The sub-head on a picture on the front page of 'The Globe and Mail' today read, ".....after being told their son was killed......" It referred to the Humboldt tragedy and contained two glaring grammatical errors. Should have read "......after having been told their son had been killed....."
Hard to believe! I was going to write a note to the editor, but he'd probably ban me from the letters' page. Did send it to my old pal, sports writer Roy McGregor, so I'll see what he says because we were both trained by the ruthless Mrs. Jean Portugal and her brutal red pen.
I'll let you know.
Note: My columnist friend said to sent the letter to the editor, which I did. He replied and said he would forward it on to the appropriate editor responsible. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Sorry....
...but I don't see the point of "victim impact statements"? The sentencing of the truck driver who ran a stop sign in the Humbolt bus crash is being delayed while parents line up to talk about how their lives have been altered/ruined by the death of their loved one.
Well, of course they have. But to read out weepy statements neither dignifies the dead, nor does anything to change the law or the sentence. All it does is prolong the ordeal and re-hash the pain already suffered. I guess it makes everyone feel better, but I would not give such a statement were one of my loved ones killed.
These hearings will change nothing. The law is the law and the sentence will be the sentence.
Well, of course they have. But to read out weepy statements neither dignifies the dead, nor does anything to change the law or the sentence. All it does is prolong the ordeal and re-hash the pain already suffered. I guess it makes everyone feel better, but I would not give such a statement were one of my loved ones killed.
These hearings will change nothing. The law is the law and the sentence will be the sentence.
Did I tell you this?
Stepdaughter stole thousands of dollars we had sent over the years for her kids' education. She just stole and spent it! I am not sure if she knows we know, but that's the main reason she has been disowned.
There are many others, but you can't do that and think it's OK. She also ripped off FEMA and her insurance company by making claims about Hurricane Harvey so she could re-model her house. That will come back to bite her when her premiums go sky high.
B sent her an email the other day asking her to quit using his name, i.e., "Marley-Clarke". That's how bad it is. Apparently, nine people use the name, but only three are entitled to: B, his son and me. I guess all the "Nagy's" don't like that refugee-ish Hungarian name, so have adopted "Marley-Clarke" because it's more "English". Were I their father, I would be pissed.
There are many others, but you can't do that and think it's OK. She also ripped off FEMA and her insurance company by making claims about Hurricane Harvey so she could re-model her house. That will come back to bite her when her premiums go sky high.
B sent her an email the other day asking her to quit using his name, i.e., "Marley-Clarke". That's how bad it is. Apparently, nine people use the name, but only three are entitled to: B, his son and me. I guess all the "Nagy's" don't like that refugee-ish Hungarian name, so have adopted "Marley-Clarke" because it's more "English". Were I their father, I would be pissed.
Monday, January 28, 2019
Nice day for a race
Saturday was another 'Calgary Road Runners' race and the whole family competed. I go along to babysit when Mum and Dad run.
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| Reed, seven, came 15th out of 28 in the 4K adult race. (I think it's in the genes.) |
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| Hilary did the 1K with Dad |
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| Guess who won the 8K? |
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Absolutely correct
As I have said, I seem to share parts of my brain with Globe columnist Margaret Wente, probably because we are roughly the same age and vintage.
Yesterday, her column zeroed in on the pummeling and death of traditional masculinity by the American Psychological Association in its latest "Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men". These "expert professionals" are now saying that..."traditional masculinity -- marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression -- is, on the whole, harmful. This explains why men are responsible for the vast majority of violence in society."
Oh really? I thought it was because in any violent encounter between genders, the male usually won because he was the stronger sex and overpowered the weaker female. "No where in this remarkable document is evolution discussed because apparently the APA doesn't believe in it," writes Wente. "Nor is there any real acknowledgement that certain male behaviours might be rooted in biology."
As far back as I can remember, I used to say how sorry I felt for the young men of today who had been completely emasculated by the "women's movement". "Gawd, you can't even pay a woman a compliment without being accused of being a sexist male chauvinist pig," I remember remarking on many occasions. It's all so sad.
"The APA would basically like us to treat boys as if they were defective girls," says Wente. That's a brilliant way to look at it because it's true. "The good news is that these men can be helped. A good therapist can gently point out the errors in their beliefs in order to liberate them from their destructive male habits," she adds. The bad news is that this association influences the work of thousands of practitioners and researchers in Canada, as well as the United States, and if these notions take hold, boys are doomed.
"The APA report is just the latest depressing example of the way theories grounded in social constructivism and critical gender theory have leached from academia into wider society," she adds. In closing, she encourages parents to tell their boys to man up and redeem the good things about masculinity. "It's time to reject the people who think it's a dirty word."
Frankly, I agree with everything she writes. Boys aren't girls and girls aren't boys. We are very different and our differences should be supported -- as long as both genders are afforded the same opportunities and not discriminated against. Obviously, I am not talking about the Muslim world, where this will never happen because the minute girls try to break free, they are hunted down and killed by their families. But in the Western world, lets bring back that old expression, "Boys will be boys."
Yesterday, her column zeroed in on the pummeling and death of traditional masculinity by the American Psychological Association in its latest "Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men". These "expert professionals" are now saying that..."traditional masculinity -- marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression -- is, on the whole, harmful. This explains why men are responsible for the vast majority of violence in society."
Oh really? I thought it was because in any violent encounter between genders, the male usually won because he was the stronger sex and overpowered the weaker female. "No where in this remarkable document is evolution discussed because apparently the APA doesn't believe in it," writes Wente. "Nor is there any real acknowledgement that certain male behaviours might be rooted in biology."
As far back as I can remember, I used to say how sorry I felt for the young men of today who had been completely emasculated by the "women's movement". "Gawd, you can't even pay a woman a compliment without being accused of being a sexist male chauvinist pig," I remember remarking on many occasions. It's all so sad.
"The APA would basically like us to treat boys as if they were defective girls," says Wente. That's a brilliant way to look at it because it's true. "The good news is that these men can be helped. A good therapist can gently point out the errors in their beliefs in order to liberate them from their destructive male habits," she adds. The bad news is that this association influences the work of thousands of practitioners and researchers in Canada, as well as the United States, and if these notions take hold, boys are doomed.
