True North Strong and Free, Now with Sunny Days :)

Stealing All My Dreams - Blue Rodeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3C1SWVquXA

I first heard this song back in April of 2015 and being a self-professed Keelorite I was immediately drawn to it for that factor alone. But like the rest of Greg Keelor's body of work, I loved it because of what he had to say and how he said it. Greg's songs tend to have deep personal meaning for me and for the record, this is not his first protest song. I figure that Greg in his youth was probably the first one at a Sit In encouraging his peers to not "Stand for It." Just before the end of the election, Blue Rodeo released the song as a call to action. Smart move, it got people talking.

It is October 2015 and Canada is in the midst of one of the longest election campaigns in the country's history. Now, I'm not a staunch political person and I sure don't understand the reasoning behind the tremendous waste of money that went along with nearly 80 days of campaigning. But over that length of time it sure gave the average citizen the chance to hear all about the political promises of 3 men vying for the top position in the country, Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair. There were other smaller players in the game like Elizabeth May (Green Party) and Gilles Duceppe (Bloc Quebecois) also.

There has been a growing dislike for the current Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper for some time. That sentiment just grew as time went on. I had issues from the first campaign advertisement I heard that was not full of rainbows and promises but attacks upon the perceived greatest threat to Harper, one Justin Trudeau. In my world, there is no time or place for the bashing of another human being especially for personal gain.

There were many reasons cropping up on social media to Stop Harper. He was known for taking a back pocket position in the pants (near the farts and smell, not the wallet) of the corporate world. He seemed to speak for them more than citizen tax-payer. We faced such issues as the preservation of the environment, (what Kyoto protocol?) the safety and security of the people, scientist and researchers were handcuffed trying to do their job and slapped with gag orders (of a sort). And while the people were questioning their dwindling rights to freedom of speech, the oil companies were allowed to bleed us dry and don't get me started on fracking! 

The only non-partisan source for news and information about our people and our country, the CBC has been decimated. Consider Clara Hughes fundraisers for Mental Health "Let's Talk" and "Clara's Big Ride" which are sponsored in part by Bell Canada. The CBC and Bell owned television stations supported and promoted this worthy cause but nary a word was spoken on Rogers owned stations. This is one example proving we need the CBC for fair and honest, non-judgmental information. News, sports, music, culture, entertainment "By the people For the people."

In my humble opinion, it is the lack of funding for the CBC that sold off our national dream sport of hockey to public enterprise and left it inaccessible to many without a Rogers account. Hockey knitted communities together from one end of this nation to another. In the most remote corners of this country, you could always get an antennae and access the CBC and come together. Not so much anymore.  

The sky-rocketing incidence of missing and murdered indigenous women was just not very high on Harpers list of priorities. The veterans who made this country what it is today were cut off from services and support at the same time that incidences of PTSD among the military personnel was exploding. 

Last (for the purposes of this missive but by no means the last of the atrocities committed by Mr. Harper), at a time when on-line shopping is increasing and delivery is necessary to complete the transaction, Canada Post has become a former shell of itself. Door-to-door delivery is all but gone. The elderly are encouraged to stay in their homes avoiding long-term facilities but many are unable to access their mail which is now a potentially hazardous journey. Even the able-bodied have issues with the lack of service and inaccessibility and safety of retrieving their mail. Winter in Canada is not community mailbox friendly.

Lots of reasons to Heave Steve. 

Much of what I've said could easily have been shared long before the election. But I think people should make up their own minds. Besides, I am in some part responsible for the long tenure that Stephen Harper did have. In typical Canadian fashion we forgive and hope for better until we can't take it anymore. 

Sunny Days Victory Speech Soundbite

I'm not saying I voted for Justin Trudeau and I'm not saying I didn't. But one thing you can be sure of is I didn't approve of what Stephen Harper was doing to the country. But in the aftermath I find myself wondering what good he did do during his tenure. I put out a honest request on Facebook to help jog my memory. Instead of a jog I am barely sauntering. Maybe with time it will become clear?

Map courtesy National Post

I wanted change. Canada wanted change. We got change but I was hoping for a little more colour in the political map. Democracy works best when there is a little devil looking over your shoulder. The morning after the election, I wasn't surprised by the victory of Justin Trudeau, what I was surprised by was the near annihilation of the New Democratic Party who's popularity fell below the Conservatives. I would have preferred a little more power for a dual-opposition party to hold the current government accountable. 

Mr. Mulcair, I have only one question for you. Who was going to pay for your $15/day childcare plan? The aging Canadian population who is closer to retirement than child-bearing age? Although I understand that there are some people in true need of such a program, I object to paying for the childcare of people who live in a 2 income household so they can maintain their "mansion" in the burbs, cottage in the north, and annual summer vacay in the south.

No it is not statistically based but my views are based on facts derived from my experience in the system. How about paying the Childcare Workers a little more of a living wage? Many are making barely above minimum wage with no benefits. Hardly enough to pay off the college loans and certainly not enough to afford their own children.  

