Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Kim MacDonald: Toronto Mike'd #1280

Episode Date: June 27, 2023

In this 1280th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with The Weather Network's Kim MacDonald about her decades at TWN, her ties to CFNY, her battle with breast cancer and more. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, the Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris, The Moment Lab, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

Welcome to episode 1280 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Season four of Yes, We Are Open,

the award-winning podcast from Moneris, hosted by FOTM Al Grego. RecycleMyElectronics.ca Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. The Moment Lab. Brand marketing and strategy. PR.

Advertising and production. You need The Moment Lab and Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making her highly anticipated Toronto Mike debut is the Weather Network's own Kim McDonald. Welcome, Kim. Highly anticipated. I just threw that in. That's not even scripted. I just made that up off the top of my head because I've been highly anticipating this.

Oh, I also have been highly anticipating it. Really? Now you have my attention. Okay, good to see you. This is like a 9.44 p.m. recording, which is very unusual for me. But you just got off work, right? You were just on the air. That's right.

I like the nightlife. I like to boogie. I like to boogie. I like to boogie. I work evenings, so this is perfect for me. This is, you know, you've got me at prime time. Like you get to sleep in? What time do you get to wake up in the morning? I usually wake up around eight, but I never set an alarm, which is the beautiful thing.

I just naturally wake up. I probably get up around nine. I was hoping you'd say, I get up around seven. I get out of bed around nine. Well, almost like that almost like that this is a significant day in the history of this city do you want to know why you don't live in toronto right i don't but i heard there's a there's a little bit of an election yes so we have our very first uh woman mayor of the mega city so we had toronto may mayors that were female in the past, but this is the first time a woman has become mayor of the megacity.

Olivia Chow is our new mayor. And it was close between two women, which is pretty impressive, Toronto. Toronto, Toronto, we won't be outdone. Kim MacDonald is on the show. That's job one. All right, Kim. So you're here after your shift on the Weather Network. What's the big weather news today?

We had some tornado warnings today. Where? We live streamed for about an hour and a half. Where are these tornado warnings? They were in eastern Ontario. So Killaloo. Wait, wait, wait. I never heard of Killaloo.

And Barry's Bay. Both of them are in the Ottawa Valley, not far from Pembroke, Penewawa area. Okay. I do know Pembroke. That's a hockey town, Canada. Yeah. I was born there. Were you? My buddy Walter Maves was born there and I worked for him for years. Pembroke, Ontario. I only lived there 10 days of my life. We moved to St. Catharines right after that, but I was born there. And the other area was just on the other side of the Ottawa River in Quebec. Beautiful. Beautiful. Okay, so they didn't get tornadoes, though, just warnings.

Just warnings as far as I know. You could tell that there was some rotation on the radar. Is that exciting for you? Like when you're in for your shift and you're talking to the country about weather and you see there's tornado warnings, do you just get like that feeling of like, oh, my God, there's tornado warnings? Like is that exciting? Yes.

I hate to say that. That's a terrible thing. Well, you're looking for some excitement. We are. We do like the active weather. So you don't want to, I know I'm going to speak for you now because that's what I'm going to do. But you don't want anyone to die.

You just want these tornado warnings. Right. You know, if a tornado touches down in the middle of a field and somebody gets an amazing photo or video of it, that would be ideal. I don't want anybody hurt. I don't want any homes to, you know, be destroyed. How are you if a cow gets hurt? Can you live with that? Well, no. I don't want a cow to get hurt, actually. That was a test. You passed.

Okay, good. You know, that made me really sad. And I'm not even a vegetarian. No cow was Okay, good. You know, that made me really sad. And I'm not even a vegetarian. No cow was harmed, Denise. No cow. Good, because I have a meat lasagna for you in my freezer. Do you enjoy Italian food? I do. Okay, Palma Pasta sent over a meat lasagna for you,

and you're leaving with it, and I'm glad you're not a vegetarian, because I don't have a veggie in the freezer. Like, I could get you a veggie lasagna, but in my freezer, meat lasagna, it's all yours. Oh, I'm all for it. I can't wait. Hopefully it's not the same cow that was killed by the tornado that you wished upon us, Kim. I believe you got those facts incorrect, Mike. That did not happen. So an exciting day at the Weather Network. And geographically speaking, where do you broadcast from on the Weather Network?

Well, we are in Oakville on the Mississauga border. So 403 and Dundas. You can't miss us. We are the building with all the satellites. How long have you been at the Weather Network? 25 years this year. 25 years. That's because you, after the 10 days in pembroke you started your first shift at the weather that's right i was born at the weather network right and they just kept me on and it's like um what is the uh truman show it's like the truman show you were just raised by the weather network because you've always been there. Me and Laura Linney. Okay, right. That's right.

You called that out because you've seen the Truman Show in the past couple of weeks. You've probably watched it. Well, no. So after the take, we have a lot of ground to cover here. So congratulations to Olivia Chow. She's the new mayor of Toronto. That's exciting. For a moment, because the way

the results came in, I guess like suburbs, like the non-downtown votes were coming in early. So it looked like Anna Bailao, that's how you say her name, Bailao, it looked like she might pull off the upset. And if she did, I was going to take full responsibility and credit for that

because she was my last guest on Toronto Mic'd. Anna Bailao was here on Friday. Okay. Well, maybe you contributed to her not winning then. Well, okay. Stop it, Kim. Kim, you don't have to give me an address, but what city do you live in? Hamilton.

Okay. So would you consider running for mayor of Hamilton? No. You have no interest in politics. I'm not saying that. I just don't want to run for mayor of Hamilton. So you do have no interest in politics. I'm not saying that. I just don't want to run for mayor of Hamilton. You do have an interest in politics. I have a general interest in politics. Because 25 years on the Weather Network, you're a big wheel at the cracker factory,

so to speak. You know what I mean? You could parlay that fame into a city council, and then if that goes well, you're still a very relatively young human being who was raised by the Weather Network. You could be the next mayor of Hamilton. Well, the good thing about politics is that they accept women over 50 into their fold. Right. As no problem at all. That's true.

It's one of those careers that an older woman can have and nobody bats an eye. It's perfect. Good point because I believe Olivia Chow I believe is well into her 60s now. Good for her. And here she is and she took a run at this in 2014 and she finished third and then she changed a few things took a different approach and here she is our new mayor i think that's exciting news for this city yeah i think it is too i like her so at 10 days old obviously we were joking you weren't raised by the weather network but you did move to saint catherine's and that is home of the white house of rock sure is okay i i gotta i gotta first of all siobhan morris covers uh like she covers politics for ctv yeah and her dad is paul morris and paul morris helped to build the white house of rock that is

hits uh hits 97.7 yeah of course i know i know you know this but i'm telling the listenership oh i see okay okay yes i i yeah i worked with Paul. What's your relationship like with Hits 97.7, Hits FM? What is my relationship like? Like you work there? Give me a little detail. Okay, yeah. So I worked there for a summer when I was 20 years old. Wow.

And then I came back when I was 25, and I worked for five years doing the morning show and doing the news. And I was on both sides, CKTV, so the White House of Talk. And. And I was on both sides, CKTV. So the White House of Talk. And that's 610. 610, CKTV. Yep. And then 97.7 Hits FM.

Who was the morning show at that time? When I first worked there, it was Scruff Connors. Scruff Connors. The listenership knows Scruff. His son is an FOTM. Yeah, TJ. And then when I came back, I was on with the Revan Joe. So Randy Taylor and Joe Cahill.

What? These are Hamilton legends I'm hearing here. Not Hamilton. St. Catherine. See, first Toronto guys, it's all the same. But I know it's very, very different. I apologize to everyone I've offended with that sentence. So you got to work at, is that your first media job?

97.7? I worked for about six months at a little country radio station in Welland called CHOW. Oh, the canal. That's what they call that station, right? The canal. Do they? I don't know. That would be a good name for it, right? I like it.

Because someone told me recently they were doing work on the river. And I was thinking, oh, that's cool, like the river. And if I had a radio station in Welland, I would call it the canal. You know what? That makes a lot more sense. But you don't remember what the station was called? It was CHOW. It was called CHOW.

Oh, CHOW. That's Olivia Chow's last name. There we go. It's all coming full circle. It's full circle. This is a lot for me. Yeah. I'm punchy at 9, 9.50 p.m. here.

So you had a little taste of media in Welland. So obviously at this point in your very young life, you know you want to be in front of a microphone. Where did that bug come from? Right. So likely, I mean, I went to university to be a teacher initially. That's what I wanted to do. They get summers off, you know.

Yeah, well, my dad was a principal. My mom was a teacher. I went to school my whole life. It's all I knew, really. My parents had the summers off, you know, March break off. I thought everybody did. And then I got a real job and said, oh, what do you mean? And two weeks at Christmas, too.

They don't even realize how good they have it. It was beautiful. And their kids had it great too because their parents were off when we were off. So what went wrong, Kim? What went wrong? I got the bug. You got this great career ahead of you as a teacher.

Life would have been so grand, but you got the bug. I know. So one summer when I was in university, I got a job at Hits FM and I was working in the PR, or I don't know what it's called.

Marketing? What is it? Kind of. Yeah, I like marketing. But I was the person who drove the van around, went to parties, and played music.

