24 April 2010

Leading a Horse to Water

I've been blogging since 2006. Yeah, I know... where has the time gone?

Considering how pressed for time everyone is these days - myself included, I've somehow managed to come up with over 60,000 words of content in 132 posts, spread over 2 blogs.

The topic of conversation typically centers around marketing, or with some sort of a marketing flavour. But, sometimes it's just for fun.

When writing about marketing, I don't hold back any information - while trying to explain a concept or process I try to be as descriptive as possible without writing a novel. It's important not to be superfluous, it's a blog after all and brevity is key. The KISS principle is applicable in nearly every situation, rocket surgery excluded.

With over 20 years experience, I think I've got a lot to share. And, share I do. In fact, much of what's posted is advice that customers typically pay for... and I'm giving it away here for free! No loss-leaders here folks, it's all laid out here for you to read and hopefully implement in your own business. The writing is not technical by any stretch, it's in plain speak and I try to include examples where I can.

Here are a few of the marketing posts that I think are key reading if you are looking to make improvements on your marketing:

  • Your Brand Motto, perhaps the most important of all is to understand your brand.
  • Meeting Expectations is so important in creating your brand.
  • Understanding the importance of Branding, in general terms.
  • Everyone wants to know what Works in marketing.
  • Creating a memorable Brand Experience for your company.
  • Do you even know what your biggest Asset is?

Now, these are just a sampling of some posts I've written over the past 4 years, take from them what you will. But, know that they are there for the reading, they're free and what you do with the information is up to you.

Labels: , ,

10 April 2010

Funny Band Names

I have always been a fan of funny band names; clever, abstract, obscure, descriptive, political, obscene or juvenile - I like'm all.

For years I have searched for the perfect name for my retirement band - that's right folks, when I finally retire from marketing, I am forming a rock band. And, coming from a marketing background, I can assure you that naming is very important when forming a new brand or band... same thing.

Today, I found this list of band names on the interweb and wanted to share it with you, as there are some great names on this list.


