The Cream Of The Crop?

Like most people, I had dreams of what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Unlike most people, I wanted to be a professional wrestler.

As a kid, my life was completely consumed by the giants of the squared circle and the never-ending pageantry that unfolded on my television screen courtesy of the stars of Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.  I ate, breathed and slept pro wrestling to the point that it was all I talked about.  Despite the taunts of people who thought my obsession to be silly, it couldn’t have been more real to me.

As life caught up with me, as well as my genetics and a knowledge of the ‘inner workings’ of pro wrestling, I realized that life inside the ring was never going to be in the cards and I was content with just being a fan – as I remain to this very day. Every once in a while, though, I remember what it was like to be that little kid who wanted nothing more than to be the next Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat or “Nature Boy” Ric Flair.

Maybe that’s why I’m so interested in the unfolding story of local wrestler, Eric Doucet –or as he’s more commonly known to wrestling fans, ‘Markus Burke’. Mr. Doucet may have a very real shot at joining the big leagues of pro wrestling through a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the cast of World Wrestling Entertainment’s (formerly the WWF) reality show ‘Tough Enough.’ A groundswell of support for Mr. Doucet has erupted through social media, and it would appear that the WWE has taken notice of Mr. Doucet’s audition video for the show– as evidenced by the fact that it was one of a select few that was shared publicly by the company via their official Twitter account.

The 32 year old Moncton native has been plying his trade on the Atlantic independent wrestling scene for the last ten years. After several identity changes and trying out different personas, he seems to have struck a chord with Maritime wrestling audiences as the maniacal bad guy Vegan grappler, Markus Burke. He struts to the ring, glaring at fans located around ringside while proclaiming his superiority over the assembled audience with his trademark mocking cry of “look at you!”  His swagger is more than backed up with his in-ring performances; having learned his craft at the hands of Emile Dupree, the architect of the legendary Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling organization

A mainstay of local promotion, Innovative Hybrid Wrestling (next show at the Moncton Lion’s Club on May 2!), Mr. Doucet has all the tools to become the next in a long line of professional wrestlers from New Brunswick. Leo Burke, The Beast, Killer Karl Krupp and wrestler turned Hollywood actor Robert Maillet always come to the minds of wrestling fans whenever New Brunswick’s place in wrestling history is discussed.  We’re not content with past glory, though, and it appears as though supporters of the violent vegan want to make sure another one of our own makes it to the big time.

Within 48 hours of being uploaded to the internet, Mr. Doucet’s audition video for Tough Enough had almost 10,000 viewers. The hashtag #veganistoughenough has gone viral on Twitter and there’s simply no way that the ‘powers that be’ with World Wrestling Entertainment haven’t taken notice.
When asked about this overwhelming tidal wave of support and the very real chance that a lifelong dream could come to fruition, Mr. Doucet had this to say:

“I almost can't explain into words what it would mean for me to get on WWE Tough Enough. At this moment I have my brothers and sisters from The Maritimes behind me and that alone is success in my eyes.”

“We Maritimers don't get a lot of opportunities; we're hard working, good people - but for some reason fame tends to choose the bigger cities. I'm hoping I can start a trend by inspiring hard working Maritime artists and proving they can reach their goals and be successful in their field.”

“Would it mean the world to me? Yes, of course. It's been my dream since I've been 3 years old but when I look at the big picture, having the support of 4 hard-working provinces, it's an accomplishment in itself.”

How can you not support a guy like that?

When so many of us set our dreams aside for more ‘practical’ pursuits and trade a ‘the sky is the limit’ outlook for a 9 to 5 job, Eric Doucet is trying to grab that brass ring that so many of us wish we had the courage to reach for in our lives.  A much younger Steve Malloy will be living vicariously through the efforts of ‘Markus Burke’ over the next couple of months and I wish Eric Doucet nothing but the best in achieving his dream.

If you wish to support Mr. Doucet in his pursuit to make Tough Enough, a Twitter account is all it takes. You can follow him online @veganwrestler and you can send your tweets to @WWE and with the hashtags #Veganistoughenough and #ToughEnough.

So, could it happen? Could one of our own be starring on the globally seen Tough Enough program this June, and could Markus Burke end up being the newest WWE superstar?

