When I worked with her, she must have been 48 years old. I was a hot 27 (or so old photos seem to indicate). And she was a complete bitch. I am talking about Sonja Bata, widow of Tom Bata and now the head of the Bata shoe empire -- a woman who is about to turn 90. In a glowing piece in today's Globe and Mail, she is lauded from head to toe (no pun intended) for all her accomplishments, but in reality I found her to be a narcissistic snob.
I had to work with her when I ran the Vincent Massey Awards for Excellence in the Urban Environment and she was one of the judges. The fact that she was jealous of me is proof of her bitchiness. I mean, I can be a bitch when required, but I don't start out that way. I give women the benefit of the doubt, but if they start acting like self-centred bitches, look out. Otherwise, I enjoy working with women as much as with men.
So happy birthday, Sonja, but you won't be getting a card from me.
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If you get The Globe, there is a grammar quiz on page F2 you should take. Sylvia Stead, the paper's public editor, says that if you score five to 10, you should be proud of yourself. Five out of 15 questions! Ridiculous. If you score any higher you are "a charter member of The Globe's good-grammar club." I took it because couldn't not and scored 14 out of 15, according to how they marked. The one I got "wrong" was about clichés. The answer was to eliminate one, but I didn't because it was not grammatically incorrect. So, I really got 15 out of 15 and I bet anyone educated in Canada in the fifties will also get every one right. Try it.
Stead ends her introduction with this: "Under five? Don't despair, just blame the education system." It is unbelievable that this editor gets that closing sentence wrong. It's "educational", you idiot. And this is a women who actually gets paid. G-d help us.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Monday, August 22, 2016
'Blackstone'
If you have Netflix and want to know what's wrong with The Indian Act and the hopeless reservation system it spawns, watch this series. I was amazed and shocked that natives participated in this expose of what actually goes on on the average "rez".
It chronicles what I have been saying and writing about for years: corruption, incompetence, cronyism, alcoholism, sniffing, suicide, incest and abject desperation are the cornerstones of life in these dismal and degrading communities. And the natives can thank their own inept and lawless leadership for the entire tragedy. The disclaimer says it's a "fictional" Alberta reservation, but it might just as well be down the road at Stoney-Nakoda and Siksiska or Tsuu t'ina.
As I have said so often, I am eternally grateful to my Mohawk great-grandmother who married off-reserve, thus allowing her offspring to be "Canadian". This stark series should be required viewing for our hapless and naïve prime minister and clueless minister of indigenous and northern affairs. Someone should make them sit in a chair and watch all episodes so they could actually know what is going on under their noses.
Natives themselves need to wake up and force their own chiefs and leaders to be accountable for what they are doing with the billions given them. Better still, get the hell off the rez.
It chronicles what I have been saying and writing about for years: corruption, incompetence, cronyism, alcoholism, sniffing, suicide, incest and abject desperation are the cornerstones of life in these dismal and degrading communities. And the natives can thank their own inept and lawless leadership for the entire tragedy. The disclaimer says it's a "fictional" Alberta reservation, but it might just as well be down the road at Stoney-Nakoda and Siksiska or Tsuu t'ina.
As I have said so often, I am eternally grateful to my Mohawk great-grandmother who married off-reserve, thus allowing her offspring to be "Canadian". This stark series should be required viewing for our hapless and naïve prime minister and clueless minister of indigenous and northern affairs. Someone should make them sit in a chair and watch all episodes so they could actually know what is going on under their noses.
Natives themselves need to wake up and force their own chiefs and leaders to be accountable for what they are doing with the billions given them. Better still, get the hell off the rez.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Who bumps the Olympics?
The Tragically Hip, that's who. For my international readers, I am sure you have no clue who The Hip is, but they are the quintessential Canadian band -- a wonderful, powerful group headed by Gord Downie, the Shakespeare of Canada. For two and a half hours, all of Canada tuned into the live CBC broadcast of the last concert of this fabulous band.
Why? Because, Gord Downie has inoperable brain cancer and he was saying goodbye to his fans all across this perfect country.