Mr. Harper, I applaud your actions which did stabalize our economy but at what cost? I don't think it much matters that we are an economically viable country if we have no country left. There are economies in some Asian countries that are booming also...and they can't breath the very air that surrounds them. I can't be the only one that sees a problem with protecting the economy at the expense of the environment and the people!

Below is a graphic that illustrates the change in tide of Canadians leading up to the October 19, 2015 election that led to a Liberal majority government, and Stephen Harper stepping down as party leader. In the end 54% of votes went to the Liberals (LPC), 29% for the Conservatives (CPC), 13% for the New Democrats (NDP), the Bloc took 10% and the Green Party took one seat. 

The people of Canada, in the end spoke loudly. More than 68% of eligible voters cast a ballot to make their voice heard. Although that figure is 7% higher than the last election it still falls short of the 80% average of the late 1950's and early 1960's. 

So we will see how this plays out. Worse comes to worse, we will have the opportunity for a do-over. Because Canada is true, north, strong and free and a democracy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fools Like You by Blue Rodeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uvN7c6V-fs

By the way, this is not the only protest song released by Blue Rodeo. Nor is Blue Rodeo the only group to release a political or other protest song. In this election campaign alone Google tells me there were 10 songs. 

For the naysayers who think that artists like Blue Rodeo should "Shut up and sing" instead of the wealthy and well-known telling us what to think. May I introduce you to the television commercial? Have you heard of product placement? Has a politician ever tried to garner your vote? Has your boss/union/or life partner tried to sway your opinion? Have you ever buckled under peer pressure? 

You want to boycott Blue Rodeo because they jumped into the political arena, go ahead...it's your choice (democracy and freedom of speech in action). But, how many artists are you willing to not listen to for the same reason? Go back in history and consider the following very small sampling. 

The Times They Are A-Changing - Bob Dylan
Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire
Smoking Gun - Blue Rodeo
We Shall Overcome - Joan Baez and others
Get Up Stand Up - Bob Marley
Ohio - Neil Young
Fools Like You - Blue Rodeo

STEALIN' ALL MY DREAMS

Your pipeline will spill its disease
You shut down all the research libraries
And you muzzled all the white coats in your laboratories
Then you set your sites on the CBC

You’re stealing all my dreams
You’re stealing all my dreams

Whatever happened to our democracy?
Well, this train came into town, the Reform Party
Little King, Stevie, & his monarchy
Behind the closed doors of corporate-ocrasy

You’re stealing all my dreams
You’re stealing all my dreams

He likes an enemy conspiracy
Greatest threat to mass security
He’ll throw me in jail cause I disagree
And I’m so scared of your oil industry

‘Cuz I love the rivers & I love the stream
But, I’m scared for the children & the babies
I love the forest & I love the trees
Have you forgotten that you work for me?
You can start by honoring a treaty

You’re stealing all my dreams
You’re stealing all my dreams

War planes, computer games, robo-calls & Senate shame
It’s a crime if I descent
Supreme Court held in your contempt

Native women, not a priority
Sometimes I wonder... just how you sleep?

You’re stealing all my dreams...

2015 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his newly appointed cabinet

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:
Proof of facts in the song

http://www.bluerodeo.com/stealingdreams/

Finding the song lyrics

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bluerodeo/stealinallmydreams.html

Clara Hughes

http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/news/

Map courtesy of National Post - see more maps here

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/canadian-election-results-2015-a-live-riding-by-riding-breakdown-of-the-vote

Movers and Shakers!

No Regrets - Tom Cochrane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg8o6SfgCk0

The summer of 2015 will go down as the summer of movers and shakers. For me at least, because it seems that every other person I talk to is planning a move and before they go there is a lot of shaking going on! To be honest the shaking is probably the dust flying around upon being disturbed after so many years. I know you can all relate! :)

I moved two years ago now and always said I would write about the disaster that was that move, if only to warn people. It has been locked up (where it will continue to stay) until I feel strong enough to revisit that stressful period in my life. 

But once the moving part was settled, it was the best thing I could have done for myself - and yes, it was totally selfish. From that move came an awesome circle of friends and supporters that just seems to grow. Some say it is the nature of the east coast. Some say it's not a reality at all. I think maybe it might be the sea air and salt water! Really, I don't know because all of the good people don't have maritime blood in their veins but they do have hearts of gold.

Before I got here, one had left to go back to her home town of Boston and one had left my life but not my heart. Others I knew from years ago I have been able to reconnect with. And in this wonderful city I found other kindred spirits. One I said "farewell" to just last week.

Lake Baikal in Siberia - The deepest lake on earth

When I tell people she is moving to Siberia, nobody believes me. They make jokes like "nobody willingly goes to Siberia, they get sent there for punishment - what did she do wrong?" All I know is that she is following her love there and it is a question of work options and experience. The only thing that most people know about Siberia is that it is cold and big. I think that there are some people that think that is an accurate description of Canada as well. But first hand knowledge has taught me different - maybe her experiences there will teach me a little something about Siberia too. 

