You are sitting in front of your television, but there are two shows you want to see

You record one while watching the other, how more simpler could things be

To me it’s such a blessing, it really is quite grand

Even if you forget, you can catch it on demand

Things weren’t always this way when someone missed their show

Trying to catch the rerun was the only option we would know

That meant having to wait for months for the episode that you missed

And happen to miss that one too? Now you were really pissed

Not until the eighties did the video recorder make its debut

Now we could record our shows and choose when we wanted to view

It had a built in tuner, which for the first time in our lives

Husbands could watch their live sports, while taping a show for their wives

You had to set a timer, make sure you pick the right channel for the event

Make sure the tape had enough room to record and off to work you went

As for television viewing, it was the best we ever had

But for all the advertisers, they were steaming mad

People could now fast forward through their commercials without a second look

All that money they spent on advertising was wasted, they were on the hook

Their funds they paid to networks in turn would back these shows

How they finally got around all this I don’t really know

Technology now has advanced to the outer fringe

Now if you want to, you can do what’s called a series binge

Pick out your favourite tv show, whether old or new

Watch every episode in succession, that is what you do

I now program all my sporting events, I seldom watch them live

They sit there waiting on my receiver’s built in drive

I program all the football games and this way I can watch them all

I don’t miss any of the action, or any penalty call

I have it down to a science and cut off so much time from the game

No matter what team is playing, it works out just the same

After the player is tackled, press the thirty second advance, that’s all

The next thing you see, they are in formation ready to snap the ball

If the team your watching is using the no huddle attack

Press the thirty second, and then the seven second back

I fast forward the commercials and skip the half time recap on the air

I got so many games to watch, I don’t need no spoilers for them to share

It cuts down a three hour broadcast to a little over an hour if you do it just this way

If you a true football fan you can watch all your games in one day

If you are watching hockey games, this works for you too

It’s basically the same thing, that you have to do

When the puck goes out of play or when the goalie blocks the shot

Press the thirty second advance again and they are facing off at the dot

Of course I fast forward the intermission and all commercials that they run

Close to two hours you have saved once the game is done

I’m  proud to say I haven’t seen Don Cherry in quite a while

Is he still wearing those drape patterned suits or has he finally changed his style?

This formula definitely will not work for baseball, you can skip commercials that is all

I lost a lot of interest in this sport when the Expos left Montreal

No matter what game your watching, quoting statistics is all they seem to say

It’s the most boring sport to watch, I got better things to do, ok

Most of us still skip the endorsements we simply refuse to view

They must of thought of another way of getting through to me and you

When we pass from this world whether it’s peaceful or be it tragic

These admen will be targeting you and your demographic

I think when we reach our final end we are all in for a surprise

It won’t be our whole lives that will flash before our eyes

It will be all the commercials that you avoided while you were alive

Tailored to your final age group on the day you didn’t revive

So if you only make it to middle age on the day you pass away

Ads about sports cars and travel you’ll be viewing I would say

If you make it to a ripe old age, this would be my assumption

Women would be seeing ads of menopause, and the men, erectile dysfunction

I see Doug Ford and Vic Fedeli made it back to Toronto just the other day

They were hiding from all the teachers in the city of North Bay

When they heard the educators were going to form a crowd

It wasn’t in their best interests, so they didn’t stick around

They hid out in this northern city, his treasurer’s provincial seat

They had to get out of Toronto, they couldn’t take the heat

They both got back to the capital once the coast was clear

In time to announce their budget, both grinning ear to ear

Once again the scholars are taking it on the chin

This is the area where I have chosen to begin

He has initiated performance clauses for colleges and universities to adhere

If they don’t reach their target, sixty percent of their provincial funding could disappear

Low income people are no longer eligible for free tuition

Just when we were finally starting to help them in their situation

Over seven hundred million cut from post secondary education as well

The future of our children is going all to hell

Money to indigenous people has been cut close to half as a result

Why is it our native people we continue to insult?

He’s cancelled the clean drive program, hasn’t he heard the warning?

Another politician that continues to ignore global warming

Remember your last colonoscopy? Remember feeling sore?

You won’t be getting a sedative for that procedure anymore

These are just a few examples of the cuts he wants to put in place

Not one of these I’ve mentioned so far have I chosen to embrace

Twenty eight billion dollars for Toronto people, all of Ontario will chip in to pay

To develop their city’s transit and get them on their way

Now he wants to open all the bars at the stroke of nine

Will it become a fad to eat your breakfast with some wine?