Like promotions? That's it. Promotions. I know where I'm good at this. Not public relations. Promotions. The promotions department. Like Captain Phil Evans

on CFNY back in the day. Yes. So I was the summer intern type thing, but I got paid. And I got this job. I don't know how. And I saw what it was like to work at a rock station in promotions. And it was just, I'm like, this is a dream job. I want to do this forever.

No argument here. That's a dream job. I want to do this forever. No argument here. That's a cool station. I will shout out Hits FM 97.7 that they played like, so unlike maybe CFNY, which had this kind of an alt rock thing going on or whatever, but Hits would blend that

with like a little metal, a little like heavier stuff, like maybe stuff we might even call hair metal now, but just like a harder rock edge to what you were hearing on 97.7. It was good music for Midtown Gord. Shout out to FOTM Midtown Gord. So you leave Hits FM.

Where do you go to after that? The Weather Network. So that's your next stop. Okay, so this is a good time because we had fun chatting about an interesting coincidence. Okay, there you go. Thank you for coming out, Kim.

You're welcome. You're now an FOTM. Give me my lasagna and I am out of here. Do you drink? Okay, does anyone in your household drink fresh craft beer? Yeah, we all do. Okay, because I have some. The dog, all of us.

The dog drinks it too. I have some fresh craft beer for you from Great Lakes Brewery and they're available across this fine province. So you could even get your GLB in Hamilton. Yay, incredible. Thank you so much. Shout out to the Hammer. So you could even get your GLB in Hamilton. Yay. Incredible. Thank you so much. Shout out to the hammers.

You got a lasagna. Yeah. You got some Great Lakes beer. I'm set up. I'm about to introduce a fun, like Toronto Mike factoid about your episode number. This is kind of exciting for me to do, but I just want to also tell you,

Kim, measuring tape is all yours. Courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of this community since 1921. You never know when you have to measure something. I'm going to measure my success with this. Well, you're going to need a bigger tape for that, Kim. We'll need a larger tape here.

Thank you, Ridley Funeral Home. Thank you, Ridley Funeral Home. Okay. Did you listen to the Toronto Mic'd episode with Sandra Plagakis? I did. You did? Okay.

We're off to a good start here. I did. Sandra Plagakis, for those who haven't heard yet, she came on Toronto Mic'd. I'm going to let her speak. I only grabbed a little bit of this, and then there's a fun fact about your episode number. There's a few things here.

But let's listen to a little taste of Sandra Plagakis on Toronto. Mike, you apply for an opening. They post an opening. How do you get there? Yeah. I think it was in broadcast dialogue. I didn't see it.

Some guy I worked with in Brockville, uh, he saw it and he said, you should apply for this. I said, come on, come on. You're crazy.

The afternoons with Alan cross. Are you fucking insane? And, uh, I thought, well, I have nothing to lose. Nothing to lose. Okay, so there's a little taste, but Sandra Plagakis is talking about how she got her foot in the door at 102.1 because she answered some ad

and they were hiring like an afternoon newsreader or weather girl or something for Alan Cross's show. Maybe it was to do weather. I'm not sure. You'll tell me now. But what's the fun fact with you, Kim, and that job that got Sandra in the door at 102.1, which she quickly parlays into being the humble and Fred traffic and news reader. And then the rest is history. Talk to me. a newsreader and then the rest is history. Talk to me. Okay. So I was doing news at Hits FM at the time and the job came up at CFNY to do news. And I applied for the same job. That same one she describes. The exact same one. That's amazing. Because I know that Sandra got that job when I didn't get it. Yes. So you were going to be the traffic person during Alan Cross's afternoon drive show on 102.1.

Well, I thought it was news. Oh, maybe it's news. No, you're right. You know why I think it's traffic? I could be very wrong here because I know Mary Ellen Benninger, who happens to be married to Alan Cross, was she doing news?

Or maybe she was just the boss of the news. Maybe she did the news in the morning, but I know that she interviewed me. Right. I got interviewed for the job. How did it go? Not well. I mean, I... What happened? Talk to me, Kim. I've never told anybody this. know that she interviewed me right i i got interviewed for the job how did it go not well i mean i happened i i've never told anybody no but this is where you tell the truth and the real

talk i know does your husband know this story yes i think so okay so you told somebody my husband worked there at the time which is funny i didn't know him i didn't know him then um but anyway so but he was working at cfny at the time anyhow time. Anyhow, so. We'll get back to him. We'll get back to him. So Mary Ellen Benninger was wonderful. And I know I, it was me just screwing up that interview a hundred percent. I had really good tapes, I think from hits.

I think I was reading the news. Well, what if I told you I had one of your tapes right here? Get lost. You don't. Oh my God. Nobody does. Anyway. So I think I was doing,

I think I was doing okay with that. But I think I was trying to be something I wasn't in the interview. What were you trying to be? Which was not good. I was, I was like the opposite of cool. I think I want, I thought that she was a really serious news person,

which she probably was. I believe she was. Yes. But I just, I was just coming off as so boring. Like she asked me, and this was a true answer to the question, but she asked me what I was just coming off as so boring. Like she asked me, and this was a true answer to the question, but she asked me what I was reading.

And I was reading The Depression by Pierre Burton. Now, like, come on. She didn't want me for CFNY. Like, I think she just thought like, what is wrong? And I wore, like, I didn't wear anything cool. I wore probably what I'm wearing now. I wore, maybe I was just ready for TV. I don't know.

I was wearing a blazer and what you would have worn in 1995 or whenever it was and it was I mean I thought that I was I thought she wanted something else but you know I think if I had totally just been myself it would have gone much better than trying to be something I wasn't that's an interesting scenario because Mary Ellen Benninger is interviewing you for a job alongside her husband. So it is an interesting, because she does need to, you know, she's in charge of the news or whatever at that station. So she's, you know, it's important hire. But it's a unique role in that this is the person my husband's going to be bouncing off of or whatever live on the radio. Yeah.

Like it's an interesting, unique, unique situation that you don't come across every day. I know. And you know what? It's fine that I didn't get that. You know, in the end, that's not where I was supposed to be. I mean, it would have been a wicked cool job.

And I'm happy that Sandra got it and she did really well with it. And I had a great time in Hits FM. I was there for a few more years and really loved it there. I wasn't trying to get out of Hits necessarily. But you might have, professionally speaking, if I make him, you might have wanted to leave St. Catharines for Toronto because it's a much, much bigger market.

Exactly. And no one would blame you for that. Right. I don't think anybody would be hurt at Hits FM. But that's what I was trying to go for. So you didn't get the gig and Sandra Plagakis got the gig. Right. All right. So because I said we'd get and Sandra Plagakis got the gig. Right.

All right. So because I said we'd get back to your husband and I have a couple of notes for you, but I'm going to play another clip from that very same episode of Sandra Plagakis. So this is Sandra Plagakis on Toronto Mic'd. I can't remember her episode number. It was like 1250 something, but she said this. So let's listen. So no, I won't be getting on my motorcycle and driving on the 401 to die there. I feel like that's a very poor idea.

And that's why we're Zooming today, and that's why you're episode 1,255. I accept that now. I will. I'll accept that. At least I'm not 1,280. That would have been the shits. I'm going to take a note or find out who does get that number. And then I'm going to play that clip of Sandra Plagakis. Tell them, you know, you're a

piece of shit when you're 1,280. You're a piece of shit. Oh my God. Sandra Plagakis. That's too good to be true. She's the nemesis I never knew I had. Like, let's just take a moment to soak this in. Okay, think about that. Okay, so what did I say that was 1250 something when I had Sandra Plagakis on? Yeah. And she talks about how she applied for this job and she might have even made a comment

about how like nobody decent applied for it. That's how she got it. Like everybody sucked. She said that it was a weak pool. Right, it was a weak pool because that pool consisted of Kim McDonald.donald right so she sort of does that doesn't know she's digging at anyone in particular because she has no idea who else applied for it but then she coincidentally she goes off on a random i think i'm assuming she in her head picks what's a number that's higher higher than 1250 something 1280 wow what a piece of shit yeah 1280s guest is and i did say and i

did it uh i'll i'll cut this out and play it for whoever is episode 1280 it's unbelievable to me that and this is all just a coincidence it's just how the dice rolled i can't believe you kim are episode 1280 that's like salt in the wounds it's like we live in a sim this is i almost need a moment like i think that's just too much it's like okay so she took the job from you in the mid to late 90s whatever that was 96 whatever it was she took that job from you then she said threw salt in your eyes and said kim you are a piece of shit that's it 1280 belongs to the biggest losers and you were making your toronto mic debut episode 1280 you kim mcdonald are a loser this is what sandra plagakis is saying to you yeah that's what i'm hearing i'm hearing

that i'm hearing first of all that the the talent pool was weak uh she got the job over me and now uh for you know random reasons i am clearly a piece of shit but why you know why am i 1280 why am i so far down the line uh i'm i'm almost certain that we talked about this year could you have any memory of us having any contact years ago about you coming on tron mic or did i like this is a dream I've had I don't know I feel like I feel like maybe the timing didn't work because you were uh unwell like I think we'll get to this too spoiler alert yes yes Kim was unwell but I think I gave you some time and space because you had bigger fish to fry okay so I would have actually been before Sandra Plagakis. Right, right. Maintain perfect health.

