Man on oxygen tank dies after explosion

I really don't understand how a man who is already on an oxygen tank because of emphysema decided it was wise to light up a cigarette in front of his highly explosive tank? It is terribly sad that the man died, but I sat with my mouth open that someone could be so reckless.

Man on oxygen tank dies after explosion
Was smoking in his apartment Police say victim pulled fire alarm
Dec. 30, 2005. 05:19 AM
LOUIE ROSELLA
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE

A 57-year-old Mississauga man was killed yesterday morning after the oxygen tank he was hooked up to in his Bloor St. apartment ignited and exploded while he smoked a cigarette.
The victim, David Grightmire, was hooked up to the oxygen tank because he had emphysema, said his younger sister Margaret Fitzgerald, who lived with her brother along with another sister, Betty Williams.

Neither Fitzgerald nor Williams was home at the time of the explosion.

Mississauga fire officials are still investigating the exact cause of the blast.

An autopsy yesterday revealed Grightmire, a father of one son, died from lung failure. Peel Region police said Grightmire managed to pull the fire alarm after the explosion, alerting tenants to evacuate the building.

"Even when he was dying, he was thinking about saving other people," said Fitzgerald. "He was a good man right to the end."

Mississauga firefighters and Peel paramedics were called to the apartment building near Havenwood Dr. around 9:30 a.m. following a number of minor explosions on the sixth floor.
A firefighter discovered Grightmire without vital signs inside his sixth floor unit. He was rushed to Trillium Health Centre and pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Fire crews remained on scene for several hours trying to clear smoke from the building.

Grightmire, a security guard and Mississauga resident for 40 years, was a member and past master of the Mississauga Masonic Lodge 524 in Port Credit. His favourite hobbies were reading and doing crossword puzzles, said older brother Thomas Grightmire.

Grightmire's death should serve as a reminder to oxygen-tank users to be careful, the elder Grightmire said. Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said people on an oxygen system "must take precautions because oxygen aids combustion." The provincial government warns oxygen users to keep oxygen systems away from sources of heat or open flame and not to smoke or let anyone else smoke in the area where they use oxygen.

New Year's Resolutions

Now it probably is a little too early to begin thinking about resolutions for the new year, but I thought I might get a head start and try to work them into the month of December so that the transition into the new year can be a smooth one. December is what I consider the month of indulgence, which for me is food and shopping :(

1. Eat more controlled portions at meals, and pace myself so I don't over-eat. I have problems not knowing when I'm full.
2. No snacking late at night (after I finish my delicious date cookie and cup of tea of course)
3. Exercise more. Err.. okay, begin exercising. Goal: get rid of flab and paunch
4. Shop less. Only buy necessities. But before the end of the year I'm allowing myself one major shoe purchase, or perhaps several depending on the deals. Does this count as breaking my resolution?
5. Stop watching wedding planning shows. My man-future is bleak at the moment but I will not let that get me depressed. Upside is that I know enough to become a wedding planner and could organize very modern and elegant celebrations at a minimal price :S
6. Read more Non-fiction to learn about the world. Science, history, etc.
7. Learn how to cook proper meals. I'm pretty good at baking, but I can't eat baked goods for the rest of my life.
8. Stop feeling the need to wear make-up. It never looks like I'm wearing any. If I apply more I look like a clown.
9. Will not hit any more cars
10. Will learn how to say no
11. Will try and spend as much time as possible with friends as most of them will likely move away after the school year is finished
12. Will learn about money and how to invest it properly so that I can save and buy a piece of property. Oh yes, and so that in the future I can afford to adopt children and have test tube babies

Dream a Little Dream

I've recently become addicted to Michael Buble and have listened to him non-stop! I just can't get over how great his voice is!! And I love how his renditions of songs like "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Dream a Little Dream" makes me squeal with delight. Of course it always ends with me whining about how much I'd love to have someone who sings to me. But until then, Michael Buble will definitely suffice :)

Dream a Little Dream

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "i love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me

Stars shining up above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "i love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me

Yes, dream a little dream of me

Occupation: Personal Shopper

There's nothing I love doing more than shopping. It's one of those easy to grasp artistic forms that involves being able to shove your way through the mall, fight other women for bargains, and come out feeling victorious.

Lately, I have been asked by a few of my friends from the male species, to assist them in shopping for presents for their girlfriends. This of course has touched a precious part of my heart as I love to shop, but it's really more challenging to be a personal shopper than most people might think. With the exception of my cousin's girlfriend, I don't know anyone else I've shopped for. By going through a series of questions, I'm able to narrow down the appropriate budget, the stores to visit, the colours to pick, and a theme to go with! The greatest part about all of it is that I get to shop, spend someone else's money, help them realize that they know their girlfriend a lot better than they think AND of course spend time with the person.

