The Lynda Parcells Blog - 660News Calgary

I have to say I’m very surprised by the reaction we received this morning. Calgary Transit is cracking down on potty-mouths as part of its Crime Prevention and Safety Awareness Campaign. Riders caught swearing could get a $100.00 fine. I actually think it’s a great idea. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand it when I’m forced to listen to people swear their heads off. Having said that, I have been known to drop the odd f-bomb on the golf course, but I really do try not to make foul language a part of my usual chatter.

When we talked in the newsroom about doing this story, most of us thought the $100.00 fine was a great idea. That’s why I’m so surprised by some of the comments we received…..

“It’s ridiculous. Some people swear, what’s the big deal?”

“I disagree with it. Everybody swears. What are you going to do?”

“I usually swear in normal conversation.”

“I think we’re plenty civilized. I don’t think we need someone telling us what we can say.”

One person made the comment that Transit Security has a lot better things they could be doing, such as catching people who deal drugs on C-Train platforms. Now that is something I agree with.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Can you imagine going through life being know as the girl that was too ugly to sing at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics?

That’s exactly what’s happening to seven-year-old Yang Peiyi. Yang is the one with the beautiful voice that was supposed to sing “Ode to the Motherland” during the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics. There was one problem though. The producer of the show didn’t think Yang was cute enough, so he ditched her and brought in seven-year-old Lin Miaoke.

People wonder why young girls have so many self esteem problems…well duh. I think both little girls will probably be dealing with some issues. One is apparently too ugly, and the other pulled a Milli-Vanilli and lip synched the song. The producer of the show says he did it in the name of national interest.

It’s a topic that’s created a lot of discussion. I’ve heard some say that it’s all about the show and he was right for replacing the chubby faced girl with the crooked teeth. Others think the move was despicable. I personally agree with the latter. Feel free to comment, I’d love to hear what you have to say.

The entire city seems to be in mourning, and for good reason. The man behind Calgary’s most famous milkshake and hamburger joint, Peter’s Drive-In passed away at the age of 77. Gus Pieters moved to Canada in 1954 and started the restaurant ten years later. I actually have a funny story about Peter’s. My Mom worked with his wife at the Alberta Gas Company way back…well, I won’t say how long ago. Anyway, his wife told her co-workers one day that her husband Gus was opening up a hamburger joint. According to my Mom, everyone just sort of thought “well good luck with that”, not really thinking anything would come of it. Boy were they wrong! I don’t think I have ever been to Peter’s when there hasn’t been at least ten cars in front of me. Peter’s was a staple in my childhood. I still remember my Dad going to pick up Peter’s milkshakes and burgers for his employees who were stuck working late at his printing company. Aside from moving locations once, probably the best thing about Peter’s is the fact it hasn’t changed over the years. Despite his massively successful business, Pieter’s didn’t break from the format of the drive-through and the walk-up windows, which by the way are always lined up too! Pieters actually sold his booming business back in 2005, but made sure he hand-picked the new owners himself. Talking about his famous drive-in, Pieters said he just wanted to sell the best hamburgers and the best milkshakes in Calgary. I don’t think there is any question, he made his dream come true. I think I’ll pay tribute to Pieter’s with a chocolate-banana milkshake.

I discovered last night that there are a couple of complete idiots working for the Calgary Parking Authority. My husband and I were attending a Stampede party at Fort Calgary. Anybody familiar with Calgary knows it can be very hard to find parking, even at the best of times, so we decided to take a chance and park in the CP Rail parking lot. We knew we could be seeing a lovely parking ticket on the windshield at the end of the night, but that was a risk we were willing to take.

When we left the party, we got a much bigger surprise than a parking ticket. A couple of complete morons working for the Calgary Parking Authority thought it would be a great idea to not only ticket vehicles, but to block the only exit with their cars. There was absolutely no possible way to get out of the parking lot! I have never been so irate in all my life. Anybody with half a brain would realize that was NOT a good idea. What if there had been an emergency?

The idiots who blocked the entrance couldn’t be found, so we finally had to resort to calling the Parking Authority. We waited, and we waited, and we waited some more. By the time someone finally showed up, there were several people lined up in their vehicles waiting (very impatiently) to get out. Needless to say we gave the guy a piece of our mind, but he just shrugged it off without a care in the world.

I’d like to thank the Calgary Parking Authority, not only for the ticket, but for forcing me to get to bed way later than I had intended, leaving me very grumpy and tired for work!

Tomorrow is going to be a great day. Ted and I will off the morning show, showing off our cooking skills down at the Stampede grounds. We’ll be flipping pancakes bright and early for BMO Kids Day. If you’ve been thinking about heading down to the grounds with your little ones, Kids Day is the day to do it. Children 12 and under and any accompanying adults will get free admission to the park from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. And if you head to the Grandstand Courtyard, you’ll find Ted and myself handing out free flapjacks, sausage and juice from 8 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. We’ll also have some other 660News staff along for the ride, handing out 660News yo-yo’s. Make sure you come by and say hi. I do have one word of advice though. You might want to bring a snack. I hear Ted’s cooking isn’t very good.

This is the time of year I absolutely love. The Calgary Stampede is one of my very favourite things in life. I know that sounds a bit over the top, but it’s true. I love getting into the spirit of things, like wearing my shirts that only see the light of day during the 10 days, a cowboy hat is a must, and of course the dreaded cowboy boots (they’re only dreaded because they kill my feet!).

I will admit, I’m getting way too old to party like I used to, but the Stampede is still a ton of fun. I’m always surprised by the people that leave the city for the 10 days. What the heck is up with that? There is no better time to be in the city with all of the free breakfasts, party after party, not to mention the rodeo, grandstand show, rides and we can’t forget the midway food.