For some reason he wants drinking in public parks to be a legal act

This will be a choice of each municipality to enact

As for the last item of discussion, Mr. Ford, I thought you’d like to know

If you want to attend a legal tailgate party, then shuffle off to Buffalo

The patience for this new Premier is already wearing thin

Voting for him was never popular, we were just tired of Kathleen Wynn

Bob Rae continues to haunt the NDP, seems there’s nothing they can do

It’s time to reconsider this third party, instead of concentrating on just two

Last night we had a meeting in order to assess

If this blog is a failure or on the brink of success

We decided to invite all my followers to this get together as well

I thought it would be crowded but then thought “what the hell”

So we met up at a restaurant in a booth that was made for four

After we took attendance we found we had room for two more

Turns out just my wife and I were the ones there to eat

That saved me some money, it was my turn to treat

We looked at all the statistics to try to map out future plans

We read out all the comments that were sent from all our fans

She dictated all the entries, turns out two was all there were

Turns out both submissions were entered in by her

It showed we got to double digits in the middle of our first week

Unfortunately it turns out, that’s the time we reached our peak

I am still going to remain optimistic, it’s something that I chose

Things can only go up is the way to look at it I suppose

I can’t count on that you tube video to finally make its arrival

It’s had thirty views in two years, how many more before it’s considered viral?

I’m gonna still plug at this the best that I can

I don’t really need the recognition, or the following of a fan

It’s just an outlet for me to continue to write a poem

Some of the best ones I have read, show the author being unknown

It definitely is a challenge for me but it’s something I like to do

Those who really know me encourage me to pursue

Thanks to those few people that have given this blog a look

Worse comes to worse I can try to make a book

Of all the poems that I have written all these many years

There wouldn’t be a big lineup at the book store it would appear

They say the oceans of the world all started with a single drop

I make not even make it to a puddle, right now I do not choose to stop

Some kids are hooked on video games and can’t stray too far from the screen

While others are decades older, hooked on them before they were a teen

I understand the latest addiction is called “fortnite” an online game they play

This game has become so popular, these players refuse to stray

It got me to thinking about how evolved electronics has come since I was a boy

The man who lit the fire in me, most people just called “Roy”

The first memory I recall is when he would test the tubes on the old tv

He would pull every one of them out to test them out and see

We would carefully place these glass tubes in a container and bring them to a store

Where a machine would tell which ones were bad, to him it was no chore

He would buy the replacement tubes, you had to set them in just right

The tv worked till the day he died, that tin covered black and white

He had a love for music, sometimes he played them all day long

He loved the big bands and crooners, don’t recall his favourite song

We had a covered in front porch loaded with a stereo and sound

Sitting on his easy chair listening to tunes was the place where he could be found

One day when we came home from school he shared a special treat

He purchased a Bradford stereo from Zellers, that swept us off our feet

A beautiful piece of furniture that sat in the living room in full display

It contained a record player, radio, and  a cassette for us to play

Now we could buy tapes and record music of our very own

To share with all our friends or listen when we were all alone

He worked for the railroad which required layovers at the “Y”

In his briefcase he would pack a radio, he was that special guy

Get into his boat and fish, a little portable tv would be there to see

It also had a radio, how much happier could he be?

When the video game revolution started, it didn’t take him long

We were the first kids in the neighbourhood to play the game of “pong”

I’ve followed in his footsteps, I love the electronics it would appear

Although we have no 4K stations, I bought the television this year

I was the one who bought intellevision when it was first placed on the shelf

It was just something that happened, I couldn’t help myself

I graduated to Playstation and Playstation II as I recall

I needed to have them, I had to possess them all

I had the twelve foot satellite dish, which in the backyard looked so wrong

But what did I do when I bought new house? I took it along

I taped every movie that I could possibly view when the dish was working then

Still packed in boxes in the basement, when will I watch them? Who knows when?