A
A Band Named Bob
A Box of Fish with Tartar Sauce
A Boy Named Gomer
A Cat Born In An Oven Isn't A Cake
Above Average Weight Band
Abracadaver
Abstract Penis Brigade
Actual Size
Adickdid
Adios Pantalones
Admiral Poopy Pants and His Dancing Teeth
Adult Children of Heterosexuals
Adventures in Shrubbery
The Advil Monkey
Aerosol Methods
Afghanistan Banana Stand
Afraid Of Figs
Afrodiziac
Agnes Morehead
Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast
The Al Roker Death Cult Wind Ensemble
Al's Heimers
Albino Toilet Boys
Alcoholocaust
Alien Ant Farm
Alien Nymphos from Uranus
The Alien Puppets
Alien Sex Fiend
All You Can Eat
Almighty Lumberjacks of Death
The Amazing Embarrasonic Human Karaoke Machine
Amish Meth Lab
Amputatoe
Amputease
The Anally Devoted Husbands
Anal Speech Therapy
An Emotional Fish
Angry Amputees
Angry Salad
Angry Samoans
Anus the Menace
Apocolypse Hoboken
Are These My Pants?
Armed and Hammered
Armpit
Army of Prawns
The Arrogant Worms
Arthur Loves Plastic
Ashtray Boy
The Atomic Bitchwax
Automatic Daffodils
Attila The Stockbroker
Avenging Lawnmowers of Justice
Ayatollah Mama Please
B
Badical Turbo Radness
The Bad Livers
Bad Mutha Goose
Bad Tequila Experience
Baldilocks
Ball Point Banana
Baloney Ponys
Bananafishbones
The Band Formerly Known As Sausage
Band Over
Band That Shot Liberty Valence
Barbie Bones
Barefoot Hockey Goalie
Barenaked Ladies
Barf
Barnyard Slut
Barry White Boys
Barstool Prophets
Bassholes
BBQ Platypus
Bearded Itchy Lover
Beats the Hell Out of Me
Beatnik Termites
Beef Masters
Beerbellied Scum From Central Bucks County
The Bendy Monsters
Ben Dover and the Screamers
Ben Wa and the Blue Balls
Bernie the Trailer Park Queen and the Deadbeat Dads
Bertha's Mule
Betty Ford
Betty's Not a Vitamin
Beverley Beer Bellies
Biff Hitler and the Violent Mood Swings
Big Ass Truck
Big Balls and the Great White Idiot
Big Dead Fish
Big Fat Pet Clams From Outer Space
Big Fish Ensemble
Big Head Cat
Big White Undies
The Biggest Freak in New Jersey
Bimbo Toolshed
Bionic Roomate
The Bisquit Tits
Bitter Enemies/Butter Enemas
Bizzare Czars
Bjorn Again
Black Moth Super Rainbow
Bleeding Rectum
Bloated Scrotum
Bloated Tick
Blood Sledge Electric Death Chickens
Bloody Stools
Blueballs Deluxe
Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits
Body Falling Down Stairs
Boiled Angel
Bondage A Go Go
Bonerama
Bongo Sherbet and the Electrified Yeti Wobblers
Bongzilla
Bordering On Retarded
Boris the Sprinkler
The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir
BowWowWowHaus
Brady Bunch Lawnmower Massacre
Brad Pitt Live and Nude
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Britney Spearchuckers
Broadzilla
Brutal Juice
Brutal Noodle
Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys
Bullwinkel Gandhi
Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters
Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellas
Bulimia Banquet
The Bumpin' Uglies
Burger Pimp
Bus Station Loonies