In the words of my favorite wrestler of all time, Randy “Macho Man” Savage , “Oooooh yeah!”

Dig it!

Would You Like Cries With That?

In the midst of all the dreadfully serious stories that made their way to the news last week, a little story about a restaurant that’s a 30 minute drive from my hometown on Cape Breton Island was making some waves of its own.

The management of an upscale seafood restaurant in North Sydney – The Lobster Pound - made a post on the Facebook page for the establishment that read:

“Effective as of now, we will no longer allow small screaming children. We are an adult themed restaurant that caters to those who enjoy food and who are out to enjoy themselves. We understand that this may upset some, but after careful consideration, we believe it’s best for those who enjoy, appreciate and understand our business.”

To say that it “upset some” would be the understatement of the year. Social media was on fire with people posting about this restaurant’s unmitigated gall and how they surely were violating some sort of basic human right. People couldn’t believe that a restaurant would commit “professional suicide” like this and alienate what many people presumed is a large section of the restaurant’s clientele. The outrage rose to a fever pitch when someone broke out the “but what if these children have special needs?” card, ignoring the fact that these children may just be unpleasant and quasi-feral little beasts.

Within hours, the restaurant owner took to social media and apologized for the remark – assuring that he was very sorry for his comments, and  that children would continue to be welcome in his establishment. As a parent of two boys, ages seven and three, I’m incredibly disappointed.

I’m not disappointed with the restaurant owner for saying that screaming children were no longer welcome at his adult-oriented establishment; quite the contrary, actually. I believe he was taking a stand for the best interests of his most loyal patrons who like to enjoy a relaxed, sit-down meal without having someone’s beautiful and unique snowflake doing their best impersonation of Damien from The Omen at the table next to them.

It’s just one more example of how everyone is offended by everything, but the moment someone speaks up about the loutish behavior of one of these chronically offended folks (or their kids), look out. There are far too many people in our society who mistakenly believe the world revolves around them, and when something doesn’t go their way it’s an instant crisis that demands immediate attention.

A perfect example; my wife and I get out together without our kids about as often as Haley’s Comet passes by. When we’re out, we would like to enjoy a quiet adult meal that we can eat with both hands and have time to chew, while actually giving each other our undivided attention and talking about (or trying to talk about) subjects that don’t involve our two boys.  That is, apparently, too much to ask for some people, though, because they would assert that an upscale restaurant is a perfectly normal place take your temperamental 4 year old when he or she feels like having a 45 minute screaming fit. How dare we infringe on someone’s right to infringe on our evening out? How inconsiderate of us to want a little bit of peace and quiet and a short break from our normal responsibilities!

It’s not just restaurants either. I can count multiple times where I have gone to the movies and had someone bring a newborn in to sit in a carrier next to them. It’s almost acceptable if you’re seeing Finding Nemo, but it was a little distracting to have a baby cry through the second half of Django Unchained. I also sat through a live theatre production once with a five year old turned backwards on his chair and staring in my face the entire time while blowing spit bubbles. How charming.

Kids can be awful. You know it and I know it. There is nothing I enjoy more and that I find more rewarding than being a Dad – but sometimes my kids need an exorcism. My wife and I have been brave enough to take them out to places outside of the normal fast food fare,  like Boston Pizza and Montana’s, and we’ve tried to teach them basic table manners and how important it is to be courteous to fellow diners.  We have received compliments on how well behaved and polite they are, but that didn’t stop my three year old from asking a neighboring table if he could have their dessert if they didn’t eat it or my seven year old from lifting his shirt up to his neck at the table to show us a mosquito bite on his nipple.

We all love our kids. The fact of the matter is that not everyone else does. We should have the common sense as adults to realize that there are some places we just shouldn’t take our children, and we shouldn’t guilt trip anyone who reminds us of that fact. Most toddlers don’t belong at a fine dining establishment any more than a 40 year old man belongs at a sweet 16 birthday party.

We, as parents, have made a conscious decision to allow our lives to revolve around these little people, but that doesn’t give us the right to force that on anyone else. We spend so much time teaching our children common courtesy that we sometimes completely forget our own.