I got my computer that I use most every day

Hooked up to my tv that’s fifty inches proudly on display

I caught the electronic bug from you, you’re the one to blame

There is no reason to hide it, there certainly is no shame

Maybe it’s generational because my children seem to have it too

One thing we can confess, is we truly do miss you

Thirty years ago this year, you had that heart attack and didn’t survive

You’d be a hundred years old now if you were still alive

I played Dean Martin on that old stereo to you, and it truly made me sad

It was just my way of showing how much I miss you “Dad”

Sometimes while watching or listening to news, some words in the program will trigger a song that we have all heard. The latest news has the Democrats in America looking for Donald Trump’s tax forms. This somehow reminded me of “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. I have named this one, “Never Gonna Give Them Up”. So if you know the tune, sing along.

I’m the leader of the Gov I Break the rules, I don’t know why
My taxes you want to get a hold of
Because you got them from every other guy

Now you really got my stomach reeling
Gonna continue with my plan

Never gonna give them up
As long as I’m around
Even though you say that I’m supposed to
I know you’re gonna try
l’ll continue with my lies
Cease and desist or I will sue you

I’ve been in office some say far too long
Investigations are following me, but
I can’t seem to shake it
Everyone is starting to realize what’s going on I got the veto and I’m gonna play it

And if you knew how much I’m stealing
You know how much in trouble I would be!

Never gonna give them up
As long as I’m around
Even though you say that I’m supposed to
I know you’re gonna try
l’ll continue with my lies
Cease and desist or I will sue you

Never gonna give them up
As long as I’m around

Never gonna give them up
As long as I’m around
Even though you say that I’m supposed to
I know you’re gonna try
l’ll continue with my lies
Cease and desist or I will sue you

Never gonna give, never gonna give
(Give them up)
(Ooh) Never gonna give, never gonna give
(Give them up)

I’ve been in office some say far too long
Investigations are following me, but
I can’t seem to shake it
Everyone is starting to realize what’s going on I’ve got the veto and I’m gonna play it

And if you knew how much I’m stealing
You know how much in trouble I would be!

Never gonna give them up
As long as I’m around
Even though you say that I’m supposed to
I know you’re gonna try
l’ll continue with my lies
Cease and desist or I will sue you

Never gonna give them up
As long as I’m around
Even though you say that I’m supposed to
I know you’re gonna try
l’ll continue with my lies
Cease and desist or I will sue you

Never gonna give them up
As long as I’m around
Even though you say that I’m supposed to
I know you’re gonna try
l’ll continue with my lies
Cease and desist or I will sue you

Congratulations to Bob Cole after fifty years of play by play

His style was unique, he called the hockey games in his own way

Imagine, the Leafs versus the Canadiens, final game of the year

Couldn’t be a more befitting way to end his career

All those years in this profession, it’s quite a haul

Made me think of the man who started it all

Foster Hewitt was the pioneer of calling the game

Starting it on radio was his claim to fame

This was back in the thirties when he started on air

When they decided to televise, he was right there

The first broadcast was in French with Rene Lecavalier as the instigator

Follow by Foster Hewitt in English, a mere three weeks later

I still remember listening to Rene back in the day

If your team was playing the Canadiens, it was the only way

After more than thirty years, he announced his final game

All over Quebec he is still a household name

Hewitt would retire, 1963 was the year

Then nine years later, he would reappear

1972, the summit series against Russia was the assignment he’d get

Eight games that September that no Canadian will ever forget

Danny Gallivan,  was another that was well known

This man was in a class that was all his own

His use of words and phrases was second to none

I enjoyed listening to him no matter who won

The man enjoyed the game and he put in so much thought

Inventing phrases like “spinerama move” and “cannonating shot”

For thirty two years in English Canada he was CBC’s choice

He brought all the excitement, he had the voice

These men paved the way for the best game around

Those who have followed, try to copy their sound

So when you are watching your team on your favourite station

Remember these three men who laid the foundation

Well the NHL regular schedule is over for another year

Now the teams will have to shift it into another gear

The most exciting time in hockey starts it’s second season

The right to hoist the Stanley Cup is the only reason

Sixteen teams will vie for it, the first round starts this week

It won’t be until the month of June that  it will reach the final peak

All series are the best of seven, the first to win needs four

To capture it in the final round, you have to win twelve more

Now before the first puck is dropped to start the initial round

Hockey fans have their own agenda in hopes of being crowned

They will enter hockey pools and try to predict the outcome of every game

So many factors to consider and not all pools are the same

Some want you to pick out players and total scoring  will win the pot

Others are straight forward while others require much thought

Some that want you to predict the team in each and every round

If you get the number of games right, some bonuses can be found

Still there are some out there that expect you to go right to the limit

Figure out every round including the finals, and every team that wins it

Now I’ve watched a lot of hockey and it’s time to put it to the test

Which teams are the pretenders and which ones are the best

In the eastern conference, Tampa Bay seems to be the team to beat

Holding the record for most points in a year is quite a tremendous feat

They shouldn’t have any trouble beating the Jackets in round number one

I think after the first four games, Columbus will be done

This is just one prediction, I really put myself out there

This is the only round that I will risk to share

I have a form in front of me that’s blank and needs to fill

Never won a hockey pool before and probably never will

Should I do some research and see what the experts have to say?

