Wow, it,s tues already and the wiry Italian BOMBA is eating me out of house and home!!! He had his best game today at the SHOWCASE scoring twice and added an assist in the evening game...I managed to get in 9 holes of golf between dropping the SUPERSTAR off and the evening match......Now he,s decided to have max energy he,ll get up early tomorrow and have breakfast ...then have a big lunch before his game at 3pm.....No doubt he,ll have his special PASTA for pre-game.....Meanwhile i,ll try to hit the links again to get ready for a match with Cousin Shane ,MIKE and Craig ...Should be a good one as they,re all BIG HITTERS.....of course the hits don,t always go in the intended direction...especially with the poor mans DON RIGGLES Shane.......And what of ROGER the RUNT you ask????? He can be my caddy !!!!..Now for THE LATEST HEALTHY FOOD LIST......Number 1 food for health....BLUEBERRIES......2ND LEAFY STUFF....3RD.Nuts....4th FATTY FISH..others include AVOCADOS.....WHOLE GRAINS....LEGUMES..AND DON,T FORGET  YOUR EGGS.........But where oh where is Shane,s favorite lunch......POUTINE????

Posted by: parsenault at 23:39 | link | comments

What day is it anyway? I,m losing all track of time.....Freddy, the ITALIAN hockey star took the day off sat after a tough week at the ANDREWS ,DUNN HOCKEY CAMP......This morning he started the SHOWCASE at 7am so we had an early start.....He was on the ice for a 1hr practice then we went for a BIG BREAKFAST at MAID MARIANS ......Freddy ,of course , ate the biggest ROBIN HOOD scoff......This is after,of course ,he had BACON and TOAST at home before we left......Tia is so disturbed that she can,t eat her food .....She,s mixed up because i usually only cook bacon on sundays.......and she won,t eat her food if she smells the bacon.....With Freddy ,it,s everyday and the poor dog doesn,t know what to do!!!!A few old friends down from MONTREAL with their kids .....Lee Hardy ,former pro defenseman has his son.here,...He,s only a little guy but what wheels.... , thanks to a recommendation from HERB MADILL.......Lee,s son MARK is a former NHLer and now an ass,t coach with LA......Russ Haines is also here with his grandson CHAD......Russ and WIFE PERLE have a summer home on the ISLAND.....Tomorrow, another early bird special at 7am.....Don,t know if i,ll get to the COFFEE CLUB or not......Will they miss me?????? Roger won,t but ADELE and MARCELLA and the other Tim,s ladies might?????Canada day.....ELECTION DAY......Got my FLAG up on STANHOPE LANE today.....but i can,t find an ACADIAN FLAG ......Maybe the RUSTICO RUNT can find me one and make himself useless????Where,s my PELLET GUN ???/ I,m going to have to scare those squirrels,or should i trap them and bring them to show ROGER????

Posted by: parsenault at 19:28 | link | comments

Day 4 of the ANDREWS DUNN HOCKEY EXTRAVAGANZA......and my ITALIAN superstar is going strong.....It,s those great breakfasts that i serve him that gives him that extra energy........Missed out on seeing THE OVER THE HILL GANG at TIM,S this morning...Had to get back to STANHOPE to burn up the course....NOT!!!!! Neighbors cat still missing....LOOKS LIKE A CATNAPPING .......Another cold day on the ISLAND ....I,m not going to get too many cliants for the GUEST HOUSE at this rate....Of course FREDDY is here until july 10th ......My addition is coming along but my carpenter didn,t show today....other commitments i think...The squirrels are taking .over the BIRDFEEDER....I guess i,ll get out my pellet gun to scare them off....A few years ago i was shooting the gun to scare the little darlings but i missed a few times and killed a couple....Really ,i was aiming for the feeder.......Anyway i decided to buy a trap and relocate them....I got about 12 of them and took them into CHARLOTTETOWN......To ROGER,S HOUSE .....Someone told me the little suckers would find their way back.so i was going to spray their tails and see.....Didn,t get around to it but i think i,ll do it this summer.....When ROGER sees all those little guys with pink tails running around his property he,ll thank me....He needs all the friends he can get!!!!!!!

