Sick of Fort McMurray's traffic problems? Aren't we all
Column: Gimme Some Grammar appeared in Fort McMurray Today Sept. 1, 2006.
BY MICHAEL HALL
Today staff
Traffic. I hear about it all the time.
From relatives. from co-workers. My wife.
I hear strangers talking to each other in the grocery line about the subject.
There are many different sub-topics. They include, but are not limited to:
- Why is it taking so long to finish the downtown bypass road on Highway 63?
- Why don't they finish the last bit of paving and open up the third turning lane on to Thickwood Boulevard?
- Whatever happened to the magical tow truck that was supposed to stand by during rush hour to get stalled/crashed vehicles off the bridges?
- Why were several wide loads -- taking up two lanes each -- stuck in the highway traffic jam created when two big trucks crashed Wednesday between King and Hospital Streets? Aren't they supposed to come through in the middle of the night to avoid traffic?
I get grouchy about this topic. I think I write about it too much here.
But people are talking about it.
- - -
I visited the eye doctor recently.
A few years ago I passed That Certain Age where bifocal lenses become necessary. I've never really liked them.
Since my glasses were equipped with the bifocals, reading has become harder. My eyes get tired more easily.
Looking at a computer screen -- usually farther away than a book page -- has been OK.
One eye doc suggested trifocals, but I had this image of looking like a bug, so I said no.
This time, I was encouraged to try something else. I got a second pair of clear glasses (I have prescription sunglasses, too). This pair will be useless for driving. I was also warned that they may be no good for walking around the office.
The upper portion of the lens is built to look at the computer screen. The bottom is for reading.
The goal is not to let my eyes get tired.
I hope it works.
Many people might be saying aloud as they read this: "why don't you get contact lenses, Mike?"
I don't really know. I grew up in an era before the flexible lenses were popular. The whole idea of sticking something in my eye grossed me out.
I could probably handle the new models now, but I'm set in my ways. Plus, I think glasses add to my rugged good looks.
Hopefully the new set-up will add to my vision, too.
So far, taking one pair off and putting another on is not going well. I keep forgetting and misplacing them. I may need to get a string to hold them around my neck.
It's not a good look for picking up chicks at the bar. I guess my wife would see that as a plus.
- - -
When one gets to a certain stage in life, medical issues come to the forefront.
I don't want to start counting the number of relatives and friends who have received bad news from a doctor or died in the last few years. It would get me down.
At family gatherings, there is as much talk of various symptoms or experiences in hospitals as catching up on how youngsters are doing.
One distant in-law, who lived outside Edmonton, learned he had a brain tumour. He died within a matter of weeks. The funeral was last Thursday. I regretted not being able to tear myself away from work to attend.
Death is part of life. We all know that. But we don't know that, if you know what I mean.
On an intellectual level, death is a certainty. On an emotional plane, it isn't as easy.
I'm also at the stage when my parents are getting on. Things are going to be tough.
All of us have either faced or will face these issues.
Medical/health news is more popular than ever. We hear about new discoveries, but wonder why they don't help our lives of those of our loved ones.
Still, doctors heal patients every day who might not have made it decades ago.
We owe them a debt of gratitude.
We also owe thanks to Ralph Klein, who sowed billions of dollars in the health-care field in advance of his upcoming resignation. We will all benefit in years to come.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
BY MICHAEL HALL
Today staff
Traffic. I hear about it all the time.
From relatives. from co-workers. My wife.
I hear strangers talking to each other in the grocery line about the subject.
There are many different sub-topics. They include, but are not limited to:
- Why is it taking so long to finish the downtown bypass road on Highway 63?
- Why don't they finish the last bit of paving and open up the third turning lane on to Thickwood Boulevard?
- Whatever happened to the magical tow truck that was supposed to stand by during rush hour to get stalled/crashed vehicles off the bridges?
- Why were several wide loads -- taking up two lanes each -- stuck in the highway traffic jam created when two big trucks crashed Wednesday between King and Hospital Streets? Aren't they supposed to come through in the middle of the night to avoid traffic?
I get grouchy about this topic. I think I write about it too much here.
But people are talking about it.
- - -
I visited the eye doctor recently.
A few years ago I passed That Certain Age where bifocal lenses become necessary. I've never really liked them.
Since my glasses were equipped with the bifocals, reading has become harder. My eyes get tired more easily.
Looking at a computer screen -- usually farther away than a book page -- has been OK.
One eye doc suggested trifocals, but I had this image of looking like a bug, so I said no.
This time, I was encouraged to try something else. I got a second pair of clear glasses (I have prescription sunglasses, too). This pair will be useless for driving. I was also warned that they may be no good for walking around the office.
The upper portion of the lens is built to look at the computer screen. The bottom is for reading.
The goal is not to let my eyes get tired.
I hope it works.
Many people might be saying aloud as they read this: "why don't you get contact lenses, Mike?"
I don't really know. I grew up in an era before the flexible lenses were popular. The whole idea of sticking something in my eye grossed me out.
I could probably handle the new models now, but I'm set in my ways. Plus, I think glasses add to my rugged good looks.
Hopefully the new set-up will add to my vision, too.
So far, taking one pair off and putting another on is not going well. I keep forgetting and misplacing them. I may need to get a string to hold them around my neck.
It's not a good look for picking up chicks at the bar. I guess my wife would see that as a plus.
- - -
When one gets to a certain stage in life, medical issues come to the forefront.
I don't want to start counting the number of relatives and friends who have received bad news from a doctor or died in the last few years. It would get me down.
At family gatherings, there is as much talk of various symptoms or experiences in hospitals as catching up on how youngsters are doing.
One distant in-law, who lived outside Edmonton, learned he had a brain tumour. He died within a matter of weeks. The funeral was last Thursday. I regretted not being able to tear myself away from work to attend.
Death is part of life. We all know that. But we don't know that, if you know what I mean.
On an intellectual level, death is a certainty. On an emotional plane, it isn't as easy.
I'm also at the stage when my parents are getting on. Things are going to be tough.
All of us have either faced or will face these issues.
Medical/health news is more popular than ever. We hear about new discoveries, but wonder why they don't help our lives of those of our loved ones.
Still, doctors heal patients every day who might not have made it decades ago.
We owe them a debt of gratitude.
We also owe thanks to Ralph Klein, who sowed billions of dollars in the health-care field in advance of his upcoming resignation. We will all benefit in years to come.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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