Category - People Props

This one took a little longer to get here, but the time has come. Al is 50.

It’s not uncommon for people to ask me if Ratty and I are bothers, or even call me Paul for that matter. His Uncle Ernie still calls me Paul to this day. Al came into my life at a very pivitol time, when Ratty was leaving for England and I was just getting out of a long term relationship. He let me spill over wings at Boogies one afternoon and he shared a few stories of his own. We laughed, he farted in public, we laughed some more, and we have been close friends ever since.

When I moved back home Al came with me. When I moved back out he stayed. I don’t blame him though…we had it good there upstairs on Handyside Ave. He is like the brother I never had. He is always there for me when I need to go get a Slurpee and vent and although he keeps his cards pretty close, I do my best to be there for him. We have been brothers, and watched each other become fathers. It’s been an amazong journey to say the least.

Happy birthday little (L) brother, it was great to celebrate with you in the pool house. It’s exactly how I would have done it myself. Wait a second…

#publicflatulence #pluggingtoilets

Pretty cool moment this weekend when Alex Ovechkin scored goal number 895 to beat Gretzky’s NHL goal scoring record.

Joel posted the minute it happened and I turned on the TV to see that they had paused the game mid second period to celebrate the accomplishment. I can’t think of another time when they would have stopped mid game for something like this, so that in itself was pretty cool. I also thought it was cool that:

• He broke the record with the same number of games played as Wayne (1487) and in game 1486 when he scored two goals to tie the record he declined to be on the ice at the end of the game when the opposing net was empty.
• Back in November Ovi broke his leg with 27 goals left to go to acheive the record and started skating again just 2 weeks into recovery. How the stars would have to align for him to still break the record in same amount of games that Wayne played.
• The celebration was epic and even looked somewhat painful for a 39 year old man.
• Going up and asking Sorokin for his stick after the game was cool and when Sorokin was asked what he got in return he said “Ovi’s respect”. I am sure he will be happy to be mentioned in this little fragment of history moving forward.
• Being Wayne Gretzky would be fun on all accounts but being flown around by the NHL to make sure he was at all of the games leading up to the record would have been cool. Sidenote, Janet Gretzky is still killing it at 64.

Still No Comparison

I am happy for Ovechkin and I think it’s good for the game of hockey for these records to be reached but let’s be real, he is no Wayne Gretzky. Come and see me when Ovi is the all time points leader in the NHL and I will take you for dinner at the Keg. Not only does Wayne have 894 goals, but he also has 1963 career assists for a total of 2857 points. Ovechkin has played the same number of games but only has 1619 points with only 724 assists. That being said Ovechkin is also 3rd in the NHL in hits with 3735 and I don’t even think they counted hits back in Wayne’s prime because I can’t find that number for him (8 maybe). Messier was out there doing all the banging.

But when it comes down to who would you rather have on your team the +/- solves the debate. After 1487 games played Ovechkin is a plus 62 and in the same number of games Wayne Gretzky is a plus 540. That is nuts to me.

Still a GR8 career and he is not done yet, or is he?

I don’t even know where to start with this guy, but in high school he was the last guy to leave a party and still getting 100% on tests. It didn’t make sense. I mean, one minute you are having a couple of drinks with him, and the next minute he is resolving conflict with a couple of pretzels, a puzzle piece, and a bottle cap.

That is the beauty of hanging out with Toph…you never know where the night will take you. One time we ended up on someones lawn at 2am just eating Old Dutch Salt & Vinegar chips. Another time we are out in Toronto getting our picture taken with Wayne Gretzky, just to steal his leftover beer after he left. It was like drinking out of the Stanley Cup and we both got Wayne’s cold as a result.

He is smooth on the ice, as well as the dance floor. I remember just before he moved away we had all gone out Scandals and we were cutting some tiles to the Hip (likely a request we had made for Paul Ratte’s birthday). A couple of birds came over and started dancing beside us and I remember Toph swooshing them away with hands like dust and telling them “I’m dancing with buddy, leave us alone”. Those moments meant something to Toph and it made me realize how important those friendships were to him.

