Ouer the Edge ©

SAMANTHA FARROW
ARTS EDITOR

The Royal Canadian Legion was es-
tablished in 1925 as a non-profit ex-
services organization. It is usually fre-
quented by old war veterans, a place
for them to gather. Respect in the Le-
gion for the vets is high. After all, these
men fought in wars for our freedom.
There are rules in all of the Legions
across Canada; no hats, no swearing
and no fighting. Fighting will get you
barred for life. When one thinks of
the Legion, what is the first thing that
comes to mind?

In my home town of Smith-
ers, that would be, “Party,”.... yes, at
the Legion. It used to be that a night
out involved going to the Twin, or the
Garage, as is it’s formal name. Any-
one who has ever spent at night out in
Smithers, getting zoo-ed, knows of this
notorious bar. It’s dark, it’s dingy, but
it was a hell of a lot of fun. I have had
many great nights at the Twin; it has

Dexter,

SAMANTHA FARROW
ARTS EDITOR

Ahh, Dexter. What can I say about this
creepily ingenious show? For those
of you who have been living under a
rock and have not caught an episode of
Dexter on Showtime, this is a wicked
show. The premise? A blood spatter
analysis for Miami Metro PD who is a
serial killer of serial killers.

The show is based off of the
book series of the same title, written by
Jeff Lindsay. The main character, Dex-
ter Morgan, played by Michael C Hall,
spends his spare time dissecting the
dregs of society; known serial killers
who have gotten off on technicalities.
He finds most his intended victims by
going through back cases, which he
has access to because of his profes-
sion. His skills was honed by his now
dead (not because of Dexter) adoptive
father, Harry Morgan, who was also a
police officer. Morgan adopted Dex-
ter after Dexter’s mother was brutally
murdered. Dexter started exhibiting
nasty tendency at a young age to work
out the childhood issue of his mother’s
death, which usually involved tortur-
ing neighbourhood pets. After confess-
ing the urge to practice on more than
just pets as he got a little older, Harry

September 30 ,2009

Party Time...at the Legion?

been the popular night spot in Smithers
for many years. However, the Twin has
recently undergone some renovations
that make it not so Twin-like. Whether
or not that has anything to do with it’s
drop in popularity, I am not sure. One
thing is for sure, the new place to be on
a Friday night in Smithers is definitely
the Legion.

Karaoke Fridays at the Le-
gion; when I first started going any
time I was home, it was not very full.
I had a couple of friends who liked
karaoke so I went with them; that
was last February. While at home this
spring and summer, I noticed that Fri-
day nights had the Legion just hoping
with people of all ages. When I was
there in July, the lady at the bar in-
formed me that a certain percent of the
proceeds from liquor sales went back
into supporting the Legion, so while I
was drinking, I was also being charit-
able. This appealed to my social work
nature. Speaking of drinks, drinks in
a Legion are usually cheaper than at
any other bar. They also have drink
specials, where certain drinks are even
cheaper than usual.

Recently, my good buddy
became the manager at the Legion in
Smithers (no, I don’t get free drinks,
it’s against policy and he’s cheap). He
has even more plans to keep the Legion
hoping; poker night, theme night par-
ties, Legion Idol. By increasing popu-
larity, he is also increasing revenue for
this non-profit establishment. Although
he holds a paid position, everyone else
there is a volunteer, from the bartend-
ers, to the bouncers, and the DJ. All
Legions have memberships available.
Usually, in order to be in the Legion,
you must have a member sign you in.

Warped and Wonderful

encourages Dexter to the area of serial
killers, people who deserved to die tor-
turously.

In the series, Dexter, who
claims he has no emotion for others,
has a girlfriend, Rita, who has two
children and an abusive ex. Rita is all
part of Dexter front to appear normal
to others. As well as Rita, Dexter is in
frequent contact with his adoptive sis-
ter, Deborah, who is also a cop, stating
if he were to experience feelings like
others, he would probably love Deb, as
he affectionately calls her... or maybe
not so affectionately, given that Dex-
ter self view is that of a psychopath.
Between killing serial killers, working
for the police, trying to appear normal,
and getting into all kinds of uncomfort-
able situations, including kidnapping a
fellow officer who is on to Dexter and
is then blown up by a crazy woman
who is in love with Dexter, to having
his dumping ground discovered, Dex-
ter goes through many situations that
would make normal people sweat.

You can catch Dexter on
Showtime on Sunday nights at 9, it’s
currently going into it’s fourth season.
If you want to see Seasons 1-3, either
download them, or by the series on
DVD. This is one series that is unique,
and creepy, from the intro to the end
credits.

Smithers is pretty lax about this,
although there is talk of charging
cover to non-members.

I also found that dur-
ing the week, while visiting my
buddy at work, the place is filled
with very interesting people, the
old timers. Okay, ya, I know,
what’s cool about seniors? Go
to the local Legion and find out.
I heard many interesting tales,
and they love the company. Most
of these men, and women, are
older and their family is gone,
and so all they have left is each
other. It is interesting to watch
the dynamics between these old
comrades. It’s a place for them
to go to connect with others of
the same age. Many of us don’t
realize how lonely it can for these
people, even if they have family.
We don’t understand what they
went through. That doesn’t mean
that they aren’t willing to share
their stories and they love having
an audience for these tales.

I have yet to check out
the Legion in Prince George. I
have no idea if it’s as popular as
the one in Smithers. I am going
to make a guess that it’s not; if
you’re curious, or if you have an
older relative who is a member, I
would highly recommend check-
ing it out. After all, drinking for
a cause is better than just drink-
ing for the sake of drinking. Not
only that, but it’s also an awe-
some way to get a history lesson
from people who participated in
the wars. A word of advice if you
do check out the Legion; have
respect for the rules; remember,

Ats and Culture