Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Let's do it. Hello? Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. You've tuned in to the Mac city morning show. I'm your host, Elliot Pierre. And we're going to start the show off the same way we start every show off with a moment of gratitude. I know you could be doing a million other things with your time. So the fact that you're spending with us truly does mean the world to me. So thank you on that note, Tanner hidden with the intro.
Speaker 1 00:00:24 Oh, she caught me, loves near listened to the next every morning.
Speaker 0 00:00:33 All right. And we're back. Okay. This guest is going to be a lot of fun today. Cause I didn't know it was happening. I booked it, but then it mysteriously wasn't in my calendar. So as everybody knows at home, I do not introduce my guests. I let them do that themselves. So on that note, sir, please tell everybody who you are and what's your vote
Speaker 3 00:00:49 Back again? My name is mark zebra and I'm glad to be here honestly.
Speaker 0 00:00:54 Nice man. Mark. Thanks for coming. Thanks for coming and hanging out. We had a good little chat, uh, at the golf course a few weeks ago. The episode aired, I think last week. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:01:05 The start of August there did pretty well. Yeah. You know, I saw a lot of people across this, like all the way to Ontario in the Manitoba people used to like hang out with, for junior hockey and all my billets across the country. Like they saw it, they shared it and shared it with my old GM's other people in town like me. I was like, wow, that's cool. What they're doing up there. They enjoy your guys' show. And thanks for having me on again. Yeah,
Speaker 0 00:01:30 No. And uh, thank you for coming. And we definitely wanted you to come and hang out in a set, the living room, the office. It's a pretty cool environment. So right before you were talking and we, we right before we were filming you and I were talking, I'm like, what are we doing? We got to get this on camera. So you were going for a walk in the Birchwood trails yesterday.
Speaker 3 00:01:49 Absolutely gorgeous
Speaker 0 00:01:50 There. So tell us about that because Tanner for one doesn't know what they're about. So I know what they're about.
Speaker 4 00:01:56 I'm just, I don't know. Not phased by them as
Speaker 0 00:01:58 Much as you, I guess. Yeah. So tell everybody like tan ride home was not amazed or phased by the Berkshire trails. What they're about.
Speaker 3 00:02:06 They're amazing. Obviously like we're talking about, but honestly coming from somewhere else where you go travel a band for Jasper Canmore to go hiking and to come here and just to go to some nice trails, some steep trails too, you know? And it's nice. The first time I ever visited visited them. Holy moly. And, uh, that was a while ago. So this is the second time I've been there. The first time I went there because it's just off the school there. Um, I just thought it was going to be around about like, you'd go in them and then somehow you'd make your way back. But my girlfriend and I went in there and 45 minutes in we're like realized, no, these are bigger than I thought these are real trails. I was a, I was having fun. So we were trying to find our way out and that was quite the adventure, but yesterday was amazing. Nice weather. Great to get in the shade, go for another walk with my girlfriend. And it was just amazing. Go see nature. Just go listen to it. Hear the wind. You hear the birds chirping. It's great. I love nature out here.
Speaker 0 00:03:06 No, those trails are, they're a monster. They're big. They are. And you can get lost for hours in them. If you don't know,
Speaker 3 00:03:14 I'm going to be honest. I'm surprised it's right beside a school kids, to be honest with you. Yeah. They definitely probably have some, somebody looking after the area while there's school going on or something because those trails are unexpected to what I actually thought. Yeah. Just being in town like they are and how accessible they are. Great. Great for Fort Mac to have. It was crazy.
Speaker 0 00:03:35 Trails is, and it's funny you say that is like the kids. Cause they're so close. Like I grew up in that area by those trails and in the winter time we used to take our GTS there and I know you don't know what a GT is, but basically it's a GT is a winter sled. So it's got a long seat with two skis on the side and a steering wheel with like the ski right down the center. Okay.
Speaker 3 00:03:59 So nicely a sled, but with like a steering wheel on it. That's right.
Speaker 0 00:04:02 Oh dude. And it's epic and they have breaks and stuff, but you were the popular kid. If you had one. Yeah. You take, you take those breaks off and you just you're bombing.
