Hello Cookie Lovers!
This news just in from Tim Hortons:
This year’s Smile Cookie Campaign brought in a whopping $8,076.00 for patient care equipment!!
This was their BEST YEAR YET and we have
YOU to thank for all of your cookie purchases!
Thank you for your part in making this year’s campaign such a success!!!
Robyn
Robyn Arseneau
Manager of Fundraising
Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital Foundation
I didn’t think people on The Rock could get offended by anything– but they have. A Corner Brook, Nlfd. Tim Hortons has come under fire for a new Western themed promotion for a steak sandwich.
John Michelin, originally from Sheshatshiu, had a beef with the new promotion when he saw pictures of it on social media this week. Michelin said he noticed photos on Twitter of a display at a Corner Brook Tim Horton’s that depicted a series of cowboys pointing their guns at a group of Indians. He was upset and furious about the display, describing it as racist.
Racist?
Personally, I think the word ‘racist’ is being used too liberally these days. It should not be used as a blanket description of everyone who is not ‘politically correct’. Maybe I am wrong, but shouldn’t it be reserved for true racists?
After the complaint the manager was quick to take the display down. Now, the person complaining wants more. Michelin wants the store’s manager to issue a public apology on social media. What’s next? Asking the manager to repeat the alphabet backwards?
This issue should have been closed when the store manager took down the alleged offending display. How many times do we have to say “we are sorry” before the message finally sinks in? It is a part of history. There are many things humanity has done– ignorant, horrible things that are now ‘politically incorrect’ with the delusion that historical wrongs can be forgotten or erased. History is history, it may be painful and difficult but you cannot change it. Political correctness will not replace historical facts. Cowboys and Indians are a stereotype, and hopefully one that we are over now. Give it a rest.
There is absolutely no way on Earth to make everyone happy. There is always going to be someone offended by something. There are a lot more important things going on these days, like what just happened in Paris and in other cities. Be offended by how many U.S. stores Tim Horton’s closed this week and employees now out of a job. Be offended that what should be a Canadian company is now owned by a company in Brazil and Juan Valdez is serving us Brazilian coffee now. This should be the focus, not an advertisement for a sandwich.
Personally, I’m offended at how easily people are offended now. Why don’t we all agree that the world is just one big offensive world and move on.
NB—this was an op-ed– and I did ask in my blog am i wrong?- AND I never asked why ” native people should really not be offended by blatantly racist and historically inaccurate and insulting stuff” because I believe insulting people is wrong. I am JUST tired of people questioning every minute detail of life and that is what it was about….I always open my blogs to opinions and respect them .. Thank you
Buy Linda Secaspina’s Books— Flashbacks of Little Miss Flash Cadilac– Tilting the Kilt-Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place and 4 others on Amazon or Amazon Canada or Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street in Carleton Place
Today is Canada Day and I refuse to write about hockey, moose, the RCMP or snow. So instead I dug up this essay that I wrote in the summer of 2007 because I am proud to be Canadian.
It was the year of the Tim Horton’s “Lemon Drop” doughnut and I was rejoicing Canada Day with a few of my luscious yeast “lovers”. For all my American friends, Tim Horton’s is an institution in Canada and on any weekday morning, no less than 30 people stand in line waiting for the products of Tim Horton’s to brighten their day.
Some political higher ups have complained about the rise of Tim Horton’s as a national symbol. Rudyard Griffiths, director of The Dominion Institute, wrote in the Toronto Star that the ascension of the chain to the status of cultural icon was a “worrying sign” for Canadian nationalism, adding:
“Surely Canada can come up with a better moniker than the Timbit Nation.”
So why does Timmy Horton’s do well in Canada I keep asking myself? Accusations run amuck that people are willing to stand for hours and purchase Tim Horton’s coffee because there is some sort of additive in it that keeps bringing them back.
Shocking allegations of MSG or nicotine added to the coffee run rampant. It got so bad that CBC- TV did an entire program on the issue and in the end could not find a shred of proof. To be extremely honest; the coffee drinking crowd from Tim Horton’s is no better than crack addicts and they would be the first to proudly admit it.
After all “Tims” is a place “where everyone knows your name.”
No matter if a Burger King conglomerate in Brazil now owns Tim Horton’s, it still remains Canada’s national treasure. There is nothing like Canadian fellowship by sharing tables with strangers, and the thrill of watching someone order their first “double double”.
Happy Canada Day!
Faster!
Faster and Faster!
We must get our food faster!
Quick! Hurry up! Eat! .
Over the next year, McDonald’s will spend over $3 billion to open 1,500 to 1,600 new locations and upgrade 1,000 existing ones. They admit they earn about 70 percent of their sales via the drive-thru. Every day I see the line up at Tim Horton’s and shake my head. Since everyone is in the drive-thru lane, I simply park, walk in, get my order, walk out, and wave to everyone still waiting in the drive-thru lane. Park your car, walk 40 steps, and order inside. You’ll expend 50 calories.
Now if these fast food places would only do something about the people who use the drive-thru to place orders for the whole hockey team that might be nifty. Or how about the office? They pull up, and then start talking to the people back at their office on the phone and relaying their orders. Maybe making them go inside might help. I feel for these staff that have to deal with the craziness on a daily basis.
Relax. Enjoy life. Take time to smell the roses. And for God’s sake, don’t drive while distracted, trying to balance a hot cup of coffee, with an overflowing pocket of Tim Bits all over your lap. Unless of course, you’re the 8-armed Goddess of Hindu mythology.
