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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, July 24, 2013 | 6 Editorial Life. Despite the best of plans, it's rarely smooth sailing and just when you think you're ahead of the game, another curve is likely to be thrown your way. Like the storms that blow through town and the thunder that rumbles... roll with it. Obviously, sometimes easier said than done, but ultimately necessary if you want to appreciate the good things life has to offer -- and stay happy. This year, many gratefully ushered in what they expected to be the peaceful calm of summer, a balm to their weary nerves, yet the curve balls keep coming. Though these twists and turns may not have been on the summertime agenda, they don't have to be the ruination of the season either. Friday night's storm seemingly blew out of nowhere to wreak havoc locally. The wild weather left many a victim in its wake. But it could have been so much worse. Oakville was not struck by the tornado that we were warned could happen. The Downtown Oakville BIA's annual tradition, Midnight Madness, succumbed to the beastly storm. Yet, if the mission of Midnight Madness is to bring appreciation of the downtown to local residents and those beyond, news of the event's cancellation also put the downtown in the spotlight. It could have been much worse. Throughout town, many streets and residents were left either without power or with powerful messes to clean up after trees fell like rain across town. But no one was seriously injured. Many readers shared with us their photos -- of spectacular weather as seen on this page and of spectacular damage. In today's Oakville Beaver, a father recounts to reporter David Lea (see front page) about how a tree branch gouged through the roof and into an upstairs room where the man's 10-year-old son, was nearly struck by the limb. The resident's 13-year-old daughter and two of her friends were also in the room. Not great for the property, the roof or the house, but none of the youths were injured. Thank goodness. Now the RBC Canadian Open is in town. As preliminary play began early in the week, the Open is set to get down to business tomorrow. We have yet to see the sunny skies of recent days, but temperatures are moderate and no torrential downpours or ongoing rains are forecast. We can all remember the fateful front page Oakville Beaver photo of the last time the Open was in town... the mops, buckets and rakes that were brought to bear as rain postponed golf's great adventure. We will never escape the ups and downs of life, but we can always learn to fully appreciate not only the best of times, but also the many times when the outcome could always be much worse. Play on. "Connected to your Community" P H O T O 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 51 | Number 56 Rolling with ups and downs of life A S T R I K I N G The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS Jeffrey Grigg snapped this photo of Oakville Harbour at the Sixteen-Mile Creek pier during Friday's storm. | photo courtesy Jeffrey Grigg Madness was all Mother Nature's The sky suddenly turned dark and the wind began to pick up, I heard spatters of rain on the sidewalk -- I knew I had moments before Mother Nature was going to release her wrath on downtown Oakville. I'm a business owner, a resident of Oakville, a Rotarian and I love my town. I was looking forward to working with fellow Rotarians in the ice cream waf e booth we have every year at Midnight Madness. Rotarians had been setting up the tent, the grill and the freezers since 4 p.m. Everyone was ready and the rst crew was looking forward to selling those delicious waf es. Then it happened -- the wind began to race ominously down Lakeshore Road picking up everything in its path -- tables, chairs, tents and supplies everything ew into the air and landed randomly along the roadside. My fellow Rotarians saw destruction heading their way and quickly went into action. They quickly formed a team and literally hung on to the bars of the huge tent that housed our waf e making factory. They hung on, looking like they were performing an exercise routine, as their bodies were airlifted as the wind raced down the street. When the wind abated and the rain stopped my fellow Rotarians went into reconstruction mode and rebuilt -- mopping up, salvaging -- getting ready to begin again. Everyone at Midnight Madness truly enjoys the time they spend walking Lakeshore Road, enjoying the entertainment and the food. Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't nished with us after the wind abated -- she sent rain, thunder and lightning. After several tries to set up and begin again, the Downtown Business Improvement Area made the decision to close down the event. And so, those valiant Rotarians began to dismantle the tent, close up the grill and call for backup to help ensure that all the ice cream didn't melt. While I didn't get to do much selling this year at our ice cream waf e booth, I did get to see teams of resourceful men and women, handling an emergency situation throughout the downtown area. It was de nitely Mother Nature's Midnight Madness this year -- I imagine we all hope she stays away during next year's event. Donna Messer, Oakville Letters to the Editor MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver. com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. 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