Busted Rubbers
Buster Hymen & the Penetrators
Butt Trumpett
Butthole Surfers
C
The Callous Taoboys
Caltransvestites
Candy Striper Death Orgy
Cap'n Crunch and the Cereal Killers
Captain Cardiac and the Coronaries
Captain Drinking Binge
Cardiac Zach and the Defibulators
Carter the Unstoppable Sexmachine
Caucasian Invasion
Chain Smokin' Alter Boys
The Charging Tyrannosaurus of Despair
Cherry Coke Enema
Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Chia Pet
The Chicken Charmers
Chickens On Smack
Chief Brody & the Bigger Boat
Children of the Vending Machine
Chocolate Bunnies From Hell
Chocolate Watchband
Clive Pig and the Hopeful Chinamen
Cobaine's Brains
Colon On The Cob
Colostomy Grab-Bag
Compulsive Gamblers
Concrete Octopus
Cookie Mould and the Smegmettes
The Couch Slugs
The Crab Cometh Forth
Crappy the Clown and the Punch Drunk Monkies
Crazy Taco Cafeteria
Crazy Uncle Larry and his Troupe of Molotov Cocktail Jugglers
Crispy Ambulance
Crocheted Doughnut Ring
Crosseyed Chicken
Cultivated Bimbo
The Cunning Runts
Curious George and the Homophobes
Curl Up And Die
Cycle Sluts From Hell
D
Dairy Queen Empire
Dali's Car
Damn the Bad Luck
Dancing Cigarettes
The Dancing French Liberals of 1848
Danger Wank
David Devant & His Spirit Wife
Dead Fish Prophecy
Dead Kennedys
Dead Milkmen
The Dead Pants (Die Toten Hosen)
Debbie Harry's Armpit Crew
Deepthroat Shotgun
Dick Cheese and the Crackers
Dick Davis and the Dicktones
Dick Delicious and the Tasty Testicles
Dick Donkeys Dawn
Dick Duck and the Dorks
Dick Nibbler's All-star Weenie Roast
The Dick Nixons
Dicky Retardo
Dicks on Fire
Did Lee Squat?
Diesel Dick and the Dipsticks
Dirt Clod Fight
Disgruntled Postal Workers
Dog Food Five
Dogs With Jobs
Domino's Delivery Boyz
Don Knotts Overdrive
Doris Daze
Doug and the Slugs
Dow Jones and the Industrials
Downy Mildew
Dracula Milk Toast
Drag King
Dragmules
Draw Your Own Cow
Dreaded Apparatus
Drew Barrymore's Dealer
Drive By Crucifixion
Drive-In Funeral
Drunks With Guns
Drunken Ugly Basement Brothers
Duckbutter
Dukes of Hazardous Material
Dumpster Juice
E
e. coli
Earthpig and Fire
Ear Wacks
Edith Head
Ed Gein's Car
Ed's Redeeming Qualities
Elastic Sausage
Electric Al and the Poison Dart Frog McNuggets
Electric Blue Peggy Sue and the Revolutionions from Mars
Elegant Doormats
Elizabeth Taylor's Husbands
The Elvis Diet
Endangered Feces
Epileptic Disco
Ethyl Merman
Everpresent Fullness
Eve's Plumb
Evil Beaver
The Evil Elvii
Evil Weiner
Experimental BBQ
Exploding Boy
Exploding Head Trick
Exploding White Mice
F
Fabulous Amputators
Fabulous Pimps
Fangboy and the Ghouls
The Farting Ghosts
The Fartz
The Fat Chick from Wilson Phillips
Fat Luv
Fat Welfare Moms On Dust
The F.C.C(The Flying Cunts of Chaos)
Fearless Iranians From Hell
The Fierce Nipples
The Fifty Foot Hose
50 Naked Midgets
Fire on Your Sleeve
Five Fat Guys Who Rock
Fix My Head
The Flaming Donuts of Jesus
Flaming Box of Ants
Flaming Lips
Flamin' Schnanuses
Flavor of Uranus
