Walking with the Chief; a $20 Hooker; and Mothers Day

It was a busy weekend, hahaha.
Come on – admit it – the title grabbed ya’.
I will try not to let you down, though I have to say the part about the $20 hooker is definitely not what you are thinking.
On Saturday morning I once again  took part in the Rideauwood ‘Footsteps to Recovery’ walkathon. This year I was asked to co-marshal the event with Ottawa’s new Chief of Police, Chief Charles Bordeleau. Can you imagine? An ex-crack-head booster being asked to lead a very well attended public event alongside – not behind, or in the shadow of – but alongside the city’s top cop.
I have to say, I was humbled.
Less than 90 seconds into the walk the Chief asked me if I would be willing to share my story with him. Heheheh…in fairness, Chief Bordeleau had never met me before so he had no idea – I spoke for 35 minutes about my experiences with addiction, alcoholism, homelessness, and my journey of recovery as it has evolved so far.
I have to say that I am really happy with the compassionate understanding and interest in positive change that I was left feeling on behalf of Chief Bordeleau. There has been much talk in the media and amongst professionals in the helping and corrections fields lately about our current government's stance on drug addicts, addiction fuelled crime, and the need to incarcerate. I am encouraged that OPS will continue through it’s community partnerships to work towards solutions to some of our deepest, darkest problems, rather than bending a knee and appeasing those that would rather believe and profess that there is no darkness in Ottawa. Throwing drug addicts in jail, with no program options or supports, is the very last thing we should be doing. However, akin to sweeping debris under a rug, it has long been seen and utilized as the ‘easy’ fix.
After we completed the 5km walk, the Chief shook my hand and then asked me for my business card as he may wish to contact me in the future. I can say in all seriousness that I much prefer providing my business cards rather than my fingerprints.
Thank you Chief Bordeleau – for a good chat and a great outlook.


Sunday brought my older brother and sister and I together to visit with Mom for Mothers day. Never predictable, the family gathering went very well and we all enjoyed each others company. Dad was in a lot of pain, but he wore a brave face and really appeared happy to have us all together for a while. Mom thoroughly enjoyed the day and beamed in an almost childlike fashion while receiving her cards, candies and flowers. This is a woman who knows that she is loved by her kids, and that makes this man very happy.
And finally – the hooker. So, I went out to my bike on Saturday afternoon and attempted to give it a pre-trip trial packing. I brought out my tent, sleeping bag, s.i. mattress, bag liner, back pack and a bunch of bungee straps and various tie-downs.
Within 5 minutes I knew that I was in trouble. There was just no way to securely fasten everything that I plan on bringing with me, to my bike. And believe me, I am not bringing any unnecessary items. Some would say that the s.i. mattress is an unnecessary luxury – but I am 45 years old and plan on spending up to 25 nights sleeping on the ground. A 1.5 inch thick s.i. mattress is more along the lines of a necessity.
I carted everything back inside to my apartment and hit the internet. Searching ‘luggage racks’ brought up a ton of choices and possible solutions – all amounting to several hundreds of dollars. *Groan*
And then – inspiration! I hopped on my bike and rode to a local after-market parts dealer – Dream Cycles Ltd – and explained my problem to Lise, who listened attentively and then looked me straight in the eye and said-
“You need a hooker.”
Thinking that I was even more transparent than normal, I was about to ask if I really appeared to be that pathetic when Lise showed me a very simple luggage tie-down device known as – you guessed it – a Hooker.
A little more than $20.00 and 5 minutes later I was back on my bike, with my newly purchased hooker, heading for home. Installation took all of 8 minutes, and my packing woes are over.
Pictorial here:    $20 Hooker
The weekend concluded with a Monday night Meet and Greet at Broadway’s. We had a great crowd – I am sure there were at least 50 CMC members there – including 2 from the newly formed Smiths Falls chapter. A number of new RC’s received their patches, and 2 of them led a great apres-Meet and Greet ice cream ride out to Kelly’s Landing.
GoPro video here: The Rolling Stones and Ice Cream
Okay – this was info packed and long winded. Now it is time to go for a ride before work.
Thanks for riding along,