Actually, I have never been a big fan of The Hip, but who could not watch this final cross-Canada concert? And it was in Kingston, where the band started 28 years ago. Kingston is close to my heart because this town is from where my kith and kin hail. It is also where one of my children went to university for four years, so we went often. I am of Irish and Mohawk extraction and I have visited the cemeteries of all my birth relatives interred there; I am one of the fortunate who found my birth family.
Tonight, there was the great Ron McLean, hosting The Hip's final concert on a huge screen on Copa Cabana Beach, 8,200 K's south of Kingston in Rio. All the Canadian athletes were there because every Canadian is tuned into The Hip. It's automatic. Did I get emotional? You bet. I was up dancing and crying as Gord said his final goodbye after five encores.
As I say, there is no country like Canada.
Why? Because, Gord Downie has inoperable brain cancer and he was saying goodbye to his fans all across this perfect country.
Actually, I have never been a big fan of The Hip, but who could not watch this final cross-Canada concert? And it was in Kingston, where the band started 28 years ago. Kingston is close to my heart because this town is from where my kith and kin hail. It is also where one of my children went to university for four years, so we went often. I am of Irish and Mohawk extraction and I have visited the cemeteries of all my birth relatives interred there; I am one of the fortunate who found my birth family.
Tonight, there was the great Ron McLean, hosting The Hip's final concert on a huge screen on Copa Cabana Beach, 8,200 K's south of Kingston in Rio. All the Canadian athletes were there because every Canadian is tuned into The Hip. It's automatic. Did I get emotional? You bet. I was up dancing and crying as Gord said his final goodbye after five encores.
As I say, there is no country like Canada.
Still an android
"I have never been without a phone," exclaimed the middle-aged guy next to me being served in the Koodo store the other day. "But I just got laid off and they took my company phone away." That's the state of play here in Alberta, thanks to the ignorance of the anti-pipeline fools and the low price of oil. "Several of our neighbours just lost their jobs," said another friend.
It's a very scary epidemic here in Calgary. At the Y, where I swim, old faces have disappeared and new ones have popped up. "The new people used to swim downtown, but they lost their jobs and now swim here, closer to where they live," explained one of the lifeguards. Jeez. We are so lucky to have ended our careers with defined pension plans!
But back to Koodo. I was getting a new cellphone, my old, original, duct-taped Blackberry having finally given up the ghost. Like Obama, I hated to part with it because it was so easy to use. And I loved the keyboard! To use the keyboard on this thing, you have to use a finger, not a nail, and you have to switch every which way to hit a capital or an apostrophe. With my old phone, it was all right there. All I wanted was a small, cheap, easy-to-use cell so that's what I got. Who needs a HUGE tablet?! Not me. But I had to stick with android because otherwise, my data and photos would not have been transferable. So, I got an "LG" phone, whatever that is? Still getting used to it, but it's not a patch on my Blackberry. Whatever happened to that company?? More Steve Jobs destruction.
Too bad.
_______________________________________
For the life of me, I can't figure out why I cannot get an essay published in The Globe and Mail? I have submitted about five which I thought were pretty good, but no, nothing. I consider myself a decent writer, so the only thing I can think of is that they google me, read a few of my blogs and decide I am far too radical and "out there" to publish. It may also be because I purposely tone myself down, hoping to get published. Maybe toning down doesn't suit my writing personality? At any rate, I will continue to try because when I read what they publish by other amateurs, I know I am at least as good.
It's a very scary epidemic here in Calgary. At the Y, where I swim, old faces have disappeared and new ones have popped up. "The new people used to swim downtown, but they lost their jobs and now swim here, closer to where they live," explained one of the lifeguards. Jeez. We are so lucky to have ended our careers with defined pension plans!
But back to Koodo. I was getting a new cellphone, my old, original, duct-taped Blackberry having finally given up the ghost. Like Obama, I hated to part with it because it was so easy to use. And I loved the keyboard! To use the keyboard on this thing, you have to use a finger, not a nail, and you have to switch every which way to hit a capital or an apostrophe. With my old phone, it was all right there. All I wanted was a small, cheap, easy-to-use cell so that's what I got. Who needs a HUGE tablet?! Not me. But I had to stick with android because otherwise, my data and photos would not have been transferable. So, I got an "LG" phone, whatever that is? Still getting used to it, but it's not a patch on my Blackberry. Whatever happened to that company?? More Steve Jobs destruction.
