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 |  Re-dedicated - April 1, 2021, Brother Nature's views from the Winnipeg River SE Manitoba |
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My Writing.com experience continues...30 Day Blog Challenger, Andre the blog Monkey's Banana Bar Founder, Aging Baby Boomer. Here you'll find a warm welcome, maybe I'll make you laugh out loud - That's my goal. Thanks for visiting. |
Our journey brings us to St. Georges . Journaling a relocation to the town of St.Georges, beginning April 1, 2021
This is self-networking, which is something I think I just made up. Maybe republishing is a better description. Some might say spam. Either way, enjoy! It's my blog entry for today April 14, 2021, it's my Winnipeg River View. HISTORY ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** The origins of the parish go back to 1882 when Father Joachim Allard, an Oblate missionary from the Fort Alexander Indian reserve invited the people from Chateauguay Quebec to come and establish a French-Canadian parish on the Winnipeg River in 1882. It was not until 1903, after the construction of a chapel, that St. Georges officially became the Saint-Georges de Châteauguay parish. In 1909, St. Georges built its first church but unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire on May 1st, 1929. A second church (still standing) was built on the same spot and opened its doors in the month of December of that same year. On the occasion of its centenary in 2003, a historical monument was erected near the church to commemorate the work that was accomplished by the founding members of the parish. Key Day - April 1, 2021 Our Back Yard ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** April 13, 2021 We are thirteen days into the move from Sunset Bay to St. Georges. We've made several trips with the F150 so far. One room (Leslie's sewing room) has been completely emptied and the garage (My room, in a sense) has only large items left to move. I have a cargo trailer booked for this Saturday and two teenage boys (Dakota and his Buddy) to do the heavy lifting so that by Sunday we should be 95% moved. It's a forty-minute drive North up the Highway. The highway winds its way north as it follows the west shore of the Winnipeg River System. There is also a North Eastern route from Sunset Bay to St.Georges. The North Eastern route is a five-and-a-half-hour drive and most of the highway is unpaved. You pass through Nopining National Park, the mining town of Bisset, and Fort Alexander First Nations, so I would like to travel this route at least once when I have more time. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| Friday, April 9 The Sims Family Murders in Tallahassee On October 22, 1966, Robert and Helen Sims and their daughter, Joy, were found dead in their Tallahassee, Florida home by the Sims 0ldest daughter, Jeanie, when she returned from a babysitting job. “A massive search was launched to find whoever committed the crime,” a local news station recounts. But the Sims had no enemies, there was no discernible motive to the crime, and although there were suspects, no one was ever charged. Tell us what happened, who did it, and why. Did you do it? I've sure solved a lot of mysteries this week and I've learned a bunch of stuff, but this one might be tough. There's not a lot to go on in the prompt as far as clues go. We know that Daughter, Jeanie was out at her babysitting job, but nothing is mentioned of the cause of the death of her parents and sister. It would be helpful to know exactly how they died; more so than knowing Jeanie was out babysitting. I could probably find some details by Googling it. Yeah, I should do that. I won't be able to solve this mystery otherwise. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Well, I'd have to say that is a legitimate crime. I conclude that foul play is certainly suspected. And a second babysitting sibling, Judith Ann, who was fifteen years old at the time. This is a bit of a long shot but I'm going to take a stab at it. (a bit of murderer's inside joke there) The couples that hired the Sims sisters to babysit that night belonged to some sort of, couples who commit murder cult, or something like that. They used the cover of going to the football game but instead went out and murdered a family. The problem was when the foursome discovered that everyone in town was really at the football game, after all, it was October, so you know it's going to be a playoff game. Go Seminoles! They couldn't find anyone at home to murder. Then one of them remembered that Jeanie, whose real name is Norma, Jeanette, but everyone calls her Virginia said that their parents were going to be at home watching TV all night, so the group of murders decided to go murder the Sims family. It's interesting that Judith was asked to stay with the couple that just murdered her family, because not only did they get away with murder, but they probably wouldn't have to pay Judith anymore for babysitting, while she stayed with them. It all comes down to the same thing every time... Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. |
