Erin's Journals

We’ve noticed a few funny things while driving out here in BC – and I’m not just talking about the proliferation of VW vans here, or the right hand drive vans that seem to be everywhere. No, this is about a rule that puzzled us…and something else.
 
First, we were surprised when we bought our used Mini back in the summertime that it didn’t need to pass any kind of mechanical fitness inspection. None. This is a requirement in Ontario, of course, and I think it makes perfect sense.
 
But here in BC, where a person hugging a tree should actually be on the provincial coat of arms – heck, both our federal and provincial representatives are members of the Green Party – they seem to allow anything on the road, as long as it will start.
 
You might remember the story I told you about driving home from an event in downtown Victoria last August when we came up behind an old Jeep driving up the street with gasoline literally pouring out of its tank and onto the pavement, where it made a wide stream towards several vehicles stopped at the same red light. We suspect that, because a safety inspection wasn’t required the last time it was sold, the driver had no idea the gas tank was about to give way. And give way it did. Thank goodness the passenger didn’t toss the lit cigarette that dangled from between her fingers out her open window, when we called out to her in alarm!
 
And the government doesn’t require emissions testing here either. Several times, we’ve had to shut the fresh air vent when following an older car spewing out noxious exhaust. It’s surprising in a province where health and fitness seem to be so important.
 
Now here’s something else we find troubling, and this isn’t a BC exclusive.
 
We were driving home in the dark last week and came up suddenly behind a car seemingly without it lights on. Upon further investigation, we realized that it had its daytime running lights on (but no tail lights). We pulled up beside it at the next intersection, Rob honked and I rolled down my window and shouted to the driver to turn her lights on. I’m afraid she pulled off to the side of the road, probably worried that she had a flat tire or was dragging a skateboarder or something. But I hope that she soon realized why we were trying so hard to alert her. On a dark rainy night it would have been easy for a speeding pickup truck to tattoo her rear bumper with his grill, simply because he didn’t see her.
 
Not turning on headlights is an easy mistake to make, since, in many cars, the dashboard is automatically lit up when the running lights are on. So, it’s easy for a driver to forget to turn his or her full lighting system on when it gets dark.
 
Apparently, Transport Canada received so many complaints like this that Ottawa was planning to introduce legislation last fall that would require manufacturers to have tail lights come on along with the daytime running lights, beginning in 2020. I’m not sure if that legislation passed, but if it did, that’s sure a step in the right direction.
 
Some will yell about a nanny state, too many rules, or whatever else people are shaking their fists at the skies over these days, but honestly, this is something that needs attention. A good friend was pulled over a month ago for driving in some windy and snowy conditions without her full lighting system. She’s not stupid; she just thought the lights were already on because they’re supposed to be automatic in her car. But, it was daytime and there was no way for her to tell by looking out the windshield.
 
Just try to make sure you’re not among those who don’t flick the lights on at dusk or in rainy or snowy conditions. After all, whether you can see is only part of the equation. You want to be seen, too.
 
Tomorrow – how I managed to do something I’ve never done before the other day and it was almost compounded with a second, worse, first. 
 

Happy Valentine’s Day. And I guess it’s really appropriate that on this day that’s all about love, I get to tell you of something that combines my loves: travel, Rob and my favourite radio partner.
 
I hinted on Facebook a few weeks ago that it looked as if I might be given the opportunity to host a group on a river cruise in Europe. Well, the details are finalized and it’s even more amazing than I hoped: it’s not just one, but two river cruises. And it’s not only me – you’ll be travelling with me and Mike Cooper together!
 

 
Yes, we’re reuniting for a week of Christmas magic in Germany and Austria and again in the spring for the terrific tulip season in Amsterdam and Belgium. How great is this?
 
Below, you’ll find how to get in touch with Gerry Koolhof of New Wave Travel (a trusted friend who has never led Rob and me astray on our own cruise choices over the past decade). New Wave and Ama are the best of the best and we’re so excited to be sharing these adventures through them and with you!
 