Flogging Molly
Flopping Bodybags
Flying Dustbunnies
Flying Elmo's
Four Honkies In a Big Black Car
Four Nurses of the Apocalypse
Four Out of Five Doctors
The Fred Mertz Experience
Freda Fuselage And The Wingwalkers
Free Beer
Free Beer and Chicken
Free Range Chicken
The French are from Hell
Freud Chicken
Frogs Don't Cry
Fromage d'Amour
Frosted Suede
Frumious Bandersnatch
Full Throttle Aristotle
Full Metal Chicken
Funky Green Dogs From Outer Space
Furious George
G
GangGreen
Gangway Fathead
Garbage
Gaye Bikers on Acid
The Gaza Strippers
Gee That's A Large Beetle I Wonder If It's Poisonous
Gefilte Joe and the Fish
Gelvis Pressly
Genitorturers
Get Reality Over With. Take Hallucinogens (G.R.O.W.T.H)
Girl Scout Handgrenade
The Glands of External Secretion
Global Disrobal
God's Girlfriend
Goldfish Don't Bounce
The Go Kill Yourselves
Go Nad Go
Gonoreagan
Gonnorhea Pizzaria
Grand Master Ass-Blaster and the Pimp-Slap Crew
Gravity Ass
Grim Skunk
Gregg Turner and the Blood Drained Cows
Gringo Star
The Grilled Cheeze Fiasco
Guess My Perversion
Guitarantula
Guns N' Wankers
Gut Full of Cheese
Guyana Koolaid
H
Habitual Sex Offenders
The Hair & Skin Trading Co.
Haircuts That Kill
Hakan Sleeps Naked
Half Man, Half Biscuit
Halibutt Sharon
Halo of Flies
Hamster Sandwich
Han Solo and the Chewbaccas
The Happiest Guys In the World
Hard-drinkin' Housewives
Harry Palms and the Gym Towels
Headlice of Doom
Head Like a Hole?
Heavy Pink Insulator
Heavy Vegetable
Hefty Pink Labia Lips
Helen Keller Plaid
Helicopter Barfs
Hell Toupee
Hellacopter Meat
Hello I'm A Truck
Henry Kissinger's Tits
Here, Eat This!
Her Majesty the Baby
Herpes Cineplex
He's Dead Jim
Heterophobia
Heywood Trout Festival
Hindu Garage Sale
Hitler Stole My Potato
Hitler's Missing Testicle
Hockey Teeth
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of Death
Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers
Holy Mary, Mother of Bert
Homer and the Sexuals
Hornets Attack Victor Mature
The Hostile Amish
Hot Buttered Aspirin
Hot Rod Shopping Cart
House of Large Sizes
The Hurling Tandooris
I
I Buried Paul
I Got Shot By Dick Cheney
I Love My Shih-Tzu
Ice Cream Headache
Icky Boyfriends
Identity Crisis
If Cows Had Wings
If Pigs Could Talk Would You Still Eat Them
Immaculate Infection
Impotent Seasnakes
Individual Fruit Pie
Infected Mushroom
The Inflatable Boy Clams
Inflatable Dates
Inflatable Party Sheep
The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac
Interspecies Love Child
The Introspective Playboy
Invisible Flintstones
Iowa Beef Experience
Iron Liver
Iron Prostate
Italians Obsessed with Cheese
IWRESTLEDABEARONCE
J
Jabbering Trout
Jason's Cat Died
Jason's Gay Haircut
Jazz Iguanas
The Jean Paul Sartre Experience
Jehovah's Waitresses
Jehovah’s Witness Protection Program
Jerry's Kids
Jesus Christ and the Nailknockers
Jesus Christ Super Fly
Jesus Chrysler Supercar
Jiggle the Handle
Jif and the Choosy Mothers
Jim Jones and the Kool Aid Kids
Joan of Arkansas
