Uno!

 

I remember this game!

Though not necessarily how to play it.

I just remember that it was much fun at the time!

And now my nieces Penelope and Mikaela are into it.

Have fun girls!

Love you so much and (hopefully!) see you soon!

Uncle Mike

Ring Those Phones Folks...Telerama Memories

 Can't believe I found this.

Wow.

I've been looking for footage for years so I could write about Telerama.

If you were a disabled person who grew up in Edmonton or Northern Alberta between 1975 and 1990...

...you tended to look forward to Telerama just as much as Christmas.

At least I did.

Before Family Day, it was the event that broke up the midwinter blahs in Alberta.

Showbiz with a cause!

And definitely for me (and a bunch of us I think), Telerama was our first clue that there was a world out there beyond our houses and schoolmates we saw every day.

I remember watching my first Telerama in 1977.

And wondering how Bob from Sesame Street got to Edmonton.

I didn't know about planes then I guess.

But seriously, the first Teleramas helped build the ACT (Associated Canadian Travellers) Centre in Rundle Park.

And the very nice indoor pool that was built at Camp Health Hope and Happiness in 1984.

Also any number of specialized vans and buses used to transport the disabled around Edmonton to programs and activities.

And the telecasts always ran from 9PM on a Saturday to 5PM on Sunday.

And there always seemed to be a great can-do spirit among Edmonton's local sports and entertainment celebrities.

I mean, Kompany! is shown performing a high-energy show at 6AM! That's dedication!

And the occasional celebrity flown in to keep the pledges coming in, such as the aforementioned Bob McGrath.

And who can forget Another World heartthrob Stephen Schnetzer, Cass Winthrop himself! He was willing to pitch in and help in with a musical number or whatever needed doing for "the disabled children of Northern Alberta".

Even if it was exhorting the folks at home to "RING THOSE PHONES!"

If you were a regular Telerama watcher, that particular phrase was kind of tattooed on your DNA in those years.

And if you weren't, then it wasn't. You played Atari or Intellivision.

I know people who would do that. 

But I'm sure that particular phrase helped with the pledges.

So you may be wondering, if Telerama had this winning formula, why isn't it around anymore?

I'm just offering my off-the-cuff opinion here.

But I think it just got too expensive to put on.

That rousing singing of "Can't Smile Without You" at the start and end of every show? Barry Manilow was paid for that

And I must mention Crosby, a guy who was the local on-camera spokesman for many years. I happened to know him through school at the Glenrose, and he was always very personable and cool.

But the fact is also that no matter how committed Bob or Stephen were to the cause...

...they and all the other flown-in celebrities were well paid for their efforts.

And the year that the main theme used at the top of every hour was from the Broadway play The Music Man?

I bet that cost a pile of dough.

And even though Alberta may have been considered a "have" province back in the '70s and '80s, I think charity fatigue may have started to set in by the time things started to wind down for Telerama in 1990.

At this point I would like to thank everyone for donating and contributing to the telethon, and the projects it supported, over the sixteen years it was in existence.

Your generosity was - and still is - appreciated.

But I have to say that it was a little unsettling when the Telerama organizers seemed to take a page from the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon...

...and give the impression that every disabled man, woman and child in Northern Alberta was sad and downtrodden.

It is true that being disabled was and is no picnic.

But it is also true that most of us had parents who tried to make us see past our disabilities.

Most of us were also involved in programs like swimming and track and field.

A lot of which was funded directly or indirectly by Telerama.

So again, thank you to all.

Thank you so very much,

Honestly, with all those activities plus school, there wasn't a lot of time to mope.

So if you saw any disabled person on camera or in the audience looking very serious, it may have been anything from rapt appreciation for the variety-style entertainment to a once-yearly case of sleep deprivation.

I remember the 1985 show, when I was on the show twice on Sunday.

The first time was presenting a cheque to 1984 's  Miss Canada Cynthia Kereluk, on behalf of St. Gabe's Elementary, my school at the time.

That was supposed to take place midmorning. But I was there 6:30ish, because Dad was working a shift on the phones.