"The APA report is just the latest depressing example of the way theories grounded in social constructivism and critical gender theory have leached from academia into wider society," she adds. In closing, she encourages parents to tell their boys to man up and redeem the good things about masculinity. "It's time to reject the people who think it's a dirty word."
Frankly, I agree with everything she writes. Boys aren't girls and girls aren't boys. We are very different and our differences should be supported -- as long as both genders are afforded the same opportunities and not discriminated against. Obviously, I am not talking about the Muslim world, where this will never happen because the minute girls try to break free, they are hunted down and killed by their families. But in the Western world, lets bring back that old expression, "Boys will be boys."
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Two things....
....I don't care about: Venezuela and what Nancy Pelosi thinks. Why the airwaves are full of what's going on in that failed state and inside the cells of Pelosi's brain is beyond me? Is there nothing else worth talking about in Canada? Guess not.
How about the fact that McCallum finally resigned as ambassador to China? Wow, that was handled brilliantly by the PMO wasn't it! First there was no problem, then it was "he did it on purpose", now it's "you're fired". Trudeau has absolutely no clue about how to conduct foreign relations -- and obviously neither does Freeland. Where was she on this one? Getting her hair done?!
You can't just "selfie" your way through international diplomacy. As I have said, he seems oblivious to the fact that he is actually the PM! Sadly, seasoned and wise foreign affairs officers have been sidelined and ignored, as all debacles are now handled in the PMO by sidekick Butts -- the same guy who drove McGinty into the ditch in Ontario.
It's insane.
How about the fact that McCallum finally resigned as ambassador to China? Wow, that was handled brilliantly by the PMO wasn't it! First there was no problem, then it was "he did it on purpose", now it's "you're fired". Trudeau has absolutely no clue about how to conduct foreign relations -- and obviously neither does Freeland. Where was she on this one? Getting her hair done?!
You can't just "selfie" your way through international diplomacy. As I have said, he seems oblivious to the fact that he is actually the PM! Sadly, seasoned and wise foreign affairs officers have been sidelined and ignored, as all debacles are now handled in the PMO by sidekick Butts -- the same guy who drove McGinty into the ditch in Ontario.
It's insane.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Obviously hippies wrote it
And they must have been rich hippies. I am talking about the latest Canadian Food Guide. It's all nuts, fruit, vegetables and grains. Have you priced nuts lately? And salad out-of-season? Most young families -- even with both parents working -- would not be able to afford to eat like this. All the polls I've seen say your average "Joe" cannot, and will not, follow this diet.
When I was growing up, winter was all root vegetables and canned fruit. You never saw anything fresh and green in February and we all survived. I wonder what the Inuit would make of it? All they have to eat is blubber -- not a vegetable in sight. Ever. One of my Y buddies is a large-animal vet and genetic researcher, Dr. David C, who specializes in beef. I have asked him what he thinks and I'll let you know.
Health Canada is totally out-to-lunch, with no clue how the average family survives. As I said, hippies are in charge there.
When I was growing up, winter was all root vegetables and canned fruit. You never saw anything fresh and green in February and we all survived. I wonder what the Inuit would make of it? All they have to eat is blubber -- not a vegetable in sight. Ever. One of my Y buddies is a large-animal vet and genetic researcher, Dr. David C, who specializes in beef. I have asked him what he thinks and I'll let you know.
Health Canada is totally out-to-lunch, with no clue how the average family survives. As I said, hippies are in charge there.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Forty years ago
That's when I found my birth family, the McKegney/Latimers -- the former from Kingston, the latter from Kemptville. When I found them, I discovered my birth mother had died at 49 from lung cancer (she had been a smoker). That devastated me, but I did meet her brothers, sister, cousins and uncles. Frankly, when I met them I was very happy they had not kept me because my life would have been very different and very blue-collar. But it was wonderful to know genetically from whence I had come.
Since then, I have kept in touch with a few of them, but since they are not your "family", you do drift apart. One I have always been in touch with is the widow of my Uncle Charlie Latimer, Helen. Today, while typing a long letter to her, I decided to call her. "Hi, it's Nancy," I said. "Hi," she enthusiastically replied in greeting. We had a 50-minute chin-wag and I was delighted. She, although not part of my birth tribe, has always been a huge supporter. As I have said, my birth mother, Shirley Latimer, had me when she was 19 and sadly could not have other children when she finally married. I was her only issue.
Now 85, Helen sounded the same as always. We laughed and chatted as if we had grown up together. I learned that one of my uncles had died and the aunt I never liked was in a nursing home with Alzheimers. This woman -- my mother's sister -- did not like me and did not want me contacting any of her five children -- my cousins. Did she think I was after money? I asked Helen today. "It's too bad they did not get to know you," she replied. "Their loss," I said.
So, we all have interesting stories. As an adoptee, I am very grateful I was able to find my genetic roots. Here is my birth mother, Shirley Latimer:
Since then, I have kept in touch with a few of them, but since they are not your "family", you do drift apart. One I have always been in touch with is the widow of my Uncle Charlie Latimer, Helen. Today, while typing a long letter to her, I decided to call her. "Hi, it's Nancy," I said. "Hi," she enthusiastically replied in greeting. We had a 50-minute chin-wag and I was delighted. She, although not part of my birth tribe, has always been a huge supporter. As I have said, my birth mother, Shirley Latimer, had me when she was 19 and sadly could not have other children when she finally married. I was her only issue.
Now 85, Helen sounded the same as always. We laughed and chatted as if we had grown up together. I learned that one of my uncles had died and the aunt I never liked was in a nursing home with Alzheimers. This woman -- my mother's sister -- did not like me and did not want me contacting any of her five children -- my cousins. Did she think I was after money? I asked Helen today. "It's too bad they did not get to know you," she replied. "Their loss," I said.
So, we all have interesting stories. As an adoptee, I am very grateful I was able to find my genetic roots. Here is my birth mother, Shirley Latimer:
Monday, January 21, 2019
Seven
That's how many newborns have been taken from one 33-year-old native woman who recently gave birth again in Winnipeg. With alcohol problems, why does she keep getting pregnant and delivering children who probably have fetal-alcohol syndrome?
Sorry, but a generation ago, such women were sterilized and I think it was a good idea. In fact, this woman recently found out she was pregnant yet again and had an abortion. OMG! What is wrong with this person?!