Jodie Foster's Army
Joe Buck Yourself
Joe Puke and the Chunky Bits
John Cougar Concentration Camp
John Denver's Co-Pilot
John Holmes: Cucumber Smuggler
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
Johnny Uterus and the Fallopian Tubes
Jolly Naked Fishermen
Jonestown Punch
Juggling Death Squad
Junior High Burnout
Just Plain Cheese
K
Kamakazi Sex Pilots
Karl Maldens Nose
Kathleen Turner Overdrive
Kenfunky Fried
Kerrigan's Knees
The Kids Who Never Learned To Color Inside the Lines
The Killer Hayseeds
Killer Kiwis
Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jew Boys
Kinky Slinky
Kiss My Poodles Donkey
The Kitshickers
Knee Deep Shag
Kung Foo Dykes
Kung Fu Action Clergy Persons
K.Y. and the Backsliders
L
Lance Armstrong and the One Ballers
Lavay Smith and The Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Lawnsmell
Leonard Skinhead
The Leave It To Beaver Conehead Immolation
Lee Harvey Keitel
Lee Press-On and the Nails
Lesbian Dopeheads on Mopeds
Lick, the Dog
Limp Wrist
Lip Smacking Kitten Lunch
Lord Panic and the Exploders
Lorne Greene's Wet Nipple
Lost Underpants of Doom
Lothar and the Hand People
Lubricated Goat
The Luminous Toilet Bowls
Lung Mustard
The Lust Penguins
Luxury Christ
Lyin' Bitch and the Restraining Orders
M
Maggot Sandwich
Man...or Astro-Man?
Manson-Nixon Line
Mao Tse Helen
Mary Carves the Chicken
Mary Kay and the Cosmetics
Mary Tyler Morphine
Mayhem Lettuce
McAlbert Fish Sandwich
Me and Sir Octagon
Meat Puppets
Mechanical Tampon Fish
Mega Smegma
Melissa's House of Crabs
Men Among Poodles
Men With Issuses
Mermaids In the Basement
Microwavable Tree Frogs
Mill Valley Taters
Minnie Pearl Necklace
Minnie Pearl's Jam
The Minstrel Cramps
Mr. Holland's Anus
Mr. Quintron and the Flossy Unicorn Puppet Show
Mr. Tasty and the Bread Healers
Mr. T Experience
Mogen David and the Grapes of Wrath
Moist Fist
The Morbid Tavern Apple Choir
More Drunk Cowboys
The Morning Shakes
The Most Sordid Pies
Mother Theresa's Children [Moder Theresas Barn]
Mother Tucker's Yellow Duck
Mouse and the Traps
The Muscular Lesbians
Mussolini Headkick
Mustard Plug
My Dog Has Hitler's Brain
My Friend the Chocolate Cake
My Other Car is Even Crappier
My Three Scum
My White Bread Mom
Myth America
N
Naked Potato
Naked David Hasselhoff
Nascar Fanatics
Natural Fonzie
Naugahyde Chihuahuas
Navigators Of Carrots
Nearly Died Laughing While Shaving My Butt
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
New Squids on the Dock
Nip Drivers
The Nipple Erectors
No Pants Bandits
No Way Sis (Oasis tribute band)
Nocturnal Emissions
Nomad Nipples
Noodle Muffin and the Pig Squints
Norman Bates and the Shower Heads
Not Drowning, Waving
Not Now I'm Naked
Not With My Camel
Nurse With Wound
Nuts Can Surf
O
Oedipussy
Old Bathtub Hag
Old Lady Driver
Once I Killed a Gopher With a Stick
The Only Alternative and His Other Possibilities
Operation Cliff Claven
The Orange Jews
Orange Juice After Toothpaste
Organic Condom Mazda Drugs