Too bad.
_______________________________________
For the life of me, I can't figure out why I cannot get an essay published in The Globe and Mail? I have submitted about five which I thought were pretty good, but no, nothing. I consider myself a decent writer, so the only thing I can think of is that they google me, read a few of my blogs and decide I am far too radical and "out there" to publish. It may also be because I purposely tone myself down, hoping to get published. Maybe toning down doesn't suit my writing personality? At any rate, I will continue to try because when I read what they publish by other amateurs, I know I am at least as good.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
It never ends
"Leaped, medaling and referendums" all flowed out of Wendy Mesley's mouth in the past couple of days. And since the CBC news repeats ad nauseum, one had to listen to it over and over. Does the woman not know it's "leapt, winning a medal and referenda"?
I am so sick of the butchering of the English language by supposedly educated journalists. It really grates on my ears on an hourly basis.
Other charms from the Olympics are the arrest in his nightshirt of the senior Irish IOC delegate for a ticket-selling scam, the "taxi caper" on the part of the American swimmers and the disgraced boxing judges sent home for taking bribes. In the face of all this -- plus Calgary's dismal economic state -- why in the world did the mayor of this suffering town hustle off to Rio to lobby for the next Olympics??!! Is he crazy?
Speaking of the delusionally out-of-touch, our hapless PM will be attending the final Tragically Hip concert in Kingston this weekend. Yes, we all know that any leader can only influence about one percent of anything that happens in a country, but the juvenile Trudeau should not be seen frolicking and participating in rabid selfies. He should stay home, pretend he's attending to weighty state matters and watch it on television like the rest of us. But, of course he won't.
More out-of-touch involves -- yet again -- the native file. In addition to the billions dished out to native leaders regularly all across Canada, another $33 million has just been announced by the emotional hostage, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Carolyn Bennett, to study....I actually forget what this time?? This was greeted once again by native leaders as an amount that will... "never be enough to get back what we lost."
Apparently, when named minister of this file, incumbents get trapped in a vortex of fear and blackmail spun by the self-serving leaders with whom they are trying to work. All long-term logic and sense evaporates in a haze of misguided guilt and instead of working on the future, they try to make the past disappear by heaving money at it. Never works for the doomed rank-and-file, but hey, it's a great gig for their flourishing leaders.
Never mind all that, more "never enough" will also be handed out to compensate for the "sixties scoop" (kudos to whoever thought up that nifty slogan), of native children who were put into residential schools. As I have said before, all boarding schools are "residential schools". Sure some nasty stuff goes on, but it goes on everywhere -- even in the "bedrooms of the nation", as another Trudeau said long ago. But you can't argue the fact that many of these schools produce some of the greatest statesmen in history.
Oh, and let's not forget the BC Haida people who just stripped two hereditary chiefs of their titles for writing to the National Energy Board in support of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. This dramatic insult was actually carried out via a public rebuke in an elaborate ceremony, witnessed by more than 500 (ignorant, my word) people. "This is an absolutely huge decision and a wake-up call to the hereditary system of governance and leadership," said the man behind it, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the union of BC chiefs. He's got the "absolutely huge" part right, but not in the way he means it. It's "absolutely huge" because Canada's economic health is in dire straights and desperate need of getting our oil to markets. But trust me, as long as well-funded natives oppose it, not one inch will get built. Just ask Vancouver's hypocritical mayor, Gregor Robertson, a strident and fervent opponent of anything even remotely related to oil.
What it boils down to is that Canadians are actually paying natives and their allies to fight this country's prosperity at every turn. It's a disgrace.
I am so sick of the butchering of the English language by supposedly educated journalists. It really grates on my ears on an hourly basis.
Other charms from the Olympics are the arrest in his nightshirt of the senior Irish IOC delegate for a ticket-selling scam, the "taxi caper" on the part of the American swimmers and the disgraced boxing judges sent home for taking bribes. In the face of all this -- plus Calgary's dismal economic state -- why in the world did the mayor of this suffering town hustle off to Rio to lobby for the next Olympics??!! Is he crazy?
