Nothing to Cheer About

For as far back as I can remember, Thursday night was the night for watching TV. For more than 10 years, before NBC came up with it's Must See TV slogan, I would commit myself to having my homework done before 9:00 (if I even did my homework at all) and would spend the rest of the evening, in front of out TV screen, watching my favourite shows.

From our visit to Boston in 2011.

I was 17 when the NBC comedy Cheers debuted. In 1982, I was entering into the 11th grade at high school and had established a close circle of friends, some going as far back as elementary school. And every Friday morning, before homeroom, we would discuss the antics of Sam Malone and Diane Chambers, the trivial knowledge of Cliff Clavin, and the snappy comebacks from beer-loving Norm Peterson.

When I was in journalism school, I didn't watch this show as ritually because Thursday nights were spent with my friends and colleagues in Bert's Bar, though I would try to get home in time to watch one of my favourite comedies. Though, once Diane left the show, my interest in Cheers waned a bit.

And in the late 80s, Thursday nights became my night to socialize.

It wasn't until DW and I moved in together that we made Thursday our night to stay in and watch TV. And we watched the final seasons of Cheers (though, I wasn't as invested as I was when the series started), amongst other shows.

Must-See TV became our night to watch Seinfeld, Friends, Mad About You, and Frasier.

DW and I gave up cable TV more than six years ago. We've opted for streaming services and we have a few that are our staples: Apple TV+, CBC Gem, and BritBox. We've toggled other services as shows have piqued our interests, subscribing for a month or so until we've seen what we've wanted to see.

Since the current U.S. presidency, we've ditched most of the American streaming services. Though, we aren't as strict about boycotting these services as we are about the rest of our all-out ban on American products when we shop or dine out.

I'm a hard-core Trekkie who loves Strange New Worlds and need to get my fix of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. We waited until the third season had completely run before we subscribed to Paramount+ so that I could watch the shows within a month, when we would then cancel the service again.

I watched all 10 episodes in three sittings, leaving four weeks of having Paramount+.

We've watched a couple of movies—The Substance, Brooklyn, and The Naked Gun, for example. Kid 1 has also binged on some horror movies.

But DW and I started watching Cheers again, as Paramount has the entire series. And I've got to say, the series that I loved in my teens and 20s isn't sitting well with me more than 40 years later.

I hate the relationship of Sam and Diane. It's toxic and stressful. In one episode, Sam is visited by an old friend who knows Sam for the womanizer he is, and bets Sam that he'll break up with Diane within 24 hours.

Of course, as with almost all episodes, Sam and Diane have an argument, and when Sam's friend brings a woman to the bar, Sam goes out with her, getting as far as being in bed with the woman before realizing that Diane means too much to him.

While DW and I watched this episode, we kept repeating how toxic their relationship was, and in this episode, Diane should have broken up with Sam when he told her that he was in bed with the other woman.

Every episode, since, we've screamed at the TV for them to leave one another when they threaten to do just that.

I was just a teen when these episodes aired and I didn't know better. But presumably, adults did.

"I can't believe this show was such a hit," I told DW. "How could anybody watch it?"

I guess it's a testimony to how times have changed and how we've grown (hopefully, for the most part) as a society. I know we still have a long way to go.

The sexism and homophobia in the shows that I watched in my youth are detestable in my senior years.

I'm done with Cheers. I don't need to see the episodes I watched in another time nor the ones that I missed. I'm looking forward to the end of the month, when we can say goodbye to Paramount+.

Until the next Star Trek series starts up.

What are your thoughts about comedies from the 80s and 90s? Are there shows that you enjoyed then but find cringy now? Leave a comment.

Happy Tuesday!

Finding Bonnechere Falls

DW has wanted to paddle the Bonnechere River for almost as long as we've had kayaks. She has read up on various parts of this 145-kilometre-long waterway, from where it originates, out of McKaskill Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, to where it end up, in the Ottawa River, about 20 kms upstream from Arnprior.

She's never said that she'd want to paddle the entirety of the river—indeed, I don't think the entire length is navigable for our kayaks, with boggy sections and some portages up to 1.5 kms long—but she's wanted to travel some sections of the river.