Let me share a few details just to whet your appetite: on the first cruise, titled Magical Christmas Markets, we’ll all embrace the holiday spirit beginning November 30, 2018 in Germany and Austria! We set sail from Nuremberg, stopping over the coming week in Regensburg and Passau in Germany and then Linz, Melk and finally the historic and breathtaking Vienna.
 
This spellbinding Danube River cruise will take us on the AmaSerena, the ultimate in custom-designed luxury, and promises us all memories to last a lifetime. Plus, you’ll have plenty of time to get home for your own family Christmas. Just think of the presents you’ll be bringing! We have the opportunity to fill the remaining cabins on this cruise, which stand now at half. So we’d have half of the AmaSerena just for us!

Now, if this trip wasn’t enough, next April we’re going to Amsterdam to take in the wonder of the tulip season through Belgium and the Netherlands! This Tulip Time river cruise aboard the one-year-old AmaKristina celebrates the joy of spring. On this special charter, you’ll experience Amsterdam, Bruges, Middelburg and Ghent. So many adventures – all in the lap of luxury. And I’m sure there’ll be lots of chances to walk off the chocolate, cheese and Belgian waffles!
 

Both of these river cruises have been carefully handpicked by Gerry Koolhof at New Wave and the team at AMA (pronounced Omma – which I didn’t know) Waterways. And there are special offers if you book within the next two weeks, by February 28th. Both of these packages are exclusive offers through New Wave and you can contact Gerry at the number or email above or below.
 
But best of all – at least in my books – is that my partner Mike Cooper is joining us (along with Debbie and Rob, of course) and we can’t wait to enjoy your company. You can bet there will be a ton of laughs and lots of stories (some may even be true) as we all get reacquainted and pick up where we left off on 98.1 CHFI.
 
There are early booking bonuses and Gerry will be able to answer all of your questions. Also, THIS APRIL we’re holding a public gathering for questions, answers (about insurance, flights and so on) and just hugs in a downtown Toronto hotel – date and location to be confirmed shortly. You’ll have a chance to meet Gerry and his fantastic team, visit with Rob, Debbie, Mike and me, and start making plans to have a great time with us on the Magical Christmas Markets and Tulip Time river cruises this November/December and in April of next year.
 
Hope to see you at the gathering in April and maybe on board one of the wonderful river cruises. If you have any questions at all, please contact Gerry Koolhof at New Wave Travel: 416-928-3113 ext 269 or  gerry@newwavetravel.net.
 

Hey – first of all, thanks if you were one of many who posted on my public FB page about the fact that BC is going to align its Family Day with the rest of the country next year. I don’t know where I was when that news came out, but I will be sure to mention it on my midday radio show today here in Victoria. And speaking of radio….
 
Today is World Radio Day, so I am going to wave the flag and sing the praises of my favourite medium, and tell you why it always has been and always will be, too, for that matter. I hope it’s yours, too.
 
When I was a kid, I would have a cassette recorder at the ready and tape (yes, tape) songs as they played on the radio. I thought deejays on our local radio station, AM 800 CJBQ in Belleville, were gods. When Randy Quinn did an interview with Wilbur, a rodent from Omeemee, I thought it was hilarious (and soon learned when I got into radio how to speed up the tape and make those chipmunk type voices, too). New Years Day I’d run a tape on the whole countdown of the top songs of the past year and God help anyone who came into the room I shared with my younger sister when the tape was running. ‘Cause I was hooked!
 
When I spent summers at my grandparents, I had 1140 CKXL out of Calgary keeping me company on a tiny transistor radio that had two prongs that flipped up out of the back so that you could charge it every night. Cool technology from Panasonic, I’m pretty sure. I would go to sleep listening to Garner Ted Armstrong preaching on a show called The World Tomorrow and I couldn’t get the radio on fast enough in the morning to hear my favourite Top 40 songs. Clear as day, I remember keeping that little black radio in an apron pocket as I hung out or retrieved laundry for Gram.
 
