No interest in a cruise to Panama

But I would love to go on 'The Globe and Mail's' Panama cruise only because one of my idols, Cathal Kelly, will be on it.  Maybe just being in his presence would be enough for a little of his writing talent to rub off on my own meagre efforts.

I have been a dedicated fan since happening upon him during a morning perusal of the Globe a few years ago.  Kelly is a sports writer, but not really.  His take on sports always involves a unique angle and usually bleeds into other facets of life, written in the most lovely and beguiling way.  Oh to have just a little of his talent!  

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Anyway, what I really wanted to write about today are my years as a eucharistic minister at Our Lady of Fatima -- a fluke job that found me, not I it.  One morning at Mass at St. Brigid's in Ottawa, where we lived at the time, I was sitting with my kids and stepkids (B was out-of-town), minding my own business, when the venerable Sister Eleanor Hennessy quietly snuck up, tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to step up and give out the host.  I was shocked.  Me?!  "Yes, yes, just go ahead up," she instructed.  Since one never said "No" to Sister Eleanor, up I went on the altar.

I fumbled away, but managed not to drop any hosts and got through it.  After that, I was a regular Eucharist Minister and, sinner that I was -- and am -- felt it had to be right because I hadn't chosen the role; it had me via Eleanor's gentle hand.  When we moved to Britannia, I learned Eleanor had quietly called Father Martineau and pegged B and I to continue our roles at our new parish, Our Lady of Fatima.  Thus it unfolded that not only was I a minister, but I also inherited the role of coordinator and scheduler of eucharistic ministers.

As I have said, it was bizarre, but became more so when Father Martineau asked me to serve on the parish council.  I said yes, but as a result of one missed meeting I learned that he had made me chair-in- absentia.  "I couldn't bear to sit there during those meetings with someone who didn't know how to chair," he confessed, "So I nominated you.  You are now the chair."

Gee, thanks a lot!

Things progressed at Fatima and another task found me:  Bringing the eucharist to hospital patients.  I did this for several years every Sunday morning -- often seeing 30 patients a visit.  I found I had a talent for this mission because I could visit a very sick, or dying, patient, connect immediately and emotionally with them -- often to the point of crying -- and yet leave the room and take nothing home with me.  Sometimes I would see the patient's death notice the next day, but it never lingered with me.  That's why I could do it so easily for so long.

Strange things happened at the Civic.  One day, the list I had been given didn't have the name of a patient I had been seeing regularly.  As I left the ward, something made me turn back.  "Where is Ann?" I asked at the desk.  "Oh, she had been sent home, but came back yesterday because she is so ill," the nurse told me.  So, I went back to see Ann and give her the host.  She died that night. 

Why did I go back and ask about her?  You be the judge.

When we moved to Calgary, I did not continue this work and I don't really know why?  Perhaps because the pastor at the parish we joined was not a very friendly man.  Now, I no longer go to Mass; my spirituality lies within.

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Now a word about Mormonism.  I have been watching some very disturbing YouTube videos about this religion.  Made by people who have left the church, they paint a picture of rules and rigid regulations, do's and don't's and shunning.  Homosexuality is especially frowned upon and tithing is mandatory.  Apparently, the Mormon church has $100 billion salted away from tithing -- much of what is tithed in Canada ends up in the US and at Brigham Young University; very little is donated to charities here -- or anywhere, for that matter.  

In a way, many of the rules and obligations are not unlike those of the Catholic church of a few decades ago -- such as women not working outside the home, marrying very young and having as many kids as they can in short order.  Still, as the sister of a gay man who committed suicide, I was struck by the high suicide rates among gay -- or "gender dysphoria" -- members.  

According to the videos I watched, Mormons preach love, but within their rules.  The largest, single land owners in the entire US, "Mormonism professes to be a religion, dabbling in business, but it's actually business dabbling in religion," said one man who left the church.  

