Rusty.

DISCLAIMER: I know it's been a while since I have written on here. Not that anybody ever reads this, but I wrote something, a column, for the Niagara News (My school paper) which got cut, and rather than "holding" it for another issue, I felt that it would be better if I just published it myself. This was a very personal piece that I wanted to share with my Grandmother, Frances Chindemi, and rather than leave it to someone else to cut it, I felt that discretion was better, and felt the need to blog this item.

I am hoping to do more of this in the near future. I am planning on possibly starting up a new blog with news pieces I do on my own time, and perhaps photos I take for my own personal use.

I am going to try and make everything "Journalism-correct" format wise, so please forgive the formality. Here goes...

By CHRISTOPHER FORTIER
Columnist
Have you ever had a lucid dream?

Recently, I had one so real I awoke in tears.

It involved my maternal grandfather, Oreste “Rusty” Chindemi.

I was given the chance to travel to any point in time for one full year, and I chose to travel back to Jan. 15, 1976, exactly 12 months before I was born.

I took a job at his bar, Rusty’s Steakhouse and Tavern, on King st. in Welland, which is now called Trappers, I believe.

I spent the next year getting to know my grandfather in a way I had in my first 25 years of life, and I was much more appreciative of the chance to get to know him in this way. He taught me a lot of the things in that year he taught me growing up, and every day felt so real that when it came time for me to leave on Jan 15, 1977, My birthday, I explained to him I had to return home, never explaining to him where I was from or who I really was. I looked into his eyes for what would be the last time, He said to me the same thing he did many times in my life.

“I know, son. Just remember to be who you are supposed to be, and not what others want you to be.”

He knew who I was the whole time, and never chose to say anything about it.

I awoke almost immediately. It was 3 a.m. and I was in tears.

Rusty died on Sept. 1, 2002. After suffering a massive stroke two days earlier, he slipped into a coma, and we were told he wasn’t going to make it.

It was one of the hardest times of my life.

Not one day has passed in the eight years since when I haven’t thought about how much I miss him. He was always more than just a grandfather to me. He was like a second father. He was also one of my best friends growing up, and even into my 20s, he was always my first choice to take to a Blue Jays game whenever I got tickets.

My love for baseball and for movies comes from him. The fact that I am as trivia smart as I am comes from the countless hours of watching Jeopardy with him.

There are times that I'll say "I don't care for that," just like him. Because Rusty never hated anything. He simply didn't care for it.

I remember when I was 14. He and I drove down to Florida for two weeks. Just us two boys heading down in a 1989 Chevrolet Corsica to the Sunshine State. I also remember the trip back when I fell asleep, and he took a wrong turn and went almost one-third of the way back to Florida.

He always drove straight through, stopping only for food or gas.
I remember when Nathalie, my ex-wife, and I drove home from Florida on our honeymoon.

We drove straight through in his 2001 Dodge Caravan, which I still drive today, 20 hours, 57 minutes. Rusty was watching over us that day.

I also remember telling my grandmother about driving straight through and her saying

“Jesus Christ, Chris. You’re just like your grandfather.”

It wasn’t meant as a compliment, but I took it as one.

Nothing makes me prouder than when someone says that to me.

I wish that he were still here today.

If I needed advice or someone to talk to, he was the first person I would want to turn to. He was never an academic, but he always seemed to know exactly what to say to motivate me. Maybe it’s all of those years being a bartender that just gave him a sage-like ability to dispense advice.

There have been so many things that he’s missed in the last eight years.

I remember breaking down and crying at my wedding, one year later. I missed him so much, and wished more than anything he was there.

I wish he were around to see the birth of my daughter, Chloe, as well as the births of my niece, Elizabeth, and nephew, Ethan. He’d have been one hell of a great-grandfather.

I wish he’d call me up, like he did every Monday, to come over to take him shopping. We’d go to Pupo’s and Wal-Mart and then, on occasion, take a trip to visit his brothers Rocky or Way, and I would just sit there and smile.

I never felt out of place around him.

His funeral was one of the hardest days of my life. I specifically remember my Aunty Ang consoling me for most of the day.