Posted by: parsenault at 21:37 | link | comments (2)

Day 3 of hockey camp .....And after a hearty NEWFIE BREAKFAST of BOLOGNA and TOAST ...Freddy was set to show his stuff....Then to the GOLDEN AGE VILLA for a personal training session with my 86 yr old aunt.....She was good for 10 min and i did put the TREADMILL on the incline.......Coffee with curly and MOE......Father GIL said the prayer to ST JUDE but it didn,t work. ROGER showed up....Political discussion boiled up a bit ,especially after PRES JIM left for a meeting.....Makes one feel good that these brave men are working for the TAXPAYERS OF CANADA and especially THE VETS....Keeping the streets of CHARLOTTETOWN safe for the elderly and children alike......Thanks to you guys for your dedicated service and also to all those behind the scene people that really do all the work....BRAVO....Got to go TIA has a skunk trapped and this could be bad ......My neighbor,s cat is missing Tia took a smell of her basket and headed right into there house......Freddy had a fight at the evening scrimmage .....A big cape breton lad about twice his size.....They were both ejected from the game....In the dressing room after, the other boys father said" Freddy,s lucky my son didn,t hit him because he,s quite the fighter."...I replied that it could be a good thing because Freddy is the under 16 boxing champion of ITALY......

Posted by: parsenault at 20:54 | link | comments

Day 2 of hockey school.....I dropped the Italian Brad Richards off at Maclaughlan Arena at 7am.this morning.....Got a coffee and headed back to the Ranch .....Hit the golf course at 9.45 .....It was cold but the sun was out.....I thought it was summer???? My neighbor John and i played the front 9 twice because we hit a wall of ladies on the 10th hole.....Women love to play golf and chattttttttttttttttt.........Anyway ,i won by 2 strokes even though i took an 8 on the 9th hole.....John is the top cyclist for his age on PEI.....of course most his age are DEAD!!!!!! Not really........Aunt Val is feeling neglected .....She,s my elderly AUNT that i put on the TREADMILL at the VILLA , on a regular basis.....If she goes for too long i put the treadmill on incline so i can get to coffee on time.....She doesn,t realize it because she,s BLIND........She can,t understand ..how come some days she just can,t go for more then 10 min.......Don,t tell.. She enjoys it!!! Freddy is very fussy about his PASTA.......He won,t let me cook it.....He measures the water by dipping his finger in the pot....Then he introduces the SALT....which he brought from ITALY......He tastes the water until he has the proper amount then he pours the pasta onto a plate to measure the amount..........He continues to taste the pasta until it,s ready.....Then onto the plate and he applies the olive oil he brought from ITALY......PRES CHOICE IT,S NOT........Just a little PARMAGENO CHEESE and it,s ready.....

Posted by: parsenault at 21:34 | link | comments

Day 1 at the ANDREWS DUNN HOCKEY CAMP ......We were up at 6 ...Freddy had his BIG BREAKFAST to prepare for all out effort at the school.......Lots of Bacon??????? He,s Italian!! I went to wal mart and canadian tire to shop for the GUEST HOUSE.......Hope i can attract some PAYING guests at some point.......Today is the official start of summer....the longest day of the year......Not too bad but rained in the afternoon....The carpenter showed up to work on the addition....It,s looking good should be ready by DECEMBER.?...No that,s not true.......end of the week......I got myself a MOSQUITO MAGNET and it seems to be working.......My brother has one and he says it works......Anyway, so far it looks like the little suckers are down.......Went to the GYM and had a workout......tomorrow i,ll hit the links ......I joined a new GYM ...THE SPA and i find they are not the most friendly group.......PEI is known for it,s friendly people but i guess they don,t know this at the SPA......Don,t get me wrong, they,re not bad.......but not ,as friendly as they could be..........Usually ,this has something to do with MANAGEMENT........Have you been to HOME HARDWARE lately???? Always someone there to help you...Saw ROGER today...He,s not getting any better looking!!!!! Don RIGGLES.....Cousin Shane was there too and we had a discussion with a local WINE EXPERT about WINE.....Roger likes BABY DUCK!!! Can you still buy it??? Fathers day yesterday and i heard from my two beautiful daughters in WASHINGTON......so far away!!!! I,m still hoping HOLLY my youngest, will be able to come for a visit this summer....Klay is getting married in the fall so i don,t think she,ll be able to come...They know i love them and think of them every day  ........so there.!..What,s a father to do but state the obvious on this occasion...and just a word to the wise....Roger...Don,t read this.....Never try to teach a pig to sing.....it wastes time and annoys the PIG......paul dickson...