Speaker 3 00:04:11 Who cares about the safety, right? That's right. So
Speaker 0 00:04:13 We used to take our GTS into the Birchwood trails. So all those Hills and things, you were going up, we're going down those things on sleds and oh dude, it was epic. But we would go in and like, I started going to the Birchwood trails by myself when I was like eight. And so imagine like a group of eight year olds going in there not knowing where you are and our parents could care less.
Speaker 3 00:04:38 And you know, it's funny too, because when I lived in BC, I lived in Chilliwack. There was a place we lived on, it was called Promitory Heights and shout out to all the Chilliwack people listening to this, hopefully they're listening to this. And, uh, it was pretty cool there because we lived on a mountain and at the time it was a small community and same thing, grade two to grade four, like that's so young, that's like 7, 8, 9, 10 years old. Yeah. Go on the trails. We were living on the top level, like of the mountain at the time. Okay. So we go to the last, last street that you can get to after that it's all just trees, wildlife mountains. Yeah. And as kids after school, you know, weekends go explore, we'll see what the earth has to offer. And it was cool to find what we found and that's right. It was a, an adventure. And again, the parents, I don't know, grew up, we grew up in different times that your parents were like, okay, as long as you're back before, it's dark. As long as the street lights are still off, you're still going to be outside when they get on you get home. That's right. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:05:34 It's crazy. Cause I have this, I have a little guy now and he's six and I can't imagine ever letting him just be like, okay, peace out. I'll see her at five. I'm just like, that would never happen. But that was depending on how old you are. That's how you were raised, where it was like, just go,
Speaker 3 00:05:53 You know what? And another big shelter my parents had to listening to this, maybe they didn't know. Yeah. Maybe they didn't know what I was doing. Just going to a friend's house, you know, just going to, to mats down the street, maybe.
Speaker 0 00:06:06 Yeah. Maybe your parents never knew where you were.
Speaker 3 00:06:09 Not a hundred percent. No. Hi. Like I was shout out to them. Like honestly I was a kid got into some stuff and explored and live and learn everything
Speaker 0 00:06:17 Lately. I would tell my mom, like I I'd wake up early and I know I had my best friend pero and we weren't allowed to leave until eight o'clock. Okay. So like I would literally be up and I'd be waiting by the back door, looking at the stove being like that's almost eight. And as soon as eight hit, boom, I'm out the door and peril lived one house away and we'd meet on our neighbor's front lawn and be like, what's up, what's up. Let's get into it. And my mom wouldn't see me until dinner time. Absolutely. And she knew I was with pero, but what me and para were doing, God knows. And that was a childhood. It was a beautiful thing. But now we're all helicopter parents and there we go. That ain't happening. So not there yet. Well, listen, take your time. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 00:07:03 When you're enjoying life right now, only when you're absolutely.
Speaker 0 00:07:06 So golf season is still going full swing. You guys are having crazy tournaments. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I didn't mean to do that, but Hey, so yeah. It's golf tournament time for you guys.
Speaker 3 00:07:19 Big tournaments coming up. Yeah, absolutely. A big national tournament coming up as the mid amateur down at the Fort McMurray golf club, going to be lots of create talent down there. It's a full national event. So guys have caddies. People are spectating now thanks to the COVID restricts shifted a little bit. Absolutely. So that's a big tournament. That's a big exposure for our course as well. It was going to be great to work it and be there to be a part of it. Just spectate, just being down at the, at the golf course that day. And that was, uh, those five days actually that's coming up on the, uh, 14, 15 there. So
Speaker 0 00:07:54 If somebody wants to go down and be a spectator, like, well what's the, you got to pay to come. Do you just watch? Like, what's that like to be a spectator
Speaker 3 00:08:01 Come down and hang out, come down to the patio. The bear and Buffalo is great, great food to offer. And I sit on the patio and watch, watch players come down on the 18th hole there,
Speaker 0 00:08:11 The 18. So it's not like on all the holes. Well, I
Speaker 3 00:08:14 I'm thinking for maybe possibly, um, we're gonna have to see what the COVID restrictions, what we're going to be allowed to do tonight. We're gonna probably have some people driving around with golf carts as well. Probably some spots to be set up for spectators. Like how you see on TV, right? Yeah. On the sidelines. So we're just going to have to wait and see, uh, again, full swing. If we can do it,
Speaker 0 00:08:36 I would love, I've never participated in a golf event like that. Like as a viewer. Yeah. Keep me posted on that for sure. I would love to come check that out,
Speaker 3 00:08:45 Down everyone, come down and check out our golf course. It's awesome vibe. Every, every weekend it's something different down there at the corner.