The $125,000 Wildcat Question

$125,000

That’s how much Moncton taxpayers paid in order to move a Moncton Wildcats playoff game to Fredericton this past weekend because of a scheduling conflict with the yearly Radical Speed Sport car show at the Moncton Coliseum.  Amazingly, the Speed Sport show has been running for approximately five decades and nobody had the foresight to think that maybe there would be a conflict with Wildcats playoff hockey.

Something is rotten in the city of Moncton, methinks.

Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc stated in an interview that this scheduling debacle is proof positive that the Moncton Coliseum - with its ‘jam packed’ schedule - cannot continue to serve all its clients, and the only way we can solve this problem is to build the oft-discussed new Events Centre (cue harps) downtown .  You know, the one that’s estimated to cost $107 million- paid for with magical funding from our almost broke provincial government!

Yes folks, a city council that recently talked about reducing budgets for municipal services is going to ask a provincial government that angered half its population with recent cuts in their budget for a huge subsidy so we can have a new place for our hockey team to play.

Is this real life?

Am I the only person who sees how insane this is? I will be the first person to say that the Moncton Coliseum isn’t an ideal venue. It’s too hot in the warmer months and the ceiling is too low for some major acts that come through these parts; those are my two major complaints. It does, however, a decent job of hosting the sporadic non-hockey events that are held there and with a few million put toward a new air system and a roofing solution, it’d be a pretty good overall establishment.

It’s like this; I drive a 2007 Hyundai Tucson. It’s a little older, but it’s still in excellent shape. It gets me from point A to point B, and it does an overall good job of it. I occasionally have to put some repairs into it, but it’s a really good, reliable vehicle. Would I love to have a $90,000 Cadillac Escalade with all the bells and whistles? Absolutely, I would – but I simply don’t have the money to do so. Do I go out and borrow a hundred grand from somebody for a new luxury SUV while my wife and I are trying to budget for a much-needed family vacation this summer? No, because I’m not an idiot and I would like to remain happily married.

If you look at the Moncton Coliseum ticketing website, you will see that there is no schedule of events packed to capacity as Mayor LeBlanc would have you believe. You have the Beer Fest, some cheerleading championships, the Speed Sport show, and two concerts by aging bands where tickets are hardly flying off the shelves – and that’s it between now and September! If you can’t schedule events around that smattering of attractions, there’s something seriously wrong.

So, if we’re not using the Coliseum to its full potential, why do we need a new glistening megaplex downtown?  To me that’s the real funny part. There’s all kinds of talk about how this will be a veritable gold mine for the area and a surefire money maker. It will bring all kinds of positive economic spinoff to Moncton and anyone who doesn’t support it is, apparently, crazy.

To that, I have but one question - if it’s a surefire home run, why aren’t successful folks in New Brunswick’s private sector lining up to throw their money at it? I’ll tell you why. It’s because the wealthy don’t get that way by flushing their cash down the toilet. They’re quite calculating and strategic with how they spend their capital and they know a pig in a poke when they see it – and this one reeks of bacon.  Why should they spend their money when we have elected officials lobbying to mitigate the risks of the wealthy and instead go all into risky ventures with public dollars?

It’s all really quite mind-numbing.

The talk of the Events Centre, sadly, has to stop. It’s a pipe dream – at best – in our current financial reality and to use a (highly suspect) scheduling mistake to justify driving a city and province to even deeper levels of debt is preposterous. It’s like something from a bad sitcom.

I’d love to have a new Events Centre; I think we all would.  It would be great to check out some entertainment in a new state-of-the-art facility, but I certainly don’t want my municipal tax dollars or provincial funds that should be going towards stuff like my kids’ education or hospitals being spent on it. The fact that this is even being discussed seriously by our Mayor and council shows an alarming lack of understanding of this city’s priorities and I would sincerely hope that saner heads will prevail.

As much as we want it, we’re not always meant to have that Cadillac in the driveway or Events Centre on Main Street. Sometimes we just have to make do with the 8 year old Hyundai.

Same Old New Brunswick.

The much-awaited New Brunswick Budget came down the pipeline last week. If you ask the current Liberal provincial government, they would tell you that it was a very fair approach to reducing this province’s embarrassing deficit and a step in the right direction toward re-establishing financial stability in a province on the cusp of bankruptcy.