Posted by: parsenault at 21:11 | link | comments

Sunday morning and i,ve prepared breakfast for my ITALIAN VISITORS......FREDRICO and his sister FRANCESCA....She,s stayed last nite because her host family in charlottetown had to go to HALIFAX..I took them to a movie last nite....TERMINAL ,with TOM HANKS....good movie and it reminded me of several incidents in my own travel with hockey teams........They were impressed by the locals.....seems everyone knows each other.....Welcome to PEI where there are no secrets.....My old girlfriend and her husband sat right behind us ....She and i share the same birthday and she remembers....Wow ,i,m impressed!!!! She looks 10 years younger then me ....and ,of course ,i don,t look my age......I only feel it when i have to put up with the antics of THE RUSTICO RUNT,Roger and his sidekick....THE POOR MAN,S Don RIGGLES cousin SHANE....More to say about my trip to MONTREAL later......one thing i can,t understand How i can sit beside a guy who wins two big prizes in the draw and i get zip?????? Kevin Devereaux won a beautiful Golf bag and a FLAT SCREEN TV.....Guess i won my big prize when i had the winning ticket for the local yacht club draw for 10,000 ....First time i,ve ever won anything.......Can,t believe how fast it went.....????????CIAO FOR NOW .....

Posted by: parsenault at 10:03 | link | comments

Busy week for the coach......Sister arrives and we spent 3 days looking for properties on the ISLAND......We saw some nice places one in FRENCH RIVER and another in RUSTICO ,the home of the RUSTICO RUNT....She must think about it for now.....Meanwhile The Italian junior STAR FREDRICO LORINI arrived with his sister last nite in HALIFAX....Naturally ,i was there to meet them and once again AIR CANADA LOST HIS LUGGAGE......They had a 5 hr stay in TORONTO after flying from MILANO......and one of his bags didn,t get put on the flight to halifax.....Piss poor ,i,d say!!!!Got back late last nite but managed to get into TIM,S this morning for a laugh or two with LARRY ,CURLY AND MOE.....Roger is a natural as CURLY with his bowling bald head and silly smirk......When i look at him ,i thank GOD i,m part IRISH!!!!Took FREDDY to the GOLF COURSE this afternoon and we hit some BALLS and did some putting around......Met my summer neighbor and it turns out he,s married to the sister of one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE PLAYERS......KENNY SINCLAIR....a little guy with a lot of skill and a big heart......Just like me.????? Just kidding ,but it,s a small world....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted by: parsenault at 19:00 | link | comments

Brad Richards and the TAMPA BAY LIGHTENING are the toast of PEI.....The Premier announced that we,ll have a BRAD RICHARDS day on the ISLAND this summer....My friend ALAN ANDREWS is very happy....Brad attended his hockey schools each summer and always credits ALAN for helping him achieve success....Congrats to AL.....The ITALIAN Brad Richards will be coming soon ,,His name is Fredrico Lorini and he played for my under 16 team in MILAN....He came last year and broke his wrist the first day of the camp......Nevertheless he had a great year with the MILAN team this year and he,s headed to become one of the top players in ITALY in the future.....Busy now getting my GUEST HOUSE ready for the summer.....The addition is looking good but we have to wait for windows......Cousin Shane is happy now since he received his invitation to the CANTWELL REUNION....Also his suspension for being a pervert.........no not that one.......for breaking the rules of the PEI HOCKEY ASSOCIATION is being appealed......Just one note on my trip to MONTREAL for the CONCORDIA HALL OF FAME DINNER......It,s a shame that DOUG DAIGNEAULT the coach of the 72/73 loyola football squad wasn,t present to enjoy his former players........He,s bitter over the manner that he was treated by CONCORDIA.......but life is too short to let it prevent him and his guys from getting together and enjoying the good memories......Roger ,for example, always returns for his reunion at the reformatory even though they kicked him out for refusing to wear underwear????? Why ?????