Speaking of the delusionally out-of-touch, our hapless PM will be attending the final Tragically Hip concert in Kingston this weekend. Yes, we all know that any leader can only influence about one percent of anything that happens in a country, but the juvenile Trudeau should not be seen frolicking and participating in rabid selfies. He should stay home, pretend he's attending to weighty state matters and watch it on television like the rest of us. But, of course he won't.
More out-of-touch involves -- yet again -- the native file. In addition to the billions dished out to native leaders regularly all across Canada, another $33 million has just been announced by the emotional hostage, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Carolyn Bennett, to study....I actually forget what this time?? This was greeted once again by native leaders as an amount that will... "never be enough to get back what we lost."
Apparently, when named minister of this file, incumbents get trapped in a vortex of fear and blackmail spun by the self-serving leaders with whom they are trying to work. All long-term logic and sense evaporates in a haze of misguided guilt and instead of working on the future, they try to make the past disappear by heaving money at it. Never works for the doomed rank-and-file, but hey, it's a great gig for their flourishing leaders.
Never mind all that, more "never enough" will also be handed out to compensate for the "sixties scoop" (kudos to whoever thought up that nifty slogan), of native children who were put into residential schools. As I have said before, all boarding schools are "residential schools". Sure some nasty stuff goes on, but it goes on everywhere -- even in the "bedrooms of the nation", as another Trudeau said long ago. But you can't argue the fact that many of these schools produce some of the greatest statesmen in history.
Oh, and let's not forget the BC Haida people who just stripped two hereditary chiefs of their titles for writing to the National Energy Board in support of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. This dramatic insult was actually carried out via a public rebuke in an elaborate ceremony, witnessed by more than 500 (ignorant, my word) people. "This is an absolutely huge decision and a wake-up call to the hereditary system of governance and leadership," said the man behind it, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the union of BC chiefs. He's got the "absolutely huge" part right, but not in the way he means it. It's "absolutely huge" because Canada's economic health is in dire straights and desperate need of getting our oil to markets. But trust me, as long as well-funded natives oppose it, not one inch will get built. Just ask Vancouver's hypocritical mayor, Gregor Robertson, a strident and fervent opponent of anything even remotely related to oil.
What it boils down to is that Canadians are actually paying natives and their allies to fight this country's prosperity at every turn. It's a disgrace.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Culture clash
I wrote this last August, when the story broke, but don't know why I didn't publish it then? Anyway, the opinions still hold. Here it is:
______________________________________
The thieves behind the hospital-funding scandal plaguing three Toronto hospitals struck me immediately. Both executives who approved the contracts are from cultures where graft, greed, corruption and not paying taxes are almost badges of excellence. One culprit appears to be Greek and the other East Indian, cultures which seem to have no problem with operating way outside proper fiscal lines.
So, it's no surprise these individuals stole -- be it from taxpayers or the government. The proof is in the pudding, which is the ugly mess called Greece; Pakistan and India are also widespread dens of graft and corruption from top to bottom. Sorry to point out these connections, but I may be the only Canadian who would.
It's not race, folks, it's culture. Plain and simple. Having worked for the CRA for many years, I know a thing or two about what categories of taxpayer trigger audit flags. While not mentioned for fear of mass, bleeding-heart Canadian finger-pointing about targeting, it is nonetheless practiced because it has to be. Canada has the best tax system in the world to ensure citizens pay their due and are given their entitlements. By the way, you never hear anyone complaining about entitlements, just taxes. They don't seem to realize that both go hand-in-hand, can't have one without the other.
The Canadian system is also one which comes down very hard on tax cheats to strongly discourage those who contemplate engaging in it. Huge penalties, fines and even imprisonment await those caught. Thanks to the CRA and the fine folks who work there (hats off to all my colleagues), Canada remains the best country in the world. Why else would so many people flock here? But if you come, you better obey the law, respect our corporate and financial rules and pay your taxes.
So whatever fate has in store for Mr. Georgiou and Mrs. Bahl, I say bring it on.
