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On a recent morning, while biking down Garner for an early class, I was hit suddenly with the warm smell of cinnamon and fresh baking wafting through the air. It took me a second to register what I was smelling, but then I realized I had just passed Bennett's Apples, the family-owned market and bakery less than a kilometre down the road from Redeemer.

It has undeniably become a hallmark of the changing season. Starting sometime in late August, weekends in Southern Ontario are suddenly fragrant with the smell of manure; stars are dulled next to the lights of The Avalanche; and Grade 4 classes are painstakingly crafting turkeys out of construction paper. It is once again that time of year when agricultural fairs begin cropping up in nearly every small to midsized town in the province.

If you visit Dr. Mary Ashunʼs website you will see the proverb “It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep for life.” According to her grandma, this proverb means that a short and eventful life, filled with courage to seize the day is better than many days spent being timid and waiting for great things to happen to you. This proverb aptly describes Dr. Ashunʼs approach to life. From teaching education students at Redeemer, to writing childrenʼs books, to building a school in Ghana, Dr. Ashun gives each of her projects her full attention.

On April 26, 2010 there was an open forum held near McMaster University regarding the proposed Airport Employment Growth District (AEGD) or "aerotropolis" across the street from Redeemer. A panel of stakeholders were present to inform those in attendance about the proposal. Seated on the panel were the president and CEO of Hamilton airport, a former city councilor and Hamilton Progressive Development representatives.

Sunday morning I met with my weekly running group and we started off on our usual looped path. A few kilometres in, one of the guys said, “Let’s turn here, we’re going down Whitney Avenue today in honour of Whitney Houston.” I was a bit puzzled, not by the new route but more by whomever this Whitney Houston character happened to be. I have to admit, I first thought he was talking about a local running friend or an old relative.

It is time to step back and rewind to the beginning. The beginning of a name, a name that has a story and a story that has names. That name is Steeltown and its beginnings are right here in Hamilton.

Well, not entirely.

I have to be honest: probably the best video I’ve seen all week is a parody of LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem: North Korea Edition. It features Kim Jong ll performing some of his best dance moves yet. If you haven’t seen it, you should head to a computer and watch it with your friends as soon as is humanly possible. It’s priceless. Whenever the fearless leader bellows the call for his people to “Party rock” or stoically declares “Every day I’m shufflin,” I pretty much lose it. “Ain't no party like a  Pyongyang party!” Classic satire.