Before she left we got in as much friend time as we could and we made some fabulous memories and she left me with a broader circle of friends that I can also call my own. 

The cat doesn't understand why the hiding
places are disappearing

Her father and sister came to help her with this massive transition and to spend some extra time with her as well. Her father is European and spoke of when he made the move across the ocean to Canada and it got me to thinking about possessions. When the early immigrants crossed the Atlantic to land on the shores of this "new" country they barely had the clothes on their backs and maybe one suitcase. Everything was left behind but the basics and few mementos. It doesn't seem that there was the attachment to stuff that we have now. But is that a bad thing?

One day, the time comes for all (or most) of us to move. Even if it is just the transition from our childhood home to our own place, we have to pull our "stuff" out from the nooks and crannies where we stored it and box it up. We look at each piece and go through a gamut of emotions. A fond memory or a question of our sanity. We all have those things hidden away that we look at and go "what was I thinking when I decided to keep that". And then pretending to throw it out we toss it slyly into the box of treasures hoping that no one noticed. 

Unless you have done it yourself recently, you have no idea how much stuff can accumulate under our noses without our really paying much attention. The number of calculators, pens and tape dispensers that I came across when I packed is a classic example of how we consume and collect. You can't find tape, you buy a new one. Calculator doesn't work you buy a new one and forget to toss the broken one. It's not until you are forced to box up your life that you can take a good look at your life collection a piece at a time. Then you look back in wonder at how it all fit in that tiny space.

We are afraid to let go of friends, family, love and even stuff. The stuff is a tangible reminder of our life. When we move, we are leaving the familiar and comfortable. Our things are our safety link, they represent our sense of purpose and belonging. Our security blanket shrouding the unknown. 

It is exciting to move but it is also terrifying. New adventures and experiences lie ahead but our physical memories are left behind. The bite marks in the venetian blinds that we made as children only fit the window of my childhood home. Never again will I sit with my daughter under the tree we planted in her childhood home to commemorate her birth. Never again will I look fondly at the spot where my brother stood the last time he visited me before he died.

This is were cameras can play a crucial role. Sometimes taking a picture helps us to let go of stuff - although admittedly it is not always easy. I have tried to capture in still or moving pictures a record of the homes I have lived in. Caring for the collection of stuffed animals that my children amassed got to be too much (so we took pictures to serve as memory placeholders) and gave them away. And no I am not talking about Pink Panthers :)

Just for the record 4 large bins and 3 boxes of them and some left in storage. Don't judge me! lol!

Home - The Devin Cuddy Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O76QFqcZ-g

As for the others that are moving. I have come to the decision that the home that I made for my children is being sold as the good memories have left the physical structure and remain with me and them. I am proud of what we accomplished in that modest home and if I could pick it up and move it far away from the pain that is there now I would. It's not the house, it's not the neighbours - it's the part of my life that was destroyed by those that remain nameless at my workplace.

A family member sold their home after years of saying they would, they finally took the plunge. I wonder if they will be judged as I was for having stuff? And although I haven't seen the new home it is my understanding that this move means some serious downsizing!

The mother of a friend is doing exactly what I did in reverse several years ago. She is leaving her family here and heading west. She'll be missed. She was a friend to me as well.

Miss You HM

Adding to the chaos and upheaval, the Siberia-bound friend is also selling her own childhood home with some family members. More nooks and crannies to peer into and memories to treasure. Another family will move in and find love in those walls.

One child moved to a new place a couple of months ago and the other child is soon moving to a new place. Ironically, neither moving too far from their previous address but a life change none-the-less. I wish for them that the year of Champagne Wishes carries on for a lifetime! 

As fall approaches I am sure that the upheaval will settle along with the dust and life will go on with some of us having a different view of the world. Good luck to all those in transition.

credit Where credit is due:

Siberia picture/wallpaper

http://1ms.net/lake-baikal-siberia-412962.html

Nothing Solved, Nothing Gained!

Highway of Heroes - The Trews

Canada lost it's innocence this week. In fact I think the multitude of cemeteries and war memorials across the nation and the globe are proof that innocence was lost long ago.

On Wednesday, a soldier standing ceremonial guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa Ontario was shot point blank and killed. It wasn't random. It was intentional. The shooter went on to the nations house of democracy and started a gun battle there. Canada fought back and Canada won.

Backing up in time a bit, on Monday October 20 two soldiers walking through a parking lot were deliberately run over.  Both men were in uniform. Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent died of his injuries. The other sustained non life threatening injuries. The car fled the scene and police began to pursue him. There was a crash, a confrontation and gun shots that ended in the perpetrators death. 

It was a small town 20 km (25 miles southeast of Montreal) called Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Less than 100,000 residents called it home but some very prominent families made it there home, including the Formula One racing family the Villeneuves' and NHL player and inventor of the slap-shot Boom Boom Geoffrion. The startling thing about the town for me was not prominence of certain citizens but the fact that the town is also home to 2 military colleges. There would have been soldiers in uniform wandering around town routinely. There was no reason to believe that these men were targets until the gunman was identified. 

