D-Day and other thoughts

I remembered Camp Day at Tim Horton’s yesterday. I forgot today was the 69^th anniversary of the D-Day landings until I read a friend’s Facebook post. For shame.

Thirty-thousand Canadian soldiers landed at Juno Beach that day – part of a 160,000 strong Allied landing force that came ashore at five beaches on the Normandy coast in what was the largest amphibious invasion in history, not to mention the turning point of the Second World War.

The Canadians faced eleven gun batteries, as well as machine-gun nests, barbed wire, mines and a scary-high seawall. The first wave suffered 50 per cent casualties, but despite the obstacles the Canadians were off the beach within hours and beginning their advance inland. By the end of the day the Canadians had pushed further into France than any other Allied force.

The invasion was almost scrubbed because of weather. A full moon and relatively calm seas were required and it was only after the chief meteorologist – a Scotsman named James Stagg – told Eisenhower and Montgomery that there would be a “brief improvement” in the conditions was the word given to proceed.

And the Weather Network staff thinks they have pressure.

Thanks to the iffy weather and a brilliant deception plan implemented in the months before the landings, the Germans were caught unaware. Many senior officers were away for the weekend and even Field Marshal Erwin Rommel left his post to celebrate his wife's birthday.

The invasion has been commemorated in several movies, including The Longest Day (1962) and 1998’s Saving Private Ryan (with realistically brutal beach landing scenes), but so far the Canadian D-Day story at Juno Beach has never been told.

But we know.

*

Short day today and as I’m climbing the 401 East on-ramp at Salem Road in Ajax this morning I see in my mirror something small and black fly off the roof of my car and hit the road behind me, shattering into three pieces.

Shit.

I had left my phone up there. It somehow stayed on the wet roof for the mile or so I travelled on Salem before I made the left turn to jump on the highway and off it flew.

Shit.

I carefully backed up on the shoulder (honest – I knew what I was doing) to inspect the damage. The backing was nowhere to be found but the phone and battery were reachable and not smashed in a million pieces, so I reached and hoped for the best.

It still works. Hot damn!

I’ve been meaning to upgrade my phone for months and kept putting it off, so I took this as a sign and my first call was to my boy Ed at Public Mobile to hook me up with something new and shiny tomorrow.

Then I stopped at Hotspot Auto Parts in Oshawa to get front brake pads for my pimped out ride – sorry, my ’95 Escort – and got a cheap set for $17 bucks.

Tomorrow I think I’ll find some money. I’m on a roll.

*

A roll is what the Pittsburgh Penguins are not on, after losing 2-1 in double overtime last night to Boston.

Sid and the Pens didn’t show up for the first two games of the series at home – they were horrible in Game 2, in particular – but they were much better last night.

But to put out that kind of effort and then get your heart ripped out in double OT … I don’t think Pittsburgh is strong enough to overcome that. They’re done.

And that means Cam is going to run away with the family playoff pool. But as no one has put in a dime yet he may have troubles squeezing any money out of us.

Sorry, Cam.