Speaker 0 00:08:53 Yeah, man. So with all these tournaments going on, like we had a, one of the golfers here today that we were filming and that tournament vibe is completely different from when you just show up and you're just on a force I'm going to golf. Absolutely. What's it like for you as somebody who's working there during the tournament because you have these tournaments that are taking place, but you have the regular golfers who are coming for sure. It's chaotic just to be there. Like how like what's that environment like to work in?
Speaker 3 00:09:20 Yeah, it looks, it looks chaotic, but you know, being in the industry for now four years coming from a country club before I came up to Fort McMurray, a lot of tournaments, I dunno. I think it's more of just getting a handle, everyone being a team, coming together, uh, getting your tasks done and everyone just building off of each other to not, it's not, so-and-so do this. So-and-so do that. Debbie one for the sake of the tournament, in the sake of the people playing, having fun. And then yeah, we got to realize with 27 holes when we have 18 holes going for a tournament and we're still going to have some public players and members coming down for nine. Yeah. And that's what makes us so dominant up here in the former community area.
Speaker 0 00:10:00 Yeah. Yeah. No, it's a big deal. Having all those different holes to golf on. Like we talked about last time, that's amazing like absolutely forward thinkers. Whoever were the golf course, engineers who put together that idea with the land that you guys have
Speaker 3 00:10:16 Job, when you really think about maintaining grass, maintaining the creeks, getting water to all the holes. So making underground sewage lines, making underground sprinkler lines, getting the water pumps going. It's a great, great atmosphere to be a part of and understanding how a golf course operates and taking the appreciation at 5:36 AM. When you go down there, seeing the sunrise, seeing the reflection off the grass, seeing the morning do like as much as it's, you know, it's kind of gross to see all that. It's still cool to see all the wildlife coming together. Cool atmosphere is that when you start every day, not every day, but start at
Speaker 0 00:10:52 5:00 AM. Sometimes
Speaker 3 00:10:53 The maintenance crew at our golf course will be down there at five, 5:30 AM ready to go cutting grass, sprinkling water or water in the grass. And uh, yeah. Getting the bunkers ready. Cause you know, everyone likes to go into the bunkers
Speaker 4 00:11:07 To wake up.
Speaker 0 00:11:08 No, well, it was funny. Me and Tanner were a little bit spoiled and when we get to start our day, um, when, when we came down to the golf tournament that day, I told him like, Hey man, I'll be at your house at nine o'clock to pick you up. And he was just like, okay. And then when we got there, both of us, like this is kind of early to be starting our day. Don't you think?
Speaker 3 00:11:30 And we
Speaker 0 00:11:31 Were just joking around and we both caught to catch ourselves being like, let's keep those thoughts to ourselves.
Speaker 3 00:11:38 And now they're out right now.
Speaker 4 00:11:41 It's okay. Some people like willingly choose to wake up at like six o'clock to go golf. So like, like they, they make their choice. I make my choice to sleep in until seven o'clock. Yeah. Like I
Speaker 0 00:11:53 Have to wake up early because of my little man. So like I'm up early, but actually for us, like set up and film and get everything set up, like waking up, we're fortunate we get to choose. So like having to be somewhere that early was unusual for myself and Tanner.
Speaker 3 00:12:10 Well, thanks for coming down again, guys. It was for all of us to have you guys there
Speaker 0 00:12:13 Really had a good time. The first time we were there, we had a great time. This last time with Dennis his tournament was, it was awesome. I like, I'm not a, there's no way I go out of my way, never to golf 18. I can pull off a nine, my attention span isn't there. Um, but to be in that atmosphere, like a tournament atmosphere, I really do enjoy it.
Speaker 3 00:12:35 Great. Show it to brand connect over there. Right. With Dennis. And uh, that was a toolbox,
Speaker 0 00:12:41 The toolbox open. Then you had the fair,
Speaker 3 00:12:43 The carnival the next day, one day back to battle. Absolutely. What a blast. I was
Speaker 0 00:12:47 Joking around. He's he's keeping
Speaker 3 00:12:49 Himself very bad and he's making us busy,
Speaker 0 00:12:52 Big shout out to Dennis. He's got rib Fest coming up whole. Let's go. I don't know if you've ever been to rib Fest before, but
Speaker 3 00:12:58 It is a big thing down here in Florida or up here in Fort McMurray.