I also watched a couple on Scientology and both religions are secretive, rules-based and focused on huge wealth.  Unlike the Catholic church, whose doors are open to anyone anytime, you can't just walk into a Mormon or Scientology church.  Their doors are barred. 

So, if you're interested in learning more about these sects, faiths, religions or cults, watch a few videos.  "Why we left the Mormon church:  A coming out story" is good because it features a young man, his wife and their three kids who have stayed together -- even though he has come out.  They could not, however, remain in the Mormon church and his family has shunned them.  Fascinating.

Note:  I have a couple of Mormon friends who I don't think will like this blog.  Doesn't seem to be a lot of objectivity in their thinking.

Epilogue:  As predicted one of my Mormon "friends" has gone postal about this blog, thus proving my point about practicing Mormons not being objective.  He has even demanded an apology, which is to laugh.  As if I would apologize for my blog?!  My blog is my opinion -- but always supported by facts.  I have done the research and I have the numbers.  Giving a several hundred million to charity does not jive with the $100 billion the church has in its coffers.  Frankly, it does not qualify them as a non-profit organization, according to reports I have read by forensic accountants.  But good money people have handled that wrinkle with the money within the church.  

I am sorry this person -- with whom I used to enjoy swimming and chatting -- has revealed himself.  When people comment on the Catholic church, I don't take it personally and demand an apology.  I don't run that organization.  But it seems Mormons take everything personally -- regardless of their high-minded intentions and works.

Ah well, as Lord Acton said, in the long run we'll all be dead.  And I know I will be reunited forever with my family -- even though I am not a Mormon, not perfect and definitely not "sweet".   

Stupidity

That's what Trudeau feeds on, our own stupidity.  The cynicism was breathtaking.  There was Trudeau, fake-caring about the victims of a mass shooting on the James Smith Cree Reservation, where a local native ran amok, killed 11 people and wounded 18 in a mass stabbing for no reason that anyone can articulate.  Oh, wait, ya, drugs and alcohol.

I was almost sick watching coverage of the visit.  There he was, visiting all the graves, kneeling, offering tobacco and blessing himself.  What a sacrilege!  Naturally, he pledged MONEY -- LOTS OF IT:

• $42.5 million for a "healing" centre
• $4.5 million for mental health and addictions treatment, and
• $20 million for violence against women and girls.

OMG!  When will it stop??!!  Where is the money coming from??!!  Our grandchildren and great-grandchild will be paying for this FOREVER.  It is to weep.  There are only 4,312 people living there!  That's a lot of money per resident -- on top of what we already give them!  

So sickening.  And let's not forget what the RCMP stats tell about us who is killing women and girls:  Their own kith and kin.  So, why do we need another $20 million to figure out what is available at the touch of a keystroke on any computer??!!  This image of Trudeau defacing the Catholic religion by blessing himself over a grave nearly made me scream:

So sickening.

  

"We don't have a clue what we're doing"

That's what a chiropractor I went to until a few years ago actually said to me one day while treating and charging me.  I should have clued in then, but it has taken me 30-odd years to finally get it:  Chiropractors are useless.

I have finally switched to a physiotherapist.

My back has been in spasm for the past few weeks and I have gone to three different chiropractors here in Cochrane.  They crack it back, but never get to the underlying problem, so out it pops again.  This has gone on for 30 years.  Ten years ago, I ripped an upper arm muscle trying to show off my speed in the Crowfoot Y Pool.  I have since learned that when you tear a muscle, it never heals back normally, which has meant I have been dealing with flareups since.

The physiotherapist I am now going to said, "These guys can straighten your back out, but they never get to the underlying problem."  He then proceeded to explain what mine was.  I have no idea what he said, but whatever it is and whatever he's doing, it's starting to work.  I have to do my part, so I contort myself all over the house, bending this way and that, rubbing a tennis ball between my bum and the wall and a few other bizarre moves he tells me I need to do because, "Your muscles are screaming and they're very angry at the moment."

I'll vouch for that!