Our Manager Told Us That Our Band Name Was Too Long and Difficult to Remember and That We Had to Change it So After a Long Brainstorming Session We Came Up With This One Because All the Other Ones Sucked

Outer Body Llama
Out of Godzilla's Butt
Out Vile Jelly
Ovarian Trolley
Ozzy Beard Spaghetti
P
Pabst Smear
Painful Rectal Itch
Paisley Brain Cells
Paul Minor's Great Big Ego
Paul Will Eat Himself
Peace Love and Pitbulls
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
Pearl Harbor and the Explosions
People With Chairs Up Their Noses
Pepto Dismal
Peter and the Test Tube Babies
Phenobarbidols
Phil McAvity and his Gerbils
Philemon Arthur and the Dung
Phlegm Fatale
Phone Bill from Hell
Picadilly Circus People
Pieces of Lisa
Pimps of Venus
Pink Slip Daddy
Pissed Off Postmen
Planet of Pants
Plastic Nude Martini
Playdough Fish
Plump Harriet
Poo On A Stick
Poop Shovel
Popemobile
Pontius CoPilot
Pork Queen
Porn on the Cob
Porn Flakes
Pornhuskers
Possum Juice
Post Nasal Drip
Poultry in Motion
Pregnant Men
Pretentious Flamedogs
Printed At Bismarck's Death
Professor Morrison's Lollipop
Psychic Buddist Gorillas
Psycho Sluts from Hell
Public Enema
Pure Bastard Extract
Purple Earthquake
Q
Quasimodo and the Eunuchs
Queer Wookie
Question Mark & the Mysterians
R
Rainbow Butt Monkeys
The Rampant Hedgehogs
Rats of Unusual Size
Rebel Without Applause
Rectal Exam
Red Neck Girlfriend
Reluctant Stereotypes
REO Speed Dealer
The Revolting Cocks
Rhythm Method
Rodney King and the Nightsticks
Rolling Blackouts
Rolling Donut
Ronnie James Deoderant
Root Boy Slim and the Sex-Change Band with The Rootettes
Royal Flush and the Jacks of All Trades
Rubber Nipple Salesmen
Rudimentary Peni
Rugburns
Rumplforskin
The Runz
Ryan Retardondo and the Get Down Syndrome
S
Sadista Sisters
Sandy Duncan's Eye
Satan’s Cheerleaders
Saturated Fat
Saturday's Garbage
Saturn's Flea Collar
Science Diet
Scary Chicken
Screaming Brocolli
The Screaming Hormones
Screaming Moist Accountants
Scrotum Pole
Semi Digested Curtain Rail
Sensitive New Age Cowpersons
74 Megs of Ryan
Severe Tire Damage
Sex Clark Five
Skankin' Pickle
Sharon Stoned
She Stole My Beer
Shirley Temple of Doom
Shirley Temple Pilots
Shoot the Mime
Shorty and the Disappointments
The Shower Scene from Psycho
Sinus Envy
Sissy Boy Slap Party
Sister Run Naked
Six Organs of Admittance
Skadelic Smegma
Skanorrhea and the Burning Sensations
Skunk Death
Sloppy Seconds
The Slutty Nunz
Sluts for Hire
Sly and the Family Jewels
Smegma & the Nuns
Smelly Tongues
Smorgasborgnine
Snotty Scotty and the Hankies
Sodom & Gomorrah Liberation Front
Sofa Kingdom
Some Random Band
Son Of Sam Walton
Soothing Sounds For Baby
Sorry About Your Daughter
The Sound of Animals Fighting
Soup Dragons
Sour Puppet
Space Hog
Spaceman Bill and the Groovy Gravy
Sparky the Lizard Hermaphrodite
Spastic Colon
The Spastic Rats
Special Ed and the Short Bus
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Stark Naked and the Car Thieves
Stiff Dead Cat
Stiff Richards
Stinky Binky
Stinky Fire Engine
String Cheese Incident
St. Mucous
Stockhausen and Walkman
Stop Calling Me Frank
Stop Lookin' and Buy It
Straight Jacket Lucy
Stud McCoy and the Creemy Twinkies
Stukas Over Bedrock
Stupid White People
Suicide Ninjitsu Penguin Assassin Squad
Suicide Shrimp Fiasco
Super Sonic Soul Pimps
The Surf Maggots
Susanne and the Guys With Ties
Swearing at Motorists
Sweaty Bum Chunks
Sweaty Nipples
Swingin' Udders
T
Tastes Like Chicken
The Technochocolates
Technosquid Eats Parliament
Ted Bundy's Volkswagen
Ted Ed Fred
Temporary Darkening of the Stool
Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs
Test Icicles
Testostertones
Thank God We're Immortal
The Baby Won't Eat His Corn Dog
The Quilted-Quicker-Picker-Upper, Bounty!
They Might Be Giants
They Tried To Frame OJ
They Were Expendable
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb
This Is Serious, Mum
Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
350,000 Crazed and Fully Africanized "Welcome to Disneyworld" Bees
Tickle Me Pink
Titty Bingo
To Live and Shave in LA
Toiling Midgets
Tonto's Expanding Headband
Too Fat to Skate
Tooth Fuzz
Toxic Shock and the Tampons
Toys That Kill
Tracy & the Hindenburg Ground Crew
Trailer Park Casanovas
Transatlantic Chicken Wicken No. 5
Traveling Dingleberries
Trench Coat Yuppies
Trotsky Icepick
Trout Fishing In America
Tupperware Death
Turkey Makes Me Sleepy
22 Toxic Chemicals
20,000 Leaks Under The Sink
Two Cow Garage
Two For Flinching
Two Minute Sinatra
2000 Flushes
U
UFOFU
Ugly Head
Ultimate Spinach
Umbrella Full of Semen
Unidentified Rocking Objects
Uncle Bob Touched Me
Underpants Machine
The Urinals
Urine Specimen
Usless ID
V
Van Gogh's Ear
The Vast Void of Empty Nothingness
Vegetarian Meat
Venus and the Razor Blades
Vermin from Venus
The Veronica Cartwrights
Vic Morrow's Head
Vic Vaccume and the Attachments
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black
Vomit Launch
W
Waffles Against AIDS
Was I Naked
We Go To 11
We The Peephole
The Well Hungarians
Well Strung
Wendy and Her Menstrual Cycles
What Made Milwaukee Famous
When People Were Shorter and Lived By the Water
Where's The Pope?
The Whip-M-Out Girl's
White People Lie
White Trash Debutantes
Whorehouse of Representatives
Who The Hell Are You?
Willie Nelson Mandela
The Wizards of Twiddly
Woke Up Falling
Wonderbred, the Refined White Flour Children
Wrecked ‘Em
The Wrench Twisting Streetlickers
Wynona Ryders
Y
The Yams from Outer Space
The Yeasty Girls
Yellow Snow
The Young and the Uselsess
You Need A Spanking
Your Damn Neighbors
Your Naked Mother
Z
Zombies Under Stress
Zombina & The Skeletones
Zorro and the Blue Footballs
Zsa Zsa
Zulu Leprechauns