Radio was my life even before it became my life. You remember being in the car with your parents, begging them not to turn off a song just because a guitar solo had started. “It’ll be over soon!” I would say in desperation. (Most of the time it worked.) 
 
You probably have your own stories. The song that came on when your heart had just been broken or the one that made you jump up and dance until your hair was wet with sweat. The soundtrack to your summer, the moments in your mornings that still stand out to this day. The deejays (later to be known as hosts, thank you) who made you laugh, made you think, made you cry, made you feel you weren’t alone. Best of all, they played the songs you loved…and a few you couldn’t stand, but you remembered – always – that another one was coming right up.
 
You remember where you were when you heard on the radio that something huge had happened. The morning after John Lennon died, I had CJBQ on, was about to go to school (college by now) and was washing my hair in the kitchen sink. As I heard the horrible news through the whooooosh of the water, I pulled my head up so fast I hit it right on the tap…and trust me, my day didn’t get any better. 
 

 
When people, some of them reporters, have asked me over the decades how radio will survive CDs or satellite music or Spotify or whatever else has come down the pike, I’ve always had the same answer: it will survive because radio is all about the human connection. Anyone can hear their favourite song now at the touch of a button. But there’s still something special about hearing that song come on when you’re not expecting it, or hearing one for the first time and wanting to hear it again right away. 
 
One of the biggest regrets of my career came on the 12th of September 2001. We’d been there on the radio on 9/11 when the Twin Towers were first hit; Michelle Butterly (whose birthday it is today!) talked you through the impossibly sad events that happened in the hours to follow.
 
But that night, having just launched a format called the 8 am All-Music Hour a week earlier, my boss (not the one I loved and had to leave in 2016) called and said that we’d go back to all music; that everything that had to be said about the event had been said(!). In other words, rather than give people what they needed – comfort, information and just someone they knew was with them in this time of confusion and fear – we were to shut up and play the music. I had to do as I was told; it was terrible advice and I had no choice. Today I would not let that happen – no way.
 
Because it’s that connection, the answer to the question “is my world safe?” as my radio mentor Valerie Geller puts it, that makes all of the difference. I hope it’s what radio will always do and I also hope, in some way, to be a part of this marvelous, magical medium until my days are done.
 
We can hope. Tomorrow – speaking of radio magic – I have some very exciting news. It has to do with you (hopefully), me, a riverboat and a very special someone whom we all love. Tell you soon!
 

Happy Monday! For reasons that are entirely beyond me, British Columbia marks Family Day today. Of course, since it’s not observed nationally either today or next Monday, when most of the rest of the country takes the day off, it means that federal workers will show up at work – doesn’t it? I’m sure that makes for a cheery day at the office.
 
This is what I do know: I’m lucky to have a day off from my radio show on Ocean 98.5 in Victoria, even though I would happily have done one today if they’d asked, but most of the rest of the country – except federal workers – are off next Monday. I bet you can’t wait. 
 
But here’s the thing: it’s not even called Family Day across the country! For example, in Manitoba it’s Louis Riel Day, in PEI it’s Islander Day, while in Nova Scotia they celebrate Heritage Day. Yay! Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan will just mark good ol’ Family Day, leaving out Newfoundland and Labrador, the territories and Quebec, which don’t take a Monday off in February at all! While in the Yukon, the holiday is the Friday before the last Sunday of the month – so, the 23rd. 
 
Have you got all of that? Yeah, me neither.
 
The holiday for almost all of Canada will coincide, as always, with the big car and mattress sale event in the US known as Presidents’ Day, but is officially called Washington’s Birthday. And although it falls on February 19th this year, George Washington was actually born on February 22nd, but no one wants a holiday in the middle of the week unless, of course, it’s Canada Day. And then we tack on a couple of extra days and make it a nice long weekend in the summer!
 