A couple of years ago, we planned to take a one-way journey down the Bonnechere, starting around Stevenson Lake and ending up at Round Lake, in Bonnechere Provincial Park. Our Paddlefolk were in, and we arranged so that we'd have one car at either end, but I awoke on the morning of that paddle with a migraine, and we decided to postpone that paddle for another time.

We never organized another time, though I'm sure we'd still like to do it. However, DW and I did go to Bonnechere Provincial Park this summer, and we paddled from the campsite, near Round Lake, upstream to the base of Jack's Chute. It was a great paddle—despite the fact that I was in a lot of pain and on a ton of meds—that I captured in a YouTube video.

As nice as that paddle was, DW still wants to do more exploring of the Bonnechere River. She'd like to put our kayaks in at the river in Renfrew and see how far downstream we can go. Perhaps next year and after some thorough investigation because I think that can be a treacherous stretch.

But a couple of weekends ago, we met up with our Paddlefolk and put our kayaks in to this river a short distance away from where it ends at the Ottawa River. There's a boat launch near Fergusons Beach (Horton's Boat Launch) that has a dock that can service anything from a kayak to a motorboat. It costs $9 to park for the day, so bring some cash with you.

We paddled about a kilometre and a half, upstream, until we came to Bonnechere Falls, a lovely waterfall. We were able to get out of our kayaks and stretch, and I also flew my drone to get better views of the falls.

Unfortunately, while getting back into my kayak, I slipped on the sloped, rocky shore and fell over in my kayak, getting completely soaked. It wasn't until we got back to our car that I realized I had taken a chunk of skin off of an elbow, but the worst part was that I hadn't packed any spare clothes (I was getting in and out on a dock so felt the chances of falling in the water to be nil—I guess I should have stayed in my boat at the falls).

We planned to paddle back to the put-in point and wanted to continue to the mouth of the Ottawa River, because the paddle would have ended up to be short, otherwise. What we didn't plan for was to cross the river to the Québec side and explore that area.

That was a bonus.

You can see our whole trip (minus my accident) in the latest YouTube video. Have a watch:

We're approaching the end of kayaking season for 2025 but there's still one more video to come, and hopefully we'll be able to find another nice weekend to get our kayaks in the water. This weekend would have been perfect but I was very sick and spent the days in bed.

If you like my video, a Thumbs Up would be greatly appreciated. If you've been watching my videos but haven't subscribed to my channel, please do so.

Happy Monday!

Cut and Cut Some More

I thought my manuscript was ready.

Over the past couple of months, I've had DW and some friends give Dark Water a read. I asked them to provide feedback, let me know if the story had a good pace, if it held their interest, and if it was believable. I asked them if they were able to figure out the murderer in this crime novel and if the twist was plausible.

I also asked them to point out any glaring mistakes, contradictions, or omissions.

Not all of my friends finished reading the manuscript and DW was taking forever to read it, being super picky. She's one of my biggest critics but does actually provide constructive criticism.

But I was eager to finish the final draft and send it to another friend, who owns a publishing company. I implemented changes that were suggested by DW and my friends, gave the book a third read and made more changes, and then sent a PDF of Dark Water to my publisher friend for feedback.

The feedback came fast, within a couple of hours of sending her the file.

My friend pointed out lots of things that jumped out after she had read the first three chapters. She recommended a book that provides excellent tips to make my book tighter and to be formatted to a standard that publishing companies prefer.

I spent the rest of the day reading that book and a lot jumped out at me. I have similar books about writing that I read decades ago, and many of these writing tips had been forgotten.

I guess that being a technical writer for more than 25 years and my haphazard style of writing The Brown Knowser blog have scrubbed away the essential elements of fiction writing. My career demanded a stiff and restrictive writing style; my blog goes on the opposite end of that spectrum, where I write whatever I want, however I want.

I don't tend to write fuck in technical manuals.

And so, I'm back to working on Dark Water: this time, with more cuts, more changes. And when I've gone through the book, I'll go back to the beginning, where I'll cut and cut some more.

