http://www.chfi.com

General here…
Well - the CHFI Oldies Dance is coming up on May 30 - and by the number of emails I’m getting, it seems there is some confusion with our dances at the Old Mill - and, understandably, you have some questions:
What do we wear?
Is there food?
When does it start and end?

So, here you go - the CHFI Oldies Dance at The Sheraton - in a nutshell.

WHAT TO WEAR
Anything goes - most people dress casually - jeans -  there are a lot of people that “dress up” 50s, 60s, 70s style - hippies/disco/greasers, etc….
But, wear comfortable shoes - we dance, dance, dance all night long.
We do have a best costume contest, but it isn’t necessary to wear something of the era.

FOOD
There is food - but it’s simply fast food - pizza slices, hamburgers, hotdogs, ice cream - you do have to pay, but it’s relatively cheap – like a buck or two. And all the money goes to The Children’s Wish Foundation.

DRINKS
There is a cash bar - but only beer and wine - no spirits - and usually the beer is of one sponsor.

MUSIC
There is a deejay - that would be me - as well as a live band.
The music is mostly of the 60s and 70s - with some 50s and 80s thrown in for good measure.

Doors open at 6pm and we get started shortly after that. The dance goes till midnight.
All the CHFI personalities are there - there are special Saturday Night Oldies T-shirts for sale - again, all proceeds go to The Children’s Wish Foundation - and there are also photo areas with special backdrops -just so you can document all the fun.

General here…

Don’tcha love when you rediscover a song - a song you haven’t heard in literally 10 or 20 years?
A couple of nights ago - on American Idol - one of the contestants sang a song I remembered LOVING in the mid-eighties.

Do you remember “You’re The Voice” by John Farnham?

I don’t recall if it was a super-big hit, but I loved it then, and actually love it more now.
When I was 20 I just sort of liked the feel of the song.
Now, the lyrics - the message - just means so much more.

So - please excuse that guy you see on the 401 singing his heart out.
His stereo is at top volume and he’s lost in a killer tune from ‘86.

Here’s the video from You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99P7TTvpO1g

General here…
March Break is done. Erin & Mike are back. There’s an occasional hint of Spring in the air.
All is good.
Soooo…did you have a good March Break? We did - and in a nutshell - it went a little something like this:

We went to the movies.
The lovely Anita and I took our 3 kids, plus one of our oldest son’s friends to the CHFI movie premiere of Horton Hears A Who.
Great story - great cast - Jim Carrey, Steve Carell - and some truly laugh out loud moments.

We got away.
We went to Erin & Rob’s cottage (THANK YOU E&R!) for a few days while they were away - funny how just a change of scenery can provide those family moments you don’t make time for at home.
My mom - “Nana Mac”- came along and I have to say it’s really quite something to watch the woman who raised you interact with the children you’re raising.
It’s like some middle-man time warp.

We played games.
We must have played Pop-A-Matic Trouble 20 times.
Remember that one? My kids, who are 3,5 and 9 loved it. As long as they won.

We watched movies.
Bridge To Terabithia, The Bee Movie, Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events, Nanny McPhee - watched all of those with the kids and they were all hits.
Anita and I watched Dan In Real Life - again, another good one.
We both give it “2 Eyes Open”!
You know, instead of 2 Thumbs Up? We judge movies by whether or not we can stay awake - so for both of us to give it a full 2 Eyes Open is freakin’ amazing.

We tobogganed. In theory.
After the kids got bored of this little hill near the cottage, I loaded them all into the car and went looking for a good sized hill - you know, a hill that someone could potentially get hurt on. 
Well…I guess we’ll never know - ’cause in our travels I managed to get our vehicle stuck in a ditch - which led to a call to roadside assistance and a bit of a wait in a car that was a little close to tipping over.
This essentially killed the kids’ desire to tame the big hill and we drove back to the cottage where the kids had lunch and I drank.

We went to town.
Maybe it’s because I’m from a small town - Summerside P.E.I. - but I love small town Canada.
The friendly people, the little shops, the old-fashioned pubs, the quaint dessert diners - I love it all.
You know what else I love? Parking all afternoon for $2.25 during the week.
There’s nothing like a trip into town to break up the day.

We entertained.
Yes - we actually had another couple over for dinner (not at your cottage, Erin - no, when we got back - just so you know).  I couldn’t believe it. 
We had conversations about adult things with other adults. It was strangely weird and wonderful.

Yep - it was a good break - but when you work with friends, it’s good to be back too.

Gordon S Rennie, your friendly neighbourhood Producer here at the keyboard as we close out the second week of March. Come on Spring!

This Sunday, March 16th I turn 35. Now age and birthdays don’t hold much for me, as I subscribe to the “you’re only as old as you feel” theory. I do sometimes stop and take a look back when I reach a age marker like a 35 or 30 more so than 33. I do get a puzzled look on my face and think “OK, where did the time go?”.

