You're a Failure, So Don't Even Try.

You've heard that before, right?  

Not by a human voice hopefully, but inside.  Our brains seem to work against us sometimes.  We want to be brave but there is always that little voice that says "It will work for everybody but you".

I was reminded something profound at Canada's Wonderland on June 21st. 

 The things the majority of us fear are usually things that someone else has gone through or experienced before. It could be a simple as dropping from 230ft on The Drop Tower or something more serious like the loss of a loved one, a relationship breakup, losing your job, getting a diagnosis or more recently in the Barrie area, having a tornado rip through your house! 

No matter what it is, as a rule, someone has gone through that situation or done that thing, and they can help you!  

As I stood in line to ride the Drop Tower, I began to get a twinge of "Why are you dong this?".  "It could malfunction!" But I could not back out, not without overcoming this fear.  My wee bit of courage came from Tim Maassarany and Denis Colley who have both been on the ride and said it was a lot of fun.  Also there are thousands of others that have done it...so really, what was I worried about?  With great trepidation, I did it!  You can watch the whole ordeal on YouTube HERE.

You may think this is a small thing, but when you consider the fact that fear has many forms, you can see that how we deal with small things can prepare us for bigger ones!

You have a speech to give, you have to confront someone, you have to face a diagnosis or maybe you have to fly in an airplane!  There are times when something is coming up and you HAVE to face it!  Others have gone before you and survived!  They can help!

The key is to talk to the right people. Those who have been there and made it. They can bring assurance and strength, when it's dark and seems hopeless. 

Tim and I doing a radio cut-in for LIFE just after riding the Drop Tower!

That happened for me on the rides but also happened for the many people at the Wonderjam concerts. 

TobyMac and Diverse City bring the house down at Wonderjam 2014!

 Guys like Lecrea and TobyMac bring hope through their music and live shows, and they point you to the One who helped them through rough spots and failures. (Psst...it's GOD!)

So no matter who you are or what's going on, someone has been there, they can hold your hand and help you through!

Here's Something Fun To Do!

The first geocache I hid!

I don't exactly remember the year...it must have been about 2005.  Rose and I were hiking the Duchesnay Falls trails in North Bay and we spotted some other hikers hunting around in the brush just off the trail.  We asked them if they lost something and they said they were looking for a "cache"!  These guys explained that they had a set of GPS coordinates that would lead them to a hidden box!  Cool!  We helped them for a bit but we did not find it.  The idea of a treasure hunt like that really appealed to the geek in me, so I went home and did some research.  Turns out there are HUNDREDS of them around, some were in my own backyard!  I was on the hunt!
The first few I found were on trails in the area and I did not use a GPS because I could not afford one at the time.  I used Google Earth and some instincts to locate my first one in Laurier Woods.

Me on the the Laurier Woods trail.  (picture by Jasmine!)

There it is!!  The thrill of finding the first one!

Well, I have been hooked ever since! 

I did eventually get a hand held GPS for my birthday and my family can tell you, it has taken us to some cool places!  We've been lost, bug bitten, soaked and fatigued...but on the other hand we have seen amazing views, met awesome people, spent lots of time together, gotten loads of exercise and fresh air and had a heck of a time!

I even hid my own "cache"!  Right now it's in Sudbury in need of a new caretaker!  Having my own has been rewarding because each cache has a log book.  The log book is filled out when you find the location.  It's cool to see how many folks have signed it and said they enjoyed the hunt!  It's located near a school, so a whole kindergarten class came one time to find it!  All the kids left a thank you note signed in crayon! :)  You can also fill out an online log and post a picture if you want!

Happy hunters finding my Cache!

It's a great little hobby that does not require much investment and is a ton of fun!

Check it out at www.geocaching.com !

Happy hunting...and bring bug spray!

Ya, I am Geeky!

I have always been a bit of a geek.

I think it must have started with Star Trek.  I used to watch the original series on WKBD channel 50, right after school.  Other kids watched Starsky and Hutch, not me.  I was interested in warp drive, phaser guns and tricorders!  Later on I was able to buy a model and build my own USS Enterprise!

When Star Wars came out, well, I was lost to Star Trek.  I have great respect for both Trek and  Trekkies, but Star Wars was something special!  From the opening titles to the final battle, I was in awe!  My brothers and I made our parents take us 3 times to see that movie, over an hours drive away!  (Thank You!)

 I loved everything about the movie.  Space ships, aliens, blasters, lightsabers!  So cool!  I also began to collect anything I could get my hands on!  Figures, vehicles, books, posters, you name it and I wanted it!



I guess I have never really grown up.  Over my 47 years I have bought and sold a lot of stuff.  Some stuff got lost, other stuff got thrown out accidentally!

I have to say that I am not an obsessive collector.  If I like it, I want it.  From any Sci-Fi movie really!  It has to appeal to me in some way.  Because of this, I only acquire a few things these days.

The odd time I meet other people with much the same bent as me!  Those times are fun!  Lately I have uncovered a geek element at LIFE 100.3! 

When I started at LIFE, I decided to have some fun with my mail bunk by putting Batman and Obi-Wan Kenobi in it.  This led to afternoon host, Andrew Robertson also brinig in some of HIS collection to decorate his bunk.

It has now become a battle of sorts to outdo each other!  (Friendly, of course!)  I have to admit though that I have found myself not wanting to lose these battles!

I have had many other more serious battles over the years in my own spirit over my love of Sci-Fi.  I have wondered how I can reconcile my fantastic thoughts with my Christian faith.  I guess you could say, I struggled to make myself "grow up" and leave these things behind, that they were silly.  I finally came to the conclusion, that I like what I like, and that's it.  The bible is full of fantastic things!  Flying creatures, heavenly revelations, future visions, cities made of pure gold!  I think God is a BIG thinker.  I want to think big as well!  I want to be less timid about certain things and more adventurous!  Sci-Fi helps me do that!

So I have embraced it!

May the force be with YOU!