instead he used the gun as a club, and returned fire, meeting me with equal punches.

I could hear our young lady on the phone with 911, so could he, he got distracted and turned his vision to her.

Life lesson #2. Don't look away from Mr. Lance when you have a weapon pointed at him.  Grabbing his arm I forced him to the ground, it was like kid's fighting over the toy truck.  He would not let go, and now neither would I.

I could hear the screaming sound of sirens in the distance, we continued to wrestle for the weapon. Because of the position we were in, neither of us could see the weapon. But I could feel it, it was now lodged into my upper chest, I could not tell what angle.  I was on top, and for the moment just holding the punk down and keeping him from taking a shoot, so I thought.

BANG, he shot me.

The fight was over, I thought I lost, I rolled off and laid on my back looking up at the night sky, in too much pain to even complain about being in pain, but I did not loose, I could hear the police ordering the man to drop his weapon, I wanted to watch, but could not move. "Drop it now or we will open fire", I smiled to myself. he drooped it next to me. He was then ordered to get on the ground.....

......Laying looking at the night sky, and holding my shoulder, our young lady placed her jacket over my injury, I was shot in the shoulder, although it was not an organ, it still hurt like hell.  I lost a lot of blood, I know this because the police officer, told me, he also told me that the ambulance was on the way. 

Wow, this has turned into a long story.

To sum it up, I am fine, and got a small vacation in the hospital, with a broken collarbone, and a lot of band-aids. I think they kept me for 6 days because I was just so much fun to be around. And I never heard from our punk or young lady again.

I forgot about Gibbers, She is very well trained, I ordered her to stay so she did not get hurt, she is my baby you know, She watched from the sidelines with the young lady, kept me company waiting for the ambulance, and rode inside it to the hospital with me. She was happy when I got home, and I was thankful that she listened and did not get involved, I would never forgive myself is she got hurt.  And yes, she would have kicked his ASS!


Now that that is out of the way, we can get on with this weeks Queen Mimi's meme.  

I could not help but notice that I am not in the dungeon for missing last weeks Poetry, Ho-well, I was never much of a poet anyway...

1. What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to you in a hospital (besides your illness)? Not enough towels? No condiments? Can't get your favorite channels? Come on, you can tell me. **Or....maybe this answer doesn't involve you being the patient.**

They bunked me up with this crazy old lady with way-to-much med's for a couple of hours, you can only imagine the crazy things she was saying, "they took my potato and sold it to charity....." "where did they put my pants?..." go on, Imagine the rest....

2. If you had your choice of IV cocktails, what would you choose?

Vodka Slime, or Grand Marnier. MMmmmMMMmm.....


3. Tell us your funniest hospital story.

...Continued from question 1. .... "where is that damn tooth fairy, I need my drenches back!"  (drenches is not a spelling mistake)  "ahhh maybe my potato is in better hands"

4. Do you have any hospital phobias?

Those damn cameras they stick up your butt.... don't ask!

5. Imagine you are in bed trying to get some sleep after a long night of interruptions by the nurse on duty who would NOT stop waking you up to see if you were asleep...It is 3am. You finally get to sleep. She comes in at 3:15 and wakes you up again. What happens next?

I politely ask her to stop bothering me or get into bed so I have a good reason to stay awake, $20.00 says she leaves me alone!


6. You are stuck in the elevator with an attractive person of the opposite sex. You notice there is no wedding band. Do you strike up a conversation? If so, what is the first thing you would say?

Are you a cop?


7. A very odd patient wanders into your room from the upstairs psychiatric ward. What do you do?

Maybe I am the odd patient that wondered downstairs, all I want is a IV cocktail with Grand Marnier.

The CNN Wire

Yet again it’s time for this weeks Saturday Six and this week topic was chosen by @ExtremeJohn and there is only one question with six answers..

1. Name the first 6 things you would do if you won a $200 million dollar powerball (or the lottery equivalent in your county)?
   

There we go, one question with six answers for you to have fun with…

This question made me stop any think, thousands of things started popping into my mind.

But, I managed to sort them out and narrow it down: may i present to you the first six things Mr. Lance would buy first If I had $200 Million Dollars.

ONE:        Buy an RV and not a camping trailer, I would spend the gas money and drive all throughout North America


Two:         Pay off my house and rent apartments in about 20 major city's throughout Canada and the US.  I would furnish the apartments, and when I got sick of driving I would Fly from City to City.


Three:       Buy a house somewhere,   Make it everything I dream of.

Four:         Buy two large 4 star hotels, they can be so much fun you know.

Five:         Create the restaurant that has been stuck in my mind for the last five years.

Six:           Any other little thing that I think would bring me happiness

By Remo Zaccagna, Daily Herald-Tribune Staff

Yesterday afternoon, Becher stood at the side of the road with his employees and watched as firefighters fought a blaze that quickly tore through a northside building that housed both Bank Mechanical Ltd. - a heavy-duty truck repair business he co-owns with two others - and Spring Fresh Cleaning & Restoration Canada Inc.