Remember in school when you’d stare at the clock and realize the actual length of time and even how much longer it felt, or maybe that was just me. I have been in radio, my career, for 12 years…it feels like I just finished College sometimes. I am fortunate to say I have been working with Mike Cooper for 7 years now and I can still remember my first week working “mornings” as it’s hard not to forget. It was second week of September, 2001. That week kind of stays with everyone I think.

I also think back to when I was a kid, a time when my t-shirts used to hang straight down and I could run 20 feet without stopping 3 times. My buddies and I would talk about the Year 2000 and we’d be 27 and we’d say “wow what would we be doing then”. Now it’s 2008 and the time seems to be going faster, or maybe I am in a section of my life where I don’t want it to zoom by.

I don’t have kids, but my brothers did and I can understand how much faster time seems to pass, as you watch the little ones go from a little collection of arms and legs to crawling to walking to taking the car to getting married to their first child to your retirement. Well maybe not that fast but it sure seems like it.

This Sunday, I will raise a glass to 35 years and counting as I am reminded of the lyrics of Country singer Tim McGraw…

I think I’ll take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I’ve done
Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears
And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I’m gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I’m doing here
In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years, I’m gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe I’ll remember in my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, In my next thirty years.

Gord here as we stand at the mid-week mark, high atop a snowbank looking towards the weekend.

On Tuesday, Tish Iceton and I were chatting on the air about how I lost my barber and I have begun my quest to find a new one. It was soon after this conversation that something wonderful happened. The flood of emails and phone calls from CHFI listeners telling me about the barbers they go and recommending that I should go there.

Then a got a few calls from people saying Charlie (my old barber) has not retired, he just moved down the road. I heard a choir sing and I was washed in sunlight as my quest has come to an end and I can continue with my long standing barber relationship. I later received an email from Charlie’s wife saying he was in the process of contacting his clientele and not to worry.

Once again, I thank all of you who passed along their favourite barber shops, it’s good to know that there are lots of great places in the city to have a hair cut and a feeling of the good ol’ days while you’re there.

I also want to thank Vera of Vera’s hairstyling for the personal offer to come and visit her shop. I will still come and visit Vera, to thank you for listening to CHFI and maybe a trim around the ears for fun.

Gord here and hands up if you’re done with snow. Just about everyone it looks like. Even as I type this it’s snowing like crazy outside. I do have a few tidbits I thought I’d share with you.

My Snow Blower

I thought I was confident with the fact that the snow was done when I bought my snow blower, but no! I have used it a lot and it works well.  I know right now there isn’t one to be found, but if shoveling has wrecked your back, it is a sound investment.

Pack Up The Barber Pole

On Friday, I had a list of stuff to get done before I came home from CHFI. I renewed my sticker for the license plate on my car, I bought a tax return software package to get my taxes finished.

Then I went to my Barber that I have gone to since my first haircut 34 years ago. To my horror, as I pull up in front of the shop in a strip mall on Lawrence and Brimley…it’s gone! Replaced by a video store. I have had only one trained professional cut my hair and his name was Charlie. I was stunned, his barber shop was the few remaining “old guard” men’s barber shops. I shall miss the chats we had, looking at the faded poster of the 1982 Italy World Cup of Soccer Champions poster.  I shall miss listening to his budgie chirp in the background as he sang along to CHFI playing on the radio.

I am at a loss, I can’t go to a modern place, they don’t know my “style” of cut and I’m sure I won’t be charged $15 like I got from Charlie. I know his job cutting my hair got easier as I got older and my brother was miffed that he paid the same as me and I have twice the hair he does, but that’s all in the past now. I am on the Barber rebound… a shaggy head of hair looking for a pair of scissors to dance with. I could go back to shaving my head…

Gord here and I have to say, I am looking forward to Wednesday afternoon when The General and I will be chatting with 100 or so students at Pleasant View Junior High School for Career Day.

It has given me a chance to reflect on where I was in Grade 8 some 21 years ago and where I am today. When I was 14, I was a very shy kid, in fact, I would never be able to stand up in front of 100 people and talk for an hour about my job. I would be a nervous wreck, shaking all over, shaking like a leaf on a fuzzy tree…well, you get the point.

Those of you who deal with shyness, know what I mean, It rattles you to the core. You’re so scared of being laughed at or embarrassed, your body just locks up. It did for me anyway, until one day in 1990 when I was in High School.

The school band was performing a medley of Elvis Music and the teacher wanted someone to dress up like Elvis and wander about while the music was playing. Everyone looked at me because I am the big Elvis fan and I sooooo did not want to go in front of the SCHOOL dressed up in a gold Jumpsuit and pretend to be Elvis.

After many hours of coaxing, I agreed and when the moment came I had my hand on the stage door and I had no problem shaking like Elvis because my nerves were in overdrive. That’s when it hit me, I am either going to be a big hit or a flop, but however it turns out, sell the performance and go big.

