Rider Pride, Prairie Oysters, and Canadian Authors Day - Lindquist

Not feeling particularly passionate about any one things, so I thought I’d mention 3 things that are on my mind today:

1. Rider Pride

I grew up in Souris, Manitoba, so in theory, I should be a diehard Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan, but the fact is I also cheered for the Hamilton Tiger Cats in those days. However, after I got married and moved to Regina, I succumbed to the tendency to become a life-long fan of the Roughriders. And so, even after 26 years in Ontario, and having met Mike (Pinball) Clemons and been to some Argo games, my number one team in the CFL is still the Saskatchewan Roughriders!

There’s just something about the little town that could making it big. Yes, I know that most of the players and staff aren’t from Saskatchewan – aren’t even Canadian. But it’s a community-owned team and you just know the whole province is behind them, so you have to have a soft spot for them.

So, no, it wasn’t the greatest game ever, and it’s a shame that Winnipeg quarterback Kevin Glenn (and runner-up to the Saskatchewan quarterback Kerry Joseph for the Outstanding Player Award for the league) was sidelined with a broken arm, but you take them as they come, them’s the breaks (groan), and this time Saskatchewan ended up on top. Go Riders! (BTW, 8,000 people turned up to see them – in -35 snow and ice.

2. Prairie Oysters

We had tickets last night to see Prairie Oyster at the Markham Theatre. The whole time I was there , I was thinking, “Why aren’t they performing in a venue three times this size?” I mean, come on, these people are so good! They are very talented musicians, songwriters, singers, and performers. Why aren’t they household names?

I saw a top US country music talent last fall in a venue more than 10 times as big, and he wasn’t nearly as entertaining. His program had maybe half the content; and I left feeling that I really hadn’t got my money’s worth. Yes, it was more high tech, but it had absolutely nothing over this local group. If they’d stopped at the intermission, I’d have still felt I got my money’s worth!They did a full 2 hour+ program packed with their songs.

If you like some country mixed with blues/folk and a bunch of other things, check out Prairie Oyster. The core of the group has now been together 23 years. They must be doing something right! And yes, I own every one of their CDs and I've gone to see them in person nearly every time they've come to my area.

3. Canadian Author Day

I don’t think anyone else here has mentioned this, so I will. Mitchell Family Books in Ontario has a Canadian Author Day happening on Wednesday, December 12^th. They will have two authors at each of their eight locations (Kingston, Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, Toronto, Etobicoke, St Catherines, and Kitchener) from 1:00 PM until 4:00) PM . There will also be 2 authors at the Willowdale (Toronto) location from 6:00 until 8:30 in the evening of the 12^th.

We’d appreciate it if people would come out (and bring their friends) to buy Christmas gifts and support fellow-Canadians who write. This is the first such day Mitchell Family Books has ever had.

And yes, I’m one of the authors. 8 of my books will be available at all Mitchell stores and I’ll be signing with Denyse O’Leary at Pickering in the afternoon and Willowdale in the evening.

For a full list of locations and information about which authors are going to be at each location, please go to the Maranatha News and click on upcoming events. Locations for the Mitchell Family Stores can be found at their website.

Till next time...

NJL

www.njlindquist.com