Before I am up in the morning, I see this face

Staring at me while invading my personal space

He has a long nose and a nice shiny coat

You’d wish he would ignore you, but you know he won’t

He waits patiently while I start to stir

Give a pat on his head and stroke his black fur

This is usually how my routine will begin

Try to avoid him? You’ll never win

Every move that I make just gets him more excited

Put the collar and leash on him, now he is delighted

It’s early morning just past daybreak

He’s already to go and I’m barely awake

He knows this route we travel everyday

Most of the time he’s the one who leads the way

When you are up this early, you hear every sound

There’s only the dog you can talk to, no one else is walking around

There are people in cars that will pass you by

They must look at me and wonder why

I’m not saying I’m ready right at the start

The energy seems to kick in once we depart

He is sniffing everything, at the start it is slow

While marking his territory wherever we go

This morning as usual this was the case

I gave his collar a tug to pick up the pace

He gets the message and then we proceed

Continue the walk at a comfortable speed

Yesterday I got through our walk without having to scoop which was nice

Today he’s made up for it, I had to perform this operation twice

With dexterity and a plastic bag I pick up every bit

Now listen to me, I’m talking shit

You do this because you are aware

While others with dogs just don’t seem to care

You see these piles wherever you walk

Out on the sidewalks or in the park

Sometimes you see the full plastic bag on the ground

You have to walk for blocks before a garbage can will be found

This is my personal beef in the city that I reside

I’ve just learned to accept it and take it in stride

We have lots of places to dispose them on our Main Street core

But take a look anywhere else, you won’t find many more

So if you can’t find any cans wherever you roam

Still pick up your mess and dispose of it at home

Gee I guess I had to get that out of my system for sure

I’m sorry, it’s something you shouldn’t have to endure

I am back to my walk now and we are almost done

I take him off the leash in the park and let him run

As I walk along the path, he darts back and forth

He is just giving it for all that he’s worth

His tongue is hanging out and he’s lost most of his power

Between the walk and the run it’s been over an hour

Now we head home at a leisurely stroll

He’s had enough exercise, I’ve reached my goal

Head up the front stairs and open the door

That’s when you find out that he is ready for more

He goes in his toy box and grabs a ball right away

He is not even near exhaustion, he still wants to play

He has so much energy that I wish I could borrow

I know I’m in for an encore when I wake up tomorrow

Got up this morning, the sun so bright and no clouds above

It was the kind of day that I have been dreaming of

Ran into my neighbour and we talked about the weather

I hardly recognized him, haven’t seen him since late November

I don’t want to jinx it, but I think our spring has arrived

After the winter we had, thank God we survived

The temperature was so cold most of the season

You only ventured out when you had a good reason

Burned most of the gas in your car idling to get it warm

While cleaning off the piles of snow from the latest storm

We only had two options that were there to be chosen

Either being buried in snow or feeling like you were frozen

We just never seemed to catch one lousy break

It was cold when you went to bed, even colder when you’d awake

We didn’t even get a hint of a thaw in any way

The first flake of snow was here to stay

It piled up so high that my young fruit trees I couldn’t see them at all

But you have to remember they are at least five feet tall

Using the snowblower constantly was all we could do

That’s just not using one, but using two

So we kept ahead by moving the white stuff and making a trail

Never realizing how much trouble this would entail

Over the course of the winter, the piles would continue to rise

That’s when we found out we were in for a surprise

You see in the winter, snow accumulation can carry some weight

Now it was time to shovel the roof, there was no debate

You have to save your structure, it only makes sense

Now with all this new snow, it now cleared our fence

Now this wouldn’t be a big deal to some people I bet

But it becomes a dilemma if you own a pet

We have two dogs that roam in the yard all the time

Now they had these mountains to climb

They could scale these hills and be free to roam

It would be no problem for them to leave their home

So my wife decided she would put a stop to this game

After all we caused the problem, we were to blame

She built a barricade for them that was impossible to hurdle

The final piece was a sandbox that was shaped like a turtle

We can open the door and let the dogs go out and play

We can feel safe because there is no way they can stray

It’s been a few weeks and the mountain is now a small hill

They can try to clear the fence but I don’t think they will

The days are getting warmer and soon grass will have to be cut

It will be nice to get out of this long winter rut

We got through this winter and it’s been quite a feat

So when summer arrives, please don’t complain about the heat               

Walking the dog this morning as I often do

I was listening to a tune that was familiar to both me and you

Heart of Gold was the refrain, once a popular score

I thought this song is old, can we call Neil, Young anymore?

This was a standard that came out when I was still a teen

Then I realized how stupid that last statement must have been

I looked up his bio and was shocked by what I had seen

The fact is we don’t have that many years in between

I don’t think I’m old, but then again I’m not really young

The reality of the situation? Well it kinda stung

I harkened back to the days when I was a youngster and bold

I used the word harkened? That only proves that I’m old!

Thought of the music that I listened to back then

Oh no I’m sorry I’m starting to reminisce once again

Now I am back in high school and if you are Canadian you understand

“April Wine” was, and still is my favourite band

I lived in a small city and not that many tours would venture to come

The highlight of their concerts was Jerry Mercer’s solo on the drums

One opening act for them, I liked right from the start

Perhaps you remember them, the act had the name “Heart”

I mean there were other great bands that visited but really there wasn’t much

Like “Trooper” and  “Stampeders”  and on occasion they would book “Rush”

It was just a cycle, the same bands toured and would reappear

Now that I look at the names, these bands have all had long careers

As I got older, I wanted to watch some legends, just to catch their show

So you would book a bus tour in town and off to Toronto you would go

I have been fortunate, I have seen some great acts performing live

They were worth all the expense  and enduring the long drive

I took my daughters to an Elton John concert as a special treat

Before it was over, they had both fallen asleep in their seat

I had tickets to see the “Rolling Stones” but in the end I backed out

It would have been a great concert to see without a doubt

I have never really been a big “Stones” fan per say

Although I will hum to all their classics when I hear them play

Now these are some old rockers that are still giving it their best

They were going to start a world tour but now Mick is in need of some rest

He is having heart surgery, the leader of this major attraction

Hopefully he will finally get some “satisfaction”

I know that pun was silly and I’ll admit it was pretty lame

But you are all probably laughing inside just the same

Those who are young, won’t begin to relate to this poem

As to all the others, there is something that should be known

Age is creeping up on us steadily day after day

It’s just a number that’s what we like to say

Feeling as young as I want to be is what I’ve chosen to discover

Maybe I will finally check out that concert when Mick does finally recover

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