Plain of Jars Location: Xiangkhoang Plateau, Laos More than 2,000 large ancient stone jars are spread across a plateau in Central Laos. Some stand 10 feet tall and weigh several tons. Archaeologists estimate the jars are 2,000 years old, but their purpose is unclear. The most common theories are that they were used as funeral urns. What do you think these urns were for? WARNING! Reading this entry may give you worldly knowledge you're not supposed to have. Once you read this entry it will be nearly impossible to unread it. I resisted the urge to research the mystery of the Plain of Jars, I wanted to see if I could think of a plausible theory on my own by simply meditating while picturing the images of the jars in my mind. I was taken back in time, further than I have ever been before, beyond the stone age. It was there, that I learned the secret to the mystery. It wasn't only this one mystery I learned the answer to, but several mysteries. I learned the secrets that time has hidden from us, and now will reveal the forgotten event that has baffled humankind for eons. The Plain of Jars (Laos)  STONEHENGE (ENGLAND) CARNAC (FRANCE) MYSTERIOUS STONE SPHERES (COSTA RICA) DEER STONES (MONGOLIA AND SIBERIA) AVEBURY HENGE (ENGLAND) GOCHANG DOLMEN SITE (SOUTH KOREA) Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt) Candle Rock (Japan) Stone Statues (Easter Island) The Terracotta Army (China) All of these and so many more, too many to list them all. MYSTERIES SOLVED! You're Welcome.This is not exactly how I discovered the solution to all of these mysteries, but it may be the easiest way to tell the story, so you can best understand it. Here we go. No turning back now. Andre the prehistoric craft monkey was hot, tired, and frustrated. He had been chipping away at his stone for weeks, pounding rock on rock, trying to make a larger beer mug. Andre was a master craft monkey who specialized in making stone tools, like the stone tool he was using to craft his new beer mug. Motivated by the idea that a second larger beer mug would permit the drinking of more beer Andre kept pounding away. Suddenly a T-rex charged out of nowhere, and momentarily caught Andre off guard, but Andre was not only quick-witted he was quick on his feet and was able to run swiftly to the safety cave. From the safety of the safety cave, Andre threw stone stones at the T-rex. The stones didn't bother the T-rex at all, but still, Andre liked to throw them all the same. While Andre waited for the T-rex to move on, he thought about all the things he would make out of stone, if only he had the time. Not only was he a master crafter monkey he was also a very inventive monkey. He had ideas and dreams of making a multitude of things, most of which haven't been invented yet, but he was frustrated because it took so long and it was very laborious to even make a simple beer mug. Andre tossed another Stone stone at the T-rex, just out of spite. This time, however, when the stone hit the T-rex the T-rex vaporized right in front of Andre. There was nothing left of the T-rex except a pile of bones. Andre was frightened but curious, and he didn't have time to create too deep of a back story, so he peeked out from the safety cave and saw a site never seen before. Andre's mind became awash in colors, colors that didn't even exist, and then... poof! The story advances. Greetings Andre the craft monkey, I am Crayola, the creator of imaginary things. I'm from very far into the future and I travel back to your time to vaporize some dinosaurs because I want to create mysteries that scientists can't figure out and besides I'm a dick. While I was vaporizing that dinosaur, and by the way, those bones will be there for quite a while, I read your mind and I know all of your thoughts and everything about you. So let's not piss around, I know what you want and I know when you want it. So here's the deal... Crayola produced a product from the future and showed it to Andre, it was a small piece of styrofoam. Then Crayola produced a heated carving tool and began to shape the styrofoam piece into an exact likeness of Andre. Soon there were more pieces of styrofoam and another carving tool. Crayola taught Andre how to carve objects and Andre carved himself a fine beer mug. I will have to leave soon and return to the future but first, let's have some fun. I will transform all the stone on earth into styrofoam and then you and I will travel around the globe and carve statues and structures. We'll make enormous buildings and impossible feats of engineering all over the planet. Then when we're done. I'll turn it all back into stone. So that's what happened. That explains everything, even the dinosaurs. Well, it wasn't exactly like that. It could have been a genie in a bottle granting wishes, or a sorcerer casting spells. But the underlying principle is the stone was all made into styrofoam, carved into shape, then turned back to stone. I don't know, I thought I had something there. |