Happy 50th Birthday my friend. Wish I was there to cut some tiles with you tonight and celebrate.

Scott Sullivan is my muse. Has been for a long time. That guy will get me thinking about something and the next thing you know I have been up all day.

I first starting noticing his creativity on the ice. He would craft these moves up in his garage and then finesse them out during a game. It could be as simple as adding a little more mustard on his passes or straight up toe drag feed through his legs to the backhand to beat the D. These “subtle tweaks” to his game spilled over into a YouTube Channel called “Top Shelf” that is a definate must see.

Eventually Scott and I got together for a little Podcast we called Daddy Mac N’ Cheese where we would sit around and talk about our experience as a couple of modern family guys. Funny thing though, it’s hard for a couple of modern day family guys to find to time to sit around and be creative. I can’t help but feel like we have so much unfinished business to discuss. In fact, Scotty is the only person in this work that I speak with on the phone for more than 15 mins at a time.

Although, there was that video we collabed on back in 2012 for the Transcona State of Mind contest we made some time for.

One thing I have learned over the years it that it’s more fun when Sully is there. Whether it was in the Jeep, flicking the spinner, or just straight up having a few drinks and singing with the Hip, Sully brought it.

Had a blast at your birthday, both visits. It was everything I thought it would be and more. The music was spot on and the food was awesome. So good to see everyone and you have done so well to surround yourself with so many amazing friends and family. So cool of Drew to show up too!

Happy birthday 50th birthday Sully, so happy to be able to share it with you.

This weekend was Bryan Gould’s 50th birthday and how can you go wrong with Minsky on planning and Timmy G on music? You can’t.

On the way home I was telling Shan and Sully just how lucky we are to celebrating our 50th birthdays with guys we grew up with. I am not sure many people have that. Sitting there watching guys come in the door like Vern, Ponch, Sully, Timmy, Peters, Tams, Ports, it made me realize how far we have all come. We were kids back then with no idea that these guys were going to be lifelong friends. That we were going to see them all get real jobs, new cars, girlfriends and wives, families of their own. – And right there at the center of it all is Bryan Gould. The rock of our group.

I credit Gould for bringing me into his friend group, the group that I am so grateful to call my own today. Bry taught me about friendship in a way that nobody else could have. It’s hard to explain when I think about it but he was always there without really being there. There when you needed him most and just within reach if you need him. We got drunk alot too and he is up for just about anything!

Like all the weddings, socials, and parties we have shared over the years it was a pleasure to share in your 50th buddy! I can’t wait to cut some tiles at your 60th. Three Pistols strong.

We lost Drew to the U.S.A. quite a few years back but he is still one of my most revered and influential friends. I love to see him when he is in town and other than some strange way of saying certain words it’s almost like he never left.

My best memories with Drew are forsure the camping trips. The family cottages, Cyr’s place, even May long weekend when we just got to see Drew on the first night.

Drew is a cheater at hockey though. One time we were all playing floor hockey at Norberry and we all had to go and buy these flimsy plastic sticks that we could bend ridiculous curves on. Drew decided that he could just tape an entire 6′ wooden stick and nobody would notice. He then proceeded to chop us down at will. You can see it in the first minute of The Lost Norberry Tapes. Still not sure how ever got that stick into his Celica.

Drew also has great taste in music and was certainly been my biggest influence musically in those days. He introduced me to Pearl Jam and the likes of Stone Temple Pilots. We also agreed on the Tragically Hip so we shared in all of those concerts over the years with the group as well. He showed me the best ways to download music and pirate movies like a real friend should.

I couldn’t celebrate 50 with you this year Drew as I know you are getting ready for another election. I thank you for always being a great friend and I look forward to seeing you soon…in Canada.