In the West alone, three native babies are taken into care every day. Every day! In Manitoba, 90 percent of the 11,143 children in care are native; in B.C. it's 45 percent. In this case, all the fathers of her babies beat her and that, coupled with her booze problem, got her children taken away from her. And she wonders why?!! If ever there were a case for forced sterilization, she's it. But guess who they're blaming it on? Yep, residential schools. Why not?!
_______________________________________________
What's the deal with all the transgendered youth? In my day, boyish girls were simply "tomboys". No one told them to have a sex change. They either remained tomboys, or morphed into females. And boys who had a strong feminine side were not automatically considered "gay" or trapped in the wrong bodies. They may have been gay, or they may have been heterosexual, either way, it all came out in the wash, as they say.
Today, I would have been considered transgendered, so boyish was I. I would not wear girls' clothes, I did not play with girls and I insisted on having a boy doll (which must have been extremely difficult for my mother to produce under the tree at Christmas). In university, I dated a professor who was so effeminate everyone assumed he was gay. I can assure you he was not. Neither was he "bi". Funnily enough, when I met B he said, "You're not really a woman. You act like a man." I took it as a compliment.
Sorry, but a generation ago, such women were sterilized and I think it was a good idea. In fact, this woman recently found out she was pregnant yet again and had an abortion. OMG! What is wrong with this person?!
In the West alone, three native babies are taken into care every day. Every day! In Manitoba, 90 percent of the 11,143 children in care are native; in B.C. it's 45 percent. In this case, all the fathers of her babies beat her and that, coupled with her booze problem, got her children taken away from her. And she wonders why?!! If ever there were a case for forced sterilization, she's it. But guess who they're blaming it on? Yep, residential schools. Why not?!
_______________________________________________
What's the deal with all the transgendered youth? In my day, boyish girls were simply "tomboys". No one told them to have a sex change. They either remained tomboys, or morphed into females. And boys who had a strong feminine side were not automatically considered "gay" or trapped in the wrong bodies. They may have been gay, or they may have been heterosexual, either way, it all came out in the wash, as they say.
Today, I would have been considered transgendered, so boyish was I. I would not wear girls' clothes, I did not play with girls and I insisted on having a boy doll (which must have been extremely difficult for my mother to produce under the tree at Christmas). In university, I dated a professor who was so effeminate everyone assumed he was gay. I can assure you he was not. Neither was he "bi". Funnily enough, when I met B he said, "You're not really a woman. You act like a man." I took it as a compliment.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Oh, is that all?!
Quebec's demands are typically insane. At the recent cabinet meeting in Quebec (where else; they need all the votes they can get there because they are on track to lose lots in the rest of the country) Premier Legault showed up and listed his demands:
- Quick approval of federal funding for a Montreal Metro line extension
- An additional $160 million for illegal migrants
- Compensation for Quebec dairy farmers
- Approval for the lowering of immigration targets by 20% -- but no decrease in funding (Quebec currently receives twice as much on this file as any other province)
- Allowing Quebec to collect federal income taxes, and
- Funding for a third bridge across the St. Lawrence to Quebec City
Friday, January 18, 2019
The Y way
Paul, Bob, Randy, Peter, Peter, Gerry, Ahmed, George, Lorraine, Sharon, Wendy, Julie, Julie, Rosemary, Leslie-Anne, Karen, Margaret....just to name a few of my swim buddies at the Y. The thing is, we don't include wives or husbands in our coffee/lunch get togethers because frankly, it wouldn't work. I mean, what if I thought someone's husband was a jerk? That would kind'a negatively alter my impression of her. So, we keep our Y stuff to the Y and don't let it bleed into our personal lives.
That's what I had to explain to a new guy I met the other day. "My wife would love to meet you," he said. Thus, I had to explain that we don't do things like that with our Y buddies because it just complicates things. Just before Christmas, B made the unthinkable mistake of agreeing to dinner at the home of someone he works out with. Trapped, I agreed to go and if you want to know how that worked, read "Can I wear shoes?", 02-12-2018.
It was an unmitigated disaster!
That's what I had to explain to a new guy I met the other day. "My wife would love to meet you," he said. Thus, I had to explain that we don't do things like that with our Y buddies because it just complicates things. Just before Christmas, B made the unthinkable mistake of agreeing to dinner at the home of someone he works out with. Trapped, I agreed to go and if you want to know how that worked, read "Can I wear shoes?", 02-12-2018.
It was an unmitigated disaster!
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Who's in charge?
Actually, the Kids in the Hall are running the country. Into the ground. When B said this the other day, I laughed because he's absolutely correct! Sadly, the Kids are in charge. And they're making a mess of every file they touch.
What frightens me is that they will probably be re-elected because Scheer doesn't have "it" and Bernier will split the Conservative vote. Happily, we can all forget about Singh because he'll ensure the NDP is wiped off the electoral map. As I always say, we should not know the religion of anyone in public office, but with him we do. The Separation of Church and State is a vital concept completely forgotten in this age of rabid political correctness. In fact, when I posted this on fb, many people chimed in and called me bigoted and racist. That's how ignorant people are today. But in fairness, the Globe and Mail did publish the letter I wrote about it. Maybe one or two people will remember the notion. I live in hope.
Here's the other idea now floating around. After protesting the Northern Gateway pipeline into oblivion and getting court orders willy nilly to stop it, the natives are now pondering buying it themselves. I kid you not! After Canadians spent $4.5 billion to buy it, a sizeable number of chiefs now want the money it will engender for themselves. Maybe this was the Machiavellian plan all along? If so, it is a dastardly thing to do because guess who'll be "lending" them the money to buy it? That's right! You and I, thus buying it twice! And I'll bet internal squabbling among the natives -- over money -- will mean we'll still not have a pipeline! That'd be $8 billion down the hopper.
Brilliant strategy on the part of the Kids in the Hall!
What frightens me is that they will probably be re-elected because Scheer doesn't have "it" and Bernier will split the Conservative vote. Happily, we can all forget about Singh because he'll ensure the NDP is wiped off the electoral map. As I always say, we should not know the religion of anyone in public office, but with him we do. The Separation of Church and State is a vital concept completely forgotten in this age of rabid political correctness. In fact, when I posted this on fb, many people chimed in and called me bigoted and racist. That's how ignorant people are today. But in fairness, the Globe and Mail did publish the letter I wrote about it. Maybe one or two people will remember the notion. I live in hope.
