Radiothon

Today Candi and I volunteered at the  Calgary Dream Centre Radiothon 2008.   ENMAX volunteers manned the phones and entered the information into the computers (that's what I did).   I must say that I was very impressed with this place.   Its an old hotel that they converted into a place that assists homeless men who have fallen on hard times.   Their  mission is to help them take that last step from street life to productive living.  Programs offer hope, recovery, and transformation to men who want to reclaim their lives and make real change.  


I must admit that it wasn't anything like I was expecting.  After volunteering many years at feeding the homeless and different places I expected a place like that.   Shabby and with a distinct odor.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  This was like a nice hotel.  You couldn't tell who were the residents and who were the volunteers.   Christ is part of the program and I think that's what makes the difference.   My hat goes off to Jim and the others for their great work.   They are making a difference in the world - 120 men at a time.

What did I see? - Solved - maybe

I think I figured out what I saw (with Jamie's help)

I zoomed on the picture and you really can see a shape.   But it does make me laugh.  Its like the pictures that people post of aliens and ufo's and sasquatches or that you see on the cover of the newpapers in the checkout at the grocery store.  There is something in the picture but it really could be anything.   If I was interviewed on TV I feel like I would have to grow a mullet, stand in front of a mobile home, get some some of those billy bob teeth and talk real slow with a southern accent (no offense to those of you who I just described).  "and then I saw the creature run toward the woodpile behind Aunt Mabel's pickup truck......

If you squint and tilt your head it appears in 3D

To be perfectly honest with you at first I thought it was a rat.   That would be serious business because the province of Alberta has been rat free for over 50 years.   With the exception of the Arctic and the Antarctic, Alberta is the largest rat free zone in the world.   Most people around here have never seen a rat unless they have traveled.   I have seen rats on my mission in Japan - we actually had some in one apartment.   This "creature" was about the size of a rat and it moved like a rat but as I got a bit closer, the tail didn't seem right - it was too fat.   

It was Jamie who figured it out.   I'm pretty sure I saw one of these.

the common muskrat

What do you think?   Notice the fatter tail.  If you look at the reflection in the picture above it looks like my picture - if you squint and turn you head).

Mystery Solved!