Noteworthy: A little bit of this, a little bit of that

By Medicine Hat News Opinion on January 23, 2020.

If you’re looking for deep analysis on the thought process behind Jason Kenney’s decisions on how best to run Alberta, or a pipeline-by-pipeline discussion about the fate of Alberta’s oil, or debate about the benefits and/or ills of low interest rates, you’ve come to the wrong place.

This monthly print offering is promising to provide little more than a number of obscure and meaningless observations, some of which you might or might not agree with, or some that may make you roll your eyes … or just ignore. But we carry on, with a shoutout to golf pal Tony Ambrosio, who used to like this column when it occasionally appeared in the News over the last few years.

… Author Stephen King, who brings horror and fear to life in his novels, has his own fear – of the number 13. He says he won’t stop reading a book on page 94 or 139 – any page whose digits add up to 13. He admits to it being neurotic, but says it’s “safer.” Whatever works. Reminds me of hotels that don’t officially have a “13th floor.”

… But when you step on the elevator and press the “14” button, you’re going to floor No. 13, like it or not.

… Another pal of mine, football-loving Arnie, parked an extra 40 or 50 yards away from the Sobey’s entrance the other day just to avoid parking beside a vehicle bearing a Saskatchewan Roughriders’ licence plate. Now that’s weird, just like having eggs for lunch.

… Medicine Hat has a presence on the PGA Tour in the personage of Dale Vallely, full-time caddie for Mexican player Abraham Ancer, the 30th-ranked golfer in the world. If it’s true a caddy gets 10 per cent of his player’s earnings, Vallely must be doing pretty well, considering Ancer has bagged more than $3 million in prize money in the past year or so.

“(Dale’s) personality is very go-go-go and he’s always different during a practice round because his personality is all over the place and he’s always telling stories all the time and he’s just a loud guy, but once we’re in tournament mode he keeps it very, very mild and keeps me entertained so that if I get a little down, he pushes me to stay in it,” Ancer said in a feature on TheCaddyNetwork.com.

… Petro Canada announced in December that it was now possible to drive coast to coast across Canada in an electric car, thanks to a series of charging stations. So what can be said about Canada’s ‘electric highway’ except “shocking.”

…I applaud the efforts of Alan Rose and his lobby group to bring spending and taxation accountability concerns before Medicine Hat city council, as he did just before Christmas, but why wasn’t his name on the municipal election ballot in 2017? Next election is in October, 2021.

… Comedian Roseanne Barr should draw quite a crowd to the Canalta Centre May 1. Just don’t let her sing the national anthem.

… For rock music, it’s 105.3. For classic hits, it’s 102.1. For collusion at the gas pumps it’s $111.9 or somewhere in that range. Most fuel retailers in Calgary have been around 10-cents-per-litre cheaper since October.

… Merging onto the Trans-Canada Highway a couple of days before Christmas, my vehicle’s blind spot prevented me from seeing a vehicle in the lane I was entering. The driver had to slow a bit, and if the roles were reversed, I may have been uttering a profanity or two.

No harm though, and we carried on. Got to the traffic light past the Kin Coulee dip and the wronged driver pulled up beside me and I swear he gave me a ‘thumb’s up.’ Then I got thinking, maybe it wasn’t a thumb but a different finger. Hmmm! He pulled ahead and I saw that his licence plate said ‘Friendly Manitoba’ so yes, it must have been a thumb.

… If you’re desperate for a good-paying job, the trucking industry wants to put you into the driver’s seat, said a recent online CBC.ca story. If you can come up with $8,000 for a two-month course, you could be on your way to easing Canada’s truck driver shortage – currently at around 20,000 but estimated to rise to 34,000 by 2024.

… The world needs more people like Nicole Simmons, and Medicine Hat’s lucky to have her. Simmons provided first aid to an assault victim at Medicine Hat Mall in early January and may have prevented a more dire outcome with her actions before medical personnel arrived on the scene.

… Anyone know a good way to avoid getting photo radar tickets?

… Don’t let this talk about four-laning Highway 3 between Medicine Hat and Lethbridge fade away. Unless flying vehicles are in our near future, that highway is going to see more and more traffic every year and anyone who uses it knows how dangerous it can be. MLA Drew Barnes says he’s going to fight his hardest for it, and we can only hope he’s successful.

… Hats off to the Tigers’ James Hamblin on recently hitting the 100-goal mark for his career. At last glance, he’s also right near the top of the Western Hockey League’s scoring race.