At about 7:15, the person scheduled to go on had to respond to the call of nature.

So on I went in their place.

I answered Ms, Kereluk's three questions (who I was, what school I was from, and how much the cheque was for).

And other than hearing myself on a seven-second delay on every TV speaker in the general area of the room, it went great.

And I spent the rest of the day in the audience.

Which went great, as we were entertained by people like Mr. McGrath, Bobby Curtola, and Ronnie Prophet.

And at about 4:00 or so, a guy with a headset asked four of us if we'd like to be on camera during a song by Broadway star Carol Lawrence.

We looked at each other for a minute and agreed.

So we were arranged into a circle, told that the camera would move to each of us for a closeup...and oh yes, please don't laugh when we were on camera.

We all made it through, looking appropriately serious, due to the fact that we knew we were being sung to by a bona fide Broadway talent, even without the Internet to verify.

(And yes, due to more than a little sleep deprivation).

I am not 100% certain what the song Miss Lawrence sang us was, but You'll Never Walk Alone seems to stick out in my mind.

That would certainly fit.

Most of us had parents, walkers, or parallel bars supporting us when we attempted to walk.

And that was Telerama...big-hearted showbiz in Northern Alberta folks.

From roughly 1975 to 1990.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed and participated.

One year, Dad even let Jacquie and I call in pledges.

Oh the memories!

Here's the song that opened and closed the show from 1978 onward:

I want to take a minute to also acknowledge the respected Edmonton jazz musician Bobby Cairns. I never knew or met him, but Mr. Cairns was  responsible for the wonderful musical orchestrations on Telerama, bringing decades of experience which started for him at the age of 15 in the Tommy Banks band, as well as many years touring, recording, and teaching. His musical arrangements were a huge part of what made Telerama so memorable. Rest in peace Mr. Cairns.

And now, just because no one says this anymore...

Ring Those Phones!

Your Partner In Life

Northern Psychic Exposure?

I have not seen many episodes of Northern Exposure,

But I'd say that John Corbett's character Chris hit the nail right on the head.

28 years ago.

Cozying up to our fiber optics indeed.

Wow...

Your Partner In Life

Alberta's Winter Finale AKA Lockdown The Sequel Day 2.5 :Oops and A Simple Question

 Hi Folks!

Just realized that I missed a day in my quest to have a post here daily during Alberta's winter lockdown.

I was asked a rather obvious question the other day.

Why have I written about a "Second Lockdown" when I haven't written about the first?

The answer to that one is simple my friends.

I  never knew I was living anything historic when I was living it.

On Friday, March 13, I got my hair cut at Abe's in WEM.

On Saturday, March 14, potential travel plans went out the window.

Then in the first week of June, I went to my dentist and hygienist appointment.

So between mid-March and the first week of June, I just kinda hung out.

In my humble abode, 

Which is what I call my room.

Hearing everything from "two weeks" to "by September" .

As guesses for when the pandemic would end. 

I watched the curve flatten.

I watched Alberta be praised for its COVID response.

Restrictions were lifted in the summer.

But as myself and most everyone figured, Canada and the US were hit with a second wave in the fall.

And now here we are in Alberta, locked down till at least January 12th,

My heart again goes out to all service industry professionals and those with small businesses.

But even with all we are going through in Alberta and Canada, I do see an opportunity for some hope.

But I will cover that in my next post.

Take care, stay safe and see you soon!

Your Partner In Lockdown Life

But as I figured they would, the restrictions ramped up as of this last Sunday

'Alberta's Winter Finale AKA Lockdown The Sequel Day 2 : Me and Coffee!

 Hey there...one thing that is an essential in any lockdown is...

COFFEE of course!

You may ask, why am I wearing a Texas T-shirt?

Simple answer is, I have a cousin who lives down there with his family. 

And the global view answer is...

...hey, our countries are neighbors! Aren't we?

Some may feel that the US has taken over our culture.

But I don't know about that.

Didn't we give something back to our neighbors?