Just got back from pub night at the MERCHANTMAN in charlottetown.....Rodney from the famous OYSTER HOUSE in TORONTO was there ....He was a goaltender in his school days  and still plays a lot in TO......He doesn,t know Roger but he said that if Roger ever comes to TORONTO he would be pleased to treat him at his restaurant.....That has got to be a first for the RUSTICO RUNT since most places in charlottetown won,t let him in........!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: parsenault at 10:43 | link | comments (1)

Well i,m wearing my Brad Richards golf shirt today in anticipation of the big game tonight.....I made a joke at coffee and told the NOT QUITE OVER THE HILLERS that Brad was a FLASH IN THE PAN.....Roger,of course knows nothing about hockey so he didn,t get it......Course he doesn,t get much.!...He could play both parts in the movie DUMB AND DUMBER..When i was asked to accept for BOB BERRY at the HALL OF FAME induction i told the story about one of our trips to the NATIONAL FINALS .IN EDMONTON AND CALGARY...We stopped in WINNIPEG and they told us we could get off to get a snack.....Unfortunately a new crew took over and they left us at the airport.....hard to believe!!!!since we were about 20 ...Only 2 players stayed on the plane.....Anyway we spent the whole day in airports before finally getting to EDMONTON at about 3am MONTREAL TIME.......We had the early game the next day against LAURENTIAN a team we had no difficulty beating during the season....We lost and our ALL STAR GOALTENDER BRIAN CHAPMAN was injured. We then had to leave for CALGARY to play in the consolation game.....Our backup goaltender DAVE ERSKINE was very young and inexperienced and we had the possibility of using the CALGARY GOALER if Dave got hurt.....Bob told everyone on the team to shoot at ERSKINES  head during the warmup .....They missed!!!!!!!!!!We lost......more on BERRY  later.....Go Calgary Go.!!!....I mean Brad rules .....Hope it,s a good game .....

Posted by: parsenault at 18:22 | link | comments (1)

Here i am back on the ISLAND after a great trip to MONTREAL......I left on wed drove 12 hrs to my sisters place in CANDIAC on the south shore of MONTREAL......I really enjoy the drive ,perhaps i should have been a long distance driver....Regret, not bringing my ITALIAN TAPES but i always forget something.....Thursday, went out to the WEST ISLAND to see if i could run into some of my friends but not too successful ......Next time i,ll have to phone ahead dahhhhhh......That night was the HALL OF FAME BANQUET at MOLSONS, becoming an annual event for me since many of my hockey players and teams are being inducted.....Got a surprise when they told me BOB BERRY couldn,t come and asked that i accept on his behave.....So i had to prepare something quickly as he was first on the agenda....Think i did OK but i,ll probably have something more to say on the blog later.....Great to see BOB PHILIP, and THE 1972 LOYOLA FOOTBALL TEAM.. a great team coached by my buddies DOUG DAIGNEAULT AND PETE REGIMBALD...I remembered a lot of the guys ..especially BERNIE MULDOON an east ender that i tried to recruit as a goaltender to SIR GEORGE.......More on the banquet later.....I attended the annual golf tournament on fri at a beautiful course in the laurentians.....We went up by bus and had a great time chatting .....I played with former players ANDRE LEFEVBRE and ALEX MCGIBBON and my personal phychologist PROF PETER BENDER......We were 4 under but ,of course a sandbagger team won with about 12 under......I made a few long putts so i was pretty happy.....As usual didn,t win any prizes.....Guess i,ve won my only one last year when i won the 10,000 in the local yacht club draw.......not bad!!! Drove back on sat another 12 hours and couldn,t stay awake for TAMPA,S double overtime win......1 more game to go......I,ll have more on my trip this week when i rest up and collect my thoughts....and no doubt ROGER will have something stupid to add....ciao Forgot to mention today is the celebration of the D DAY INVASION where the CANADIANS AT JUNO BEACH fought there way further into enemy territory then any other of the ALLIED TROOPS .....Makes you proud to be CANADIAN....I had a few UNCLES that fought in the war but they returned ......My uncle BILL CANTWELL was in ITALY and signed up underage in ONTARIO....He signed up to get away from the harrassement from his sister and often related the story to us that he was fighting in ITALY and yelled " I HOPE YOU,RE HAPPY NOW, EILENE ,HERE I AM BECAUSE OF YOU" More to tell about my trip later this week....

Posted by: parsenault at 11:06 | link | comments (1)