When I open the door and walked out on stage, the audience erupted with a standing Ovation. An Ovation…for me! I was stunned, these were my peers, my classmates and no laughing, no embarrassment ( well as far as wearing a goofy wig and a gold jumpsuit goes) and I shaked, rattled and rolled my way to a new status in the hallways at school, I was… The King - baby!

I won out over my shyness and learned afterwards how to control it and be “the performer” and I owe it all to that one day. Without it I would not have gone into radio, I would not be talking on the radio, I would not be a Wiseguy, and I would not be talking to 100 students about my radio career.

However Wednesday’s session turns out, Gord “the performer” will be selling the performance and going big…The General is another story, I know he is not shy.

Gordo here and 3 weeks ago I had to buy a new snow blower because my trusty old one was not working. I get a new one and it gets delivered the day after the last big snowfall we got. I put levers and shine her up nice and boy! does it throw the snow…perfect!

There is one problem now…there’s no more snow!!! Not that’s a bad thing, but you get a new toy, hungry to chomp on the snow and now the white stuff is not falling. I have come to the conclusion that since I have made my life easier by not having to shovel anymore, Old Man Winter has packed up and left.

We were supposed to get dumped on today…I was sitting by the window, with my extra warm winter jacket, mitts, my special Wiseguys Snow Blower hat…and nothing. *sigh*

Also my old snow blower I gave to my brother (who is great at fixing things) and he has the old one back to mint condition, so there’s two of us waiting for snow, all ready to plow.

So if your back is tender from shovelling this winter, rest easy, I have banished the snow from these parts for this winter.

Now if I was only this good with the lotto numbers!

General here…
Do you ever feel REALLY Canadian? Like, you actually think to yourself - “I feel really Canadian right now?”
I remember golfing in Banff a few years ago - and just standing on the green - looking at the Rocky Mountains - thinking “I have NEVER felt more Canadian than I do right now.”
Does that make sense?
It’s almost always tied into the weather, right?
I mean, how can you not feel Canadian with all this snow around?
Like on Friday…I’m shovelling my driveway - and when I’m done, I go over to help my neighbour, Bob, shovel his. We “get ‘er done” and then stand around chatting - the snow pounding down on us - we’re both leaning on our shovels a la Ken Dryden - the snow is freezing to our eyebrows - I can’t even see his eyes, he’s squinting so much from the wind and snow - a few inches of snow has accumulated on his hat already - it’s absurd - sane people would go inside, make some coffee, have a conversation, but not us - we’re freezing and waving to others as they make their way to their own driveways….and THAT’S when I think - “this is SO Canadian”.  It’s so wonderfully Canadian.
Jeez - I eventually get sick of the snow too - but what are you gonna do? It comes with the territory - literally!

General here…
We went to a funeral in Burlington on Saturday. My wife’s family is very close - so it was particularly difficult to say goodbye to Mike Martin - her cousin’s husband. He was a gentle and generous sweetheart of a guy - the “strong and silent type” is a cliche, but that was Mike Martin. Stoic till the end.  More than that, he was a real family man. He and his wife, Debbie, have raised three of the nicest, most polite kids I’ve ever met. And is there any greater compliment than when someone tells you how polite, how helpful or how kind your child was in a certain instance? That’s a biggie for me. Even before Anita and I had kids, we always said we wanted our children to be just like them. So - we knew we were in for a difficult day.

Still - life can be funny, even on dark days.
After shovelling the driveway twice and clearing the 7  feet of snow off the vehicle, we packed the kids and ”Gramma Maggie” into the car, and began our 100 km drive from Ajax to Burlington.
“Do you have the directions?” the lovely Anita asks.
“Yes - I mapquested them this morning.”

I had a pretty good idea of where we were going anyway - it was just the nitty-gritty details I really needed, as the church was in a residential area, and not on a main road.

So off we go - explaining to the kids what this day is about and what they can expect.

We get to Burlington, no problem.
We get off the highway at Guelph Line, I reach into my pocket for the little map I drew from the website - uh oh - it’s not there.
No problem. I remember where to go. It’s just up here - we take a left into this subdivision, follow this street around to the first stop sign, then another left, and…we’re lost.
No problem. There’s a guy shovelling his driveway up ahead - we’ll ask him. We pull up and he gingerly walks over - he’s an elderly man - he really shouldn’t be shovelling - he’s huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath. To break the tension, I turn around and ask the kids if any of them have ever learned CPR in school. They’re 9,5 and 3 years old. They’re staring blankly at me. Nevermind. 
I ask this gentleman about the chuch. He doesn’t know, but he says he has a GPS system that he can check if I know the address. Well, in my “Rainman” mind I actually can remember the address - just not how to get there. He plugs in his address, then the church address - a little map comes up - and then he gives me this GPS device-thing and says I can take it - just drop it off later today when we’re leaving! We’re complete strangers. I love it. It turns out we were just around the corner. We can make it there without his gadget. I thank him for his time and his offer, but I should have thanked him for his reminder that the world is still mostly a good place. Even on sad days.