The Flannan Isles Lighthouse Disappearances In 1900, three keepers of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse off the west coast of Scotland disappeared under the strangest of circumstances. The lighthouse was manned by a three-person team (Thomas Marshall, James Ducat, and Donald MacArthur), with a fourth man rotating in from shore. On Boxing Day (December 26) of 1900, the relief keeper arrived to find none of the lighthouse keepers present. The only sign that anything was amiss was an overturned chair near the kitchen table. No bodies were ever found, which has led to endless speculation. Theories range from drownings to abduction by foreign spies, a ghost ship, or a giant sea monster. Whatever happened back in December 1900 at the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, we may never know. So, tell us what happened to the lighthouse keepers! I'm only going to make a few points that may in fact add to the mystery of the lighthouse three. The significance of the number three appears in the joyful mysteries of the bible. And on the third day, he rose again, so when they returned to his burial tomb they found Jesus gone. the relief keeper arrived to find none of the lighthouse keepers present On the day Jesus was born he was visited by three magi from the east, who followed a light in the sky. A little bit of a connection there, three lighthouse keepers, lighthouses create lights in the sky. Then there's the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Speaks for itself. One from Charles Dickens - Eboneeser Scrooge was visited by three spirits on Christmas eve. A bit of a stretch, I'll admit it. And finally, One, by Three Dog Night. Now I'm just making shit up. I'm fairly certain there is a pattern here. It is a pretty boring job, being a lighthouse keeper, they probably just buggered off for a Christmas drink and decided to keep on drinking. |
Prompt: Tuesday, April 6 Ghost Ship: The Mary Celeste On December 4, 1872, a British-American ship called “the Mary Celeste” was found empty and adrift in the Atlantic. It was found to be seaworthy and with its cargo fully intact, except for a lifeboat, which it appeared had been boarded in an orderly fashion. But why? We may never know because no one on board was ever heard from again. In November 1872, the Mary Celeste set sail from New York bound for Genoa, Italy. She was manned by Captain Benjamin Briggs and seven crew members, including Briggs’ wife and their 2-year-old daughter. Supplies on board were ample enough for six months, and luxurious—including a sewing machine and an upright piano. Commentators generally agree that to precipitate the abandonment of a seaworthy ship, some extraordinary and alarming circumstance must have arisen. However, the last entry on the ship’s daily log reveals nothing unusual, and inside the ship, all appeared to be in order. Theories over the years have included mutiny, pirate attack, and an assault by a giant octopus or sea monster. In recent years, scientists have posed the theory that fumes from alcohol onboard caused an explosion that, as a result of a scientific anomaly, did not leave behind signs of burning—but was terrifying enough that Briggs ordered everyone into the lifeboat. Give us your opinion of what happened. Maybe you were even there?! The ship was built in 1861 at Spencer's Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, and named the Amazon. I know, I was there. She was built of pure evil, and the breath of Satan himself powered her sails. No captain could ever control such a vessel, such a vessel controls its own destiny and charts its own course. Dead is the first captain who tried to sail her and buried at the bottom of the ocean are the ships that met her bow. She came aground on Cape Breton Island in 1867 and was severely damaged, only to be rebuilt and renamed, The Mary Celest. My monkey friend, Andre bragged about building the ship himself, even though he really only painted the name on the bow. (and he misspelled it twice! It was supposed to be called 'The Amazing' and then 'The Celine Dion') "The Celine Dion! You painted The Mary Celest that's not even close Andre!" "I know, but I'm saving that name for something else," Andre explained as he gulped vodka from a leaking keg. It was Andre who talked me into joining the crew for the voyage from New York City to Genoa, Italy. That slick-talking monkey convinced me that the "built of pure evil, and the breath of Satan himself powered her sails" was just drunk monkey talk. Andre promised me the opportunity to someday join his dream of owning a cyber bar on the internet, as soon as the world wide web gets invented. I had no idea what he was talking about most of the time, but you can't beat fun, so off we went. Captain Benjamin Briggs welcomed us to the crew and made Andre first mate. Andre gave out the jobs to the crew members and assigned the sleeping quarters. Captain Briggs had his wife and 2-year-old daughter on board for the sailing. It's scientific fact that women are bad luck on a ship. Andre made sure to separate the women at night by sharing his cabin with Mrs. Briggs. I was cabin mate with Smitty, who Andre stationed below deck for the entire voyage. Andre assigned himself the job of ship's pianist even though he didn't even know how