Say Hi and Thank You to those hardworking staff doing their jobs as best they can. Again, I just don’t understand the massive long lines. Maybe we need food replicators (ala Star Trek) in our vehicles?:)
Any drive-thru horror stories?
A Timbit of a Carleton Place Tale by Joanne McCoy
There are always good things that happen in Carleton Place. After I wrote my last story about the old location, local resident Joanne McCoy had another story to tell. Here it is..
Linda, I have an awesome story for you about that Tim’s location. It was a particularly difficult time in my life. I was questioning my worth etc….a somewhat wah wah nobody loves me time.
I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for my step son. It was a super cold and snowy day, and I had just finished rummaging through my purse and all the usual hiding places for loose change for a hot coffee. Great, I don’t even have money on me to buy a coffee! Well, I look up and there’s a very old man, very small stature, all bundled up with a heavy backpack on his back, digging through the garbage can.
I sat watching him for a minute or two, thinking how I wished I had money to buy him a cup of coffee. Alas, I just verified my lack of funds. I leaned over and lo and behold there was a five dollar bill sticking out of the ashtray plain as day….hmmmm.
I got out of the car and approached the man, I put my hand on his shoulder and asked him if I could buy him a cup of coffee. He looked me right in the eye. I will never forget his face, especially his pretty piercing, watery blue eyes. He gave me a smile and said “I would love that”. I asked what he wanted and he replies, “Oh just a small coffee dear”.
I then told him, ”
“You can get a large if you want and can I buy you a sandwich or something to eat?”
He agreed to a donut, nothing too sweet, and I handed it to him, and left the change on top of his coffee cup. He held my hand, stared deeply into my eyes, thanked me and his eyes welled up with tears.
To this day, I feel that it was divine intervention. I went back into Tim’s after a few minutes, he wasn’t there, so I asked the ladies at the counter. They all agreed none of them had seen anyone of that description in there all day. After that mysterious encounter I felt better, I felt appreciated and valued. I sensed also that he was grateful that I physically touched him, and also, the fact that I had never seen him before that day or since.
Another tale from the old Tim Horton’s location– if you have anymore please let me know.
Carleton Place- The Happiest Damn Town in Lanark County
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Tilting the Kilt, Vintage Whispers from Carleton Place by Linda Seccaspina is available at Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street, the Carleton Place Beckwith Museum in Carleton Place, Ontario and The Mississippi Valley Textile Mill in Almonte. available on all Amazon sites (Canada, US, Europe) and Barnes and Noble
I originally wrote this story for a newspaper in California and had to use McDonalds as the location. The story actually happened right here in Carleton Place at the original Tim Horton’s at the four corners. As my son posted on the picture….
Remember wheeling up to the counter at 2:30am and grabbing a BLT and a honey cruller? … Where’d those days go?
The building sadly sits waiting for someone to rent it, and all it is now is a shell of memories. We need new memories in this building! We need to encourage our local business people– and if you don’t believe that look at the video I posted in the comments.
Generally Tim Horton’s is not the most inspirational place to gather stories. Each Wednesday, all I see in there is a lot of misery and supposedly non existent trans fat. Being a chronic voyeur, I have watched people all my life. Not to be interested in your fellow man is a felony to me. Good, evil, old, or young, everyone has a story that needs to be told. As I take a bite out of my cruller I realize my notebook is not with me. So, to make this an honest to goodness fast food tale, I write everything down on my napkin.Two people have caught my eye and I can just feel a story is going to enfold.
An older couple stands near me chatting with a woman eating some Chili. The disheveled man remains nameless, but I soon find out that his partner’s name is Polly. Polly stands close to him and pulls her pink crochet hat down over her head. Her long black hair is shiny, and she strokes it as she talks. The man seems uncomfortable, and shuffles his well worn construction boots and adjusts his stained white hoodie that is covered with a tweed suit jacket. He looks like he has lived a thousand years on hard time, yet the words he utters are nothing short than eloquent. Stocked with an envied vocabulary, he tells the seated woman that Mother’s Day is the anniversary of the death of Polly’s son. One can only imagine that the enormous grief she has carried around has led her to a world of sadness. Tears now flow from Polly’s eyes, but she talks calmly, and hugs the man that loves her.
He looks at her and says,
“If I had money I would buy you flowers for Mother’s Day”
She hugs him harder, and I just want to jump up and buy these two some chocolate chip cookies. Yes, I am a true believer that sugar fixes everything.
A man sitting in front of me motions for the man to come talk to him. Polly, engrossed in telling the tale of her deceased son does not seem to notice he has left her side. The man is given some money by another very kind gentleman and he runs out the door with a huge smile on his face. Two minutes later he comes back and hands Polly a small bouquet of carnations bought from the corner store. She hugs him and starts to cry once again.Tears run down my face, and I look at them as if I am gazing through a rainbow.
It was a Mother’s Day Gift of generosity from a stranger, and once again I have faith in man kind.
After all what does a mother really want? I can safely say that most mothers do not need a fancy meal, or a day at the spa. Just generous comforting love from their children.That’s all. Just an order of Timbits, and a hug, and nothing else is needed.
Linda Seccaspina
Tilting the Kilt, Vintage Whispers from Carleton Place by Linda Seccaspina is available at Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street, the Carleton Place Beckwith Museum in Carleton Place, Ontario and The Mississippi Valley Textile Mill in Almonte. available on all Amazon sites (Canada, US, Europe) and Barnes and Noble
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lindaseccaspina 