Here's the other idea now floating around. After protesting the Northern Gateway pipeline into oblivion and getting court orders willy nilly to stop it, the natives are now pondering buying it themselves. I kid you not! After Canadians spent $4.5 billion to buy it, a sizeable number of chiefs now want the money it will engender for themselves. Maybe this was the Machiavellian plan all along? If so, it is a dastardly thing to do because guess who'll be "lending" them the money to buy it? That's right! You and I, thus buying it twice! And I'll bet internal squabbling among the natives -- over money -- will mean we'll still not have a pipeline! That'd be $8 billion down the hopper.
Brilliant strategy on the part of the Kids in the Hall!
Monday, January 14, 2019
Get your act together
With all the drumming, smudging and war whooping going on at the barricades in Northern BC, it's hard to figure out the issue? Yes, yes, we know some Indians don't want a pipeline. Ever. Anywhere. But who speaks for, and represents, them? I thought it was the elected band councils who all signed on to the agreements, but apparently it's actually the "hereditary" chiefs -- the ones all up-in-arms at the moment.
Or not. In fact, I read an article in 'The Globe and Mail' on the weekend entitled "Who's in control of the land". Written by four "scholars" in the field, none could answer the question. After two pages of head-scratchings and musings, no one could figure it out? The truth is it's all Crown Land owned by the government, but lent to natives for their exclusive use. Frankly, it could all be gone tomorrow at which time they would be forced to integrate into mainstream Canada. But it won't and they won't. Too much money at stake.
Maybe the old ladies manning the blockades are really the ones in charge? Or maybe not? In fact, the Indians don't seem to know who's running the show either. Were I an elected official, I would consider their undermining of due process a direct insult. Either they have a democracy or they don't. The old-lady chiefs are really ceremonial. They would be akin to our GG, who has a role, but doesn't play it without the permission of the ruling government -- unless you're the imperious Michaelle Jean who, in a pre-1689-King George II move, had the unmitigated gall to hold up the Harper government and make the prime minister cool his heels in the front hall while she fiddled around checking google to see what other defiant move she could pull. (He showed her when he appointed her something-or-other to Haiti, from whence she had come.)
The natives bray on about wanting self government and blah, blah, blah. But they can't even manage to decide who's in charge of an illegal protest! Here's a bulletin: You'll get true self-government when you renounce the Indian Act, raise your own money, forego Canadian taxpayer funds, tax your citizens, raise an army, defend your borders, build your own schools, social services and health care systems, provide senior care, build roads, manage your water and sewage systems.....and on and on.
It would be as if my teenage kids insisted on being dealt with on an equal footing on everything and that we treated them as independent beings, all while they were living under my roof, eating my food and taking everything I provided willy-nilly. Basically, to be a "nation" you actually have to be a "nation". Until then, don't talk about nation-to-nation anything. It's all balderdash and BS.
Or not. In fact, I read an article in 'The Globe and Mail' on the weekend entitled "Who's in control of the land". Written by four "scholars" in the field, none could answer the question. After two pages of head-scratchings and musings, no one could figure it out? The truth is it's all Crown Land owned by the government, but lent to natives for their exclusive use. Frankly, it could all be gone tomorrow at which time they would be forced to integrate into mainstream Canada. But it won't and they won't. Too much money at stake.
Maybe the old ladies manning the blockades are really the ones in charge? Or maybe not? In fact, the Indians don't seem to know who's running the show either. Were I an elected official, I would consider their undermining of due process a direct insult. Either they have a democracy or they don't. The old-lady chiefs are really ceremonial. They would be akin to our GG, who has a role, but doesn't play it without the permission of the ruling government -- unless you're the imperious Michaelle Jean who, in a pre-1689-King George II move, had the unmitigated gall to hold up the Harper government and make the prime minister cool his heels in the front hall while she fiddled around checking google to see what other defiant move she could pull. (He showed her when he appointed her something-or-other to Haiti, from whence she had come.)
The natives bray on about wanting self government and blah, blah, blah. But they can't even manage to decide who's in charge of an illegal protest! Here's a bulletin: You'll get true self-government when you renounce the Indian Act, raise your own money, forego Canadian taxpayer funds, tax your citizens, raise an army, defend your borders, build your own schools, social services and health care systems, provide senior care, build roads, manage your water and sewage systems.....and on and on.
It would be as if my teenage kids insisted on being dealt with on an equal footing on everything and that we treated them as independent beings, all while they were living under my roof, eating my food and taking everything I provided willy-nilly. Basically, to be a "nation" you actually have to be a "nation". Until then, don't talk about nation-to-nation anything. It's all balderdash and BS.
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Nose Hill Run
The whole family did a run today:
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| Looks as cool as a cuccumber. First place. |
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| Reed did the 4K with Daddy. He did the adult race and placed 21 / 35 in 28:38. Pretty good for a seven-year-old! |
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| Hilary did the 1K and won. |
Been there, done that
A couple of famous "feminists" in the OECD have written an article in 'The Economist' about how working mothers cope. Turns out, absolutely nothing has changed since I started birthing and raising children in the seventies.
These "brilliant" women may think they have discovered something, but all they need have done was given me a call. Back in about 1971, I worked for Du Pont of Canada in Toronto. Newly married, I was at a reception where I chatted with then-president Bob Richardson and said, "Mr. Richardson, why don't you consider creating a workplace daycare for women to bring their children? It would be a real breakthrough, give Du Pont great publicity and actually allow the company to retain good employees who might otherwise consider leaving their jobs. Sick leave would also diminish."
He said, almost spitting, "Oh for G-d's sake," turned on his heel and walked off. That was my first foray into how women are treated when they try to combine a job with motherhood. I decided then and there that this would be my problem when I had children. No one -- including my husband at the time -- would help with the burden.
So, I bought a wife in the form of a live-in nanny and carried on for a number of years until I could move up to after-four programs when they were old enough. One option I never considered was to have quit working. As you know, well-educated women quitting work to sit on their asses when they have children is one of my great bugaboos -- something I saw all around me when I used to visit stepdaughter in Houston. There they were, lawyers, geologists, petroleum engineers all sitting around drinking wine on their husbands' dimes throwing their educations into the toilet. Stepdaughter did it herself after a good education and great career with a big hotel chain! She tossed it all, claiming she was so fortunate to have been able to stay home with her children. Balderdash. Young children benefit far more from daycare than from sitting around at home watching TV or swimming in a neighbour's pool.