To listen to our government, it’s a road map that should show us that tightening our belts will result in a better life for us all down the road. It’s a budget filled with well thought out decisions and carefully planned cuts that are ensuring that we, as New Brunswickers, are treated fairly across the board and that we’re all expected to contribute equally to getting this province out of its financial quagmire.

Well, except if you’re a child.

Yes, in a province that leads the country in illiteracy rates (at least we’re number one in something), it was deemed necessary to eliminate 249 teaching jobs. Citing declining enrollment in schools - probably because fed-up parents are moving their families out of here – the government explained to us plebes that less students simply equals the need for less teachers. If our education woes could be summed up in a sixth grade math equation, this would be a fine way of looking at things. Sadly, they can’t.

There are far more things to be considered in New Brunswick’s education picture than student/teacher ratios, but the brain trust in Fredericton simply looked at some numbers out of context and slashed one of our most important resources in the fight to improve overall education in this province. Those teachers could be used to assist struggling students in some smaller classes, as well as launching some credible literacy programs that aren’t staffed by largely unqualified volunteers.  We’ll put money into segregating English and French kids on different buses, but we can’t pay teachers to help improve the literacy rates of our children?

I have always largely judged governments on their approach to education and this new Liberal government led by Mr. Brian Gallant has shown me that it couldn’t give a fiddler’s fig about how our kids are being educated now and in the future. It’s an embarrassment.

What’s a little bit of illiteracy among our children when everyone else is treated so fairly in this new budget, right? Oh, sorry – I forgot about those senior citizen folks.  They’re also getting some governmental screws put to them as well.

The previous cap for provincially subsidized nursing home care in this province used to be set at $113 per day. The new budget eliminates that control that was previously in place and more than doubles the maximum to $233 per day – but only towards those who can “afford to pay”. How is that designation arrived at?  Well, any life savings or investments these folks may have had will no longer be considered off limits when calculating an individual’s ability to pay. That meagre inheritance that you may have been saving for your children is now within reach of the government’s clutches and will likely be snapped up to help pay for your required care.

If you managed to stay out of a nursing home, though, don’t think you’ve been forgotten by the folks in Fredericton! There are some nice increases of ‘unspecified amounts’ coming to your Medavie Blue Cross prescription drug plan. If your heart rate increases at this news, you also need to be prepared to pay a previously waived fee of $130 for an ambulance ride to the hospital.

There goes Moncton’s recent ranking as one of the best places to retire in Canada.

Alright, so aside from the kids and the seniors, everyone else is getting a fair shake, right? Perhaps; unless you’re forgetting about those recent post-secondary graduates who were receiving a financial break to stay in New Brunswick after they finished their schooling. That’s being scrapped as well.

There was a $20,000 maximum tuition rebate for graduates who decided to remain in this province after graduation and work in their chosen field. It was a great incentive for young, bright minds not to take their talents westward and stay here to contribute to our economy. Now that the rebate is being scrapped, there isn’t much enticement for these graduates not to ply their trades elsewhere in the country. 

The government felt that the rebate only helped students who were already collecting salaries and did nothing for students trying to enter the workforce in the first place. Well, good news for those new graduates trying to break into the workforce – there will be lots of positions available when people start leaving this province in droves to work elsewhere!

So our kids, our seniors, and new entrants to the skilled workforce have all been hit by this new budget. They left no stone unturned when it came to reaching into our pockets – and just in case we weren’t reeling enough, we got nailed with a new gas tax and people in professions that make between $150,000 and $250,000 a year will see their personal taxes raised by roughly 5%. That should do wonders for the number of doctors and professionals that decide to continue practicing in our province.  Oddly, there were no sweeping changes to big corporate taxation policies.  I’m not surprised.

As a non-native New Brunswicker, these cuts are sheer madness to me. Most people I have talked to, however, have simply resigned themselves to accepting these changes because that’s what the residents of New Brunswick have become used to. You’ve almost come to expect the abuse and the best you can hope for is that it doesn’t leave as big of a bruise when the next blow comes from the people we elected to office.

Masochists:  Be… In This Place.

Soon, they’ll be the only folks able to stand it.