Right, if I had stayed strong and healthy, I could have been here a lot earlier. Is that what you're telling me? I would bet you would have beat Sandra by several hundred episodes. All right, take that. Take that, Sandra Plagakis. So that's a fun fact okay so i got a note

when i said that you were making your toronto mic debut this note came in at first i was excited because i thought a member of one of my favorite bands of all time was writing in i thought oh a member of sloan oh chris murphy and i'm like he's an fotm chris murphy the sloan chris murphy oh he's an fokm right i see what you did there. That's a trademark pending. I'm phoning Lorne Honigman right away. We're going to stop this. Cease and desist. Okay, but Chris Murphy is not a member of Sloan. This Chris Murphy works for the

Weather Network and he wrote in we were co-hosts for about eight years in the morning show back in the glory days. The Daily Wit was bouncing off the green screen. Who's Chris Murphy, and what say you about his nice comments about you?

I love Chris Murphy. He was my TV husband for a very long time. I said we had a showmance. And your real husband's also a Chris. Yeah, I like to keep it easy. I don't want to mess anybody's name up. So you don't slip. That's right. It's all good. And Chris

Murphy does the morning show at the Weather Network still. He's been there almost as long as I have. He's probably been there 23 years. And he does morning weather on CBC with Heather Hiscox every morning. So a lot of people know him from that as well. People call him C-Mac?

Like are you Kim Mac and C-Mac? No, because he's murph oh yeah oh my god yeah it's late it's very late in the day i know for you it's like for you it's like noon okay yeah and it's like noon for me i've been going at it for a while okay my apologies c mac you are c murph not c mac okay right uh maybe chris murphy one day will make his toronto Mike debut and you can say shitty things about his number. Like if you randomly pick a number, I'll make sure he has that number. I would never say a shitty thing about him.

It's funny because he's, Chris Murphy, same as Sloan, and then Michelle Mackey from who was at the Weather Network, her guy is Neil Osborne. So, you know. Oh, yeah, from Odds. Well, 5440, you know, Osborne.

Odds is, who's the Odds guy? I don't know. Come to me in a minute. Okay. The Michelle Mackey has been over twice. Wow. So she got in twice before you came over. That's okay.

And she kicked out the jams and everything. And she's, I quite like her. She's fun. I love her. So she started at the Weather Network. Okay. Yeah. We're going to get to the Weather Network.

I want to just spend a moment talking about your husband because I find it interesting that you're trying to get your foot in the doors of CFNY 102.1. And unbeknownst to you, there's an employee of that station who would become your husband. Yeah. So how did you meet Chris Pack? And give us a little bit of like who, you know, because he wasn't an on-air guy. So there's going to be people who are like, I don't remember Chris Pack on CFNY. But give us a taste of like what he did at CFNY.

They would if they knew DJ Chris Pack. So Chris was the producer of Kim Hughes' show. Kim Hughes is an FOTM. Great. I'm not surprised. Live in Toronto. Yeah. Live. Great. I'm not surprised. Live in Toronto. Yeah, live in Toronto. I'm telling the listenership.

Thank you. You're right. So live in Toronto, my husband was the producer for that, but he also did the road show with Martin Streak. And so he and Martin were off together doing all kinds of fun things, and he was Kim Hughes Hughes's right hand man and yeah so he was doing that while I was at Hits FM and then we met at the Weather Network. Okay so he left CFNY and ended up at the Weather Network. Yes and we were both kind of holding on

to our radio jobs and working at the Weather Network on weekends so I was on air and he was switching at the time he eventually became a director but he was a behind the scenes guy and yeah so we were both doing kind of Monday to Friday radio and then Saturday Sunday TV for a little while. That's wild and then you told him the story of how you didn't get the job as you screwed up the interview of Mary Ellen Benninger. I know I didn't tell a lot of people that but it was I was I maybe, I don't know if she even remembers me, but, um, I know that I'm, I'm thinking as an older person with, who's a little bit wiser now looking back at my 20, probably six year old self. I, I know what I did wrong. Yeah. You weren't interesting enough.

That's right. You gotta be interesting. I know. And I was interesting. I just be more crazy when somebody is boring. Like I don't even, I don't have, you just, just be interesting i know and i was interesting i just be more crazy when somebody is boring like i don't even like i don't have you just just be interesting to entertain me honestly you know what here's the thing when i got my first job at hits which was the cruiser babe that's what i was nicknamed cruiser babe yeah it was it was the 90s everything flew um i i was in an interview and i had no experience so I had to come up with something that was interesting about me. Eric Samuels is the person who hired me at the time. And I said to him that he was hosting a Yuck Yucks night and he had a joke telling contest and I won it. And he didn't remember, but I said, I was up on the stage and i was one of the people who

told a joke and i won the contest and so then he's like oh and then i got hired so there you go you should have told that to mary ellen benninger i should have i should i want a joke telling contest it might have got you the gig and then you know where would uh yeah then then we'd be like where would plugakus be today like she wouldn't be hosting a morning show in ottawa she could be i doubt it i think that was a big big deal for her okay back so again a little bit on your husband here even though uh he'll love this he'll love this because as he probably knows i have a number of cfny episodes in the archive here at toronto mike like that's a station i'm fascinated in the ongoing history of CFOI and I interview lots of people who work there. But you mentioned

that your husband, Chris Pack, was Martin Streak's sidekick on the Travelling Roadshow there. And what year do you hook up with this husband? When it went about, so you guys matched up. Approximately. 99? 99.

Okay. So, please, if you don't mind sharing i have uh i can only imagine how horrific it must have been but what what's it like when you get when you get the news that martin streak's no longer with us uh like what's what's that like he must have been very close with your shock yeah he was very close with my husband he was in our wedding party as a matter of fact and martin streak yes because it sounded like chris pack was in your wedding party, as a matter of fact. Martin Streak. Yes. Because it sounded like Chris Pack was in your wedding party. And I'm like, not surprised to hear that. Yeah, both of them were. Imagine he wasn't. Lucky me.

You can watch the video like everybody else. Okay. Yeah. So, Marty Streak was in your wedding party. Yeah, he was wonderful too. I mean, he was just such a charming, lovely person. And I obviously didn't know him as well as my husband did. But I just remember him well from my wedding. And he was fantastic. Great with the bridesmaids,

pouring champagne for everybody, you know, just just being the man, right without without taking all the attention, which is kind of hard for Martin Streak. But yeah, he was wonderful. And we saw him at canada's wonderland media day probably beginning of may end of april and then that's the last time we saw him we ran into him there we had a great conversation and then he died shortly after that so he died in july and that's almost 14 years ago i can't believe that i. And I guess around the 10th anniversary, Pete Fowler and DJ Craig and some people there put on, we had a party for Marty at the Opera House. Was that the Opera House?

Yeah. And I recorded live from the lobby. So people would come in and jump on the mic and tell a Marty story. So there's like three hours of audio there of just people he worked with and knew that were just telling streak stories. It was pretty cool. Yeah, that's very cool. I think my husband's friends with Pete Fowler too. Pete Fowler is a great guy. So shout out to FOTM Pete Fowler. Okay.

So that's the Chris Pack segment of your Toronto Mike debut. It's a fun fact. He worked at CFNY, was a friend of Marty Streak, friendly enough that Marty Streak could be a member, part of your wedding party. And I'm sorry for Chris's loss. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry for our loss.

Yeah. That 14 years ago, we lost the great Marty Streak. Yeah. I mean, our first, when we first went out, we went to a Cranberries concert and we were sitting beside George. Sorry, yeah, George Shrombalopoulos.

Yeah, that's where I met George. He was there that night at the Opera House. Yeah, he was good friends with Marty. Woo, lots of heavy stuff here. Okay, so it's only going to get heavier, people, don't worry, but let's get you to the Weather Network. So how do you end up at the weather network, Kim? Okay. So the weather network moved from Montreal where they were doing their national broadcasts to Mississauga right across from square one and at one Robert Speck Parkway. So they were moving and, uh, and so they were

hiring a whole bunch of people because obviously a lot of people who were working there in Montreal didn't want to also come to Ontario necessarily some did a bunch did move um but there was lots of openings a lot of part-time openings and uh so I got hired in this big hiring blitz uh at the Weather Network So yeah, there was a bunch of us. Straight from HITS? Like you're employed at HITS when you get the job offer from the Weather Network? Okay. So I stayed at both. Like I was saying, I was still working Monday to Friday at HITS.

And I was working Saturday and Sunday at the Weather Network. So for about nine months, I worked seven days a week, which was... Wow. Well, when you're young, you can do that, I suppose. You can do anything. Here's the big question for you. Okay, let's get really controversial here. Are you, Kim McDonald, a meteorologist?

No, but I play one on TV. Yeah. Yes, I am not a meteorologist. Let's get that out of the way. But you know what? I have 25 years of experience. So I know weather. I'm not a forecaster, but I understand weather. And I know weather. I'm not a forecaster

but I understand weather and I know how to tell a good weather story. You're already on the defensive. It's more of just to get that detail out of the way. Oh yeah, no, it's fine. It's fine. I don't mind not being a meteorologist. I love them. I love them dearly. So when the Weather Network hired you what was the role? It was a weekend

weather presenter? Yes. What was this role? I weekend uh like weekend weather presenter what was this role okay yes uh i was hired at the same time as a whole bunch of people rory o'shea anwar knight jane brown we were all hired is anwar back there yes and where's an fotm yay yeah anwar is recently back at the weather network it's just part-time but he's working every day, it seems. So we were all hired together. A lot of us were radio people, which worked well for the Weather Network because it's unscripted and in radio. So there's no teleprompter. Right. Okay. Unless we were doing

the news. It is like radio. We had a news segment where there was a teleprompter, but everything else, every other live segment was unscripted. And Anwar was the first person on the air when we flipped the switch from Montreal to Mississauga. And then I was the second on the air. So it was really funny that they didn't have people who are actually full time there working on the air when we moved. It was the people who had never been on the air before. But we had so much time to prepare it was almost like two months or something of you know practice practice practice meteorology classes all kinds of stuff so yeah we had a big old crash course in weather before we were on the air okay uh can you any other uh on

air presenters you could name check from the weather network i'm just curious so like it's like we've dropped Anwar's name. You said Rory O'Shea. You want all the people in Toronto media who used to work at the Weather Network? Carla Collins. That's before your time. She was. Liza Fromer, before my time. Also on FOTM. Michael Kuss.