What a negative example for their own daughters.
The breakthrough studies done by the "geniuses" at the OECD say that by giving parental leave to both parents, mothers will be able to get back to work sooner. Trouble is, there has been little uptake on the leave by fathers because they know it will hurt their careers. Trust me, it will. While I had a great working life, I had to turn down a number of opportunities -- such as a stint in the Privy Council Office -- because I knew I could not have put in the hours required. Seven-to-seven would not have worked for me and if you didn't work seven-to-seven at the PCO, you were gone.
To show you how little society values child care, look at the wages it pays workers in the field. So if a woman stays home to look after her children she is saying, "I am worth what a daycare worker earns, not what an engineer earns." Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the work daycare employees do, but why get an engineering degree if you want to be a daycare staffer?
In today's 'Globe and Mail', Janet Yellen bemoans the fact that there aren't enough female economists around. Wonder if Ms. Yellen had kids? Let's google her. She has one, not too difficult to manage. I had two, two step-kids and two dead-beat ex's, but still managed to keep the boat afloat. If a woman wants to do it, she can, but she can't excel at everything.
All I can say is, never quit your job and hang in there!
____________________________________________
p.s. Just want to say that my dearest friend, with whom I holidayed recently in Kananiskis, just won the CHEO Dream Home of a Lifetime prize -- a $2.3 million home, $100,000 in cash and a Jeep Wrangler!!!! Can you imagine that!!??!! So happy for her. No one better deserving.
These "brilliant" women may think they have discovered something, but all they need have done was given me a call. Back in about 1971, I worked for Du Pont of Canada in Toronto. Newly married, I was at a reception where I chatted with then-president Bob Richardson and said, "Mr. Richardson, why don't you consider creating a workplace daycare for women to bring their children? It would be a real breakthrough, give Du Pont great publicity and actually allow the company to retain good employees who might otherwise consider leaving their jobs. Sick leave would also diminish."
He said, almost spitting, "Oh for G-d's sake," turned on his heel and walked off. That was my first foray into how women are treated when they try to combine a job with motherhood. I decided then and there that this would be my problem when I had children. No one -- including my husband at the time -- would help with the burden.
So, I bought a wife in the form of a live-in nanny and carried on for a number of years until I could move up to after-four programs when they were old enough. One option I never considered was to have quit working. As you know, well-educated women quitting work to sit on their asses when they have children is one of my great bugaboos -- something I saw all around me when I used to visit stepdaughter in Houston. There they were, lawyers, geologists, petroleum engineers all sitting around drinking wine on their husbands' dimes throwing their educations into the toilet. Stepdaughter did it herself after a good education and great career with a big hotel chain! She tossed it all, claiming she was so fortunate to have been able to stay home with her children. Balderdash. Young children benefit far more from daycare than from sitting around at home watching TV or swimming in a neighbour's pool.
What a negative example for their own daughters.
The breakthrough studies done by the "geniuses" at the OECD say that by giving parental leave to both parents, mothers will be able to get back to work sooner. Trouble is, there has been little uptake on the leave by fathers because they know it will hurt their careers. Trust me, it will. While I had a great working life, I had to turn down a number of opportunities -- such as a stint in the Privy Council Office -- because I knew I could not have put in the hours required. Seven-to-seven would not have worked for me and if you didn't work seven-to-seven at the PCO, you were gone.
To show you how little society values child care, look at the wages it pays workers in the field. So if a woman stays home to look after her children she is saying, "I am worth what a daycare worker earns, not what an engineer earns." Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the work daycare employees do, but why get an engineering degree if you want to be a daycare staffer?
In today's 'Globe and Mail', Janet Yellen bemoans the fact that there aren't enough female economists around. Wonder if Ms. Yellen had kids? Let's google her. She has one, not too difficult to manage. I had two, two step-kids and two dead-beat ex's, but still managed to keep the boat afloat. If a woman wants to do it, she can, but she can't excel at everything.
All I can say is, never quit your job and hang in there!
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p.s. Just want to say that my dearest friend, with whom I holidayed recently in Kananiskis, just won the CHEO Dream Home of a Lifetime prize -- a $2.3 million home, $100,000 in cash and a Jeep Wrangler!!!! Can you imagine that!!??!! So happy for her. No one better deserving.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Dead
I see in the Ottawa Citizen obituaries that the orthodontist who sexually assaulted me when I was 12 has died. I have written two blogs about this, 'Finally brave enough' 2014-11-1, and 'Yep' 2017-11-17. If you google the obits today, you will see who it was.
Once again, memories came back to me about the terrifying visits to his office way back then. As I have said, I don't know how he got away with it all this time because I can't have been the only patient he had done it to? But I never read anything about this ass-ole when we lived in Ottawa. I'd love to write a "tribute" to him, but won't.
He will get no RIP from me. I wonder if any of his other young, female patients read about his death today and silently cheered?
Once again, memories came back to me about the terrifying visits to his office way back then. As I have said, I don't know how he got away with it all this time because I can't have been the only patient he had done it to? But I never read anything about this ass-ole when we lived in Ottawa. I'd love to write a "tribute" to him, but won't.
He will get no RIP from me. I wonder if any of his other young, female patients read about his death today and silently cheered?
Good fences make good neighbours
So said poet Robert Frost in his 1914 poem "The Mending Wall". But Frost was not arguing for them; he was quoting his neighbour who wanted to put one up, "To keep what in or what out?" Listening to Trump this evening, I wonder if I agree with Frost? In fact, I don't -- especially in the case of the US southern border which is routinely and illegally breached 24/7. Does anyone want the whole of South America to empty into the US? No. I mean, why have a country at all if its borders are ignored?
Trudeau should heed this message, instead of allowing thousands and thousands of mainly Haitians and Nigerians to stroll in here, bypassing the legal queue respected by others. B, who emigrated from India via Britain with his family in the forties waited six years to be approved before they were finally admitted. My late father was an American and stood in line to become a 'naturalized Canadian', even though his mother was a native-born Quebecker.
The rule of law has seemingly been tossed onto the rubbish pile these days and that's just wrong. As to Trump's wall, he is not giving an inch, but neither are the Democrats, which is to say the whole thing is a mighty mess. Who will blink first? Not Trump. Judging by the lacklustre response from Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer last evening after Trump spoke, they have absolutely no plan and no idea what to do. Frankly, Pelosi should hang it up. At 78, she's too old and needs to move aside.
