My Article In Sunny Weather

It was Sunday and I just finished lunch.  I decided to start then another one of my articles notwithstanding all the sunshine outside even though I was going to head for a walk very soon. I just wanted to let people know what interested me.

There were a number of stories that I wanted to write about and would complete later on but I definitely had to go out and experience the blue sky and sunshine as soon as possible, something that has not been all that familiar over the past winter months. It has not been as horrific as I originally thought with having snowstorms all the time but there certainly was lots of very cold weather to have to experience.

As I am sure that you appreciate, dear reader, my life experiences have changed. I am much more "physical" in the way that I carry on compared with my pre-hospital days. I have to do so in order to stay as well as I can. Oh, I am hardly all of that muscular and energetic these days no matter how much exercising I do every day but I certainly feel much better than I ever did before. I am so happy that I was given techniques by so many people who look after me to help improve my health issues.

I am looking forward to the "May" weather with all of what I expect that we will have this year. After all, I am looking forward to see lots of "May" flowers after the March "winds" and April "showers" that we have experienced this year.

Here then are the stories which I trust will interest you when you have the chance to read what I have just written.

THE LITTLE WELL-KNOWN TUNNEL

For some reason, I don't think that I knew that this Tunnel really existed in this area at all. It seems to have been hidden quite well although it is well used. Moreover, at one time, its owners had some significant usage that they wanted to make of it. I have to say that I am sure that I did not know very much about it until now.  It proposed something extremely significant for this area which would have changed just about everything in the border crossing:

"The Other Detroit River Tunnel No One’s Told You About

By Ardelia Lee, Daily Detroit, July 9, 2016 

How many Detroit River tunnels connect Detroit and Canada? If you said one, you’re wrong.

In addition to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, there’s the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, the lesser-known of the two. However, the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel is the older tunnel, and it handles freight train traffic.

Construction on the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel began in October 1906, and the tunnel opened for trains in July 1910, 20 years before the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel opened.

Both tunnels were built using the immersed tube method, meaning that sections of steel tube were floated into place in the river and then sunk into a trench in the river bottom to form the tunnel."

Believe it or not, it is still operating today. However, here is the interesting part about this Tunnel:

"The plan for a new tunnel originally called for the current tubes to be converted into a commercial truck link, but that was scrapped after Canada and Michigan opted to build a new bridge about a mile from the Ambassador Bridge — a span scheduled to open by 2020 and be called the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Before taking on its current name, the tunnel effort was called the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership, and the tube itself was nicknamed the “Jobs Tunnel” because of the thousands of jobs backers predicted it would create or preserve." (Bill Shea, Crains Detroit, June 29, 2015) 

Can you imagine the litigation that would have been started years ago if they proposed to build their new unit! For whatever reason, it seems that the Governments did not want this new competition that they must have felt would challenge them if they were going to build a new border bridge. 

Here's an interesting comment about whether that project would even have been started at all:

"John Taylor, chairman of the supply chain management department at Wayne State University’s School of Business Administration, has been on record for years as skeptical about the tunnel project.

“It’s very difficult financially because there’s so little traffic that doesn’t fit now,” he told Crain’s this month. “It’s just hard to justify the financing. Until we get to the point most of the container traffic does not fit, it’s just hard to justify a new railroad tunnel. I think it’s up in the air. The business case is very difficult.”

I just wonder what was really going on in the background amongst a number of the parties who opposed the Ambassador Bridge Company. Imagine what the Ambassador Bridge Company would have had to do as well if this project was going to move forward.

HOCKEY INJURIES

Oh sure, professional hockey players have lots of teeth gone and many cuts on their face as they play the game. That just seems to be a natural for those in the NHL and in other leagues as one sees a photo of them. However, what is the real extent of their injuries? How much damage does it do to them physically and mentally as they play the game?

Here is an interesting issue that you may not know about:

"More than 100 former NHL players are currently suing the league, alleging it put profits before safety and failed to protect them from head injuries. The league has maintained that it did what it could and science did not demand more measures." (Kerry Gillespie, Toronto Star, April 23, 2017) 

However, that is not the interesting part about the story. And perhaps, it may not be valid. This is what fascinated me more and could mean the minimum of the claim by the players:

"The first scientific study to delve into the long-term impacts of concussions specifically among National Hockey League players has yielded some surprising initial results.

The Rotman Research Institute at Toronto’s Baycrest Health Sciences is collecting brain images and genetic data and conducting a battery of tests on retired NHL players.

On objective tests of cognitive functions such as memory, attention and processing information, the NHL alumni do about as well as the study’s comparison group, and it doesn’t matter how many concussions they had during their careers or whether they have the APOE4 allele, a type of gene that has been associated with increased dementia.

“If there was impairment, it was subtle and nobody was significantly cognitively impaired,” said Dr. Brian Levine, the study’s lead.

Given how much attention there has been lately on the long-term dangers of repeated hits to the head, particularly among football players in the NFL, that’s not necessarily what they might have expected to find."

You need to take a look at this story to see how players feel and what they have experienced especially after they retired from playing. Someone will have to explain what happened to them especially after what this test showed.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VETERANS

They deserve what they just won in the fight that they had with the Canadian Government to reopen the Veterans Affairs office that was closed here a number of years ago for almost 3000 veterans:

"We fought like hell to get this back,” said Kelly, who served as an artillery gunner from 1960 to 1963. “It’s been very difficult for veterans.

“The (Harper) government didn’t know how much chaos they’d cause shutting down the office. A lot of veterans who needed services didn’t get it.

“It was sad with all the things they did for us.” (Dave Waddell, Windsor Star, April 21, 2017) 

They deserve the result they have just been able to receive!

OUR NEW SENIOR MEMBER OF FEDERAL OR PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

Will this man leave local politics, even though he is a very senior politician in the area, and become a very well known member of the Federal or Provincial Government in the future? I don't know the answer to that question but he is becoming very newsworthy in a number of local news stories that  have a greater reach. Here's the latest one that gets him a lot of publicity:

"Tecumseh mayor seeks clarification of boater Nexus card 'cash grab'

Canadian boaters and paddlers who don't report their return to Canada face $1,000 fine

The mayor of Tecumseh is calling for clarification about a suggestion from border officials that Canadian boaters and paddlers get Nexus cards and report if they cross international borders while out on the water…

McNamara said it can be difficult to know when you've crossed the "invisible border" between the two countries — admitting he may have even done so himself while trawling for walleye.

"Now I have to get a Nexus card on top of my fishing license?" he asked. "It's becoming very restrictive and prescriptive and to me it's a money grab more than anything." (CBC News, April 17, 2017) 

This is just another recent story of his that has received a good amount of publicity for him before the Senior Level Governments election even if he attacks the Government of the Party which he would represent down the road. He just builds up his own publicity now doesn't he.

PS: MY NEIGHBOURHOOD WALK

I just thought I would let you know that I went out for a nice long walk Sunday afternoon for just about an hour and a half starting at 12:30 PM today. First, I went to the nearby Local Library to return my borrowings and get out some new ones. Then, after returning home, I went out for another hour or so just walking around the neighbourhood enjoying the sunshine. It was just so magnificent!

It just felt so warm outside with temperatures in the mid-60° degrees, sunshine and very little wind. It was just such a pleasure being able to go outside today for one of the first times in so many months and being able to hope that we will see more of this as time goes on.