I don't claim to be a member of the press or even understand how and why they decide what to report and what is not revealed. I'm sure that there are some standards. But having said that, what really bothered me about this case is that the public very quickly became familiar with the gunman. We started to hear the word radicalized and we knew what it meant. We knew he had facebook and had his passport taken away and that he was under the radar of the police. But it took 2 days before we heard the name of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. He served nearly 30 years with the Canadian Military and was due to retire shortly. He died because he wore his uniform proudly. 

There was whisperings that this wasn't a random accident but a planned out terrorist attack on Canadian soil. Most of us were incredulous and held the belief that it was a "one of" crazy person. And then the gun shots rang out in Ottawa on Wednesday the 22nd.  

Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent
R.I.P.

Wednesday morning was crazy. I was sitting in the dentist chair watching the tv above me and trying to read the closed captioning without seeing those evil instruments :) Were it not for that, I wouldn't have known at all. But when I got back home I made it my business to turn on the TV and try to make some sense of the senseless. 

A gunman shot a ceremonial guard standing post at the Tomb for the Unknown Soldier. Sacred ground of its' own. He then went into the house of Parliament shooting his gun (and fortunately missing his targets) before he was gunned down himself. The city of Ottawa was effectively in lock-down as the police didn't know if they were dealing with one or more gunmen. There were reports of other incidents within the downtown core. It was chaos and panic reigned and it was scary to even watch. 

I've been in a lockdown situation a couple of times. None that lasted as long as this one but I do have some understanding of the fear. Five years ago, there was more anxiety because we didn't have phones to try and communicate. In one case it was a high school, a portable on the school grounds. Little more than a tinfoil box, we could hear people running around outside (we hoped police), we heard helicopters flying above, we heard noises we couldn't identify and we didn't know how serious it was or what it was. In the end it was a gun that was seen in the school. After hours of cowering in fear with high school students who were restive, even the staff was anxious we were finally permitted to leave. Scared, we were terrified and the SWAT team bursting in with guns drawn didn't calm us down any. It was within the first month of school and we sure got to know each other quickly being holed up like that.

Halifax editorial cartoonist - Bruce MacKinnon

Back to Ottawa, with the day coming to a close it was revealed that the young soldier had died of his injuries and that the murderer was dead at the hand of the Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers. The former RCMP officer was one of few who had access to a weapon for defence. As eager as I was for news on the safety of the injured and the safety of the people in the city of Ottawa, I could not bear to watch even one more time the footage of the gun battle that took place in the hallowed halls of the Centre Block of Canada's Parliament Buildings. It became sensationalized in my opinion. People were hurt, people were scared. Armed forces installations in the Maritimes began to send people home to safety. 

I felt vulnerable.  I also felt resentment and anger. I get that the Muslim religion is supposed to be a peaceful one and that these people are extremists. I don't understand how murdering innocent Canadians in their own country is going to further whatever twisted cause is on their agenda. But how do I tell the difference? How do I know I am safe? How do I protect my family and my country? It's one thing to stay away from areas in the world of conflict but I want to spend my days thanking the people in uniform that I pass daily on the street and not say RIP! 

When the name of the Ottawa's executioner became known. There was the usual digging into the background. His picture was posted and it was believed that he had become radicalized and was trying to secure a passport for passage to the middle east. Splashed all over social media was a picture of the man half-covered by a kerchief and holding a rifle - with the caption "Mother cries for victims of shooting and not her son." Well didn't that get some rousing sympathy for her! I get it, I can't imagine what I would feel as a mother knowing my child was capable of such heinous acts. But rather than feeling my typical empathy for her I was frustrated. I would hope that the family, if no one else would notice such a dramatic and troubling change in the behaviour of their child and try and deal with it so that others would not suffer needlessly. Even RCMP officer, Bob Paulson said that "people need to be on alert for changes in behaviour in people and significant changes in motivations of people." 

Someone was aware when these young men changed for typical Canadian boys to young men with radical ideas and desires to fight and kill. Radicalizing was defined as a form of brain-washing. If it can be done, it can be undone. But someone needs to know about it. One man fell under the radar of the police - the other slipped under it. Four deaths, none necessary. Nothing solved, nothing gained.

Military bases across the region here were put under restricted access. Provincial building had heightened security. And at 8:30 in the morning the first report came in of a man concealing a rifle under a blanket in downtown Halifax. The Citadel which proudly stands towering about the city was forced into lockdown - not to protect the citizens of the city but the personnel inside. A man was arrested without incident after leaving a sawed-off shotgun on a city bus. The only sense of relief came from seeing that the man arrested may be troubled but didn't appear radicalized and his weapon was not considered to be a terrorist preference. Good news? The best news is no injuries. 

Ottawa Shooting - Rex Murphy Point of View

So well said! And for the second time today I have heard the phrase "let's not mention his name" when referring to the gunman. For years I have been bothered by the fact that we forget the names of the victims but can't get the name of the perpetrators out of our heads. I will do my best to remember the good people. The ones who were slaughtered, not just this week in Canada - but throughout history. Sometimes it is hard to keep the numbers of many victims in our heads when the single name of demon is constantly repeated on the news and social media. But please on this occasion can we all please try to remember not just Nathan Cirillo but Patrice Vincent. They had different executioners but they both died before their time and they didn't deserve it. They died because of the clothes they wore and nothing more. 