But she won't.
Trudeau should heed this message, instead of allowing thousands and thousands of mainly Haitians and Nigerians to stroll in here, bypassing the legal queue respected by others. B, who emigrated from India via Britain with his family in the forties waited six years to be approved before they were finally admitted. My late father was an American and stood in line to become a 'naturalized Canadian', even though his mother was a native-born Quebecker.
The rule of law has seemingly been tossed onto the rubbish pile these days and that's just wrong. As to Trump's wall, he is not giving an inch, but neither are the Democrats, which is to say the whole thing is a mighty mess. Who will blink first? Not Trump. Judging by the lacklustre response from Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer last evening after Trump spoke, they have absolutely no plan and no idea what to do. Frankly, Pelosi should hang it up. At 78, she's too old and needs to move aside.
But she won't.
Seals in the streets
So, now we have seals wandering the streets of a Newfoundland town and all Fisheries and Oceans is saying that it's "monitoring" the situation. It's also warning people it's illegal to interfere with a wild animal.
Gee, thanks. For nothing. Apparently, the seals could not get back into the ocean when it froze over, so are now starving on people's driveways and front lawns. If dealing with this mess is not the job of Fisheries and Oceans, what is? There is no need to "monitor" this mess, anyone with eyes can see that yes, there are definitely seals trapped on land. What needs to happen is that the ice be broken up, the seals rounded up safely and brought to the water's edge so they can escape.
About 25 years ago, I was Director of Communications for Fisheries and I can tell you, this would not have been my strategy. I would have called on the coast guard to break up the ice and our scientists to advise about the safest way to move the seals to open water. Don't know who's running that shop now, but they're effing up big time.
Boy, the feds have no clue what they are doing these days.
Gee, thanks. For nothing. Apparently, the seals could not get back into the ocean when it froze over, so are now starving on people's driveways and front lawns. If dealing with this mess is not the job of Fisheries and Oceans, what is? There is no need to "monitor" this mess, anyone with eyes can see that yes, there are definitely seals trapped on land. What needs to happen is that the ice be broken up, the seals rounded up safely and brought to the water's edge so they can escape.
About 25 years ago, I was Director of Communications for Fisheries and I can tell you, this would not have been my strategy. I would have called on the coast guard to break up the ice and our scientists to advise about the safest way to move the seals to open water. Don't know who's running that shop now, but they're effing up big time.
Boy, the feds have no clue what they are doing these days.
Monday, January 7, 2019
So?
That would have been my response, had one of my kids told me they didn't like their new high school and told me I had to move back to Calgary so he/she could be with his/her old friends.
I am amazed at the middle-aged women swimmers -- all better than I -- who are ruled by their kids?! "Hi C, have you moved back to Calgary?" I asked a woman I used to swim with every day. "Well, my daughter didn't like Invermere, so we moved back," she replied. That's where the "So?" came out of my mouth this morning. This woman has five kids from two -- or is it three -- fathers and one of them told this daughter she could move back to Calgary. "Well, why doesn't she just live with him so you can live with your latest boyfriend in Invermere? I asked. (Actually, I didn't add the "latest boyfriend" part, but that's what I thought.) "He rents a basement room, so that won't work," she replied. Boy, she must have financially hobbled the poor fathers for this to be his pathetic fate. (BH, you know who this is.)
Doesn't it all come back? Karma has hit the charming C with a hard blow.
"F-ck off! You and Dad have done nothing for me!!" recounted another of my women-friend swimmers. She was talking about her 20-year-old son, whose girlfriend had broken up with him after two years. This brat is apparently out-of-control, smoking weed non-stop (thank you Justin Trudeau) and "free" drinking.
"Kick him out of the house," I suggested. "Oh, I can't do that, he has no resources," she replied. That's when I uttered another "So?" I had to do it, it was hard and made me cry every night for years. In my case, all turned out well, but we'll see with these women. But maybe they'll all stop talking to me in the lanes?
I am amazed at the middle-aged women swimmers -- all better than I -- who are ruled by their kids?! "Hi C, have you moved back to Calgary?" I asked a woman I used to swim with every day. "Well, my daughter didn't like Invermere, so we moved back," she replied. That's where the "So?" came out of my mouth this morning. This woman has five kids from two -- or is it three -- fathers and one of them told this daughter she could move back to Calgary. "Well, why doesn't she just live with him so you can live with your latest boyfriend in Invermere? I asked. (Actually, I didn't add the "latest boyfriend" part, but that's what I thought.) "He rents a basement room, so that won't work," she replied. Boy, she must have financially hobbled the poor fathers for this to be his pathetic fate. (BH, you know who this is.)
Doesn't it all come back? Karma has hit the charming C with a hard blow.
"F-ck off! You and Dad have done nothing for me!!" recounted another of my women-friend swimmers. She was talking about her 20-year-old son, whose girlfriend had broken up with him after two years. This brat is apparently out-of-control, smoking weed non-stop (thank you Justin Trudeau) and "free" drinking.
"Kick him out of the house," I suggested. "Oh, I can't do that, he has no resources," she replied. That's when I uttered another "So?" I had to do it, it was hard and made me cry every night for years. In my case, all turned out well, but we'll see with these women. But maybe they'll all stop talking to me in the lanes?
OMG! Again
I just checked and many of my posts are entitled "OMG!" Today is another. This one is about the B.C. "Gidimt'en" tribe erecting barricades to prevent the legally-approved TransCanada pipeline from crossing "their" land. As I have blogged MANY times, it is not "their" land; it is Crown Land loaned to natives for their use. Google the Indian Act. It's all there. They claim it's un-ceded land, but it's ceded and belongs to the Crown. The lazy press will not do the research and cover this "inconvenient truth".
Never mind that the oil company duly consulted with, and got approvals from, all the tribes along the route, now this bunch claims that the "hereditary chiefs" of the Wet'suwet'en (First) Nation have not given permission. The elected chiefs have signed off, but not the heredity variety. WTF?! Watching a bunch of natives drumming and wailing, I was convinced they had no idea against what they were protesting. It's just protesting for protesting's sake.