to play. I leered at him as he bashed randomly on the keys. When he looked up he shouted to me, "grab that mop matey, the deck isn't going to swab itself." The other two crew members were brothers Jack and Joe Jet. Besides Captain Briggs, Jack and Joe were the only crew members that could actually sail a ship, and nobody ever heard from Smitty again, once he went below deck. Things were going pretty well, we were a few days out to sea, and everyone was getting along fine. I enjoyed a good game of patty whack with the young Briggs girl, she was a sweet little girl who loved to play, laugh, and sing. Yep, things were going good, smooth sailing... that is until Andre learned what our cargo was... Booze! Tons and tons of alcohol. I don't want to sound like I'm blaming Andre for everything that happened, but everything that happened was completely Andres's fault and doing. Andre starting drinking first thing in the morning, Mrs. Briggs mentioned it was kind of early to be drinking, don't you think? Andre's response, "You can't say you drank all day if you don't get an early start." That night we were all tired, but Andre was playing piano and singing at the top of his lungs. Luckily the little girl was able to sleep through the whole thing. At one point Andre pointed at Captain Ben, as Andre started to refer to him as, and brothers Jack and Joe Jet. I got it Andre slurred, "lissen to dis." He started bashing the piano keys and sang loudly, Benny...Benny...Benny, Benny, and the Jets. Benny...Benny...Benny, Benny, and the Jets. It was unbearable, he just kept going, it was driving us all mad. Benny...Benny...Benny, Benny, and the Jets. Benny...Benny...Benny, Benny, and the Jets. I helped Captain Briggs, his family, Jack, and Joe into the lifeboat then went to look for Smitty but couldn't find him. A few hours later the piano fell silent and so did Andre. I went to sleep as well. I thought that I only slept a short time, but when I awoke Andre and I were riding dolphins at a mall in Dubai. Weird or what? |
5-Day Mystery Challenge by Lilli 🧿 ☕   Prompt for Monday, April 5 The Crooked Forest Location: West Pomerania, Poland This Polish forest lives up to its name, with hundreds of peculiar pine trees. Several hundred pine trees were planted there in the 1930s and grew with an almost 90-degree bend at their base, making them look like fishing hooks. Some believe that a technique or human tool was actually used to make the trees curve this way, while others speculate that a winter snowstorm or some other damage could have given this fascinating forest its interesting shape. Give us your own creative reason why the trees are this way. In one word - Agrarianism What is Agrarianism? Well, let's try to figure this out. It might have something to do with something. We know that seven out of ten of the people worked on farms as peasants. Polish agriculture suffered from the usual handicaps of Eastern European nations: technological backwardness, low productivity, and lack of capital and access to markets. Technological Backwardness! Ah Ha! They have that in Saskatchewan,(technological backwardness) my neighbor to the west, where people work on farms as peasants. I called the Mayor of Saskatchewan, and he hung up on me, but not before confirming that they too have a crooked forest, but they call it a crooked bush and it's comprised of Aspen trees, not Pine trees like in Poland. So we know that Agrarianism, technological backwardness, and trees have something to do with it, so really the question is... What is it? I'm thinking German tanks. They rolled over the newly planted trees, flattening them. But the trees refused to die, and continued to grow, horizontally at first but then they corrected themselves. Glad we got that all sorted out. |
| This is what I remember about the dream I had last night. I'm not going to try to analyze why I dream or what dreaming is. I'm only going to write what I recall and leave it at that. It begins with me and Leslie walking down a busy downtown street, we're holding hands. The street looks like a street in the Exchange District in Winnipeg, with older 'heritage' buildings. There's a commotion up ahead, looks like something is going on across the street from us. As we get closer I can see and hear a person or maybe two arguing or talking loudly. One of them, an adult male appears to have a gun and is shooting it, maybe at someone, I'm not sure, so I continue to walk closer for a better view. A second person appears to be shooting a gun into the window of a parked car, and a third person also has a gun and is shooting back at the first shooter I saw. I believe they are actors in a movie, and Leslie and I are luckily getting a chance to see the production of this scene. Other people are running from the area, I believe they are actors. I begin to look around for the camera crews and lights and the trailers that usually surround a film shoot, but there are none. Police cars appear, and officers are now taking a position and being fired on and return fire. For the first time, I feel that I may be in danger, so I turn a corner to get out of the line of fire. I