The first time that I met with my friend and told her I was writing a crime novel, I said that I was writing at a furious pace and would be done in fewer than six months. Being without a day job gave me the time and I was making every minute of it count.

She gave a friendly laugh and said it should take more than a year before my book would be ready for print. I'm beginning to think that she's right.

Writing was the easy part. It's the polishing that will take the most time.

Happy Friday!

Terrible People

I try my hardest to stay positive, even with the political climate, the war in Ukraine, and the genocide in Gaza. I try but I don't always succeed.

I've also tried to stay positive through the pain I'm having in my shoulders. X-ray results have concluded that I have osteoarthritis in my left shoulder but were inconclusive about the right one, which gives me more pain, almost constantly.

I've been prescribed Celebrex, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. I've been taking it for almost two weeks and have felt no relief. I've also had a couple of physiotherapy sessions, where one of the exercises caused even more pain, so I've stopped that activity.

I returned to my doctor after receiving the x-ray results, and was given another requisition form for ultrasound. Because I went to a walk-in clinic near my home for the x-ray, I decided to go there for the ultrasound, as well.

Image: Perplexity & The Brown Knowser

This clinic always has a long lineup, even if you arrive before it opens. For my x-ray, I waited almost a half hour to register and then an additional half hour to be seen. Overall, that's not too bad, considering I received the requisition one day and had the x-rays completed the next morning.

For my ultrasound, the lineup was the same length when I arrived but for some reason, it took longer. But I remained positive: there was nothing I could do about it.

About a minute or so after I joined the line, more people filed in behind me. I could hear a woman, about three people back, say, "this isn't the lineup for an x-ray, is it?"

The woman ahead of her said, "Yes, it's first come, first served."

The first woman complained, "This is ridiculous. Well, I'm behind you." She then took a seat nearby, as it seemed that she was unable to stand for any length of time."

I understood that: before my reconstructive foot surgery, I couldn't stand for very long without experiencing significant pain.

However, for the 45 minutes that I stood in that line, this person did nothing but complain. About everything: the poor organization of the clinic; the failure of the health system; the slowness of the line.

I tried blocking her out but it was nearly impossible, as she was pretty much the only one talking so much. The woman who was ahead of her would utter words of agreement but I had the feeling that she was trying to engage as little as possible with the complainer.

I was tempted to say, "How does complaining make the situation better?" but I wanted to keep out of it. I wanted to stay positive, though I found this person's voice to be mentally draining.

I finally reached the receptionist and gave her my requisition and health card. I also asked her how her day was going, so far, because I needed to spread some positive energy.

The receptionist asked me if I had an appointment and I said no, that I knew that those with appointments didn't have to wait in line. But I also asked her if ultrasounds were also provided on a walk-in basis, like x-rays.

They weren't.

The soonest she could schedule me was next Monday morning but I have a job interview then. She then booked me for first thing Tuesday morning.

But while we were arranging my appointment, the complaining woman's voice was still filling the air. "And don't get me started about the homosexuals and the atheists. And what happened to just males and females?"

I turned to look at her and she seemed to almost be talking to herself, as others in line were trying to distance themselves by looking away. Because I was engaging with the receptionist, there was nothing I could do. Not right away.

How could no one object to this terrible person? She had been negative throughout her time in line, and now she was attacking marginalized groups. And atheists--people like me.

The receptionist gave me back my requisition paper, with a slip of paper stapled to it that had my appointment printed on it. I wished her a wonderful day and turned to leave.

I try to stay positive. I try to wish the best for everyone. But I have no patience with haters.

I didn't know what to say, as she was now onto complaining about how her doctor had an unpronounceable name, being from Nigeria. I only had a couple of seconds to think about it and I knew I didn't want to create a scene.

"You're a terrible person," was all I said as I passed her, keeping my voice level and without aggression, just stating a clear fact. Our eyes only made contact while I spoke, for maybe two seconds. I continued on my way out of the clinic without looking back.

I wished there had been more people who spoke out against this woman. She needed to be made aware that her negativity and hatred aren't acceptable. Those immediately around her needed to shut her down.

I feel that I didn't do enough. But at least I did something.

And I'll continue to stay positive however I can.

Autumn Sky