They are actually trying to stop the generation of Canadian wealth -- wealth which will provide them with the money they receive from the Federal Government every year, i.e., you and me. "We have no intention of giving up the sovereignty of our land and to be violated," said one chief. They have even erected a check point to stop progress. It is insane, yet Trudeau will do nothing but give them more money.
OMG!
The other "OMG" is about the "Sixties Scoop" gang. It claims it doesn't want anything but an apology, but $750 million would also be nice. When offered it, can you believe it!? They didn't turn the money down! They grabbed it. "An apology is really easy to put together, but for it to have meaning behind it, the province and feds need to prove it to us that there's something going on behind the scenes," said "survivor" Kerry Opoonechaw-Bellegarde. The "behind the scenes" stuff was the money being deposited into his bank account. Done.
Oh, and just to top up the native file, read today about the local Blood Tribe in which there has been an 86 percent jump in drug overdoses in one year. Guess that's the "industry" there: Drugs and overdoses. So what does this province do? Throw more money at it of course! In addition to what they already get, Alberta has forked over another $2.2 million for a "recovery" program to fund paramedics 24/7 on site.
That's disgusting. And what will they do when they get "clean"? Get back into drugs and OD again because there is nothing else to do on the reserve. A sickening cycle encouraged by their own leaders.
Never mind that the oil company duly consulted with, and got approvals from, all the tribes along the route, now this bunch claims that the "hereditary chiefs" of the Wet'suwet'en (First) Nation have not given permission. The elected chiefs have signed off, but not the heredity variety. WTF?! Watching a bunch of natives drumming and wailing, I was convinced they had no idea against what they were protesting. It's just protesting for protesting's sake.
They are actually trying to stop the generation of Canadian wealth -- wealth which will provide them with the money they receive from the Federal Government every year, i.e., you and me. "We have no intention of giving up the sovereignty of our land and to be violated," said one chief. They have even erected a check point to stop progress. It is insane, yet Trudeau will do nothing but give them more money.
OMG!
The other "OMG" is about the "Sixties Scoop" gang. It claims it doesn't want anything but an apology, but $750 million would also be nice. When offered it, can you believe it!? They didn't turn the money down! They grabbed it. "An apology is really easy to put together, but for it to have meaning behind it, the province and feds need to prove it to us that there's something going on behind the scenes," said "survivor" Kerry Opoonechaw-Bellegarde. The "behind the scenes" stuff was the money being deposited into his bank account. Done.
Oh, and just to top up the native file, read today about the local Blood Tribe in which there has been an 86 percent jump in drug overdoses in one year. Guess that's the "industry" there: Drugs and overdoses. So what does this province do? Throw more money at it of course! In addition to what they already get, Alberta has forked over another $2.2 million for a "recovery" program to fund paramedics 24/7 on site.
That's disgusting. And what will they do when they get "clean"? Get back into drugs and OD again because there is nothing else to do on the reserve. A sickening cycle encouraged by their own leaders.
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Goodbye.......please!
Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente, with whom I seem to share a brain, had a great column today about what's wrong with Justin Trudeau. Frankly, don't know how she kept it to column length? She could have gone on and on and on.
This brainless dope (and dope smoker) has managed to isolate Canada from many countries, such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia and even the U.S. A laughing stock, we are no longer a player on the world stage. As I have said many times, how can you have a foreign minister who is banned from Russia!? As to her "negotiation" of the new NAFTA, she managed to get us screwed on many fronts. As I have also pointed out, I was part of the original Free Trade Task Force that put the deal together in 1988/89. All she had to do was tweak it, a task that took her almost two years. Two years! And we ended up with a worse deal.
Wente also talks about western alienation, which is HUGE in Alberta. People hate Trudeau. They also hate Notley, who played "social licence" footsie with him to get a pipeline built. Guess what? No pipeline. And there will not be one until these two incompetents are gone. I predict Jason Kenney will wipe the NDP off the electoral map this Spring. They are going to get mauled and probably won't even achieve party status -- at least I hope not. Many NDPers are not running again. I mean, why spend money on a useless campaign?
I exchanged a couple of emails with Wente not long ago and we talked about Canada's carbon footprint. Actually, it's non-existence. Our boreal forests clean twice the carbon the entire country produces, so we are a "carbon negative" country. She agreed and mentioned it in her column. "The sanctimonious preaching of Environment Minister Catherine McKenna (Climate Barbie to me) has become seriously annoying," says Wente. Hear hear!
She also wrote about the debt and deficits, which are a scandal. How Trudeau could have racked up a $19 billion deficit after inheriting a balanced budget is beyond the beyond!
As to Andrew Scheer, he is barking up the wrong election-issue tree when he talks about how he will do away with the carbon tax. He should drop that one because the provinces are doing the job for him by simply not paying it. What he should really hammer is the open-border issue -- something all legitimate Canadians are against. There is currently a backlog of 64,000 cases to be heard by the desperately under-funded Immigration and Refugee Board. You cannot have a country where people casually stroll across an open border, settle in for a few years on the public dime and wait years for their cases to be heard. That pisses everyone off -- especially the immigrants who waited in the cue for years to get into Canada legally.
That's the issue I'd rail against, were I Scheer. Otherwise, we'll have another term of the abominable Trudeau. Gawd help us!
This brainless dope (and dope smoker) has managed to isolate Canada from many countries, such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia and even the U.S. A laughing stock, we are no longer a player on the world stage. As I have said many times, how can you have a foreign minister who is banned from Russia!? As to her "negotiation" of the new NAFTA, she managed to get us screwed on many fronts. As I have also pointed out, I was part of the original Free Trade Task Force that put the deal together in 1988/89. All she had to do was tweak it, a task that took her almost two years. Two years! And we ended up with a worse deal.
Wente also talks about western alienation, which is HUGE in Alberta. People hate Trudeau. They also hate Notley, who played "social licence" footsie with him to get a pipeline built. Guess what? No pipeline. And there will not be one until these two incompetents are gone. I predict Jason Kenney will wipe the NDP off the electoral map this Spring. They are going to get mauled and probably won't even achieve party status -- at least I hope not. Many NDPers are not running again. I mean, why spend money on a useless campaign?
I exchanged a couple of emails with Wente not long ago and we talked about Canada's carbon footprint. Actually, it's non-existence. Our boreal forests clean twice the carbon the entire country produces, so we are a "carbon negative" country. She agreed and mentioned it in her column. "The sanctimonious preaching of Environment Minister Catherine McKenna (Climate Barbie to me) has become seriously annoying," says Wente. Hear hear!