______________________________________
The thieves behind the hospital-funding scandal plaguing three Toronto hospitals struck me immediately. Both executives who approved the contracts are from cultures where graft, greed, corruption and not paying taxes are almost badges of excellence. One culprit appears to be Greek and the other East Indian, cultures which seem to have no problem with operating way outside proper fiscal lines.
So, it's no surprise these individuals stole -- be it from taxpayers or the government. The proof is in the pudding, which is the ugly mess called Greece; Pakistan and India are also widespread dens of graft and corruption from top to bottom. Sorry to point out these connections, but I may be the only Canadian who would.
It's not race, folks, it's culture. Plain and simple. Having worked for the CRA for many years, I know a thing or two about what categories of taxpayer trigger audit flags. While not mentioned for fear of mass, bleeding-heart Canadian finger-pointing about targeting, it is nonetheless practiced because it has to be. Canada has the best tax system in the world to ensure citizens pay their due and are given their entitlements. By the way, you never hear anyone complaining about entitlements, just taxes. They don't seem to realize that both go hand-in-hand, can't have one without the other.
The Canadian system is also one which comes down very hard on tax cheats to strongly discourage those who contemplate engaging in it. Huge penalties, fines and even imprisonment await those caught. Thanks to the CRA and the fine folks who work there (hats off to all my colleagues), Canada remains the best country in the world. Why else would so many people flock here? But if you come, you better obey the law, respect our corporate and financial rules and pay your taxes.
So whatever fate has in store for Mr. Georgiou and Mrs. Bahl, I say bring it on.
Culture clash
The thieves behind the hospital-funding scandal plaguing three Toronto hospitals struck me immediately. Both executives who approved the contracts are from cultures where graft, greed, corruption and not paying taxes are almost badges of excellence. One culprit appears to be Greek and the other East Indian, cultures which seem to have no problem with operating way outside proper fiscal lines.
So, it's no surprise these individuals stole -- be it from taxpayers or the government. The proof is in the pudding, which is the ugly mess called Greece; Pakistan and India are also widespread jurisdictions of graft and corruption from top to bottom. Sorry to point out these annoying connections, but I may be the only Canadian who would.
It's not race, folks, it's culture. Plain and simple. Having worked for the CRA for many years, I know a thing or two about who has audit flags on their accounts versus who we trust. While not mentioned for fear of mass, bleeding-heart Canadian teeth-knashing and finger-pointing about targeting, it is nonetheless practiced because it has to be. Canada has the best tax system in the world. We have to to ensure citizens pay their due and are given their entitlements. By the way, you never hear anyone complaining about entitlements, just taxes. Many new-comers don't seem to realize that both go hand-in-hand, can't have one without the other.
The Canadian system is also one which comes down very hard on tax cheats to strongly discourage those who contemplate engaging in it. Huge penalties, fines and even imprisonment await those caught. Thanks to the CRA and the fine folks who work there (hats off to all my colleagues), Canada remains the best country in the world. Why else would so many people flock here? But if you come, you better obey the law, respect our corporate and financial rules and pay your taxes.
So whatever fate has in store for Mr. Georgiou and Mrs. Bahl, I say bring it on.
So, it's no surprise these individuals stole -- be it from taxpayers or the government. The proof is in the pudding, which is the ugly mess called Greece; Pakistan and India are also widespread jurisdictions of graft and corruption from top to bottom. Sorry to point out these annoying connections, but I may be the only Canadian who would.
It's not race, folks, it's culture. Plain and simple. Having worked for the CRA for many years, I know a thing or two about who has audit flags on their accounts versus who we trust. While not mentioned for fear of mass, bleeding-heart Canadian teeth-knashing and finger-pointing about targeting, it is nonetheless practiced because it has to be. Canada has the best tax system in the world. We have to to ensure citizens pay their due and are given their entitlements. By the way, you never hear anyone complaining about entitlements, just taxes. Many new-comers don't seem to realize that both go hand-in-hand, can't have one without the other.
