Wayde Lever: Vertically Challenged Comedian

I am not the Vertically Challenged Comedian.

I am just comfortable making friends and family laugh.

Once in a while somebody will go, "Gee Mike, you're so funny! You should be on TV".

And I just smile and that's it.

But my good friend Wayde Lever, the Vertically Challenged Comedian, made his friends and family laugh, and got the same encouragement.

He took it to heart. Eventually it became a dream.

He filed it away for a bit, and finished his education.  Found success in the nonprofit sector.

Even tried his hand in the political arena.

What a life to draw laughs from, you may be thinking. And I agree.

But Wayde's overriding passion, other than doing everything he can to make you laugh, is to build a bridge of understanding between the disabled and the community at large.

Because we are all people after all.

He may push a few buttons to make a point.

But you will laugh in the end.

Want to heckle him? The Vertically Challenged Comedian will look you straight in the face, hear what you have to say.

He will thank you.

And he will move on.

So vote now for my friend Wayde Lever The Vertically Challenged Comedian to be the Social Media Wildcard in the Jokers In Training event from Jokers Gone Wild at Casino Yellowhead.


He thanks you in advance, as do I.

You will be amazed.

Your Partner In Life

Happy Birthday Dad! I Love You

Just felt like sharing this today, in part because I have always been partial to the band Bread.

And to be honest I love the look, feel, and fuller and richer sound of vinyl spinning. Always have, since childhood.

For years my parents put up with me just grabbing the record wherever, plopping it onto the turntable, and attempting (not always successfully) to have the needle land at the beginning, particularly if it was on my kiddie record player with the needle that weighed a ton.

But more important than all that is the song itself. For years I assumed that the idea behind Everything I Own represented singer-songwriter David Gates's intense feelings for a ladylove, or perhaps regretting her loss.

Not so.

It is in fact a song about his love for and relationship with his father.

So as my own father Paul turns 70 today I want to say Happy Birthday Dad. I love you very much.

This song's for you.

Your son,

Mike

For Orlando

No, this isn't an Orlando sunset.

It's one that I captured here in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago after a storm.

And since I do not have anything to offer survivors or victim's families in terms of aid, I offer these words and this picture.

Hopefully, the sun will soon set on the anger and hate behind this horrific crime.

Because no matter what anyone does in this world to have a good time as they express themselves in the time-honored form of dance...

...and no matter who they choose to do it with...

...absolutely no one should have to consider the possibility of sudden death at the hands of a madman while doing so. Not in this day and age.

I love you Orlando.


Mike, Your Partner In Life

Hey, What's In The Box?

Quick, anybody still know what this item is?

Sadly, we are reaching a time in pop culture when that may soon not be the case.

There was a time when cassettes were considered the highest in high fidelity.

And if you are lucky enough to find (or still have) some tapes and a player, if they are in good
shape, they can still sound pretty good.

And those who have seen my room know that I do not have room for tapes or a player. I borrowed the Rovers tape from my good buddy Don so I could look cool for a few seconds.

In any case, when my wonderful nieces Penelope and Mikaela ask me in a few years what cassettes are, I'm gonna be ready!

In the meantime, a cute video:

Your Partner In Life

Photo credit:  Kyra, 96.3 Capital FM via Facebook

Ralph Leibo: Survivor

I caught up with my old buddy Ralph Leibo on Super Bowl Sunday as we watched the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers at his place with a few friends. As you can tell from the above picture, Ralph was in great spirits, despite having spent almost two weeks in hospital this past October. While there, he learned that he would have to make adjustments to his fiercely independent lifestyle upon his return home, mainly through the use of a wheelchair (for years, Ralph has at various times used a cane and then a walker to get around).

But in the 25 plus years I have known Ralph, there are two things I have noticed about him: his constant ability to rise above whatever challenges he may face, and also his absolutely uncanny ability to gather people around him for a helping hand. He mentioned that a support worker named Nardos looked in on him a few times after he got home. "She had a great professionalism and attitude, and her smile was always something I looked forward to seeing," Ralph told me. So good to hear, my friend. As I know from my own life, everything in the healthcare industry is now so mechanized, overscheduled, and computerized that it is now very rare to find anyone with the time to go the extra mile, let alone the desire.

So a big thank you goes out to Nardos. Ralph appreciates you, and so do all his friends!

All the best Ralph. And keep on smiling!

Your Partner In Life