Speaker 0 00:13:01 Dennis puts on rib Fest and I think it's like four to six different trucks that come. That's what I've heard across, uh, north America. Yeah. And has some, like, they have some killer barbecue.
Speaker 3 00:13:12 I've seen some pictures, I've heard some great stories and it looks tasty.
Speaker 0 00:13:16 So although we're not at the end of the summer yet, we're, we're, we're winding down a little bit. What's the game plan for you when the golf closes up?
Speaker 3 00:13:26 Yeah. Right now I have a lot of different opportunities. I don't know really what to say at the moment on my different doors that I have available to me. Um, last time we talked, you know, I was talking about playing hockey, but right. You know, just with a lot of different personal things in life and how I kinda mentioned closely, um, there, I got in a car accident, just gonna take some time away from the game, honestly, for myself, focus on life, try and do some different things. Still gonna go back to school. Um, depending on my different options here, I'll either go for my pilot's license, actually, something I've always wanted to do. And uh, also finished my accounting because it's good knowledge to have for your own business. Absolutely.
Speaker 0 00:14:04 So when you go to that accounting this year, is it still going to be virtual or do you think you're going to be back into the physical building?
Speaker 3 00:14:11 Uh, 50 50 at the moment right now, depends on if I want to go back, um, to the same school, which probably I will. So then it'll be, it'll be in person. And I think also for pilot's license school too, and your flight school, you gotta be in person as well. So I'd rather learn in person so much better have the one-on-one conversation like this, for sure.
Speaker 0 00:14:29 For sure. So Tanner just tapped his phone. I means it's his segment. He's saying Elliot, give me a turn. So, uh, we fit the part of the show. It's called the Mac city minute. As you know, this is your segment, hit him with the Mac city minute.
Speaker 4 00:14:43 Alrighty, question number one. What is one way that Fort McMurray surprised you when it came to food,
Speaker 3 00:14:52 Food? You know what? I work at the place at bear in Buffalo, a place for a golf course, honestly blew my mind. You know, a lot of golf courses, they have restaurants, but that blew my mind to honestly have a golf course with 27 holes. Like I was very fortunate to be able to, you know, get the opportunity to work there and I'm still am. And honestly, to the culture up here, it it's a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. That was the biggest shock to me coming up here in Alberta. And boy, you learn all the different things about Fort Mac and it used to be smaller back then and now it's grown amazingly. The food of that place is off the chain. Yeah. I, there got lots of great things to say about four American, very fortunate to live here. Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:15:34 Question number two. What is the best event you've been a part of since you've gotten to Fort McMurray?
Speaker 3 00:15:40 Well, due to COVID again, I'm going back to the golf course, all our tournaments, man. Those are so fun to be a part of. If you get a chance to buy yourself a ticket for any kind of raffle that we have down there and he 50 50, even if you're just playing in some little Bonnie and Clyde tournament, you can win some great prizes and just the atmosphere of the events after what we put on it's it's just great. Like that's what I've been doing basically because of the COVID the past little bit just been working at the golf course, living at the golf course and playing at the golf course. It's a great atmosphere down there. That's awesome.
Speaker 4 00:16:14 Question number three. Uh, what is one thing that you can experience at a Fort McMurray golf course that you can't anywhere?
Speaker 3 00:16:23 The wildlife, the foxes, the bears, the deers that's amazing or fine or fine. I see it all the time. So I'm pretty like comfortable with it, but you can't be too comfortable with them because then you don't want them to come up to you and be friendly with you. It's still a wild animal, but it's very cool down how much wildlife you get to see MBAs be around that you don't get anywhere else. Really? No, that's a cool experience. I think Fort McMurray has offer
Speaker 4 00:16:51 Question number four. What is one thing about working at a golf course? People wouldn't expect you have to do.