A final thought, once, just once I want one of these gun-toting cowards to be brought before the public to be meted out a justice that goes on like torture day after day. I don't want them to die in a hail of gunfire, I don't want there to be a hero that cuts them down. Shoot them in the knee cap, in the balls, somewhere that won't kill them but they will suffer forever. Bring them before the people so they know how disliked they are, how they are loathed, how they are not martyrs. Let them see the justice from the court of public opinion. Let their croonies know what fate awaits them. Throw them in jail. I'm thinking of the old days when the notion of prison justice was something that you hoped would befall some of the scum we sent behind the stone walls. 

Or send them to a facility up north and chain-gang style tell them the driveway needs to be plowed. 

Halifax Editorial cartoonist - Bruce MacKinnon

credit
RCMP Bob Paulson
CBC news television
Rex Murphy on CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/content/analysis/rexmurphy/ottawa_shooting.html
Bruce MacKinnon - editorial cartoonist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_MacKinnon
Halifax Chronicle Herald
http://thechronicleherald.ca/

Marching Into April - No Joke!

End of the World - Great Big Sea

On Saturday March 29th we commemorated another Earth Hour. From 8:30-9:30 local time, we shut off lights in an attempt to help the planet breath a sigh of relief. In 2007, a movement was started in Sydney, Australia to bring awareness to the ever growing concern of Global Warming. And please understand that Global Warming means way more than just the temperature of the earth going up. Believe it or not rising temperatures is the reason we have more intense weather patterns and more snow. Yes even more snow is because of warming temperatures on earth. 

Quickie refresher of high school science. Moisture is collected from the surface of the earth by evaporation. Collecting in clouds and then falling as precipitation. Rain or snow depending on the season. An increase in the sun power will cause an increase in the amount of evaporation. And it has to fall in the form of rain or snow or a combination of.  

And yet, every time that an uncharacteristic cold snap or snow fall occurs people jump on the "So where is the Global Warming Now" band wagon. It frustrates me, partly because these are fairly intelligent people and partly because there is even one person who considers this mentality as valid. Where is Global Warming when we find ourselves bracing for yet another Snow-pocalypse? It is right outside your frost covered thermal paned window. It is the intensity and instability of the weather patterns we once thought were normal. Global Warming caused Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The frequency and intensity of naturally occurring storms is multiplying at alarming rates. Hurricane Juan hit Nova Scotia in September 2003. The province was barely recovered from the that slap by Mother Nature when she let White Juan loose in February 2004. White Juan left behind 95.5 cm of snow in Halifax in one 24 hour period. That's 37+ inches. More than the yard stick that decorated the blackboard ledge in school. Three feet! Half the average persons height! 

But even that was several years ago now. What amazes me more than that storm is the fact that although wind gusts of 124 km/hr were reported, I can recall at least 4 days this past season that wind gusts reached or exceeded 100 km/hr. Almost seems norm now. Batten down the hatches indeed!  

Have we gotten used to bundling up and grumbling? How about this comic relief for you. In 1999, the city of Toronto (no stranger to snow) called in the Canadian Army to help it dig out when 27 cm of snow fell. That's right 27 cm. Seems a little over the top all things considered including that there was already significant snow on the ground - nothing new really. Sometimes it is not the amount of snow but the speed in which it falls that have some of us with the shovel at the ready feeling over-whelmed. Where do you put it all? Check out this link for some remarkable, record setting storms that have hit the Winter Wonderland known as Canada. 

I don't mind snow and despite all the dire warnings that had us shivering in our boots in fear more than cold, I think that here (at least) it was a fairly mild winter. A snowfall/blizzard would close schools and snarl traffic for a day and my friends would hear the doomsday predictions and send message to prepare and stay safe and warm. Snow would fall, clogging streets and usually blowing to make things barely visible past the edge of the balcony. Two days later we would be in plus zero temperatures and everything would be melting away. Only one day did I turn back from a walk because the wind chill was freezing my eyes. And there were a few days in January where just a light jacket if anything was required.

I get winter. I grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. School wasn't cancelled, you walked. There was a lot of activities that you could participate in and enjoy more with the falling of snow. Snowmobiling, skiing, tobogganing, making ice forts, ice mountains to slide down (skeleton without the sled and helmet). Everybody had several pairs of mittens and long johns and Nipigon nylons. You wouldn't think about going out without being properly dressed for the conditions. We embraced winter and all it had to offer.

It is increasingly hard to do that when ski hills are closing because the seasons unpredictability just couldn't support them as viable businesses. Neither could the economy where people didn't have the exorbitant costs to involve entire families in sport. Plus electronics and modern conveniences mean there isn't a lot of need to venture out. So we don't. It's easier to curse under our frozen breaths then to go out and enjoy the cloud that landed on earth. I spoke to someone from Iceland recently who suggested that we were all wimps here. Life didn't stop for a few snowflakes. Chains were put on tires and schools and businesses stayed open. Just another day with more solid precipitation. 