Dana Levinson. Michelle Nelson. Dana worked at the Weather Network. Yes. I feel like I should know that. She was hired around the same time I was yeah dana and i worked she did 19 years at uh cfto uh before she left but uh okay keep going this is great sorry who's after dana uh did i say marcia mcmillan okay natasha ramsey hi chris potter wow this is a who's who yes uh bill coulter Keep going. Sangeeta Patel from ET Canada. Wow. Martine Gaillard.

She was there when I was there. Okay. And she's at Sportsnet, right? Yes. She left to go to sports. Yeah. So, Kim, here's my big question is, so these people are coming and then they're moving on and stuff, but you've been there over two decades now. Yeah.

You just love it there that much? Like, is it just that you got comfortable and you love it there? Why mess with a good thing? That's part of it. You know, there was a lot of us who were there for over 20 years. Suzanne Leonard, for example. Carrie Oliver was there for about 10 years. Okay.

Carrie Oliver? I booked her like yesterday. She got booked for her Toronto Mike debut in early July. She's my bestie. You know what? What's going on here? What's going on here? So she heard an episode of Toronto Mike with a guy named Paul Burford

who created Just Like Mom. And then she sent me a note about what she heard. And then that's the first time I had met her. It was like she slid into my Instagram DMs or whatever and we're chatting. Lucky you. Yeah, lucky me. And then next thing you know, she's in the calendar.

So she is making her Toronto Mike debut on July 5th. I was completely ignorant to the fact that there was a Kim McDonald, Carrie Oliver connection. Oh, yeah. And that you're making your Toronto Mike debut today and whatever next week or whatever that is. I guess it's next week that Carrie Oliver makes. Oh, yes. And that you're making your Toronto Mike debut today and whatever next week or whatever that is. I guess it's next week that Carrie Oliver makes her Toronto Mike debut.

And I had no idea that you were best friends. Okay. No idea. Wow. No, no idea. You didn't say, hey, Carrie, you should go on Toronto Mike. There was no, you didn't tell me. I didn't realize Carrie was at the Weather Network.

I know that she's at the Shopping Channel, but she got her start at the Weather Network. No. Here me. I didn't realize Carrie was at the Weather Network. I know that she's at the Shopping Channel, but she got her start at the Weather Network. No. Here's the thing. Tell me, because I need to do some homework here. She has a little bit of a Shopping Channel or TSC sandwich. So she was Shopping Channel, then Weather Network, then Shopping Channel.

So she was at the Shopping Channel for like 10 years or so. She's going to tell you the whole story. I know she was down in the States for a while. Oh yeah, I booked her for several hours. There you go, good. But they're all about her father. Oh, well, you should... He's interesting, but boy, that woman is very interesting.

And she will... No, he's getting his own. So I should just clarify. So Carrie is getting her episode, which is July 5th. And then Fergie Oliver is going to make his Toronto Make debut at a separate date. He's getting his own episode. Well, let's see if you can nail that down.

I think it's happening. You think it's happening? She's your bestie. Why don't you text her now and ask her? I think it's done. I think she's on the air. You guys are always working. Unbelievable. We are always working. Okay, so you and carrie oliver uh besties from uh carrie's time at the weather network right and unbeknownst to me who just

became buds with carrie oliver okay this is going great the three of us should do lunch anytime but do i have to go to hamilton where do we meet in the middle i guess we could meet in like burlington she's in milton so let's just go there oh boy okay we can go to milton i can i can bike to milton i can i can bike to milton we can do that okay so you're at the weather network and you're working with all these fab people and you've been there forever uh why am i there forever well i'm not even like saying what's wrong with you kim like everyone moved on you know dana went to cfto anwar went to cfto like uh coulters, where is he now?

City? CP24? I knew that. Just give us a taste of why you stuck around. And then hopefully you have some stories from the fans of the Weather Network. You've been there so long that you must have a heart share in this country. Do you like that? A heart share?

A heart share. I love the Weather Network, you know, and I had a lot, I had opportunities. But the thing is, the Weather Network really worked well with my life work balance, for one. So I raised two children, and I could also work at the Weather Network, and I wasn't gone for 10 hours a day. I didn't have to commute to Toronto, my commute was short in comparison. And so I wasn't away from my kids. And I could honestly work full time and be almost like a full time mom at the same time. So it was really ideal. I did the morning show for years when my kids were really young. I'd be, not weather. And I realized that weather was just this nice fit for me where it impacts everyone. It's mostly positive, not negative. I'm not talking about children being killed. I'm not talking about Kim Kardashian's butt. And I'm giving a service. And I just, I don't know, I just liked that. I liked the idea that I was doing

something I could be proud of and that I wasn't going home and, you know, crying at the end of the day because I was talking about something so horrendous. And I found that I did feel like that sometimes during the news when I was in radio. But sometimes weather is catastrophic and I don't know what it does to Kim Kardashian's butt, but it can kill children. It can. Sometimes weather is catastrophic and uh i don't know what it does to kim kardashian's butt but it can kill children it can yeah sometimes weather is uh is devastating and uh and and tough and more and more and i find that you know people say oh the weather but now i don't know if you've noticed this mike but the weather is the headline on all stations, not just the weather network. Oh, because of the fires, et cetera. Yeah.

The fires, the heat, tornadoes, hurricanes, whatever, like whatever it is. The, yeah, the weather is making headlines all the time. And for us, it's just, we're always there. We're all, you know, sometimes how sports might make a headline if somebody, a Toronto team wins something big and now they're the headline,

but the sports station is like, well, we have these guys every day. We're still talking about this no matter what's happening. Right, right. No, you're right. Weather is going to weather and it's become, especially these fires. I heard Montreal and Ottawa

still have terrible air quality index due to these fires. Well heard, what, Montreal and Ottawa still have terrible air quality index due to these, the fire. Well, you're the expert. That's still big. Over the weekend, it was for sure. Now we've had this. Well, it's already Monday. That's old news.

Well, we had this push of southerly wind and a clear air mass, but it's also the air mass that's bringing the thunderstorms and the severe weather. And Ottawa was getting severe thunderstorms today. And then Gatineau was under a tornado warning so hey if they're not getting smoke they're getting something else apparently and you've been keeping your eye on these uh tornado warnings there was

one on the weekend because i got an alert on my phone that said like there's a there's a whatever the the recipe for making tornadoes is in the kitchen this is how i explain it to kids is it like we have the ingredients for making a taco okay Okay. Like we haven't, we're not making tacos, but we could make tacos here. We have the ingredients for making tacos. When was the last time, and maybe it was last week and I wasn't paying attention, but do you know the last time like you reported on a tornado touching ground in Toronto? Like I can't, I can't, I've been here for almost 50 years. I can't think of a tornado touching down in Toronto. 2009, I want to say. Look at you.

I feel like there was a tornado that touched down around Vaughan at least. That's the city above Toronto. Yes, the city above Toronto. I know that there was a tornado outbreak. I believe it was, I want to say August 2009, but I might be wrong. Wasn't there a Toronto sports, this is not a question I expected answer, but wasn't there a Toronto sports franchise called the Tornadoes? Like, did we have a professional basketball team called the Toronto Tornadoes?

Or is that a fever dream I had once? I feel like I might Google this during one of your answers. Yeah, please do. Okay. Maybe Barry. I can see Barry having that name, but I don't know. Right. Okay.

I'm going to. So why is it Toronto doesn't get the Tornadoes? Just we're lucky? It's luck of the draw really it doesn't mean that tornado or toronto won't get a tornado i mean not every city has gotten a tornado but um everybody has the potential really there's no one you can't say there's one place that will never get a tornado for the most part in southern southern canada anyway thank you for vamping on that answer because it gave me time to google this. And so I remember this from my youth.

Like I remember the Toronto Tornadoes and I have the answer for you. You ready, Cam? Yeah. The Toronto Tornadoes were a, why do I say it like that? The Toronto Tornadoes were a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association. That's the CBA. They played in Toronto from 1983 to december 1985 so we absolutely had a cba

professional basketball team when i was a kid we used to play our home games at varsity arena we averaged 1224 fans at 22 uh home games and then in the second season it fell to like 850 fans which might explain why they didn't last very long but i'm just reading up here at the people who played for the team i don't recognize any of these names but we had a player named walter jordan close enough to michael jordan right like walter distant cousin walter jordan yeah the toronto tornadoes version of michael jordan was walter jordan, see, Tornado's not a great name because they don't

last long anyway. You know, a tornado is not on the ground for very long, so it makes sense that they only lasted a year and a half. Okay, you know what? This is why you're on the Weather Network because you're quick on your feet with that kind of witty repartee. You didn't have that scripted. There's no teleprompter in here.