Firefighters were called to 15401-91 Street shortly after 5 p.m. and finally got the blaze under control almost three hours later - but not until after the north wall collapsed and they were forced to tear down other walls.

The department had initially responded with three trucks and nine firefighters, but after the roof collapsed and the fire spread due to 30 km/h winds, another 10 firefighters and a second ladder truck were called to the scene. As of midnight firefighters were still extinguishing hot spots.

No one was inside when the fire started, and no firefighters were injured.
Capt. Bob Houston of the Grande Prairie Fire Department said it was too early to determine the cause of the blaze, and an investigation is underway.

Becher recounted how quickly everything seemed to happen.
"We closed up shop like we normally do. We shut it down at 4:30 ... we shut everything down, the compressor and all that stuff and we left at 5 p.m. And by the time I got home 15 or 20 minutes later, the alarm company phones and says there's a motion sensor going off on the west side," he said.
By the time he got there, more than half of the 18,000-square-foot building was already gone.
"I can't believe that thing went into flames like it did," he said.

Spring Fresh employees and management at the site declined to comment.

According to Biegel, Spring Fresh's lease on its 10,000-square-foot portion of the building is coming up for renewal at the end of the year but the company was not likely to return since it's moving to a new location.
Bank Mechanical, meanwhile, had a three-year lease with an option to buy and Biegel said they didn't know if they were going to exercise the option or not.

Becher said it's too early to say what will happen with the building.
"I don't know what to do. You can't come to work tomorrow," he said, shaking his head.
Reached for comment last night, Rick Hart, who co-owns the entire building, said he was at a loss for words.
"I've been in the business a long time and I've never had anything like this happen before," he said. "I don't know what caused it. It seemed like it's an awfully big building to go up in a very, very short period of time."
Hart and his partners will meet with Biegel to determine where to proceed, but he said he's unsure as to what will be decided.

"I don't know what's going to happen. It's too soon to tell. Where are the tenants going to go? I don't know. They don't know. Nobody knows - it's too early."
rzaccagna@bowesnet.com

Make the best Spaghetti You have ever had! Unless you have a better recipe!
Chef Lance's Signature DIsh! Thanks Mom!

1 LB. Ground Beef
1-1/2 White Onion (quantity depends on your taste)
2 Cans of Sliced Mushrooms (or fresh)
2 Cans of Diced Tomato's
2 Cans or Tomato Paste
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Salt
Brown Sugar

Spaghetti Noodles
French Garlic Loaf (optional)
Parmesan Cheese


This is the first recipe I ever learned, and to be honest this one is a secret family recipe. Sorry Ma!

1. Brown the ground beef in a pan or stove top wok, I use a wok. 
2. Cut white onion (dice) as desired, 1 - 1/2 is a good number to use, It makes for an awesome taste.
3. When Ground beef is finished, strain it and place in a large pot, turn to medium heat.
4. Wait until the beef if sizzling and add your onion.
5. Wait about 2 minutes to let the onion flavor the meat. (you still want your onion firm, not caramelized)
6. In this order: add 2 cans of mushrooms (or fresh) 2 cans of diced tomato's, and two cans of tomato paste ( optional changes: use fresh diced tomato's but they have to be firm, not soggy)
7. stir contents very well leave the lid off.
8. add 3 soup spoons of Italian Seasoning.  (spoons, not ladles!)
9. Stir  
   
10. add 3 soup spoons of Garlic Salt (spoons, not ladles!)
    
11. Stir
12. Add 2 table spoons of brown sugar (not to much!)
13. Stir

On medium Heat cook sauce, stir it about every 5 minutes, you will be doing this for about 30-40 minutes, you want the soup look to disipire, and a thick sauce look to take over.once you have this turn the stove down to low, cover and let set for another 30 minutes. Remember to stir 15 minutes in.

Cook your garlic loaf, see instructions on package

then cook your noodles, (you can use Google if you do not know how to cook spaghetti noodles.)

Serve on a plate or in a large bowl. MMMmmmMMMMM GOOD!

Preparation time: About 2 hours.