The winter of this generation sucks. Cold is one thing, wind chill is another. You can dress for and play in 3 feet of snow. Wind chill and freezing rain gets right to you bones and crystallizes your blood. When it's a real winter, it's cold and you can dress for it. When you have a thaw mid season, you pine for the heat as if the season ended, then Mother Nature's fury hits again. It's miserable to walk in slush that soaks your socks and the ice that has come with the freeze the next day. Ain't no boot that is waterproof enough for that or provides the grip for ice rinks. That's why we skate :)

Several days after the ice on-slaught,
these branches well exposed to sunlight
are still thickly coated in the Greater Toronto Area. 

A pre-Christmas ice storm paralyzed a large part of Southern Ontario and a vast number of people were stranded at airports and train stations and 400,000 were without power. Some for nearly a week in the dead of winter with turkeys ready to be stuffed into an oven to feed masses. In the age of cell-phones and internet the Twitter-verse was awash with requests to report downed lines and emergencies online. Easier said then done when a) you can't read the Twits with limited battery life on said phone or b) no power at all to charge the cellphone or the cordless, desktop or tablet. And those people will pay for the inconvenience. Granted they didn't have to pay for the hydro they didn't use but they will pay for the clean-up and repair costs with skyrocketing bills from here on in. Say what? :( 

Memories are short and people like to remember the winter of 2009-10 because it was the winter that wasn't. We got used to not having a real winter. When it came back this year, we had been lulled into a sense of complacency and we weren't ready for the severity. I don't think that it helps when weather forecasters and the media hype up a bit of a snowfall by using words like Snow-mageddon, Snow-pocalypse, Snow-icane or Weather Bomb. Oh wait, so accustomed we have become to the hype and panic started by the media meteorologists that when I heard of the Weather Bomb on it's way, I assumed it was more of the same. That one though, is a legitimate phenomenon and can occur with snow or rainfall. Another new weather phrase that we added to our daily lexicon this year is Polar Vortex. The Polar Vortex of 2014 swept central Canada and held it in its icy grips with fingers that reached far into the southern states that didn't know how to deal with the flurries that ultimately caused traffic and travel nightmares and general chaos. So remarkably cold was this winter that a contest was held to determine the worst in the country. The link has some great graphics, information and reveals the winner. Spoiler alert it is Winnipeg also know as Winterpeg!

One day in the winter of 2013-2014 there were weather
warnings posted across the county - simultaneously!

Newfoundland had some houses that had been buried to the eaves with snow. Nova Scotia had the roof blown off buildings and one completely flipped over. Prince Edward Island became the worlds biggest snow fort. New Brunswick-ers still wander with snow shovels in their hands at the ready for the next dump. Quebec and Ontario dealt with far below average temperatures with wind chills added that froze them solid and in southern Ontario, everything that stood still or blew in the wind was covered with inch thick ice. Manitoba and Saskatchewan had snow falls and wind chills that they still haven't thawed out from. Alberta has had a rough year all around and the massive snowfalls just added to the clean up still not complete from the summer floods. British Columbia had colder than expected temperatures as well. Good to live on the coasts of the country this winter for sure. Even the northern territories were spared the frigid temps of central Canada. I chuckled when I saw cities in the north warmer that Toronto, Ontario. Rob Ford and all his hot air couldn't stop the cold shoulder. 

So all you naysayers who poo-poo Global Warming, just remember that Mother Nature is fictitious, the February scapegoat (groundhog) is just a rodent and the seasons will continue to change and worsen. Autumn extends into winter, winter is still hear and we call it spring. Summer starts later and goes past the traditional fall season. Mud-slides that shouldn't be will, tornadoes will be more frequent and stronger. Winter wear and tools will be needed in the southern states, and we will soon need SPF 100 in the sun. It wasn't that long ago that you could go outside and play all day in the sun with no sunscreen and not get burnt. Now 10 minutes max and your fried. 

I was disappointed with the lackluster attitude towards Earth Hour this year. I did my part, but what we really need is a collective attitude adjustment. A lifestyle change. It has always been an important issue for the me (the wasteful abuse of the planet and its resources), so I made a lifestyle choice. Lights were rarely left on in unoccupied rooms when my kids were little, because I chose to teach them to shut them off. It's a habit that we can learn. They did. I won't suggest we were perfect but we tried. It's a start. 

credit where credit is due:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/4-facts-about-earth-hour-1.1331421
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Juan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Juan
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/blasts-from-the-past-canada-s-worst-snowstorms-1.1370387
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/22/canada-ice-storm-travel-chaos-power-outages-as-massive-storm-hits-ontario-quebec-and-maritimes/
http://globalnews.ca/news/1208476/who-had-the-worst-winter-in-canada/
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/geekquinox/winter-2013-2014-report-card-did-grade-canada-172923296.html

Raping the Earth is not Consequence-free

Oh Mother Earth - Neil Young

Sunday April 22, 2012 is Earth Day! To commemorate and honour the occasion, we'll go green too. The computer is using it's share of electricity but the lights are off and the candles are lit. Okay, it is daytime, but the point is that the question of excess consumption is being considered. Making a commitment to improving our personal impact on the earth is a life long challenge not a 24 hour sprint on a day designated as Earth Day. Ten years from now we might be looking at Earth Day as another commercially generated spending spree like Valentines Day, except this time we will be going out and buying cloth bags and reusable water bottles that we bring home from the mall down the street in our 8-passenger capable vehicles! 