We were so close that when he died, some people referred to Rusty as my dad. Which was odd, because I was standing next to my father when they’d say that. But it was because we spent so much time together that at least in part, it was true.
I have a great father as it is, and nothing makes me happier then to see that same relationship developing between my father and my daughter, because there’s nothing better than the relationship between a grandfather and their grandchild. I hope one day to experience that from the other side.

I hope I’m making you proud, Grandpa, because I have always tried my best to be who I am supposed to be, and not what others want me to be.

I miss you every day, Rusty.

"Tussle Nerdy To Me": The Only Bragging WWE will do, is about the suckers who bought this!

So, tomorrow night is another in the long line of seemingly endless WWE Pay-per-view events. WWE is presenting the newest "Concept" PPV, called Bragging Rights.



Bragging Rights is supposed to determine once and for all (Or at least until Monday night) Which of WWE's brands are the superior one, Smackdown! or Raw. (Wait, isn't there three brands? I'm sure that ECW should count, but it never does) There are a series of matches within the card that have been made which feature Monday Night Raw Superstars vs. the Superstars of Friday Night Smackdown.

Now, I don't normally order Pay Per Views. I find that their $40 price tag is far too steep for usually the one match that I show any interest in.

Now the Smackdown Vs. Raw matches are not the only ones on the card, the "Main Events" (If you can call them that) feature Title Matches, to which the world has never seen! (Sarcasm Detector at MAX!)

The question before you is this. Is this newest concept PPV one that the fans are going to care about?

The WWE tried something like this in 2001. It was called "InVasion" which featured the then "WWF" versus the WCW/ECW alliance. The PPV was one that I was interested in, but of course like the wrestling biz of the last 8-9 years, it's was an event I found sorely lacking.

Flash forward 8 years, and of course, we see the same sort of scenario, downplayed a great deal, but it's the age-old question since the Roster Split of 2002. Who's the better brand? Raw? Or Smackdown?

The Answer? Who really cares?

It's one of like 20 Pay-Per-Views that the WWE puts on each year.

And the worst part is, is that Vince McMahon and the rest of the WWE elite don't care about anything but the money generated from the WWE-lemmings who are dumb enough to pay for the PPV's, Buy the Shirts, Purchase the DVD's and buy the tickets for the live events for the same main event that you saw last week, and the week before that, and of course, the PPV before that!

The wrestling business hasn't been fresh and inspiring since the Monday Night Wars, and I don't see another renaissance like that in the near future.

So let's look at the card for this "MEGA-EVENT" and see if it inspires me to purchase the PPV, and then get chewed out by my parents for putting $40 on their cable bill without asking....

There are 5 Matches announced for the 3-hr card. We'll start with those of the least importance.

The first match: Raw Divas: Melina, Kelly Kelly and Gail Kim Vs. Smackdown Divas: Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

Ok, now the Divas matches are never interesting to watch for me. I love watching scantily-clad women. Especially large-chested scantily-clad women. But these matches are generally less-than-stellar, and never really have a clear-cut finish. It's just an excuse to get the Divas on-screen. Although, I love Natalya, I will never really care enough about this match to bother giving it my full attention.

Match 2: Intercontinental Champion: John Morrison (Smackdown) vs. United States Champion: The Miz (Raw).

I like these two. I really do. As a team, they had great chemistry. But like the wrestling world usually does, they break up some of the greatest teams for the sake of having them fight each other, thinking that the fans will get off on it. (See: The Rockers, The Hollywood Blondes, The New Age Outlaws, DX, Harlem Heat, the list is endless)

Both wrestlers are pretty good in the ring, Morrison being the better one. And both are good on the Stick (The Mic, for you non-wrestling fans). And the "Dirt Sheet" episode they did on Smackdown 2 weeks ago, calling each other the "Marty Jannetty" of the team was classic, as any Forch Foreign Legion Member knows, I always call the weak link of the team a "Marty Jannetty". This match will be good, but I don't think that enough focus will be placed on it. Look for this one to be the best match on the card.

Match 3: WWE Champion: Randy Orton Vs. John Cena. (Raw Championship Match) To be contested as a 1-hour "Ironman" match contested under "Anything goes" rules.

How many times do I have to see this match?

I hate Orton. He's far too overrated, and irritating. I can't stand him about as much as I can't stand Triple-H. John Cena? He needs to update his gimmick. Both are main-eventers, but to me, not the draw of a Stone Cold, or The Rock or Mick Foley or anyone else who I could believe in. Both of these two are overrated, and need to take a step back for the sake of the business. More Orton than Cena, but still.