I’m really looking forward to this year’s festivities because we have relatives visiting from Ontario. My husband and I are taking them to see the chuckwagons and the always entertaining Young Canadians Friday night. Many of my relatives have never experienced the Stampede, so I’m really looking forward to seeing the look on their faces when they take everything in. My Mom is even dragging them down to the parade. I believe she instructed them to be ready to go by 4:30 am.! I think they’re still in shock over that.

This year, the 10 days of fun will be quite a bit different for me because I’m actually working. You see, in the past I’ve always taken the whole week off, just so I can experience everything the Stampede has to offer. Needless to say, my partying is going to be a lot tamer this year, otherwise I might not be making any sense at work. I can guarantee you one thing though…..I won’t be missing out on filling my belly with corndogs!

Today’s blog is about a major pet peeve of mine. I drive in from Okotoks every work day. The thing that’s bugging me is traffic lights. I climb into my truck every morning at 3:15 a.m. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear a lot of people aren’t milling about at that horrible hour, but you might be surprised to hear every traffic light seems to be on red. I’m not kidding. I drive through five intersections in Okotoks and 90 percent of the time, the lights are on red. Why?! Like I said, except for the RCMP, I’m pretty much the only vehicle on the road at that time of day, but still, I sit and wait (most of the time impatiently) for the light to turn green. It’s clear sailing once I hit Deerfoot, but it’s back to the lights once I hit 32nd Avenue N.E. One light in particular that really gets me going is at 19th Street N.E. Not only is the light ALWAYS on red, the traffic (and there is none) coming from the other direction gets an advanced green!!! I’ve started taking a side street just so I can bypass the darn thing. Isn’t there some sort of way to program the lights for different times of day? Wouldn’t flashing yellow lights suffice at that time of day? I really hope something can be done, otherwise I might be getting a ticket from the police for running one of those reds when I just can’t take it anymore!

This is my public apology to Ryan and Kori Ballantine. Ryan is our overnight anchor, but was switching shifts and was working with the morning crew Friday morning. At about 4 a.m. Thursday, Ryan asked if he could catch a ride with me the next day. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, except for one thing. Between 4 a.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday, I totally forgot!

The fact I was supposed to pick Ryan up was obviously not anywhere near to being locked in my brain. I drove right past the area where he lives, and it still didn’t click in. Of all days, I didn’t have my cellphone on, so Ryan’s calls went unanswered. When I arrived at work, our morning editor asked me if I’d forgotten anything, and it still didn’t click in!

I think the worst part about all of this is that the Ballantine family have only one vehicle and Ryan was forced to wake up his wife Kori at 3:30 in the morning to tell her I’d left him behind. Ryan seems to be okay with being forgotten, but I’m not so sure about his wife, so once again, sorry Mr. and Mrs. Ballantine. I promise it will never happen again.

A lot of people are getting hurt trying to get fit with the new Wii Nintendo Fit program. Apparently people have been doing a ton of damage, sending their knicknacks, TV sets, even their pets flying through the air as they try to mimic the work-out routines. This story literally made me laugh out loud, because I can totally relate. I haven’t sent my dog flying through the air, but I have injured myself, and not even doing the Fit program. I hate to admit this, but I hurt myself using the Wii bowling game. I guess I got a little too involved, and yes, I pulled my hamstring. Apparently, I need the Fit program. I’m not the only one who’s been injured playing with the Wii. Our Morning Show Editor Radana Suk came into work one day barely able to move her head because she got a little overzealous with her victory dance. Can you say “poor winner?” And never in a million years did I think I’d actually witness furniture being broken, but it happened. My girlfriends and I were in Fernie for New Years and we decided to pull out the Wii. We got into a really heated game of bowling and all of a sudden it happened - the battery cover let loose, batteries went flying and we ended up with a broken vase and dents in the ceiling! Everyone was hitting the deck and running for cover, trying to avoid being hit by a stray battery. Despite the injuries, I’m not ready to put down my Wii remote. I do think from now on though, I’ll be limbering up before I get down to business. Oh, and I can’t forget to strap down the dogs!

I’m feeling a little bit like “Mrs. Ingalls” this week. You know, from Little House On The Prairie? I live in Okotoks, a place my husband and I love. This week though, we’re a little frustrated. We’ve been told to not drink the water straight from the tap. Apparently the recent rainfall has increased the “turbidity” in the Sheep River, which is our drinking supply. In other words, the river looks more like chocolate milk than water.

Water, I’ve discovered, is one of those things you totally take for granted living in Canada. Normally, you turn on the tap without giving it a second thought and it’s just there. Always ready to go whenever you need it. This week though, I’ve been boiling water to do the dishes that need to be done by hand. I’ve also found myself running back upstairs at 2:30 in the morning to get a glass of bottled water so that I can brush my teeth!

One of the things we didn’t think about when the boil water advisory was issued was our dogs. The poor things were still getting tap water, and you can just imagine what happened there…..can you say “running to the door with a panic stricken face?” Needless to say, they’re now on the bottled water program as well.

I am wondering why this boil water advisory happened in the first place? From what I can tell, we pay a lot of taxes to live in Okotoks. As a matter of fact, we just forked over $2800.00 for our property taxes. That’s more than my parents pay and they live in Calgary, in the inner city! As a matter of fact, according to Stats Canada, Okotoks had the highest population growth between 2001 and 2006, across the entire country. The population of Okotoks has grown by 46% since 2001. I think maybe it’s time for Town Council to start looking at upgrading the water treatment system. We certainly don’t want another Walkerton.