It may actually surprise you to know that the notion of Earth Day had its' inception in 1970 in the United States. A US senator from Wisconsin - Gaylord Nelson - was concerned about the air pollution that was becoming an accepted symbol of a successful industrial economy, oil spills were getting more public coverage, growth seemed to trample on and destroy anything in its' path in the name of prosperity. Change was underfoot, the population as a whole was no longer afraid to challenge what they viewed as wrong. Countless young people had raised their voices in protest of the Viet Nam war. It was felt that this energy could be channeled to alert the government to the need for change in environmental practices. And it worked, the Environmental Protection Agency was born, soon to be followed by the Clean Water Act, The Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act. Effective or not is a matter of opinion but better than nothing, for the awareness was spreading. 

It wasn't until 1990 that the movement was launched into a global campaign and Canada was a part of the 200 million persons and 141 nations participating in changing how self-centered we had become in our views of entitlement to rape the earth consequence-free. Recycling programs got their start and tree-huggers joined the tree-planters to green up. In Canada, some people got so enthusiastic about the new initiatives that they turned Earth Day into Earth Week and in some cases Earth Month. Now they had the right idea! Caring for the world in which we live takes more than a 20 minutes clean-up challenge in our neighbourhoods once a year. It takes more than one day of using less electricity than normal. More than one day of leaving our car parked. It's not just recycling - it is reducing, reusing too. It's a lifestyle change. But really the lifestyle that we want to emulate is the habits of generations past. Some things I don't think I would want to go back to and certainly some changes have led to a healthier and more comfortable life, however it is our attitudes about entitlement that may need to change. Pens, for example, were re-used and re-dipped into inkwells. The only thing requiring replacement periodically was the nib. Now we toss the whole thing.  As we fight the notion of bringing our own bags to the stores, generations past did this exact thing before the emergence of the plastic bags. For the lack of surplus finances to spend on frivolity, toys were handed down, so were clothes and furniture. In the kitchen, most household tasks were undertaken with muscle power and not just to push the "on" button. Even when the small appliances became more the norm in the typical Canadian household, just around the corner was the repair shop. Today we are expected to throw out the toaster when it doesn't work quite right since it would cost more for repairs than the $8 to buy a new one. Even microwaves which 15-20 years ago cost the consumer nearly $900 for a low-quality oven can now be hand for the paltry sum of $50 - certainly not worth the cost of the technicians time to repair. You also had one family car that was shared among all members. On moisture free days, laundry hung on the line outside to dry - or on lines strung up across the expanse of the basement. There may have been one television for the entire household not one per room. These days it's not uncommon for each member of the home to be attached to a TV, laptop, cellphone and stereo-type device. Not wanting to go back to the dark ages, we have to find a way to make change in other ways. 

We need to go back to the fundamentals of the Earth Day ideal. Reduce, ReUse, Recycle. In that order! 

REDUCE: This isn't just to reduce the amount that we spend in consumer products - although that definitely has an impact. We also need to reduce our carbon footprint in the daily decisions of our life. Consider buying items in bulk to reduce the packaging cost and aftermath. Before you buy that apple marketed as organic from California, consider the apple grown in your own area. The apple from half a world away is leaving an incredibly large carbon footprint on its journey to your local supermarket and it likely matured on the truck during its' journey to look freshly picked just for you. Additionally the criteria on organic-status for the country of origin may be quite different than the standards for quality from your local producers. This applies to non-organic food products as well. If it's not available locally, consider the impact before you lay your money down. Maintain this mindset outside the grocery store and with every trip to the stores you make. 


One of my personal beefs is with the advertising for the new and more efficient appliances like washers and dryers. The new machines purport to use not only less energy but less water as well. But, not only do you have to purchase specialized laundry detergent, you also have to buy cleaning agents (chemicals) to use monthly to ensure efficient operation without foul smells invading clothes. My machine is not one of these High-Efficiency units, I have never cleaned it with anything other than vinegar once a year or so, and when I wash clothes they always come out smelling better not worse! But let's say your disposable income affords you the opportunity to buy this new laundry room miracle. And you leave the appliance department holding your head up high because you are going to be doing your part to "Green it Up". But wait, what is going to happen to the perfectly serviceable machines that you had up until now? Landfill clutter? It's like automobiles, if we all go out and replace our vehicles with the new hybrids, what is to become of the goods we already have. With gas prices what they are, good luck getting fair dollar value for that V-8 guzzler you have. Fill it up with the toaster that has become fickle, the digital clock with one LED light out and the TV deeper than 6" because nobody wants them and drive it all to the landfill. I will keep my washer and moderate my usage of it instead. Like the dishwasher, I will wait for a full load before I start it. When it's irreparable, then I will replace it. I own a laundry team that was built to withstand 20 years of family needs - the high-tech machines of today may last you 10 years - if that, for I've heard a lot of complaints about quality thus far. "Should have kept the old ones" is not an uncommon phrase. And I'm not talking marital partners. 