Sometimes I kind of wonder how they earned that status anyway?

Should I go with my gut and just to feel it out?

No that has never worked before, I’ll try a different route

Maybe flip a coin or roll a pair of dice?

Call a friend and get some sound advice?

I am going to get this entry done after this poem is done

I’m not going to worry about it, will try to make it fun

I’ll fill out with my picks before the deadline end

Maybe this will be the start of a winning trend

I won’t let anyone steal my picks, I’ll keep it out of sight

What a time for hockey! There will be a game on tv every night

So stand behind your favourite team and give them a rousing cheer

If you are a real hockey fan, it’s the best time of the year

When we are all talking politics and sharing our views

The great big orange menace is the person that hogs all the news

He hates all reporters unless they work for Fox

Is there anywhere I can go for a Donald detox?

So I turned off CNN to get my life in some kind of order

To look at events at home, north of Trump’s border

I checked out what was happening in Ontario and then I started to groan

The Premier in Ontario could be a Donald Trump Clone

Not for his looks but the way he is playing his political game

If you don’t know him by now, Doug Ford is his name

Power has gone to his head, he’s running the show

How he got elected? God only knows

Back to Trump who hates his character on SNL that they portray

Ford reminds me of “Matt Foley” a character that Chris Farley used to play

These two guys come from privileged families and don’t have a clue

Ford hasn’t served long but we can’t wait to bid him adieu

So now back to Ontario and listen to the plans Ford is trying to pass

This is after he has changed the curriculum for Sex Education class

Sticking it to our teachers is the bone of his contention

I think it’s payback for all those hours he spent in detention

He doesn’t give an aura of being that smart or being too keen

Me thinks his education was special, if you know what I mean

He wants to increase the size in each provincial class

I thinking he’s been smoking too much of our new legal grass

He has no idea of the burden that teachers now face

Now they want to crowd more students in this small space?

Have you looked at statistics to see what they’ve shown?

One educator can’t teach that many students all on their own

Teaching is a profession that must be respected

If your plan is implemented, more children will be neglected

Classes now are mixed with kids that have special needs

Each of them learning at all different speeds

No one person can handle this task, it’s just too demanding

All children need help, hope and more understanding

Take time to listen to them and show them we care

These children are our future that we have to share

So instead of cutting off funds, make an investment

Check all the facts and do your assessment

Having children that thrive in class will prosper and grow

They’ll be things they want to learn and want to know

More children will graduate and be college bound

Enter the work force and in turn will astound

But if you take the road you are considering please be aware

More teenagers will walk out because they just didn’t get the care

You want them to go online and learn a course?

