ThePianoGuys Get Close To Home

It’s 3 a.m. and I’m sitting in front of the computer typing this and listening to ThePianoGuys. We went to see them in concert at the Centennial Concert Hall last night. They were fantastic (as expected)! Such brilliant musicians with some of the best patter you’ll ever hear.

Multiculturalism 101

My daughter just finished university. She’s a music teacher. She starts working full time in the Fall but for May and June she’s picking up experience (and some extra cash) by working as a substitute teacher in the Winnipeg 1 school division.

Winnipeg 1 is the largest school division in the city and probably the most challenging. It includes Winnipeg’s inner city and, if you believe the headlines, the inner city is not a great place to live or work. Gang violence, murder, drugs…. according to the papers and TV newscasts, the inner city is one big adventure in taking your life in your hands.

Could it be that the news reports tend to focus on the negative and sensationalize the bad things that happen? Is that possible? They wouldn’t do that, would they? Based on what I saw yesterday, perhaps we shouldn’t be attaching as much credence to the headlines as we often do.

Welcome to Winterpeg

Winnipeg. That’s where I live. We have winter here. BOY, do we have winter here! People from other places call us “Winterpeg.” It’s not a name that most Winnipeggers are fond of, but if the shoe fits……. The long-running joke has always been that in Winnipeg we have 4 distinct seasons: Almost Winter; Winter; Still Winter; and Road Construction. That was supposed to be a joke. Apparently, Mother Nature doesn’t get it.

Winnipeggers have long been proud of their ability to survive the winters here. I don’t want to brag about how hearty we are but I know people who have used a frostbite scar as a form of identification. To put it simply, if you can survive here, you can survive anywhere. But even Winnipeggers have had enough. ENOUGH ALREADY!