You just pulled that out. Right off the top of my head if you did that with mary ellen benninger history would have been entirely different but i'm now thinking because your husband worked there you would have got the job he would have been like oh she's not that cool you know like it would have been a different first impression right would have rewrote the whole script yeah and you probably wouldn't have had these two kids well i think the universe wanted us together because he ended up working at the weather network and so did i so we ended up working at the same place anyway right but when he was like receptive to your charm like it just just or conversely you were receptive to his charm like maybe we introduced you guys earlier at that safe y yeah and it doesn't work out i like how you say he wouldn't have liked me

no but i did flip it like i caught myself okay i might not have liked i know i'm like and i've never met this man but uh he's lucky to have you kim okay i'm gonna throw it out there right now but you know and like uh back to the future when uh when um mcfly is looking at the marty's looking at the another marty is looking at the picture Marty's looking at the, another Marty, is looking at the picture and it's fading away. Like you'd have a picture of your two kids, they'd be fading away and you'd be like, oh no, I did too well in the Mary Ellen Benninger interview.

And you'd have to purposely screw it up to keep the picture. Well, at least one kid, one of my children, was before my husband. If I'm going to be completely honest. No, you need to be that is an interesting detail. Is that from a relationship or is it from a marriage?

Relationship. I got multiple baby mamas over here. Come on, Kim. It's okay. This is modern times. Okay. You don't have to give them

all to the same person. You spread that love around. That's right. Chris got one. Yeah. That's enough. It's okay. Okay.

Don't be greedy i'm glad you clarified that i didn't well i thought maybe some people might be upset if i didn't clarify it there's no shame in this game like i said i got many babies from many women it's just how we roll okay it's okay many many okay multiple all right okay i won't get any more specific okay rock star okay just pretend it's more than two okay okay favorite stories from your fans or viewers like maybe you can if you can share like i'm just thinking that you're on the tv so regularly for so many years yeah there are people you're you're a member of some people's families like you're their best friend I'm certain of it I feel that way sometimes honestly

I do because I and I didn't realize it until social media came to be and then you know once I had a Facebook page or Twitter or whatever my space I did not have my space um but people started to talk to me directly and then I could I could really get a sense of how people you know felt but I when I would get recognized it was always for something different than being on the weather network it was always something way more personal and I realize it's because hey I'm in your bedroom especially in the morning when I was doing the morning show right so they would say hey did I go to high school with you? Or did we work together?

I got some funny ones like a minister said, hey, did I marry your friends? You know, as if I was at the wedding. And a funeral director asked me if I had buried a relative. He had buried a relative of mine. Was that Brad Jones from Ridley Funeral Home? It was in London. So I said, no, but you might know me from the Weather Network.

And then they would say, all right, of course, that's what it is. A hundred percent, because sometimes you're in the background, right? Like you're going about your day, getting ready. You're there to find out the weather and there's Kim McDonald. And yeah, you're in there. What's more intimate than being in someone's bedroom for hours every day? Honestly, nothing is more intimate than that. And sometimes it would be someone would see me and I, you know, they thought I looked familiar. But when I started to speak, that's when they said, oh, Kim McDonald. I bet you got a, I don't know, a shopper's drug murder or something. And you're like, you're asking for a bag or something. And someone's like, tornadoes, Kim, what's going on on you know who did that to me who thought

they knew me from something personal but didn't was mike hannifin before he worked at the weather network i forget mike hannifin worked at the weather network and he's a he's an fotm as well yes um oh i just came back i just realized how you got on this show okay i'm sorry so shout out to mike hannifin he's a good fot Mike came over here, kicked out the jams. Then he had lunch with you. Yeah. And then I got a note from Mike and said, you should have Kim McDonald on the show.

And I said, you're right, Mike. And then this happened. But that was the catalyst. Yeah. It's a big word. We both knew that word. We're good. Because we're both university graduates.

That's it. And you were going to be a teacher. and now you're tracking the tornadoes. Okay. So you and Mike had a good lunch? We did. We had a lovely lunch. But he ran into me at a grocery store and he said, hey, you know, I think I know you. And then he asked me if I lived in his building.

And I said, no, I don't think so. Because I if i lived in his building and i said no i don't think so because i didn't live in a building um and then he said kim mcdonald the weather network it was like it was from i don't i do you live in my building too i know exactly your name and where i know you from so yeah and then you can really spook you by dropping like your middle name or something like kim marie mcdonald that would have been scary but no and then he ended up working at the weather network after that as a writer and it was just funny i said wait a minute didn't i run into you at a grocery store do you know what mike hannifin has in common with your husband what they both worked at cfny oh that's right that's right okay

everybody worked there but me did you ever get right well sandra plagakis took your gig okay she's living your life yeah she's got that uh she swore a lot in her episode i've noticed you Everybody worked there but me. Right. Well, Sandra Plagakis took your gig. She's living your life. She's got that. She swore a lot in her episode. I've noticed you don't swear because you're trained not to swear because you can't drop an F-bomb on the Weather Network. That's right. What would happen if you did?

Others have. Not on purpose. Usually if it happens, it's because somebody's mic was left up. Not that they did it on purpose. Right. I don't know what would happen. left up. Not that they did it on purpose. I don't know what would happen. Nothing probably. Not in this day and age.

If this was the 90s, maybe something would have happened. And I'll bet you're a professional that you treat every mic like it's a hot mic. I try. Oh, yeah. Have you ever cursed and then realized had that been a hot mic, you'd have sworn on the air? Yes. Okay. So you do swear. Well, I do swear. Yes. Okay. yes okay but not like plaga that's how she got the gig she dropped a few f-bombs see that's where i went

wrong so p fowler who we dropped earlier he was hosting the thursday 30 with martin streak one day and i'm trying to remember if it was tool i want to say tool but there was a concert he wanted to go to it might have been nine inch nails one Tool, but there was a concert he wanted to go to. It might have been Nine Inch Nails, one of those two bands. And he couldn't make it. And he basically like intentionally and purposefully dropped a very loud F-bomb

on over the air. I got a hold of this audio. I think Brother Bill sent it to me, but I have the audio. I played it on the show before, but yeah, there was a memo that went out the next day, but yeah, he dropped an F-bomb on cfny

during that uh thursday 30. wow there you go back to street did he still have the job yeah it was just like a don't do it again don't ever do that again like a strongly worded like note from the program director the next day right because nobody's ever heard swearing before and then podcasts came around and uh we could all talk just like we wanted to. We can fucking swear if we want to, but no one swears like Plagakis. Okay. Any concerning stories from fans or viewers of the Weather Network? Like, I'm just wondering, does anyone have like pictures of you on their wall or whatever? And it's like, oh no. Well, I have to say that sometimes people, they really think they know me more than they do. that sometimes people, they really think they know me more than they do. And so I start to get a lot of messages and things from people who consider us maybe closer than we are. And of

course, I'm going to be kind to everybody. I'm just, that's just my personality. We're about to talk about this health challenge that we teased earlier. But are we talking about like wardrobe and stuff? Like you'll get notes of like oh sweetie that that jacket's not for you or that kind of uh encroachment no no it's guessing yeah i mean sometimes people just they get very uh complimentary with and and i just i you know looking good baby yeah yeah that skirt really works i love. I love you. Like I get a lot of, I love you and you know, that kind of thing. And so I'm like, I don't know you, but. Yeah.

Cause they forget it's not a two way street. Yes. For sure. Because you're in their bedroom, but they forget, you know, you're, they're not in your bedroom. Right. That's the thing. They don't, they don't realize that.

So, and I try to be kind to these people because they do, people because they do feel like I'm closer to them than I am. And part of being on the Weather Network and ad-libbing is that, right? Because you get this comfortable relationship type of conversation versus if you're reading the news, there seems to be almost a wall because you're reading the news versus, hey, this is my life. And Hey, what'd you do this morning? Cause you're sharing and they don't, you know, you're sharing what you're comfortable sharing,

but they think you're like sharing everything with your dear friend or whatever. I, I think there's a lot of lonely people out there. Yeah. And I mean, we can get into what happened during the pandemic, but I think that,

uh, you, you're just, you're like a consistent, like force for a lot of people that you know a predictable stability in their lives like I think that role you play and absolutely some people will have the lines blurred with like how close are you to this person like they you know I think that could get a little bit concerning yeah you know it can be concerning but I really appreciate the people who watch me.

And I know we're going to get into the health thing, but a lot of people, because they felt so close to me, were so kind to me as a result. So I don't get a lot of hate. I've rarely gotten any negativity over the years, at least not directly. Just from Mary Ellen Benninger. People can, I liked Mary Ellen Benninger. I have nothing against her. I think I just gave

the wrong impression. But you know, on social media and that you can get people in media can get a lot of criticism. And I feel like I've been pretty lucky so far that I don't get a ton of it. And it's good because I don't get a ton of it. And it's good because I don't really have a very thick skin. So it works for me. You've come to the wrong podcast. I'm about to rip you to shreds. It's too late. Finally, I've got you comfortable.

Can I crack open one of these beers? You're going to need more than one. Okay. Okay, young lady. Listen, we're about to talk about your health challenge. And I'm going to tell you about a story, a photo I saw of you that I want to talk to you about. And before we get there, though, I do want to give some love, not just to you, Kim. I want to give some love to recyclemyelectronics.ca.

