Livin’ on a Petition

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and saw friends and family and celebrated whatever holiday you celebrate. Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, New Years, Miller Time …they’re all good. I had a great one. Spent time with both my family and Dominique’s family. Did it all internet-free too. It was a nice two weeks away from the computer. Two weeks internet free. Easily the longest I’ve abstained in five years. You should try it sometime – give up internet for 2 weeks. Cold Turkey. Or even better yet, quit eating cold turkey, cold turkey. Try it for two weeks, then celebrate your achievement with a winter vacation to Turkey, when it’s cold there. Yes, do that. It will be fun. But cold. But don’t do that now. Tomorrow’s blog entry is gonna be too good to miss. So, if you recall, my goal was to hit 2006 signatures on the petition by Jan 1, 2006. A pointless goal based purely on numeric simplicity and the convenience of the coming of a new year - an event, remember, that comes but once a year. I just checked the petition a minute ago and it was at 1003 signatures, which, conveniently, is exactly halfway to my goal of 2006 signatures. Using the song "Livin’ on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi to strengthen my argument, (something I strive to do as often as possible) one could argue that being halfway to something can be more exciting than actually arriving at your destination.

Lyrics: Whooah, we're half way there Livin' on a prayer Take my hand and we'll make it I swear Livin' on a prayer If you can recall the spandex-fueled screams that accompany that fine lyrical literature, you’ll remember that Mr. Bon Jovi is pretty darn excited about being halfway there, something we can all relate to. I sure can. Being halfway there is cool. I don’t really care if 2006 people sign the petition, Bon Jovi reminded me that being halfway to something can be just as good, if not better, than actually arriving at your destination. I’m not sure if he wrote Livin’ on a Prayer with an obvious lie about a TV host induced hypnotic spell and a resulting on-line petition in mind, I can only speculate. The important thing is that we’re halfway there. No wait, that doesn’t make any sense, how did Bon Jovi ever weasel his way into this? The important thing is to shake this dang hypnotic spell. Please sign the petition and tell George Stroumboulopoulos just how much we want him to come to Yahk with us. Hey! here’s an idea: why not contact George Stroumboulopoulos with your thoughts? You can call George Stroumboulopoulos, and by association, CBC’s The Hour, TOLL FREE at: 1-866-837-9054 or send him an email at: http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/contactus.html Be sure to tell George Stroumboulopoulos that we, like Bon Jovi, are ultra-excited to be halfway there. I’m sure he’ll like that. He likes rock stars. He’s even met Sebastian Bach from Skid Row! Ask him about it! Oh, in other news, I just got some rad pictures in the inbox. These are from the front lines folks. These pictures were sent to me from Jeff Cooper of SnoRidersWest Magazine. Looks like Jeff’s been out doing a little advance location scouting in and around Yahk! The first picture is of Jeff in front of the Yahk sign. It reads: YAHK – UNINCORPORATED I guess that since Yahk isn’t incorporated as a city or town or village or hamlet pretty much opens up a giant grey area as to where Yahk actually begins and ends. I could theoretically say that I’m in Yahk right now, and so can you. Nevertheless, it is EXTREMELY important that you sign the petition so that George Stroumboulopoulos will reverse his hypnotic spell on me and allow the trade to happen in Yahk. Perhaps more important than ever. Thanks to Jeff Cooper’s ace location scouting, we now know that Yahk is unincorporated and has no set boundaries. This means, theoretically, it is impossible for me to make a trade ANYWHERE. Oh George Stroumboulopoulos, look what you’ve done. Look what you’ve done. The next picture is taken in front of the Yahk General Store. Jeff’s chilling with Jim Sadler and his dog Scooby. Jim owns the store. I assume Scooby’s in charge of the snacks. From Jeff: “Jim told me he went snowmobiling for the first time in his life just last week near Yahk, and he really liked it. He also told me that almost every person that had been in his store today knew about the redpaperclip story and the Yahk connection! Very, very cool.” Yes Jeff, very, very cool indeed. I think Jim’s general store is EXACTLY the place to make the next trade. I sure hope George Stroumboulopoulos steps up to the plate and makes it all possible. Just think how upset Scooby will be if I can’t make the trade in Yahk! Okay, the offers for the trip to Yahk are really heating up. 2006 is gonna rule. Have fun,

Kyle