Congratulations to a championship Toronto team!

 

The Toronto Argonauts won the Grey Cup on Sunday, but there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in their home city.  I didn't hear any horns honking or people cheering loudly. What a shame!  Who knows when the Leafs or the Blue Jays will win a Stanley Cup or a World Series again, maybe not in our lifetimes. 

In a very entertaining game in Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the Argos defeated the highly favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 24 to 23.  Winnipeg was denied its third successive Grey Cup victory and the Argos notched the franchise's 18th championship.

 We have a winning team in the Argos and we should relish this Grey Cup championship.  I certainly do, and I will continue to support the Toronto Argonauts and the CFL  Congratulations to the 2022 Grey Cup champions!

- Joanne

Seven Riddles for a November Day

 

It's November.  In the Northern Hemisphere, the leaves have fallen off the trees and their branches are bare.  Unfortunately, in many places, the clocks have been changed and it becomes dark very early.  This is the Death Month.  It's the twilight zone between late fall and the bright lights of Christmas, Hanukkah, and the New Year.  That's why a little humour is in order to brighten your day.  So, riddle me this:     

1. The more you take, the more you leave behind.  What am I?

2. What four-letter word can be written forward, backward, or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?

3. What room do ghosts avoid?

4. Which word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

5. I can be hot.  I can be cold.  I can run and I can be still.  I can be hard and I can be soft.  What am I?

6. What is the thing you must give before you keep?

7. What do you call an evergreen that knows karate?

ANSWERS

1. Footsteps

2. NOON

3. The Living Room

4. Short

5. Water

6. Your word

7. Spruce Lee    

- Joanne

The Argos are in the Grey Cup!

 

The Toronto Argonauts don't get much media attention in the city they call home.  You don't hear a great deal of  chatter about them in this town. They may not be the most popular team in T.O., but they are arguably the most successful and prestigious franchise.  The Toronto Maple Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967.  It's been 30 years since the Toronto Blue won the first of their back-to-back World Series victories.

The Toronto Argonauts have an illustrious history.  Founded in 1871, the Argos are the oldest existing sports team in North America still using its original name.  The Argos have won 17 Grey Cups, the most recent in 2017.  The Toronto Maple Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cup Championships, the last one being 55 years ago.  The NBA's Toronto Raptors are the new kids in town.  They were founded as an expansion team in 1995 and they won the NBA Championship in 2019,

I strongly support the Canadian Football League.  Its players our more down to earth, because they are nowhere near as wealthy as those in the NHL, NBA,  MLB.  The CFL is ours.  It is uniquely Canadian and its headquarters are not in New York City.   The Grey Cup may not be as glitzy as the Superbowl, but how could it be?  Nobody does glitz like the Americans.  However, they Grey Cup has it own charms and it is more down-home.  It has more history and tradition.  It was first awarded annually in 1909 by Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada, to represent the amateur football championship.  Also, the CFL is the home of the beloved Michael "Pinball" Clemons, a class act in the world of sports.

Congratulations, Argos and best of luck in the 109th Grey Cup.  Bring on those Winnipeg Blue Bombers!  You can be sure that on Sunday, November 20th,  I will be cheering for the Boatmen to win the Canadian professional football championship at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan.  Let's go Double Blue!

- Joanne

Reflections on the U.S. midterm election results

Well, I feel better after the results of the U.S. midterms.  The Red Wave did not materialize.  Yet, although Democrats had a good night, it seems likely that the Republicans will have control of the House.  If so, that means that a lot of progress will be blocked as the Republicans try to obstruct Joe Biden at every turn, rather than work with him to build a better country.  They will waste time and energy trying to impeach him and undermine his policies.

However, the good news is that the Dems have won a majority of the Senate.  They have fifty Senate seats, regardless of what happens in the runoff in Georgia on December 6th.  Still, if Raphael Warnock defeats Herschel Walker, it will give the Democrats some breathing space and free them somewhat from the influence of Joe Manchin.  It would also be gratifying to see Walker lose. 

I am please that Dr. Oz lost his bid for a Pennsylvania senate seat.  It's unfortunate that Beto O'Rourke lost in Texas.  The Lone Star State has to do something about gun control.  It's a hotbed of mass shootings.  O'Rourke would have saved lives.

The results of  the midterms are heartening.  J. Michael Luttig, a retired conservative judge, described the midterm results as a "resounding victory for American democracy."  Luttig claimed that he did not view the results through a partisan lens.  "I don't think of the mid-term elections in the partisan political terms of whether the Democrats or the Republicans won or lost.'  I think of these midterm elections only in the 'constitutional' terms of whether American Democracy won or lost," he stated.  He went on to say that the American electorate decided to "dispossess those politicians who have betrayed them."

It appears that democracy still has a heart beat in the United States.  Nevertheless, right-wing extremism is not dead, and  Americans must remain vigilant if they wish to preserve their precious democracy.

- Joanne