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse

Students who have trouble learning in class won’t attain that final goal

We will have more high school dropouts and sadly more on parole

We need a new Premier that values education and can deliver

Let Doug Ford, like Matt Foley, live in his van down by the river

From the first time that the caveman put their drawings on the wall

Connecting with each other has been important to us all

This was the only way to relay teachings to the members of their clan

Interacting with each other has been important since the origin of man

With the invention of paper, every thought could be written on these sheets

The course of history recording all the momentous feats

Then in 1455, Gutenberg created the printing press, an invention for the ages

 This meant more books could be published and more people turning pages

More books were available and in turn it planted a seed

Those that were illiterate, would soon want to read

Libraries would sprout with material available for one and all

Shelves and shelves of resources lined along the wall

Those who could afford the luxuries could travel to different lands

Others could read about it from their book in their hands

For many people, reading, was entertainment they couldn’t live without

But inventors named Bell and Edison would take a different route

Bell would invent the telephone to connect to one and all

Making anyone available with one simple call

Edison, father of electricity, light bulb and the phonograph just to name a few

Has enabled us to listen to our records and the power to play them too

Radio, television and computers are media we use everyday

It’s hard to live without them, everyone would have to say

The communication sources are boundless for everyone out there

You can connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere

The internet has put us in a place that seems so endless and so vast

It’s hard to believe this ingenuity will ever be surpassed

Just when you thought technology could not be more evolved

All these resources are in one unit, your problems should be solved

The cell phone has become such a staple for everyone to use

So many models and companies, it’s hard to choose

It does everything you need, everything you could ask

When programmed just right, it can perform any task

You think, being a cell phone, you would use it to call

Some people refuse to use this feature at all

Now they message to friends and relatives, that is their choice

No need to say hello, because they won’t hear your voice

Two good thumbs are needed to chat with a friend

Type a few words and then you press send

Lmao, rofl, and lol may come your way

Get an urban dictionary to find out what they are trying to say

Emojis are other things you should watch out for as well

What these really mean? Sometimes it’s hard to tell

You can listen to radio, music and watch television too

Even read an ebook if that’s what you want to do

When friends get together to have some fun

They take out their phones and then one by one

They talk to each other and ask how they’ve been

Then automatically check out their bright little screen

Like a magnet they are attracted by it and go on their own

All of them go into their own private zone

Is it friendship that they are truly seeking?

A room full of friends and nobody speaking?

People who spend their time on social media texting all day

Don’t seem to be sociable in any way.

We have become spoiled by the advances that have been made

Perhaps it’s time to come to each other’s aid

The convenience of having everything delivered to your door

Some people don’t even have to go out anymore

Friends are on” facebook” not by their side

There is no one out there to whom you can confide

The reassurance of someone’s voice has been replaced by text

What kind of consequences will we experience next?

So let’s put away the cell phones when we meet. I’m being serious

It’s time for us to have a real “social” experience

I’m assuming that this love affair of mine starting on a Saturday night

The longest relationship I have had, not sure if it was love at first sight?

I only know I have been true and never wavered when times were tough

We’ve had our share of good times, but more often times,  things were rough

We’ve stuck together through thick and thin and I still remain so true

Will never give up on you, it’s something everyone knows, that I would never do

Not sure how young I was when I first became aware

The fact is we are still together, have moments we still share

People see me on the streets and they know I still care

It’s not the way I act, it’s more the clothes I wear

You see my closet is filled with apparel emblazoned with the emblem of my team

I’ve worn them during the bad times and when they reigned supreme

I have all the sweaters, jackets and shirts of every colour on display

I’ve gotten in the habit of modeling one each and every day

I go here and there and everywhere;  in the morning I have a regular route

There is no denying who I love and there truly can be no doubt

Perhaps it’s time to reveal to people the object of my pride and joy

It’s the Blackhawks of Chicago, from the state of Illinois

I think it was their jersey on television that brought me such delight

Not in living colour , but when the broadcast was in black and white

This was in the era when Bobby Hull, nickname – the Golden Jet

The hardest shot in hockey was firing at the opposition’s net

Stan “The Man” Mikita was another player on the team that year

He never played for any other team, he was a “Hawk” his whole career

Glenn Hall “Mr. Goalie” – stopping pucks was his chosen task

He played 502 games in a row and that’s without a mask

These are the first stars of Chicago that I truly can recall

They are all enshrined now in the Hockey Hall

When they won the cup in 1961, they thought they were on a run

It would be 49 years later before they won another one

2010 would be the year when this franchise finally would end it’s drought

This team was loaded with talent, there certainly can be no doubt

Star forwards like Toews, Kane, Sharp and Hossa just to name a few

With Hjalmarson, Keith and Seabrook on defense, they had great backup too

They won the game in overtime in Philadelphia, the sixth game of the set

After a long delay for officials to see if Kane’s shot went in the net

Once it was verified the celebration could begin

The Blackhawks won the cup, it certainly was a hard fought win

Toews would raise the Stanley Cup and won the Conn Smythe that year

Quite an accomplishment for “Captain Serious” in his young career

The years would follow and they would win in 2013 and 2015 as well

Will they win another one? It’s certainly hard to tell

The team has missed the playoffs for what will be the second year in a row

They started the first half terrible but now I can see them grow

There seems to be a lot of positives to be optimistic for next year

If they make the right moves in the off season, maybe they will reappear

I’m just happy I was there during the glory years and see them hoist the cup

Abandon the Blackhawks now? You know I will never give them up!