Speaker 3 00:16:58 Ooh, that's a good one. I think basically you go to the golf course, um, and you work your way up in the, in the business and it's pretty cool. The different jobs you can do. So I think what you really got to give shout out to is the maintenance crew. People don't give enough credit to how much hours those guys put in. They get up there early in the morning cause they want those greens to be in mint condition. And I think it's also like the amount of people it takes to really run the place between the restaurant between getting all the CURT's wash set up for people, getting members, bags pulled up and ready to go for when they show up right on time. So I think it's more of, a lot of the appreciation goes into behind the scenes of everyone who works there. It's not just show up and go walk the ball down the course two hours before you got there three hours before he got there, someone else is making sure that grass was cut and looking fresh for you.
Speaker 4 00:17:50 And your final question, what is one opportunity you didn't expect to get in Fort McMurray?
Speaker 3 00:17:59 It didn't get, Hey, what I got and it wasn't expecting
Speaker 0 00:18:04 No Tanner hits him with the hard question that
Speaker 3 00:18:06 Is that stumped me. And you know what? I'm very fortunate again, to just be where I am, where I'm working. Like just, I didn't grow up here. I didn't know anybody up here. And my, my bosses, I can't be more pleased with what they've, what they've offered me up here. It's been awesome. Honestly, a lot of great things, man, like this place is great. Like growing up in Alberta, you always hear about it. It was a tough truck to get up here before. Thankfully the highways have upgraded town has upgraded. People started to learn more culture up here. It's great time. So honestly I was very fortunate to, uh, come out of school and uh, get a pretty good, a pain job for a summer student and also be able to, uh, still enjoy my summer at the same time. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:18:51 Yeah. That's awesome.
Speaker 4 00:18:52 And those have been your five questions.
Speaker 0 00:18:54 Yeah. The wildlife had the golf course. That's uh, that's not my bag, no
Speaker 0 00:19:00 Wildlife. Like I, I grew up here and so I'm accustomed to seeing it, but uh, a Fox here and there they're cute. Like, okay. Yeah. But then when those bears start to come out, bearable, unbearable, thank you. Things thing. Um, yeah, I was at two golf course right before COVID happened. Like whatever season that not whatever season was, I don't remember. And I was in a golf cart and a bear was there and the person I was with, I was like, let's go see the bear. I was like, what are you doing? He started like going towards the bear. And I was like, you don't go towards bears. And then like the bear was like galloping away, but then kind of like stopped and like, and turned around. I was like, booted then
Speaker 4 00:19:40 Where are you with a white person? I was, yeah, that sounds like a white person thing.
Speaker 0 00:19:45 Yup. Ads. I made that exact comment Tanner and uh, yeah, I have a very good respect for wildlife. And so it's one of those things where yeah, they're nice to see from afar,
Speaker 3 00:19:59 But yeah, I think when it comes to the bear situation, you know yeah. The barriers you could don't need to get close to them. I could do without. Yeah. I mean, they're cool at the same time. Yeah. I think it's just part of nature. When you roll up on, like you go grab your ball and then out of nowhere, a bear just comes across the fairway, but you're not expecting it at all. And seeing how big some of the wildlife can get to, like, we have a small bear at the golf course that wanders from time to time. But last year we had a pretty big bear that honestly disturbed us a little bit. We also had some beavers to come through the creeks. There has been some great wildlife down there. It's been, it's been cool.
Speaker 0 00:20:34 That's awesome. All right, man. That's the end of the 20 minutes it flies. I think we probably went over a little bit, but that's okay. But uh, this is the part of the show where you get a shameless shout out. So it's all you well,
Speaker 3 00:20:45 I'll give a shout out. Always to my girlfriend, Janet Dixon always come up here with me, got a lover. Um, also shout out to two homeys. I missed out last time, Lucas and uh, Christopher there. Christopher Columbus is his nickname. Yeah. He's my boy from Germany. So, uh, yeah. Shout out to those two guys. And then honestly, just shout out to my family, my grandparents, my sister, you know, my parents, everyone, you know, just, just thankful to be here honestly. And thank you guys for having me on the show.
Speaker 0 00:21:12 The welcome. And before you take off again, definitely you got to come back and do it again.
Speaker 3 00:21:17 Okay. Deal. Here we go.
Speaker 0 00:21:20 Awesome. Well Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. Thank you very much for tuning into another episode of the Mac city morning show. I hope you're having a great day and uh, it truly does mean the world to me that you tuned in. So thank you on that note, we'll see you tomorrow.