The match? It's going to be boring. Most Ironman matches are. Of course, they're going to overbook the match, so that there's a run-in with "Legacy". I am sure that it's going to have Orton dropping the title to Cena, so that he remains on RAW (If he loses, he leaves RAW) and it'll probably be because of some mistake made by a run-in by Ted DiBiase. Teddy, Jr. will get his ass beat on RAW the next night, and it will start his face-run, which seems to be needed to promote his "Blockbuster" direct-to-video movie: The Marine 2. (Did this movie really need a non-related to the original sequel???)

Match 4: World Heavyweight Champion: The Undertaker Vs. C.M. Punk vs. Batista Vs. Rey Mysterio in a Fatal Four Way match for the title.

I always hate these sort of matches, because they always end up the same way, the champ loses the belt, but not getting pinned, then the ex-champ gets mad, and demands a rematch because of it, and it usually ends up with a Triple-Threat match to follow, and then of course some gimmick match to finally settle the score, and nothing ever, ever gets settled.

I am a fan of all four of the combatants, me being the C.M. Punk fan more, I would love to see him with the belt, especially with his heel run in full-stride, he makes a great champion in my opinion, because he's not really a bad guy, but because he preaches his "Straightedge Lifestyle" in the manner that he does, he comes off really dickish, and of course the fans hate him! He's a great heel.

'Taker and Batista are really past their prime, and both injury prone, so keeping the belt around them is a mistake. I feel that Mysterio deserves another shot with the strap, but you know McMahon, he's not going to put it around him long, if at all, because McMahon always favors the big guys.

I see Punk walking out with the belt. But don't hold me to it.

Match 5: The Smackdown Vs. Raw 14-Man tag team match.

Team Raw: Co-Captains: DX (Shawn Michaels and Triple H), The Big Show, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston

Team Smackdown: Co-Captains: Chris Jericho and Kane, plus: R-Truth, Finlay, The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd) and Matt Hardy.

Of course with that much humanity in the ring, you know that there's not going to be a clean-cut finish. It's one pinfall to a finish, which means that the finish itself will either be a screwjob (Where one of the team members betray their team) or you'll see the ring clear out with a brawl outside, leaving two members in the ring and the ref'll get distracted, and a weapon will be used to score the pin.

You know if there's a clear victory, that it will involve a pinfall by either Michaels or Triple H.

It's going to be an interesting match to say the least. Why do I say that? Because it'll be interesting to see how the WWE actually makes this match look original and fresh.

The match itself should really be saved for the next PPV, which is Survivor Series, that would make more sense, and then make the match contested under traditional Survivor Series rules. But you know that the screwjob that occurs, is only what is going to lead the series of events to the next PPV.

My prediction? Since the current Tag Team champs are on opposing teams, I see one of them (Most likely Big Show) betraying their respective team, and causing the win for the opposite team.

So I see Smackdown winning, because they're the lesser brand, however, the WWE needs to make them seem like a viable option, and not bury the superstars on the Smackdown Roster, so they'll win, even though the fans know that Raw had the better team, and the rivalry will continue...

So the event will end, and absolutely nothing will get settled, and you'll be out $40, that you could have used to put gas in your car. You'll kick yourself in the morning, because quite frankly, when was the last time the WWE put on a PPV worth buying?

I certainly can't remember...

"TARDIS Nerdy To Me" Stairs??? In the Console Room???

I guess that you can call this one "TARDIS Nerdy To Me"...

The boys at denofgeek.com have done it again! Today, they posted photos of the new TARDIS interior, or at least a small tease of the TARDIS interior.

Looks like we're going to see some stairs in the console room!

I'm starting to get a little fearful of the changes in store for Steven Moffat's new Doctor.

I've been dreading the end of the David Tennant Era, and I have tried to remain optimistic for the Matt Smith era, but I keep seeing some of the changes that are happening, and I am afraid.

The new outfit looks too emo-preppy. Matt Smith seems a little too young to play the Doctor, and the saving grace is that my favorite writer of the series is taking the helm.

Am I being a little too worried about the show? Or do I have a right to dread the unknown that is going to be upon us???

I have no idea, but I sure hope that my fears are not realized.