Nice Vice

Today is Camp Day at Tim Hortons in Canada. Which means that the proceeds from sales of coffee is going towards the Tim Hortons Children's Foundation that send underprivileged kids to one of a series of Tim Hortons camps. This incredible program allows for thousands of children to experience the joys and wonder of the camp experience which the rest of us can take for granted.

I love Camp Day, and like McDonald's McHappy Day, I look forward to it every year. You get to do something fun and know that you're helping make a difference.

Isn't it nice when one of your vices can help do something good?

Coffee has long been an important vice in my life. It got really bad when I first graduated from University and had been working two different jobs that mostly took place in the evenings, overnight or on weekends. At the time, I made a very concentrated effort into my writing, putting aside a good 4 to 6 hours each weekday morning to write. I treated it like my job (although I think in 1992 I made a whole $5.00 from my writing. But don't laugh. It was US money, and back in 1992, that was worth almost $8.00 Canadian).

Each morning I brewed a 12 cup pot of coffee which I had usually consumed by about 10 or 11 AM. And if I was on a real roll with the writing, I'd put on another pot and write for a couple more hours. (Gee, no wonder I'm still hyper more than 10 years later -- the coffee is still working its way through my system)

And I'd always had a soft spot in my heart for Tim Hortons; but it wasn't until I visited Hamilton with Francine for the first time that I realized I had walked into Tim Hortons central. We were at my brother-in-law's house in the evening and he asked if anyone wanted a coffee. There were five takers. So I followed him into the kitchen, thinking I would help him brew a pot, but he walked right past the coffee machine and out into the driveway and took off in his car. At first I was worried that the pressure of taking such a large coffee order had unbalanced him -- but Francine assured me he was okay, and, when he returned 15 minutes later with an order of coffees from Tim Hortons, I understood. People in Hamilton don't brew their own coffee at home. Why do that when there's a Tim Hortons around almost every single corner.

The very first Tim Hortons store started in Hamilton in 1964 and offered two single products -- coffee and donuts. (Trivia point here -- Timbits, the popular bite sized donut hole offering, were introduced in 1976) In Hamilton, the original home of Horny Tim's, there are literally intersections in the city that has a Tim Hortons on 3 of the 4 corners. There are some locations where you can stand at one Tim Hortons location and throw a Timbit and actually hit another Tim Hortons location (I've always thought it would make a fun tourist draw for our city if a sport could be made out of it - Call it the Timbit Horton Hopping Challenge. See how long it takes someone to get across the city this way. You're only allowed to move from Tim Hortons location to Tim Hortons location, and can only move to each location if you're able to hit the destination building with a Timbit)

In any case, I'm still quite delighted that I'm able to embrace a vice and know that I'm supporting a worthy cause.

So in that realm, I'd like to propose that we get a group of like-minded people together and petition Frito-Lay, Molson and La-Z-Boy to get together and create a Fat Slobs Day, whereby they make concerted donations for the documented use of their three products together to provide funding for a needy group. That way I can feel good about sitting on the couch eating potato chips and drinking beer.

Just think about the billions of dollars that would be raised.