The Canadian system is also one which comes down very hard on tax cheats to strongly discourage those who contemplate engaging in it. Huge penalties, fines and even imprisonment await those caught. Thanks to the CRA and the fine folks who work there (hats off to all my colleagues), Canada remains the best country in the world. Why else would so many people flock here? But if you come, you better obey the law, respect our corporate and financial rules and pay your taxes.
So whatever fate has in store for Mr. Georgiou and Mrs. Bahl, I say bring it on.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Amazing!
She swims ten K in only an hour longer than I take to swim two! She did it in 1:56 and it would have taken me almost five hours! Granted, she's 47 years younger, but I loved watching the women's open-water swim in Rio this morning because I know how hard it is to keep up any pace up when the finish buoy seems so far off.
The thing that amazed me most was that no one had to stop to clear their goggles?! That's the sort of detail that I focus on because I have to do that often. Unless you get a perfect seal before you start, your goggles will fog. And once they start, they don't stop. Also loving the diving and waterpolo, having attended many games of the latter discipline for a number of years watching a family member compete. Did I mention I was actually asked to join a women's waterpolo team here a few months ago? One of the lifeguards where I swim invited me to join??!! Almost did, until I found out how expensive this league was, due to the fact that they travel to meets here and in the US and have to cover costs. Nevertheless, I was flattered.
Watching the men diving at the moment. Trust me, they are the only male creatures who should be permitted to wear mini-speedos. They look beautiful and must shave their entire bodies, as I haven't seen one body hair so far. These gorgeous men are the antithesis of the hairy species who have the audacity wear them at the local pool where I swim. Nothing screams "disgusting" like a middle-aged man in a speedo. Yuck! Frankly, I think it should be an indictable offence to parade in public in a scant piece of nylon fabric if you aren't in perfect shape.
And speaking of outfits, although they are in great shape, I find it hard to take beach volleyball seriously, thanks to the bikinis. If they wore the same outfits as the men, that would work. But I still prefer the wet suits of the marathon swimmers.
The thing that amazed me most was that no one had to stop to clear their goggles?! That's the sort of detail that I focus on because I have to do that often. Unless you get a perfect seal before you start, your goggles will fog. And once they start, they don't stop. Also loving the diving and waterpolo, having attended many games of the latter discipline for a number of years watching a family member compete. Did I mention I was actually asked to join a women's waterpolo team here a few months ago? One of the lifeguards where I swim invited me to join??!! Almost did, until I found out how expensive this league was, due to the fact that they travel to meets here and in the US and have to cover costs. Nevertheless, I was flattered.
Watching the men diving at the moment. Trust me, they are the only male creatures who should be permitted to wear mini-speedos. They look beautiful and must shave their entire bodies, as I haven't seen one body hair so far. These gorgeous men are the antithesis of the hairy species who have the audacity wear them at the local pool where I swim. Nothing screams "disgusting" like a middle-aged man in a speedo. Yuck! Frankly, I think it should be an indictable offence to parade in public in a scant piece of nylon fabric if you aren't in perfect shape.
And speaking of outfits, although they are in great shape, I find it hard to take beach volleyball seriously, thanks to the bikinis. If they wore the same outfits as the men, that would work. But I still prefer the wet suits of the marathon swimmers.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Soggy diary notes
Sitting here in Calgary, waiting for summer to actually appear, I am enjoying the Olympics -- especially the swimming. Yes, I mean it about the absent summer. The weather sucks! I have given up running out back to cover my potted plants. I have been pummelled by hail so often my philosophy now is if they survive the almost daily storms they do; if they don't, they don't.
I'm sick of it. The forecast is always, "A high of 16, sunny periods and a late afternoon thunder/hail storm." In this god-forsaken town we only have four months of summer as it is, but so far....nothing! I think I have sat out on my back patio about five times! It's depressing. And to top it off, the never-ending rain has discouraged my cosmos to flower because they are so well-watered they don't have to. Huge leaves, but not one effing flower!
But, back to the swimming. I watch the swimmers with awe. Being one myself, I know how hard it is to propel oneself through water and live to tell the tale. I am alongside some very good swimmers every morning -- one was a member of the Canadian National Swim team and he actually talks to me?! Another routinely does 4K every morning. Another masters a butterfly that rivals anything I have seen from Brazil. It's daunting and inspirational at the same time to be in the next lane.