Because if anyone listening has old electronics, old tech, old devices they need to dispose of, do not throw it in the garbage. It goes in our landfills and those chemicals are bad. Go to recyclemyelectronics.ca and find a safe spot to drop them off. I want to give you something. Okay. Oh. What kind of music do you like, Kim?

That's a big question. I know. We're going to need another couple hours for that one. It is a big question. I listen to all kinds of music, actually. Okay. But I really like podcasts. That's what big question. I know. We're going to need another couple hours for that one. It is a big question. I listen to all kinds of music, actually. Okay. But I really like podcasts. That's what I listen to.

Okay. Well, I have a podcast for you to listen to on your brand new wireless speaker. Woo! Thank you. Oh, my gosh. A new car. No, it's a wireless speaker. That is courtesy of Moneris.

And with that, in addition to the other fine podcasts you listen to you're going to listen to season four of Yes We Are Open which is an award winning podcast hosted by FOTM Al Grego. He's been traveling the world talking to small business owners and collecting their inspiring stories so he can share them on Yes We Are Open. So season four

now available and you've got a great speaker there from the good people at Moneris. Thank you so much. And that's a great idea for a podcast. I like that. I like, I mean, I- It's a good podcast too. Yeah. I mean, I feel like I talk to Canadians across the country all the time too. And I just, I just love them. Everyone's got a great story.

Every day I hear a different story. People tell me how you're no good for me. There's going to be a george michael doc did i read that the other day another one is there another one is the same one is there is there a george michael doc yeah is it fresh why do i i thought there was a new george michael doc dropping but maybe it's the one you're alluding to when did your george michael doc come out oh my gosh like a long time ago five years ago you know what i hope it's not the same way i thought there might be a new one there might be a new one. There might be a new one. Maybe.

It just hit my news feed like the other day. Yeah, there could be. And I'm looking forward to the new George Michael doc. So, okay. I don't relate to anything, but I do want to shout out the Moment Lab. If you're looking for PR, if you're looking for a team of experienced professionals

who know how to craft stories that resonate with your audience and generate positive media coverage, I've got the people for you. I'm happy to introduce you to Matt and Jared at the Moment Lab, and you can learn more about how they can help you achieve your public relations goals. Kim, how comfortable are you with this subject we're about to tackle? Like, do I need public relations people to clean this up after? You know, this is your life, your health, and I'm going to like, I'm curious and i will ask

you questions about it but i don't want to like make you uncomfortable oh no you won't make me uncomfortable at all that's i'm very comfortable with the subject i have to say just taking it around back to george michael just for a second anytime you want to go back to george michael i'm okay with who i love i love pop music um that's the kind of music i like for the most part linda evangelista was in who's in the video for fame fame 90 that was cool um no no uh what's no freedom 90 freedom yeah famous that's david bowie okay freedom freedom 90 i think is or something just freedom well freedom was a wham song and then freedom 90 was the george michaels song yeah i think it's freedom 90 but keep going

i know what we're talking about i think okay i think it song. Yeah. I think it's Freedom 90. But keep going. I know what we're talking about. I think, okay. I think it's Freedom 90. Okay. I think it's Freedom. But anyway. But Wham had Freedom. I don't want your freedom. Girl, I'm all right now.

Which you're right. So to not confuse everybody, he called his solo song Freedom 90. All right. Okay. We got the same song, just I didn't have the 90 part. Yeah. Linja Evangelista's in it. Yeah.

I went to high school with her. Get out of here! Yeah, she's a St. Catharines girl. Okay, it is called Freedom 90. You owe me an apology. All right, I'm very sorry. It's not enough. I want more.

Do you want a beer? Because people, you know, it's called Freedom 90. Okay. You can call it Freedom if you want, but he also had the big hit with Wham! on Make It Big, which was one of my favorite cassettes as a kid. He had Freedom. So I believe the whole idea of Freedom 90

was so that you knew you were listening to the 1990 song Freedom, not the 1980 whatever song Freedom. Lynch Evangelista and you, two beautiful people at the same school at the same time. That is wild. Wild. When... Give me the story of when you realized that you kim had cancer okay so i i'm not one of those people who was surprised it wasn't like the doctor said you have cancer and i went, oh my God, what? I had been screened a few times. It was always like,

get a mammogram. They call me and I'd say, okay. They go, we've seen something. I come back. They go, oh, it's nothing. So that happened quite a few times. So I got over being scared. But I was seeing a specialist for every six months because I guess they saw something that I didn't or thought that I was at risk. And then the last time I had, I used to get cysts, they drain the cyst. It's always benign. No problem. And then I went to the doctor, the specialist, same thing happened. He goes, no, you're fine. But then apparently he took me off his roster of patients because it had been three years. I had nothing wrong everything was fine but then i had a lump that started to grow and i and alarmingly so but i'm like no it's fine it's just

a cyst so it was like the boy who cried wolf i was like no big deal this is not a problem how old are you at this time 48 okay and i'm 48 right now by the way are you yeah but only for like a few more hours okay oh a few more hours yeah oh all right so it's your birthday in a few hours yeah maybe let's see how long this goes i'm staying i'm staying this is all right so continue cake so you're 48 years old yes there's a lump and you found a lump in your breast like it's a self-exam you found yes yes? Yes. It just started changing dramatically. Like it was growing. It was growing very quickly to the point where, yeah, I don't know.

How graphic do you want me to get? Yeah. This real talk because this is like a real thing you dealt with. Yeah. And this is a real thing that a lot of women deal with. Yeah. And I want to talk. I don't want to make it like something we don't talk about.

And, you know, and there are a lot of women who ask me about the changes because they don't know. They don't know what it is that they should be looking for. Be graphic, please. Be graphic, okay. So essentially my breast turned into almost like it felt like a baseball. It got hard.

Yes, hard as a rock. And that was a problem. And then, so I'm like, okay, it's not even a lump. It's just hard is a rock. And that was a problem. And then, so I'm like, okay, this is, it's not even a lump. It's just like, it's just heart is a rock. And that's very strange. Especially if you don't have implants. And then my nipples started to retract. So go in instead of coming out. And that's the tumor kind of pulling it in and i'm looking on google and of course i'm like wow these are all signs of breast cancer very clear to me then i started to get a little rash on my breast like pink and then i was like okay that's not good and all of this happening very quickly i was gonna ask because like it's is this happening over the span of days no probably weeks weeks but at first i ignored it because i thought, okay, well, I always have kind of little issues going on, but it's always benign.

But when it solidifies, I don't know if that's the right terminology, but you're still ignoring it? Well, I went to the doctor. So I called my doctor, you know, can I come in? So I go and see my regular family doctor, and I said, is this breast cancer? And he said, well, I don't know what it is, but we're going to find out.

And then he said, get back in to see your specialist, who I was trying to get into. I said, he don't know what it is but we're gonna find out and then he said get back in to see your specialist who I was trying to get into I said he won't take me back I had to come back here because they had taken me off the list so he goes okay well go get an ultrasound and I got one that day like I went downstairs and they took me in right away and anyway I waited a couple more weeks to see my specialist. They said, you can't come in until you get a mammogram and an ultrasound through us in our spot that we like. And I said, all right, that's fine. So I go and I get, this was funny.

I said to the woman, I need a mammogram and an ultrasound. And she says, well, hold your horses, Lenny. Maybe not like that, but we'll do the mammogram. Then we'll see if you and an ultrasound and she says well hold hold your horses lindy maybe not like that but we'll do the mammogram then we'll see if you need an ultrasound so i'm like all right so i have the mammogram it's extremely painful it's a brutal situation uh and then they said okay wait for a minute and then they call me and they go okay we need you to come in for an ultrasound i'm like that's funny so i go and I get the ultrasound and then I go back out and I wait a minute. And they said, we, um, so we'd like to do a biopsy. And I said, Oh, when are you going to do that? And they said, right now. Right. And when someone says we're doing a biopsy right now, uh, that's a problem. So I, I'm like, okay, cool. Because I

knew I didn't even have to, I, you don't, I didn't need a mammogram. I didn't need an ultrasound. This was, I was trying to tell people, I go, you can see that I have breast cancer by looking at me. You don't need, I don't need any kind of screening, but anyway, had the biopsy. You could have diagnosed that over the phone. Right. Which, you know, I could have sent you a picture on my phone and just tell me that I have breast cancer. So I knew all this, I knew it. And after I had the biopsy, they said, when are you going to see the specialist? And I said, so this was November 16th. I said, I have an appointment on December 1st. So two more weeks.

And she said, can you get in sooner? And I said, I don't know. Can I get in sooner? Why don't you tell me when I can get in? And then I was told, okay told okay well he still has to go and look at everything and it's still gonna be two weeks so I went in on December 1st now at this point I think that I have inflammatory breast cancer which is the worst one you could possibly get because of the rash I thought I have maybe 36 months to live oh my god right this is what

I'm thinking I'm thinking I gotta I said to my God. Right? This is what I'm thinking. I'm thinking, I got to, I said to my husband, you know, this is really bad. I think, I think I'm screwed here. And there's no, there's no real cure for inflammatory. Like, because it was so aggressive and it happened very quickly. And all of this with Dr. Google, I'm like, boom, I'm, you know, I'm dead and buried. So my doctor comes out, the specialist comes out and says, I'm really sorry.