 

1992	Victoria BC - Bruce Hutchison d1992 dies at age 91; journalist for 74 years; wrote 16 books, won 3 Governor General's Awards.
1992	Windsor Ontario - Paul Martin Sr dies at age 89; first elected 1935; Liberal MP 33 years; Senator, High Commissioner in London"; last surviving cabinet minister from Mackenzie King era.
1991	Regina Saskatchewan - Grant Devine 1934- grants $431m to Saskatchewan Indian bands for land entitled under treaty but never handed over; signs deal with Indian Affairs Minister Tom Siddon.
1990	St. John's Newfoundland - Jake Epp approves $5.2 billion Hibernia offshore oil project; led by Mobil Oil; 6,000 construction jobs"; Energy Minister.
1990	Ottawa Ontario - Brian Mulroney 1939- sends squadron of F-18 fighter jets, with 450 pilots and flight crew, to Persian Gulf"; raises to $74 million Canadian aid to Kuwaiti refugees.
1990	Ottawa Ontario - Spar Aerospace buys defense contracts of bankrupt Leigh Instruments Ltd. of Ottawa for $10 million.
1979	China - Canada sells China 2 million tonnes of wheat, worth $400 million.
1977	Halifax Nova Scotia - Queen Elizabeth II 1926- starts 5-day trip to Canada for Silver Jubilee ceremonies.
1970	Ottawa Ontario - First Ministers start 2-day Conference; discuss amendment of BNA Act and state of economy.
1960	Quebec - Antonio Barrette 1899-1968 resigns as leader of Union Nationale party.
1936	Vanier Ontario - Dorothea Palmer arrested for distributing birth control information; a nurse; acquitted at subsequent trial which made distribution legal.
1933	Stratford Ontario - furniture workers and meat-packers go on strike in Stratford; troops and armoured cars move in Sept; strike settled peacefully November 4.
1926	Ottawa Ontario - Arthur Meighen 1874-1960 resigns as Conservative leader on defeat in the general election; calls leadership convention; PM since July 7.
1890	Athabasca Alberta - petroleum deposits discovered along Athabasca River.
1890	Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa lumber mill workers go on strike.
1868	Yale BC - Amor de Cosmos calls meeting of Confederation League at Yale; votes for immediate admission into Canada; founder of Victoria's 'British Colonist'.
1853	New Brunswick - construction started on European & North American Railroad; crossing New Brunswick from Maine to Nova Scotia.
1814	Baltimore Maryland - British troops end three day attack on Baltimore and Fort McHenry to retaliate for American burning of York (Toronto) and Newark (Niagara); Francis Scott Key writes the Star Spangled Banner during bombardment.
1811	Quebec - George Prevost 1767-1816 administrator of Lower Canada; "until July 15, 1812.
1759	Quebec Quebec - Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm 1712-1759 dies of wounds after battle of the Plains of Abraham.
1758	Fort Duquesne Pennsylvania - James Grant defeated by French at Grant's Hill near Fort Duquesne, with 800 men.
1699	Quebec Quebec - Louis-Hector de Callieres 1648-1703 becomes Governor of New France on Frontenac's death; "until May 26, 1703.
1666	Quebec Quebec - Alexandre de Prouville, Marquis de Tracy c1596-1670 sets out with 1,500 men from Quebec to mount another attack against Mohawks"; with Courcelles.

INTERNAL and EXTERNAL shots:

The filming of internal shots (inside buildings and selected close-up
shots of outside areas such as the compound) was done on stage #9 of
the 20th Century Fox Studios in Hollywood, California.

The external shots were filmed at the Fox Ranch in the Santa Monica
Mountains area of California, which was eventually donated by Fox to the
state of CA and renamed to Malibu Creek State Park. It's interesting to
note that this donation took place while M*A*S*H was still filming and
Fox Studios didn't have easy access to it, therefore the episodes in the
later seasons contain very few external shots.

Another note of interest is the fact that there was a major brush fire
in the Santa Monica Mountains during the filming of the final episode,
so they incorporated this fire into the storyline.

 Have any books or guides about MASH been published?

The following is a list of helpful books and guides on the making of the
show, quizes and trivia, inside information, etc.

Complete Book of M*A*S*H, The
by Suzy Kalter
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ISBN 0-8109-1319-4

Golden Trivia Game: M*A*S*H Edition
Western Publishing Company

Just Farr Fun
by Jamie Farr (with Robert Blair Kaiser)
Eubanks/Donzetti; 1994
IBSN 0-9640775-0-7
This is Jamie Farr's ("Max Klinger") autobiography. It devotes at
least 130 pages to M*A*S*H itself, including lots of inside info,
details on the making of the show, etc.

Last Days of M*A*S*H, The
by Arlene Alda
Unicorn Pub. House; Verona, N.J.; 1983
Call #: UCLA Arts PN 1992.77 M2854 A43 1983

M*A*S*H: The Exclusive, Inside Story of T.V.'s Most Popular Show
by David S. Reiss
Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc.; New York; 1980, 1983
ISBN 0-672-52762-6

M*A*S*H: The Official Quiz Manual
by Paul Bertling
Plume; 1984
ISBN: 0-452-25505-8

M*A*S*H Trivia: The Unofficial Quiz Book
by George St. John
Bell Publishing Company
ISBN 0-517-43618-3

M*A*S*H Trivia: The Unofficial Quiz Book [a different version?]
by George St. John
Warner Books; 1983
ISBN 0-446-32000-5