turn to say something to Leslie but realize she's not with me any longer. I recall now, that she pulled her hand out of my grasp earlier to flee the scene with the other people. This night's dream was a double feature I guess. The next scene is Leslie and me together at a swimming pool. There's a guy present who apparently runs the pool. He's showing us around. Leslie is interested in the tour, but I opt to just jump in the water. A few moments later Leslie joins me in the pool. The guy running the pool walks to the pool's edge and says, "Hey, watch this." Then he dumps a bucket of bugs and worms in the water. What's that for? Leslie asks. Watch! he says. Then these very large frogs appear and start eating the bugs and worms. We're swimming alongside bugs and worms and frogs feeding on them. I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable, but I can see Leslie is enthralled and enjoying the experience immensely. I wonder how the frogs can survive in chlorinated water. So I ask the guy. And he says, "Oh we don't clean the pool." That's it! I'm outta here! Fully awake. |
| Happy Good Friday Easter is only hours away. I should confess. Forgive me, for I have joined a Toastmasters Club. I deserve it, I did a lot of stupid shit when I was young. Toastmasters was sent to punish me. So it is written, so shall it be done. That must be why I was randomly called on to give an impromptu 2 -4 minute speech to answer the question, What is your favorite part of Easter? I spoke for 3 minutes 58 seconds. I started by saying, "Most people who know me don't know I'm a Christian in fact if you asked most people who know me, to guess my religious denomination most people would guess, Atheist or Satanist before even considering Christianity." I added, "and I'm talking about people who have known me a very long time." I went on to describe the entire season of Easter as it's set out in the liturgical calendar. I ended my speech by reaching over and grabbing some dried-out palm branches from Palm Sunday years past and shook them in front of my laptop camera. (It was a ZOOM meeting) I knew this nasty old drunk, his name is Patty. Every time he spoke he ended his statement with the phrase, "And now you fucken Know!" I almost said it, but I saw my time was about to expire, thank God, so I nodded my head then smiled and said, "Happy Easter!" That's not what I was going to write about - the Happy Good Friday greeting just got me going. I want to write about the Musicology Anthology Contest - I signed up! I picked the Album, The Wall by Pink Floyd. The way the contest works is you have to write a story on every song title of the album you choose. Pink Floyd the Wall is a double album. WTG, Joel!  OH MY GOD! LOOK AT THE TIME! It's Holy Saturday already. Packed and loaded, until next time, cheers. Joel |
What a difference a year makes. We got the keys to our new house in St.Georges, Manitoba. Today was Leslie's first time seeing the yard, which had been hidden by the snow on prior visits. She's always wanted a fountain, now she has two. The yard is pretty much a park. I took a few photos, and wouldn't you know it, my camera battery died before I got to the front yard. That's okay, we'll be going back tomorrow. We have the entire month to relocate. Tick-tock, the time will go by fast. I'm keeping a journal, which will most likely become a satirical look at the area and its residents both real and imagined. St. Georges is a French community, the perfect setting for Jean Dough, one of my imagined serial blog heroes. E will love it dare! The people that we bought the house from left us a bottle of wine, two wine glasses, and a lovely note which said. 'We hope you enjoy your home up on the rock as much as we have for the past twenty-five years.' I don't mean to brag, but I felt like we won the real estate lottery today. Don't get me wrong, we loved our place in the woods by the lake, but so does everybody else, and the community has become very busy. We thought we would like to move someplace a little quieter and we did. How quiet is our new location? Our neighbor is, get this, the local public library. I'm not kidding, at the end of our driveway is the Allard Regional Library. Shhhhhh We agreed that the couple could leave behind items they had no use for. Leslie wasn't keen about this, but I insisted it was okay, because I had my eye on a certain area of a large shed, hoping this would be what they might leave behind... and they did! So now I have a shed full of Garden Gnomes. Leslie hates them, haha! Wait until Clown Boy and Mr. Monkey meet the Gnomes. Hold my beer! When things get back to normal, I won't even remember what normal is. I'll leave you some photos and links. Come sign up for the Mystery Blog Challenge in the Banana Bar if you haven't already. Stay safe! https://www.villagestgeorges.ca/en/
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your comment. I've done some time curled up. The thumb-sucking never gets old, but the games get boring, and once you've seen all the videos the real world becomes a welcome lifestyle change.
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