You were here to see me in January or February. I sent you away. I'm shocked that you have, like, that this is this far advanced. And then I said, yeah, me too. So he says. That makes two of us. Yeah, that's both of us. and then he says that um i go what's i go do i have inflammatory breast cancer right out of the gate and he's like no i don't

think so and i said oh okay what and i and he said i can't give you a stage right now but i you know probably stage two um because they didn't know if it was in my lymph nodes i think they had taken some of my lymph nodes and it wasn't in the couple that they took. So that was good. And so he gave me a stage two B, which is a little more aggressive than a stage two. And I'm like, all right, I can work with this.

I can work with a stage two B breast cancer. Yeah, questions, Kim. Okay. All right. So you've done your Googling. You've seen, you've got the, you're like your textbook photo. You got the textbook photographs on your body here. Yeah. So is it just the human nature? Cause a lot of people are like this where they brace themselves for the

worst case scenario, like essentially. So, so this, uh, what do you call it? Inflammatory breast cancer. Yes. So this is the worst case scenario. So you're bracing yourself for that. So it's almost like you've accepted it almost because that's the worst case scenario and you can't do any worse than that. So it's like, this is a human preservation technique. So then when the doctor tells you it's not that, it's like, how do you feel when you hear that it's not inflammatory breast cancer do you feel like almost

like you won something like yeah i felt relieved yeah i felt relieved because you can you can you can treat this yeah because now they weren't sure yet because once you are told that you have you know breast cancer then you have to go through a series of tests to make sure that it hasn't spread anywhere. Typically the lungs, the brain and the bones. So you go for bone scans and MRIs and x-rays. And my oncologist said, okay, so we're going to do all these tests. If it has spread somewhere, you're stage four and it's metastasized. And I can't cure that. However, you can live for a very long time with stage four breast cancer

with drugs that we have today and your life, you know, make you very comfortable. But if it is not spread, we are going to do a very aggressive treatment on you that will wipe you out for a better part of a year. But it can cure you. Right.

And that's what they Right. And that's, and that's what they did. And that's what they did. How long ago did these treatments start? Okay. So I was diagnosed December 1st, 2016. And I finished in 2018.

And what, like when you say aggressive treatment, do you want to be, all the, all the stuff, right? So I had chemo i had eight rounds of chemo over 16 what's that like like i know like what is it like to have eight

rounds of chemo it's okay so it's bad but it's not as bad as the 80s movies that we used to watch remember when everybody was so like it couldn't keep anything down and it was you know brutal which is how you know you kind of picture it so it wasn't as bad as what I thought it might be. But is there a lot of puking? But there was no puking. Really? Right. There's none. Oh, I would have assumed lots of puking.

No. Okay. I had none because they give you some really heavy duty drugs to stop you from puking. So they have those now. I don't think I've ever had this kind of a conversation about like, I, I'm very curious about this. And you just, you just don't want to ask people these questions when they're going through treatments for their, uh, their, their, their cancer. So like, I just want to tell you right now, I'll repeat it at the end, but like,

thanks for being so candid about this, that you're going to like take time and answer these questions. So you had eight rounds of chemo what else so i had to do the chemo first normally if you have breast cancer you might have a mastectomy like right out of the gate they say surgery take that so take your breasts away yeah is that a mastectomy the whole breast or just yeah so there's different there's different ones there's lumpectomies and then there's mastectomies then there's bilateral mastectomies. But I didn't, they said, listen, your tumor is so big. It was 10 centimeters. So like a softball. And they said, we want to shrink it.

So we're going to give you chemo first, shrink the tumor, and then you'll have a mastectomy after that. So I did the eight rounds, you know, right before Christmas I started. Did the eight rounds, finished in March, had a little break, recovered from chemo. Chemo, it wipes you out. This is how chemo goes exactly, at least it did for me. And from what I've read in other people's blogs, etc. You go for your chemo, you're fine that day, you're fine the next day. And about day three after your chemo I I felt like it's like you feel horrible like horrible like you're a terrible flu right uh I felt like I was in a pit that's how you

know that one day is awful and then you slowly start to climb out of the pit and then about three days later you're out and then you have a week that you feel pretty good and then it starts all over again. So it was hard mentally for me knowing what I was going to face again in two weeks. You know what I mean? Like you keep putting yourself into this position where you're like, oh God, I know what's going to happen. And you don't want to waste any of your good days dreading the bad days that are coming, but it's a hard thing to fight. dreading the bad days that are coming, but it's a hard thing to fight. Yeah, so what's this doing to your depression,

like to your life? Yeah, wow. So I think that because I had a plan and I was just looking forward and trying to get through it right so I'm like okay I'm gonna do this I I it was mind over matter a lot of the days I had a ton a ton a ton of support I had oh my god like my family my friends and my co-workers and people who watched me on the weather network I mean i swear to god i felt like i had the country behind me and helping me and honestly that would get me through some really shitty days

look i swore um so yeah i would shitty still swear word oh no not really but when you talk about cancer you can't not say it you know what i mean so well fuck cancer can i just say that yeah you can say fuck cancer i had little socks that said that too um but yeah I would have like I'd go oh my god this is the worst day and then I get a message from somebody or somebody send me flowers or something and I'm like oh my god like they would just you know just come at the right time so yeah so eight rounds of chemo no fun not as bad as I thought it was going to be. But the worst, in my mind, the worst part, like the worst part physically of cancer treatment. Mastectomy was the worst mentally. Do you want to share why?

I, you know, I'm glad that I had time to think about my mastectomy ahead of time. Most women just have to go get it. And then they, you know, they wanted to take the, just the breast that had cancer. I wanted after, after I had months to think about it, I wanted a double mastectomy. I didn't want to worry about the other side. I had heard nightmares stories about women whose cancer came back on the other side. And I would have to, you know, constantly get it checked. So I had to convince my oncologist, my, my surgeon, my radiation oncologist that I wanted a double mastectomy. None of them wanted me to have it. They don't believe in taking what they consider a healthy breast for no reason. Um, but I said

to my oncologist, okay, this is before I had the mastectomy. I said, okay, my non-cancer breast feels almost the exact same as my cancer breast. They both are kind of lumpy. They both have like dense breasts, which are, you know, we're likely to have breast cancer. So he goes, well, I don't, I usually only feel cancer breasts, but okay. So he did. And he said, I can't really tell the difference. And he said, I can't really tell the difference. And he said, if you want a double mastectomy, you can get one. Cause he said, I want you to go every six months and get a mammogram. And I said, how about, no, how about I don't do that. And we just get rid of it and I don't have to think about it anymore.

So went for the bilateral mastectomy, double mastectomy. So this is a surgery to remove your two breasts right okay which mentally was very very hard for me because I knew it was going to be altering my body um so much like something that was really a part of me and I didn't realize how much it you know it meant to me but they, even, even though I didn't feel like, oh, I, you know, I had the best breasts in the world and it's not like, oh, they were, you know, my best feature, but I was attached to them. They, you know, I, I breastfed two babies, you know, I was literally attached to them. Um, and you know, I just, I, I was, it was sad to

really alter my body in that way. Uh, just, yeah, to have a part of my body like removed was, uh, just, I don't know. It was a hurdle that I had to get over. Can I, uh, bring up this, uh, photo I've seen. So this, you have a great blog about like, you have a great blog. So KMac blog, KMac blog.com. You guys can, cause there's a photo is right there. You can see it. So I saw. I saw the photo today of you and Carrie Oliver. Oh, yeah. So there's a picture of you guys eating ice cream there. Okay.

So there's a photo on this blog where you got this like gorgeous tattoo on your chest where your breasts once were. That's right. That's right. Tell us about like why and how you chose that design the big question that most people ask me is why i didn't get reconstruction so i'm gonna go with that i'll start with that even though you didn't ask me okay do you want me to kim why didn't you get

implants why didn't you get reconstructive surgery okay so mike i didn't get reconstructive surgery because i first wanted to but then my oncologist said to me hey if't get reconstructive surgery because I first wanted to, but then my oncologist said to me, hey, if you get reconstructive surgery, can you wait three years? And I said, why? And he said, well, you had a very aggressive cancer, and I'm worried that if it comes back, we might not be able to catch it in time if you have implants. And I said, how about I just don't do that too. And, you know, I had lots of

radiation. I had 25 rounds of radiation on my chest. That's not great for the skin. And then I started to read about women who just stayed flat. And all these women were really happy with that decision. And so many of them had had implants and got them taken out because their body rejected them in some way. And it was just, there was nightmare story after nightmare story. And a lot of times it just didn't work out for them. And you don't feel, I mean, reconstructive surgery after breast cancer is not like getting breast implants. If you're a healthy woman, you don't have any feeling in your breasts. So it's like, who is this for? Certainly not me. Um, and that, you know, and so I thought, okay, you know what?

I'll stay flat. I can have, um, bras that, you know, and, and have prosthetics and that's fine. And if I want to look like I have breasts, I can, but I don't have to have surgery on top of everything I've already gone through. And I already gone through. I totally get it. I totally get it. And like in Trainspotting, you choose life, like you're choosing life here. I'm choosing life. Yes. Is that a wham thing too?

Are we back to that? That is. Yes. Yeah. Yes, of course. The shirts. Yeah. Wake me up before you go.

Yeah. Choose life. Okay. There we go. So I got a tattoo five years after my mastectomy. I waited till my, you know my mastectomy. I waited till my, you know, skin really healed. It's something I wanted to do. And my close friend, Andrea said, you know what? Women get tattoos on their mastectomy scars or on their chest.

