Monday, February 26, 2018

The Oppenheimer Report - 2/26/18


The weekend before last was snowmobile central up here on our little lake. It seemed like anybody and everybody with a sled was out on the lake that weekend. It was really the first weekend all winter when I did see a lot of sledders out, because the weather has been so changeable. With the extreme temperature variations, it has not been safe to take machines out on the lakes. Indeed, even the annual Kearney dogsled races had to be cancelled last weekend, because conditions were deemed too dangerous for mushers to run the course. When I saw all those snow machines out on the lake, I wanted to take my ATV out, but could not find time that weekend. With rain in the forecast, and puddles on the lake, I think I have now missed my chance. I’m wondering how the owners of the one ice hut on our lake will be able to remove it safely. This winter, and really the past several winters, have been a series of extreme freeze-thaw cycles, not great for winter sports. Right now, our sloped driveway is a bobsled run.  

I don’t really mind the winter or the cold all that much, and in fact I prefer it to extreme heat. The proper winter gear helps immeasurably. This includes snowmobile overalls, good, knee high, lined winter boots, and heated gloves. My hands were always my Achilles heel, but my new heated gloves with lithium ion rechargeable batteries really keep my hands warm. When I was a little boy, growing up in Buffalo, I wore “leggings” in the winter. Mom would bundle me up, hand me my “flying saucer’ and throw me outside to play in the snow. Trouble was, I was virtually immobilized by all the cumbersome outerwear and could hardly move my arms or legs. I felt like the Michelin Man. Now I’m back to wearing “leggings’ again, but they are not quite so restrictive. Outerwear in general has come a long way since I was a boy.

Speaking of winter, Shauna and I watched a good deal of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and, as usual, the televised coverage on CBC was fantastic. Some of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events were remarkable, and I enjoyed the figure skating as well. Canada ranked an impressive 4th in overall for the number of medals earned (29 in all, ahead of the U.S.A. but behind Norway and Germany). Probably my favorite Canadian Gold was the “Big Air” event won by Quebec snowboarder Sebastien Toutant. I remember watching the first snowboard competition back in 1998 during the Nagano Winter Olympics, and I am amazed by how far the sport has come since then. Of course, one of the best Canadian gold medal stories had to be Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir winning the ice dancing competition. The fact that they’d retired and then came back to become Olympic champions was noteworthy, and it was inspiring to see them end their 20+ year career as an ice dancing couple on such a high note. Of course, there were also some disappointments along the way, most notably the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey upsets. I did enjoy watching the nail-biter gold medal Men’s Hockey final between Russia and Germany. I realize that there is great skill involved, but as much as I have tried, I don’t think I will ever become a curling fan.

Final notes. Thanks to Hunters Bay Radio as always, for placing my song New Constitution at #3 in their weekly Top 20 charts last Friday night. I wrote that song recently, and it falls into the category of righteous indignation about the current state of political chaos in the United States. I appreciate the recognition, and I feel honored that some of the locals enjoy my songs. I never in my forty years of songwriting thought this would ever happen. Coming up on April 17th I’ll be performing some of my songs at the Gravenhurst Opera House in a songwriting show including talented singer songwriter Angie Nussey. I’m stoked about that. Next stop, Massey Hall! 
            - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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