Yesterday, I went shopping with my friend and came home to my mom interrogating me asking me where my boyfriend is. "Don't you think it's sad how all of your guy friends ask you to go shopping with them to buy stuff for their girlfriends but you have no one to give you presents?" I stood there for a bit-- silent and thinking Oh God you think? and instead replied with, "... yes. Well no. I like helping my friends out". The sad truth is that I spend a large percentage of my time asking myself why I don't have a boyfriend. I mean I don't have the expectation that my boyfriend is going to shower me with gifts, but it's that intimacy, that emotional connection that I miss. Okay, well getting presents are nice because I rarely get any, but at this point I'm sort of feeling that Santa can leave a nicely wrapped (mmm.. or unwrapped) boyfriend under the tree.

Another friend had the brilliant idea of taking me to the mall to go and visit him-- you know sit on his lap and make a very special Christmas wish. It would probably go something like this:


Santa: So... um what would you like for Christmas?

Miss Pow: Look, let's get to the chase, all I really want is to find a boyfriend I can see myself having a long term relationship with and someone who will eventually marry me. I really don't want to go use the sperm bank. Really.

Santa: Well...

Miss Pow: And that's not all Santa. He has to be at least a few inches taller than me, intelligent (at least university), average body build, I'm open to any ethnicity except Chinese. I do not want to marry into a Chinese family. I already know what I'm would expect and it's not pretty.

[blank expression on Santa's face]

Miss Pow: Great Santa, I knew you could pull through for me [I pat him on the shoulder and waltz off]


Loneliness really is a terrible thing, but in the mean time (as I wait for my present), I'm making plans for my commune of single mothers who have chosen to turn to sperm banks. Mainly for the reason that the hassle of finding a man for his sperm ends in the conclusion that all men are retarded and it really isn't worth the hassle, or like me (in addition to the retarded bit) have given up reasoning why I'm so undesirable to the opposite sex.

Woah, those kids are really ugly!

This morning I quickly skimmed the free copy of the Sun that my dad picked up somewhere. Now reading the Sun is scary enough (a terrible paper, which unfortunately some people still find difficult to read) but I opened to one page and there was a picture of the most hideous children I have ever seen. Okay, so I'm not very beautiful myself, but on a Sunday morning where I feel half dead the last thing I want to see are little people that look like gremlins. I guess you had to see the picture, but it really woke me up and elicited the reaction, "Woah, those kids are really ugly! Oh God!" Think children aged 8- 12 with the faces of middle aged women (plus bags under the eyes) on the bodies of tiny kids. Why can't papers focus on putting in mildly good looking people so that we have pleasant things to look at while eating our breakfast?

Most of the time I'm not terribly judgmental about looks and try to reason that everyone is beautiful, but man they really were hideous. Absolutely gut wrenching.

Yes, and fuck you too.

Hello?!? Can the world stop being angry at me please? I believe I've been screwed up the ass enough times and all this shit really has got to stop. It's amazing that I've managed to live to this age and still maintain some sanity.

At work it's so easy to feel wanted, to feel smart, and feel good because I can help other people. My colleagues listen to me, even my babbling non-sense, and they are genuinely interested in what I have to say. Heh, or at least I tell myself that!

At home it's another story where I repeat myself a gazillion times and on the last time I'm normally yelling, trying to speak more clearly and concisely. But somehow on the very last time, that's when everyone hears me and then suddenly I'm a bitch, I'm inconsiderate and selfish, and I don't pay my parents the same respect that I show everyone else. Yes, I'm not what my parents would deem an ideal daughter, as in I don't exude all of the characteristics of a fantabulous obedient Chinese daughter, but you know what? I don't give a goddamn fuck. I'm sick to hell of my mother ignoring me and giving me dirty looks, I don't appreciate being blamed for the scratches on our new van because our garage is too damn small for both my car and the new van, and lastly I'm really sick of my mom screaming over and over again that I don't treat her as well as I treat my friends. Hasn't she noticed that I try to please her? I help take care of her when she's sick, I talk to her, I help her as much as I can around the house? Not to mention I've tried not to make a failure of myself so she can go and brag to her friends and make herself feel better than everyone else. Oh wait, I'm incapable of finding a boyfriend. Scrap the last bit about not making a failure of myself.

I love my friends as much as I love my own family. There's a select few that I hope to be friends with for a very long time, and if anything I wish my own family would offer me the emotional support and time of day my friends do.