REUSE: This is a tough one for many people because it requires some common sense. We all know some people who are sorely lacking in that! Do not reuse Toilet paper, Valentine's Day Cards, personal hygiene products, intravenous needles, condoms and gum. Reusing some plastics have been proven to be harmful to our health because of the leaching of chemicals. Sometimes reusing requires a person to be a bit of a crafty handyperson, then you can make a swing from a tire or a bird feeder from a plastic bottle. 

Reusing the plastic disposable water bottles is a practice that I engaged a lot in, I was uncomfortable about the quantity of bottles in the recycling bin every week. Then out came the news that harmful chemicals were leaching into the drinking water with every re-fill and worse if you tossed it in the freezer the night before. My first thought was that it was the moguls of industry that were putting the fear into us to ensure we kept spending. If those plastic bottles were no good....were any other refillable receptacles safe? And why wasn't anyone working to make the plastic safe? Personally I was comfortable drinking municipal water (at home) until the Walkerton Ontario incident. Then we all learned that tap water could kill! At the town level, short cuts, short staffing, human error put us at risk. At home, the age and material of indoor pipes put us at risk. People bought bottled water in droves because they were scared. It can take months or years to find the cause of a disaster like Walkerton that is investigated immediately, but somehow decades after the fact with all evidence long disappeared, scientists can still tell us that the water we drank from the garden hose on a hot summers day in 1972 could cause adverse health effects. I'm just grateful that someone found a way to use my water bottles to make fabric, park bench and objets d'art and thus absolve me some guilt. 

Fear is the also the reason that we bought into the notion of cleaning our homes with disposable chemical laden cloths instead of household sponges. We had special towelettes for each room of the house because we couldn't risk so called cross-contamination. How did we ever managed to survive the past generations attempts to kill us by not washing their hands with antibacterial soap, they didn't disinfect tables, counters or cutlery. Egad! They used not only the same utensils but the same cutting boards for food preparation. And the cutting board was germ sucking wood! A 70 year old relative promptly threw out all the cutting boards dispute she had not killed any of her four children and started to buy disposable cutting boards for poultry. Fear will make us spend irrationally on "un-friendly" products. The fear is fed to us by the media and the companies that market the items. It is beneficial to their bottom line if we are using consumables and replacing them.

RECYCLE: Make this one easy for people and only the most insolent members of society will refuse to partake. I have found that when the choice of a recycle bin and garbage bin are both close at hand, people will stop to consider the proper receptacle for the item. This is behaviour that does a heart good to see. The problem often lies in the difficulty in knowing what is acceptable, especially when it comes to plastics. This number in a triangle is okay but that number in a circle is not. Not being an engineer, plastic is plastic - make all of it recyclable. If the margarine container is, the yogurt container should be also. Something are still too difficult to recycle. In some larger communities this isn't the case, but there is a lot of population outside of major metropolitan centers. Batteries, tires and paint cans are not accepted at curbside, so what is to be done with them? Sometimes in the absence of feasible options, the recourse is the landfill. Granted, if you have a vehicle you can use your carbon footprint to transport your batteries to a metropolitan disposal site...if. 

I am pretty proud of the efforts of my community in its' commitment to lowering the contribution to the landfill site. When we were all provided with an animal-proof composting bin, the curbside collection schedule changed. Weekly the composting and recycling is collected. Every other week garbage is collected. We reduced the household garbage to less than a green garbage bag in two weeks. There is no smell to it, because it is primarily packaging from consumer goods, the smell comes from the food scraps and such that is composted. Compliance to the programs was initially met with disbelief but now stands at 80% all for it. 365 days a year we care for the earth. And did you hear that the orange peels that I am tossing into the green bin are being earmarked for the tires that will be a standard option in the industry. But I need to know, will they smell freshly squeezed as you roll along down the highway? 

I think that people are really starting to get the idea that resources are limited and conservation is key. Whether you subscribe to the Global Warming Theory or not you cannot deny that everything we do impacts the health of our planet, some of which can never be repaired or recovered. Newtons' Third Law of Physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The Law of Karma states that every action in life creates another reaction which produces another action and so on. Even the Bible itself supports this notion in "as ye sow, so also shall ye reap". They are all saying the same thing. What we do today will affect our tomorrow. If we want a tomorrow as glorious, bountiful and plentiful as our today we must be aware of how are actions will impact the future. The future for those who will still be here after we have gone and for those yet to come.