Ah well, as I say to everyone who complains about nothing, it's not cancer.
I'm sick of it. The forecast is always, "A high of 16, sunny periods and a late afternoon thunder/hail storm." In this god-forsaken town we only have four months of summer as it is, but so far....nothing! I think I have sat out on my back patio about five times! It's depressing. And to top it off, the never-ending rain has discouraged my cosmos to flower because they are so well-watered they don't have to. Huge leaves, but not one effing flower!
But, back to the swimming. I watch the swimmers with awe. Being one myself, I know how hard it is to propel oneself through water and live to tell the tale. I am alongside some very good swimmers every morning -- one was a member of the Canadian National Swim team and he actually talks to me?! Another routinely does 4K every morning. Another masters a butterfly that rivals anything I have seen from Brazil. It's daunting and inspirational at the same time to be in the next lane.
Ah well, as I say to everyone who complains about nothing, it's not cancer.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Once in a lifetime
Having driven daughter to scores of meets in a number of disciplines over many years, I finally had the chance to enter the same race as she. Hard to believe, but it happened this past weekend when we both did the Lake Windermere 2K Open Water Swim in Invermere, B.C. Although she was merely doing it to get used to swimming in a wetsuit for a triathlon next weekend in a very cold lake, I was doing my fourth annual 2K in this event.
It was a big deal for me and one in which I managed the best time of the four I have done since 2013. Standing in the water for the mass start, I heard my daughter say, "Mum, where's your swim buddy?" OMG! After inflating it and making sure it was water-worthy, I had actually forgotten it on the beach. A "swim buddy" is a bright orange, non-flotational device you tie around your waist so you can be seen by boats if they get too close. It can also actually support you if you get tired -- or allow rescuers to find you if you drown, for example. I have never had to use it, but because the pack and spotter boats get way ahead of me every year (everyone is 12, afterall), I find it reassuring just to know it's there. Having been a lifeguard, my Red Cross, never-swim-alone brain always kicks in. Thankfully, son-in-law gamely ran back, fetched it and we were off.
Ten years older than the next oldest swimmer, I found myself alone, as everyone raced out in front. No worries, me and my swim buddy were having a grand time! Half-way to the one-K point, I heard a voice coming from a swimmer returning back. "Hi Mama," said daughter as she waved and swam by on her way to the finish line. I laughed. I still had a long way to go to get to the turn-around buoy and here she was, almost back!
But I was "in the zone" and didn't miss a stroke. It was front crawl all the way and I didn't look up -- other than to be sure I was on track and heading in the right direction. With the exception of one other guy, I was the only swimmer not wearing a wet suit. Having cottaged in the glacial lakes of Quebec, I don't find Lake Windermere cold at all by comparison. (Actually, it's not a lake, but part of the vast Columbia River.)
In the end, I beat a 36-year-old woman and was quite pleased! Here are a few snaps of our lovely adventure:
It was a big deal for me and one in which I managed the best time of the four I have done since 2013. Standing in the water for the mass start, I heard my daughter say, "Mum, where's your swim buddy?" OMG! After inflating it and making sure it was water-worthy, I had actually forgotten it on the beach. A "swim buddy" is a bright orange, non-flotational device you tie around your waist so you can be seen by boats if they get too close. It can also actually support you if you get tired -- or allow rescuers to find you if you drown, for example. I have never had to use it, but because the pack and spotter boats get way ahead of me every year (everyone is 12, afterall), I find it reassuring just to know it's there. Having been a lifeguard, my Red Cross, never-swim-alone brain always kicks in. Thankfully, son-in-law gamely ran back, fetched it and we were off.
Ten years older than the next oldest swimmer, I found myself alone, as everyone raced out in front. No worries, me and my swim buddy were having a grand time! Half-way to the one-K point, I heard a voice coming from a swimmer returning back. "Hi Mama," said daughter as she waved and swam by on her way to the finish line. I laughed. I still had a long way to go to get to the turn-around buoy and here she was, almost back!
