Helping a Brother out...

23Aug

On Thursday Carman experienced the Physio Brotherhood, when Alex came into the city for the afternoon. Brad had been invited to participate in a golf tournament (with one of the Park People) so we picked Jess up on the way. The drive there was filled with their lies, as they tried to fill Alex in on what the support person does in the Treadmill Room and what they might get away with since I wouldn’t be there!

Jess, Alex & Carman post-Physio

I gave Alex a briefing while dropping them at TGH  - nice try you two...a couple of weeks ago I found them sitting in the hallway outside the Treadmill Room - they told me we couldn’t go in because some guy name Rod Stewart was down in the atrium signing autographs, and everyone was down there...it just never ends - how long will my patience last with these patients? They will try anything to get out of physio!

Alex would not be fooled by them and did a bang up job of handling the support coach’s duties...moving tubing from spigot to spigot as they progressed thru their programs, wiping down equipment and fetching and cleaning weights then putting them away when the patients are done; recording reps and blood/oxygen sat levels on the physio card, fetching tissues and water and taking lots of lip with grace!  Well done Alex, thank you and you earned your Starbucks treat too!

Matt stayed an extra night with us so he would be here to  help me pack up the vehicle with all the required equipment for our weekend trip. On Thursday evening, he and I took a walk to Allen’s on the Danforth. This little gem of an Irish-American pub he had come across, features a couple hundred Scotches,  thanks to the passion of proprietor, John Maxwell. Our walk there (about 2.5km) generated a bit of a thirst, so an Allen’s draft was in order upon arrival. After some discussion with the barkeep, we selected a couple of Scotches to try, then explored the courtyard to find the weeping willow, voted “Best Tree” by NOW magazine readers. While we didn’t eat there, the menu has earned some great customer reviews as well. Allen's

Now here I should mention that I had some difficulty while trying to read the menu (before any sampling occurred), the fine print, insufficient lighting and reflective plastic cover wreaked havoc with the task. After watching me tilt the menu back and forth for a few seconds, Matt jumped off of his barstool saying, “here, let me help”. I gave the menu to him and watched curiously as he proceeded to walk across to the other side of the restaurant, turn around and hold it up, asking me “there, is that better?” with a big grin on his face. Ha, ha, funny guy!!!

But never mind that, I took his picture and sent it along to Carman and Dj (with a pouty description of what had happened)...yes, that big menu board he is holding is just Scotch (on both sides). Carman (who was supposed to have been packing his bag for the weekend) then had the following exchange with her via email:

Carman: Looks like the kids had a Great time out at the scotch bar. I stayed safe at the apartment. Luv ya, Dad

Dj: Be Honest. He'd need to be back(ed up to...sic)  Fredericton for her to be able to see it without glasses. Glad you kept the apartment on lock down while they left you. Dj

There is no loyalty in this family!...and I’m sure there’s an Irish blessing that can be modified to cover this type of treason...something about being somewhere before the devil knows you’re there - or maybe informing him ahead of time that you're on the way!

On our walk home, I spotted some TO wildlife just inside the wrought iron fence at the St. James Cemetery. I took a pic of the masked perp (blurry because it is now full darkness of night) and we continued on our way. About 20m up the street we spotted 7 of TO’s finest uniforms locking up the gates after having completed their evening sweep of the cemetery. I quickly let them know we had found their felon and pointed up the street, where our ring-tailed robber had crawled under the fence and was making a get away along the sidewalk. 

We had a chuckle with them and talked about the various forms of wildlife they come across in the city...not all of it the four-legged variety! We walked to the next intersection together and then bid them good night to return home to check on Carman’s packing progress.

Financial & CN Towers
takend from the Bloor St. E
bridge over the DVP