The Great Alanis/Celine Takeover of the mid-90s perhaps?

And haven't we left our Exalted Canadian Cultural Ambassador Ryan Reynolds down south to look after things for us?

But back to the coffee.

Yes, Maxwell House sure is "good to the last drop".

Incidentally, that phrase was written in 1915 by Clifford Spiller, a former General Foods Corporation president. The coffee itself originated in 1892.

I call it my "writing fuel", and usually have a couple of cups with my evening meal.

And boy does it help with the evening creativity!

 

Especially when planning and creating the next installment of Lockdown The Sequel!

Your Partner in Lockdown Life

Alberta's Winter Finale AKA Lockdown The Sequel: Day 1

 Many TV shows have a winter finale.

So why not our province?

As of today, it's here. 

Lockdown: The Sequel

So I'm settling in.

Me and my pal Celery Man from my Facebook page.

Thanks to all in Alberta who must work through this lockdown.

Grocery workers and delivery drivers.

Bus, DATS and cab drivers.

Truckers bringing us goods and services

Hospital and care home workers.

I know I appreciate the workers in my care home these days!

Thank you all so much!

I love you all!

And my heart goes out to all the businesses that will struggle.

And possibly cease to exist.

Due to Alberta's lockdown.

I love you all too!

Here's hoping we can significantly tame this virus!

And get back to something approximating the Before Times!

My T-shirt says "Refuse To Lose".

I suppose that's a good motto to adopt.

As far as my attitude and mood toward myself.

And those I may interact with on social media, text, or phone.

As well as those I am required to interact with safely here at home.

Because that is really all I can do at this point.

Take care all of you!

During this very different holiday season.

I am not sure if my thoughts make much sense today.

I just sat down and typed.

But I will be back with something tomorrow.

Every day in fact.

With special stuff on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve and Day.

But for now, take care, one and all!

I close with some hope, from a man whose thoughts usually did make sense when he sat down and wrote.

None other than Mr. George Harrison.

Your Partner In Lockdown Life (with Celery Man)

My Buddy Don

 

This is my buddy Don.

I had the honour and privilege of  knowing him for over 30 years.

And for all of that time, he  retained the smile pictured above.

His favorite saying? 

"Hello, Sunshine!"

And he truly meant it,

Don was always truly happy to see you.

It didn't matter if you were a good friend of his, or if he knew you slightly.

The smile was always the same.

If you were having a down day, just a smile or hello from Don would improve it instantly.

I know quite a few of my days were brightened and improved just by knowing him.

I  first met Don around 1991 at a meeting of the Cerebral Palsy support group.

He was always a positive and energetic presence at those meetings, as well as the dinner and bowling nights the organization would put on.

Later on, Don and I wound up living in the same assisted living facility, and we would often get together at one another's places to watch movies or listen to music.

And I remember a few Grey Cups and Super Bowls at his place with Pepsi from the building machine, and pizza from 73.

And when I ran movies in the building, Don was the usher and was always happy to look after the lights.

And on those occasions when he and I would go for coffee at either West Edmonton Mall or Westmount Mall, I watched him bring smiles to complete strangers, simply by saying hello.

The same thing happened when we would occasionally go see his favorite oldies bands such as Gerry and the Pacemakers and Herman's Hermits.

And we certainly had fun watching The Fab Fourever, an outstanding Beatles tribute band from Vancouver, in 2014.

We were absolutely blown away by their recreations of the Beatles music and eras, and by the hospitality of the guys, who happily agreed to pose for the above picture after the show.

I used to sometimes joke with Don that I was jealous of him because he saw Beatlemania firsthand.

Paul McCartney once said in an interview that he was proud to be in a band that thought the thoughts and felt the feelings  that led to songs like All You Need Is Love.

And I have to say that I am proud to have known a guy like Don Matheson, who not only really liked that particular song, but lived its ideals for his entire life.

I'll miss you bud.

Thank you for being my friend.

And for helping me see the positive in life when I needed it.

You were a heck of a guy.

Your buddy,

Mike