But I was "in the zone" and didn't miss a stroke. It was front crawl all the way and I didn't look up -- other than to be sure I was on track and heading in the right direction. With the exception of one other guy, I was the only swimmer not wearing a wet suit. Having cottaged in the glacial lakes of Quebec, I don't find Lake Windermere cold at all by comparison. (Actually, it's not a lake, but part of the vast Columbia River.)
In the end, I beat a 36-year-old woman and was quite pleased! Here are a few snaps of our lovely adventure:
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| Swim start with my beautiful daughter. |
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| Done! |
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| Invermere's flowers are legendary. |
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| A hungry "neighbour" on the street. |
Thursday, August 4, 2016
A few facts
"It's not enough," say female aboriginal leaders of the terms of reference to the wildly-heralded, just-launched inquiry into missing women. While, "it's not enough" is the usual response to anything done for natives on any front, there are a few facts that are chronically and willfully ignored by both the media and the native community. I wouldn't be going on about this if it weren't splashed all over the front pages and screens of newspapers and televisions all over the country. Unfortunately, the latest 2014/15 RCMP stats on this file fly in the face of the drama and emotion. Here they are:
If you don't believe me, google it.
_______________________________
Note: Full disclosure, my great-grandmother was a Mohawk.
- There has been a 9.3% reduction in unsolved aboriginal cases;
- Homicide rates are the same for aboriginal and non-aboriginal women, 82% solved;
- The killer in 100% of solved aboriginal cases is known to the women; and
- Only 10% of the 1,750 unsolved cases are aboriginal.
If you don't believe me, google it.
_______________________________
Note: Full disclosure, my great-grandmother was a Mohawk.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
This one won't get published...
...because it's too true. Wrote to The Herald the other day about the fentanyl crisis on the Stoney Reserve just west of here. Apparently, 60% of the population is addicted. Great!
Lots of bleeding hearts were writing letters crying about what can be done? We have to change things! We have to help!!...etc..........etc............etc. Hey, how about nothing?! Here are those pesky and unwelcome facts I pointed out in my never-to-be-seen letter:
"Dear Editor,
"The drug crisis on the Stoney Nakoda Reserve is tragic, but is actually a consequence of The Indian Act of 1876 and Treaty Seven, 1877. The Act and the Treaty are the mechanisms by which federal funds flow to native communities; they are also the mechanisms which maintain the reserve system. Drugs always find their way to money and with little to do on a reserve, it is no wonder so many inhabitants get into trouble. Sadly, as long as native leaders continue to support the financial framework of the reserve, things won't change -- regardless of well-meaning public handwringing."
These are all just plain facts. I tried to be as gentle as I could in the hope the letters' editor might slip it in at the bottom of the page, but even these facts were a tad to brutal to be aired in the public thoroughfare. Political correctness has supplanted logic and reason here in Treaty Seven territory. I don't care what native leadership says about wanting to change The Indian Act. As long as it enables the money to flow to maintain and support the "Indian industry" they won't amend a comma.
Lots of bleeding hearts were writing letters crying about what can be done? We have to change things! We have to help!!...etc..........etc............etc. Hey, how about nothing?! Here are those pesky and unwelcome facts I pointed out in my never-to-be-seen letter:
"Dear Editor,
"The drug crisis on the Stoney Nakoda Reserve is tragic, but is actually a consequence of The Indian Act of 1876 and Treaty Seven, 1877. The Act and the Treaty are the mechanisms by which federal funds flow to native communities; they are also the mechanisms which maintain the reserve system. Drugs always find their way to money and with little to do on a reserve, it is no wonder so many inhabitants get into trouble. Sadly, as long as native leaders continue to support the financial framework of the reserve, things won't change -- regardless of well-meaning public handwringing."
These are all just plain facts. I tried to be as gentle as I could in the hope the letters' editor might slip it in at the bottom of the page, but even these facts were a tad to brutal to be aired in the public thoroughfare. Political correctness has supplanted logic and reason here in Treaty Seven territory. I don't care what native leadership says about wanting to change The Indian Act. As long as it enables the money to flow to maintain and support the "Indian industry" they won't amend a comma.
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