She also wrote about the debt and deficits, which are a scandal. How Trudeau could have racked up a $19 billion deficit after inheriting a balanced budget is beyond the beyond!
As to Andrew Scheer, he is barking up the wrong election-issue tree when he talks about how he will do away with the carbon tax. He should drop that one because the provinces are doing the job for him by simply not paying it. What he should really hammer is the open-border issue -- something all legitimate Canadians are against. There is currently a backlog of 64,000 cases to be heard by the desperately under-funded Immigration and Refugee Board. You cannot have a country where people casually stroll across an open border, settle in for a few years on the public dime and wait years for their cases to be heard. That pisses everyone off -- especially the immigrants who waited in the cue for years to get into Canada legally.
That's the issue I'd rail against, were I Scheer. Otherwise, we'll have another term of the abominable Trudeau. Gawd help us!
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Officially a loser
Anyone else addicted to 'Dr. Pimple Popper'? I am, which makes me officially a loser. Can't get enough of Dr. Sandra Lee poking, slicing, squeezing and popping yuck. Guess it brings out the monkey in all of us. What kind of a non-life does one have to have to stare at a screen full of puss extraction procedures?! Yup, that's me!
The elegant, perfectly made up Dr. Lee admits to getting great satisfaction from extracting yellow and white gunk from people's "things". Wonder what my friend, Dr. G.G., thinks of this show? I have another friend who is a WestJet pilot and says he watches with great interest another of my favourite shows, 'Mayday'. "I learn a lot from those episodes," he said. Frankly, I am not the greatest flyer, but have overcome my trepidation by studying aerodynamics, i.e., why planes remain in the air, along with the help of sheer willpower and 'Mayday'.
So, in between washing and ironing Christmas linens -- the latter one of my favourite pass times -- I am glued to Doctor Pimple Popper, her guck and her perfect makeup.
The elegant, perfectly made up Dr. Lee admits to getting great satisfaction from extracting yellow and white gunk from people's "things". Wonder what my friend, Dr. G.G., thinks of this show? I have another friend who is a WestJet pilot and says he watches with great interest another of my favourite shows, 'Mayday'. "I learn a lot from those episodes," he said. Frankly, I am not the greatest flyer, but have overcome my trepidation by studying aerodynamics, i.e., why planes remain in the air, along with the help of sheer willpower and 'Mayday'.
So, in between washing and ironing Christmas linens -- the latter one of my favourite pass times -- I am glued to Doctor Pimple Popper, her guck and her perfect makeup.
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
We're not staying here
That was what my dear friend (A) visiting from Ottawa said when we arrived at the lodge I had booked in Kananaskis. On line, it looked great, but the price should have given me a clue; it was $300 cheaper than the one I should have picked. Nothing is "cheap" in Kananaskis, but this was a tad too cheap to actually be habitable. Think a down-at-the-heels motel somewhere off the Vanier Parkway. That's what I had booked.
So, off we drove to the main Pomeroy Lodge -- a gorgeous hotel -- to try and book there. "We're absolutely booked solid," said the clerk. "Try again," said my friend -- an international traveller extraordinaire who will not take "no" for an answer.
We met in 1984, when we both worked for the federal presence at Expo '86 in Transport Canada. Amazingly, we have remained friends since. When she asked the clerk to just give us our money back and we would find something else, suddenly something miraculously popped up! No way was this clerk going to be responsible for handing a guest $300, instead of up-selling for another $300. We all know that all hotels always have a room somewhere and apparently, this one did. So, we forked over the difference and were booked. "Do you have anything with a mountain view?" asked A. No. Try again. And what do you know? A two-story, luxury loft suddenly opened up at the same price as an ordinary room!
I don't know how A does it, but she always gets what she wants. We travelled together all the time with Expo '86, back and forth to Vancouver and to all the provinces to promote the fair and I should have known she would pull it off. I, on the other hand, was all set to pack it in and head back to Calgary. "Nancy, don't be stupid," she admonished. "We're going to get what we want." And we did. Not only did we get settled when a knock came at the door. I opened it and there stood a young man with a bottle of champagne, two flutes and a platter of chocolate-covered strawberries. And this was all because I had effed up the original booking. To top it off, they had compted the valet parking. Maybe we looked as if we might throw a fit?
Later that evening, when we were in the bar -- naturally -- we met another couple who had booked the dumpy one. "Did you manage to get in here?" I asked. "No, there was absolutely nothing available," said the wife. When I told her we had managed, she was incredulous. That's A for you, a very experienced and professional traveller.
So, off we drove to the main Pomeroy Lodge -- a gorgeous hotel -- to try and book there. "We're absolutely booked solid," said the clerk. "Try again," said my friend -- an international traveller extraordinaire who will not take "no" for an answer.
We met in 1984, when we both worked for the federal presence at Expo '86 in Transport Canada. Amazingly, we have remained friends since. When she asked the clerk to just give us our money back and we would find something else, suddenly something miraculously popped up! No way was this clerk going to be responsible for handing a guest $300, instead of up-selling for another $300. We all know that all hotels always have a room somewhere and apparently, this one did. So, we forked over the difference and were booked. "Do you have anything with a mountain view?" asked A. No. Try again. And what do you know? A two-story, luxury loft suddenly opened up at the same price as an ordinary room!
I don't know how A does it, but she always gets what she wants. We travelled together all the time with Expo '86, back and forth to Vancouver and to all the provinces to promote the fair and I should have known she would pull it off. I, on the other hand, was all set to pack it in and head back to Calgary. "Nancy, don't be stupid," she admonished. "We're going to get what we want." And we did. Not only did we get settled when a knock came at the door. I opened it and there stood a young man with a bottle of champagne, two flutes and a platter of chocolate-covered strawberries. And this was all because I had effed up the original booking. To top it off, they had compted the valet parking. Maybe we looked as if we might throw a fit?
Later that evening, when we were in the bar -- naturally -- we met another couple who had booked the dumpy one. "Did you manage to get in here?" I asked. "No, there was absolutely nothing available," said the wife. When I told her we had managed, she was incredulous. That's A for you, a very experienced and professional traveller.
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| The decorations were beautiful. |
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| Our chef, Francois. We ordered steak tartare and he came to meet us. Lovely chatting in French. |
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