And it's just, you know, when you look in the mirror, you see something beautiful rather than just your scars. And even I got used to how I looked and I accepted my body. It took a while, but I did. But then I got this sunflower tattoo and sunflowers represent standing strong and facing the sun or following the sun. And I felt that way during my whole treatment process. I was like, okay, I have the wind at my back. I want to be strong. I'm trying to face the sun. I'm trying to find something positive in this whole scenario. And sunflowers just seem to represent that. And I freaking love them. And so I just got a full on massive sunflower tattoo across my chest. And when did you get the tattoo? tattoo across my chest. And when did you get the tattoo? Last May, like a year ago. A year ago.

Okay. Yeah. Okay. How are you feeling these days? Like, like, how have you been feeling lately? Great. Yeah. Like a hundred percent. Yeah. A hundred percent. That's amazing. I know. I know. It's, it is amazing. I mean, I am a, now a I am now a, I have been since I had breast cancer, a spokesperson for Breast Cancer Canada. And honestly, I just, I love what's being done in the field. I love the research that's being done. We've come so far. The fact that I'm alive today is, you know, is thanks to research. fact that I'm alive today is you know is thanks to research I was on this drug called Herceptin for um I had 18 rounds of it for almost over a year about 13 months I was on Herceptin every

three weeks I'd go to the chemo ward and I would get this infusion on top of chemo and this drug didn't exist 20 years before at least not for women who weren't metastatic, but this doctor discovered that Herceptin can help HER2 positive breast cancer patients, and that's what I was. And before that, a HER2 positive breast cancer, what's the word, diagnosis, would have meant that I was likely a goner and now it means i

this drug means that i have as much chance as anybody else so yeah it saved my life and uh and thank god i got breast cancer in you know 2016 rather than 1997 and that's not even that long ago 97 no that's when plagakus got to get on humble and fred in the morning that's not even that long ago, 97. No. That's when Plagakis got to get on Humble and Fred in the morning. That's not that long ago. Holy shit, Kim. Your story is very, so it's harrowing because you know something's wrong. I'm frustrated listening to this story and how long it takes for that specialist to get going here. I'm like, let's go.

You know you've got breast cancer. It feels like time is of the essence. But at least whatever that was, stage 2B, you were expecting, you were braced for worse. And then, yeah, you had to endure these treatments, which were not as bad as those 80s movies we watched. But then today, and I'm just meeting you now for the first time, but you look so healthy.

You're glowing. You look great. You just came off the air. I don't know. Maybe you're excited Olivia Chow is the new mayor of Toronto, but you look great. And I would never know. You were sick in the last 10 years.

Well, I'm glad to hear it. I'm glad to hear it. Wow. Okay. This has been quite something. Do you have any advice? I'm glad to hear that. Wow.

Okay. This is, this has been quite something. Do you have any advice? Uh, is there, if there's a woman out there who, I don't know, I,

any advice to women in general, people who have breasts, any advice for people with breasts and, uh, like the self exams. I know about the self exams. Like, what do you do if you feel a lump?

Like go straight to your doctor. What, what is the best practice here okay if you find breast cancer early early stage breast cancer is almost 100 guaranteed that you will survive the earlier you catch it the better it is sometimes you get away with um just a lumpectomy sometimes radiation sometimes no chemo at all if it is early stage. And it's called precision oncology. So they will treat you.

They won't throw everything at you like they did me. Once you get into stages threes and fours, that percentage of survival really starts to dwindle. It's far less. So be your own best advocate nobody cares more about you than you do so get in there get screened and just stamp your feet, do whatever you need to do

good advice on the advocacy because sometimes it's like oh we'll see you in six months and you're like nope six months is too long you gotta be your own advocate there don't be a patient the other thing I would suggest is if you are, if you are, um, going through something, maybe not even just breast cancer, but don't be silent

about it. Don't tell just maybe one person be, I mean, I went public with my diagnosis and honestly, I think that most people should go public. At least you don't have to be a public figure like me, but tell your friends, tell people they, they will help you. They will lift you up and they will help you through it. And if you put everything on just one person, it's not fair to them. Not one person can carry that burden, um, spread the well.

And, uh, it helps others to learn about you because they might be going through something similar and they will help you. So please, please, please. It's not something to be ashamed of. And I know I'm talking about breast cancer in general, but don't be so private about it. It doesn't help. Is the plan to do another 25 years on the weather network i don't know i don't know um i don't know if 25 if i would be doing 25 years i think now i am the oldest woman to have ever been on the weather network shout out to me and the old ladies yeah so that's that's pretty cool i'm gonna be 55 this summer summer. And yeah, and I'm pretty proud of that, you know,

that I have lasted this long, a bit like Survivor, you know, on many levels. Yeah, my torch has not been snuffed yet. But you know, the media landscape is constantly changing. And that might mean that I have, you know, that I have worn out my welcome at some point, but so far so good. Well, let me know if you hear rumblings about that, because I'll make some phone calls and put an end to that nonsense. I don't think you're wearing out any, any welcomes. I do want to shout out a podcast that is actually not available today. So you cannot subscribe to this podcast, but I do want to shout out a podcast that is coming pretty soon. It's called Spotlight Sessions.

And why am I shouting it out? Because it's hosted by FOTM Rosie, Rosie Ferguson. And you were recently a guest on this program. So you can't listen to Kim McDonald on Spotlight Sessions yet. But one day I'll tweet about it when it happens. But one day you'll also be heard over there. And I got to hear you and Rosie have a great chat. And it's funny because here we are chatting about FOTM Mike Hannafin.

And then we're now we're talking about FOTM Rosie. And you were all together at the same time at the Weather Network. What a magical place. It was a magical place. It still is. But man, some of the best people in the world I met there and some of my best friends in the world I met

there. Emily Vukovic, shout out to her. Suzanne Leonard, Carrie Oliver. Yeah, we're the big four. Any assholes over there I should know about at the Weather Network? Any assholes? None. None? That's amazing. What a magical place. Just tornadoes that happen after 11 p.m.

Oh, my God. Yeah, that's right. And never in Toronto. And never in Toronto. Maybe Vaughan, but never Toronto. Okay, Kim, how was this for you? I did warn you it might go 90 minutes, and I'm just going to check in

and tell you that it went about 90 minutes. How was it? Very good. It was just like the live stream I did this afternoon. 90 minutes. 90 minutes. I didn't. It was just like the live stream I did this afternoon. 90 minutes. 90 minutes. I didn't choke on this one like I did on that. I literally choked on the air.

Was that with Mary Ellen Benninger too? Wait, you choked on the air? I just started to cough and they had to turn off my mic. Oh, like a literal choke. Yeah, like a literal choke. I never choke for, you know. Does someone rush in and give you the Heimlich maneuver? We're not going to lose you now, Kim.

You beat the big C. We're not losing you to this apple that you decided you had to eat. We'll do anything for ratings on the Weather Network. No, this has been a thrill. I've enjoyed every minute of it. And I'm sorry if I was Debbie Cancer Downer. Not trying to be. Are you kidding me?

That's the most positive cancer story ever broadcast on Toronto Mic'd. Like it's got a happy ending. Yeah. Because you look great. You're on the air. And you're going another 25 years on Toronto Mic'd. Like it's got a happy ending. Yeah. Cause you look great. You're on the air and, uh, you're going another 25 years on the weather network. All right.

It's a happy story. And you're episode 1280, but I would just like to know here, let me just play this real quick here because remind us all. So no, I won't be getting on my motorcycle and driving on the 401 to die there. I feel like that's a very poor idea. And that's why we're zooming today. And that's why we're Zooming today.

And that's why you're episode 1,255. I accept that now. I will. I'll accept that. At least I'm not 1,280. That would have been the shits. I'm going to take a note to find out who does get that number. And then I'm going to play that clip of Sandra Plagakis.

Tell them you know you're a piece of shit when you're 1,280. You're a piece of shit. And that brings us to the end of our 1,280th show. Yeah, baby. With Kim, who I don't think is a piece of shit.

But you can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike and you are, is it at? KMAC TWN. TWN stands for the Weather Network. You got it. See, I cracked the code. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer.

Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Mineris is at Mineris. Recycle My Electronics are at EPRA underscore Canada. The Moment Lab are at The Moment Lab. And Ridley Funeral Home are at Rid-P-R-A underscore Canada. The Moment Lab are at The Moment Lab and Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley F-H. See you all.

Should I go to my calendar? Who the heck's up next? Hold on here. Don't. See you all. Wednesday. Hold on. You're giving me this now?

Should I open it now? Sure. Because we're still recording. Okay, good. Don't worry about who's coming up there's great episodes coming up all the time but i have a an envelope really okay kim has given me a card there's like it's like a weather card yeah the weather network there's

like a rainbow there's clouds it says it's a good day to be happy. Dear Mike, just a note to make you smile. Happy birthday. Love your 1280 piece of shit favorite guest, Kim. Sorry for playing hard to get. Aw, that's a sweet fucking thing to do, Kim McDonald. And it is my birthday in 50 minutes. And I pretended I didn't know, but I did know. I know, and you did know. Okay, somebody

told you, and I might even know who that was, but thank you very much for this. You're now in the FOTM Hall of Fame. But seriously, come back and kick out the jam someday, okay? Alright, I'd love to. See you all later this week. Well, I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain Later this week.