Luckily, the name I came up with for my retirement band isn't listed above, so there is still some hope for The Great White Ball Heirs - watch for us at a retirement villa near you... in a few years.

***This list of band names was made possible by copy and paste. To view the original posting, visit this site. I thought you might like to see it without ads though.

Labels: , ,

02 April 2010

My Fair City

Just when we start thinking about what a busy and uncaring city Calgary has become, we are met with a rapid response and helpful strangers.

Yesterday, my son Parker was hit by an SUV on the McKenzie Towne traffic circle... just blocks from our home.

He's OK everyone... his bike is toast, but his body is fine... just a couple of bumps and bruises - he got off lucky.

I don't know much about the woman that hit him, only that we got her information and she's been cooperateive... so, I can't comment on if she was helpful or not, or even how helpful I would've been if I had been in her situation - hitting a kid on a bike is probably one of the worst things that can happen behind the wheel. And, I'm sure that she was pretty shaken up herself, I know I would've been. Her actions or reactions are not what this is about though.

I'm referring to the help that was given to my son at the scene and following by complete strangers.

My son was crossing the traffic circle when this happened - he was on his bike and was not wearing a helmet (one of the few times that he didn't put it on). Despite our efforts in teaching him the proper bicycle etiquette, he, like most kids don't dismount prior to crossing.

He waited for the cars to stop, then proceeded to cross the road, he passed the first vehicle but the second vehicle, an SUV, perhaps didn't see him and accelerated, hitting my son and running over his bike.

Traffic stopped immediately in both lanes, blocking the intersection for several minutes, much to the dismay and aggravation of drivers behind the accident. What happened next made me realize that there were still some caring people left in our city.

So, I would like to thank the witness, a man in the vehicle beside the one that hit my son, for stopping and helping sort things out. Many other people would've just driven by, and I'm sure of that based on the fact that my son reported people behind the accident honking in frustration as this accident held them up from things for a few minutes... a disrupted commute is something to be angry about, I guess.

This stranger got out of his car, checked on my son, retrieved his bike from under the SUV that hit him, gathered the details of the driver that hit my son, silenced the honking horns behind him and provided his information to my son as a witness. A heads up move on all fronts and makes me wonder what would have happened without his involvement and help.

The help from this stranger alone, gives us all hope that there are still some thoughtful and caring individuals out there.

We took Parker to the clinic last night, and he checked out fine, just some bumps and bruises. Like I said, he got very lucky.

Also, today, we contacted the police to make the formal report... the police station was closed for Good Friday, so we phoned with a non-emergency call, within 15 minutes there was a knock at the door and within minutes, a policeman was taking down our information and statement. This was also encouraging because our expectation was that we wouldn't hear from them until much, much later and likely in the middle of the dinner hour. Not that we think the police service is slow, it's just a realistic outlook based on the fact that today is a holiday and it was not a priority call in the scheme of things.

I guess it sometimes takes an unfortunate event like this to see the true colours of people, and from what I saw, I'm impressed.

So, kudos to the stranger for putting others (namely my son) ahead of himself and to the Calgary Police for their quick response and help with the process.

And, to my son - wear your damn helmet!

Labels: , , , , ,