Tuesday, September 27, 2016

An eyewitness account of Toronto's 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride

If you need to raise a significant amount of cash to fund research and treatment, year after year, after year, you have to get creative. It's simply no longer enough to knock on doors and beg.

Getting it done means seizing the public's imagination.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Rockin' the DGR!

If you're wondering why I am so excited about participating in the upcoming 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, feast your eyes on this. If you want an update on how my fundraising campaign is going click on this:

The 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride


Ten great videos of past Rides in...

Sydney



Monday, September 12, 2016

A cure for the hots!

A lot has happened in the past week. Let's see...

My sponsors stepped up and increased my total amount raised for the September 25th Distinguished Gentleman's Ride by over $600! You will recall that last week I reported on the minus side of the equation that my Vespa GTS, my steed for the Ride, had sprung a coolant leak. Here's where you find out how that tiresome distraction is working out.


Thursday, September 8, 2016

ART

waking up the city!

When I say art moves me, it's not just painting, it's also music.

I listen to the radio, like most people, I collect CDs, and I purchase songs and albums in the iTunes store.

As with my collection of museum photos that cycle on our television and computer screens, my music collection streams from our iMac to fill our three-story townhouse. I use a combination of the following tools and systems:

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

ART

and a hot Vespa

Art, in all of its forms, moves me. I believe artists make some of the most important contributions to society. They play a key role, yet they are, for the most part, not compensated enough for their work.

There was a cartoon, most likely Dilbert, or the Far Side. Its punch line was  '... will work for recognition'. Even on that non-monetary scale, artists are often left wanting. The well-deserved recognition that some eventually earn, only comes when they are dead and long gone.

Susan and I are amateur art collectors. We have a modest art budget, and we agonize over the works we purchase, yet we are slowly but surely running out of wall space to display our collection. This considerably raises the stakes and makes any decision to purchase a new piece all the more difficult. In spite of our limitations, we are always on the hunt.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Bluetooth adventures with Ed and David

I've mentioned before that this journal changes so much in my life, for the better.

It teaches me how to inform and entertain. It earns me friendships to treasure. It allows me to speak up when I have concerns great or small. It's a way for me to share life's challenges and heartbreaks. It teaches me how to be grateful and how to pay tribute. It opens undreamed-of vistas. It helps me to adapt to life's constant change with optimism for the years ahead.

Ed Kilner is one of the friends who emerged from the process of this journal. I first met Ed on my grand 2013 tour. I stopped by briefly as I swung through Toronto headed south of the border to meet with up Bob and Karen in Pennsylvania. Then Ed dropped by our home in Montreal on his way to the Maritimes. Once Susan and I moved to Toronto, it was just a question of time before I would hit the road to explore my new home with Ed as my guide.

I owe Ed an apology for this long-overdue account of our rides exploring the country highways and byways north of the city.
The copyright in all text and photographs, except as noted, belongs to David Masse.