Come to think of it, is a long weekend in February a good thing? I remember when the idea was first floated (was it in a beer commercial?) and I tend to think it is; any day that many Canadians don’t have to get up and battle snow and cold is a good day. You stay inside, you cocoon, you may even take advantage of that extra day to get away some place warm. That’s what our little family used to do on Family Day.
 
The important thing is making memories. I’m not sure if it has the same meaning if you’re saluting Louis Riel, but I’ve no doubt it’s a great spark to learn about the founder of Manitoba and the leader of the Métis people. I haven’t thought much about Riel since high school so I, for one, am grateful for the name. See how that all works?
 
Have a gentle Monday and hang in there – your long weekend (if you’re reading this anywhere but in BC) is on its way, probably. I promise not to have too much fun. Tomorrow: a big day for radio.
 

Happy Friday! Of course, everyone’s thoughts are with the Canadians competing under our beautiful maple leaf in Korea. In case you’ll be waiting out the night time broadcasts, may I suggest a movie? It’s three weeks now until the Oscars and I thought I’d visit the topic of films again, in the event you were thinking of going to see a movie this weekend. After Wednesday’s journal about the “mean moms of the movies” this year, I got emails asking what I thought of The Shape of Water, which leads the Oscar pack with 14 nominations this year. Let me tell you – with some background.
 
A good friend here on the island went to see it and, like so many, just didn’t like it. And that’s the thing with this film: people either seem to love it or hate it. I saw it because I knew, with over a dozen nods, there had to be something to it.
 
I can’t remember going into a film so ready to hold my nose as I was with The Shape of Water because I usually avoid those I know I won’t like. I’m not a big fan of super hero movies or other fantasies (count me among the few who didn’t love the Lord of the Rings or Star Wars films). I understand why people do love them, don’t get me wrong. And who am I to say my choices in movies are the right ones? As a friend used to say, “If everyone liked the same things, there would be long lineups for everything.” So true.
 
There’s willful suspension of disbelief when you buy your ticket for TSOW and I was fine with that. A cleaning woman in a Cold War era USA lab forms a bond with a water creature that has some human characteristics – especially that of needing connection. It’s a love story, a horror story, a thriller and a sci-fi homage to 1954’s Creature From the Black Lagoon. Michael Shannon is perfection as the actual monster of the film; I even thought he bore a resemblance to his scaly nemesis. I’d love to hear if anyone else had that thought.
 
Can I recommend this movie to you? Let me put it this way: last year I saw La La Land and lo-lo-loved it. It was audacious and, although it paid homage, I thought it was daring and original. But as I watched it, I thought, Oh, Cooper (my radio partner Mike) would hate this. He’d get up halfway through saying, ‘what the hell is this?’ (I don’t know if that’s actually what Mike thought of it, by the way. I’ll have to ask him.) But that’s the thing: movies are a deeply personal experience. Your enjoyment or dislike comes in part from the filters you run this film through. 
 
The Best Picture winner, Moonlight, was exceptional, too, but to compare it to the frothy originality of La La Land would be futile. Apples, meet oranges. Likewise, although it was a nod to sci-fi films like Black Lagoon, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen or experienced anything like The Shape of Water. If that is something you seek in a movie, then this is the one for you. It’s also fun to spot locales like the Elgin Theatre and Hamilton City Hall in this Toronto-area production. Writer/director Guillermo del Toro, who is Mexican, calls Toronto home. 
 
The performances by Shannon, Oscar nominees Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer are top notch. The story is, as I say, a fantastical step away from reality. But it’s the human connection that is the basis for this film and that stays with you, long after you’ve emptied the popcorn grebbles out of your bra. 
 
Have a gentle weekend – it’s a long one here in BC, which gets a jump start on the whole Family Day thing – but I’ll be back with a journal for you here on Monday.