_________________________________

A big shout out to my son-in-law, who arrived this morning to put up our outdoor lights.  What took him 20 minutes would have taken me two days.  It's wonderful to have him around the corner because he helps us with everything we used to be able to do, but no longer can.  

Getting into the Christmas Spirit!

You knew it was going to happen

Yep, the federal government has decided to make the "Truth" and Reconciliation Commission permanent.   It'll be funded FOREVER, it will have offices and it will just keep burrowing into the dregs of the past and will never, never stop.  When you keep picking at a scab, it never heals.  Neither will this.

And just to ensure it doesn't, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), has installed the always-hysterical Cindy Blackstock as inaugural chancellor.  Blackstock, a professor of social work (what else?) at McGill and the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (by means of which she secured a $40 billion settlement for native children in care -- don't dare ask why they had to be taken into care) began her tenure with this forward-looking vow:

"We're going to be looking at the impact of colonialism on health care."  Well, if that isn't a promise to keep digging backwards in time picking at scabs, I don't know what is?  Please Cindy, try and move forward once in a while!  Both she and warrior-in-arms Tanya Talaga want to ensure northern communities have the same number of doctors and health care workers per capita as any other community.  I guess someone forgot to tell them that in Canada, doctors are free to practice wherever they want.  I mean, who'd want to go to a remote, deprived, barren reservation instead of a nice, modern hospital in a city in which they can live well?      

Why can't natives move on?  Why can't they make any progress?  Why can't they support themselves?  How long will they keep gnawing on 100-year-old bones to no avail?  

FOREVER.  Because it means MONEY.

And speaking of things that will never end, the war between Russia and Ukraine is another such interminable mess.  I used to sympathize with Zelensky, but I don't now.  His personal vendetta is leading the rest of the world into nuclear chaos and grave danger.  He has to sit down with Putin and talk -- even though we know Putin will win and will take Ukraine.  But Zelensky doesn't give a toss and the rest of the world is just sitting around doing nothing.  Hitler anyone?  World War III anyone?

________________________

Watching snippets now and then by accident of the ludicrous inquiry into the emergencies act, I happened upon the ghastly Freeland.  Her rude, dismissive and condescending "answers" to the female lawyers questioning her is appalling.  Her sense of righteousness and never-wrongness is jarring.  The woman doesn't have the brains to have a second thought about anything on any position she holds.  And could she look any more disheveled?  A bag lady comes to mind -- and that's an insult to your average, respectable bag lady:  

More shots of our finance minister and "esteemed" deputy minister:

How can a minister of The Crown comport herself like this?  No wonder Canada is a laughing stock on the world stage.

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A night out at the local hotel here in Cochrane exposed me to this:

All I can say is, I better keep swimming.

       

 

Pretty shitty show

Tuned into the Grey Cup half time show and it was pretty shitty.  Who were the those guys?  No clue?  Were they American?  That was dumb.  Anyway, not really watching the game, but wanted to put out a few comments on other bees in my bonnet.

One of my favorite shows is 'Airplane Repo'.  Love those macho guys who steal planes!  One of them, Mike Kennedy, proves that you don't have to be handsome to be sexy.  With his pock-marked face and stringy hair, Mike proves the Charles Bronson theory that sex appeal has nothing to do with looks.  The other repo men are Kevin Lacey, Ken Cage and Danny Thompson and they all have more nuts than anyone I know.  They also make $ thousands for each repo, but they earn every cent.  In case you haven't seen it, tune in.  

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Watching the ridiculous inquiry on the legality of the invocation of the emergencies act all I can say is, who cares?!  Living in Alberta, no one I know.  It's such an "Ottawa bubble" fiasco, with everyone blaming everyone else and you just know when the report comes out in February -- a year after the whole mess fizzled -- no one will know anything, be accountable or give two sh-ts about the "conclusions".  Cute trick that Trudeau and the ministers, who will testify at the very end, have been allotted the equivalent of about 10 minutes to answer questions.  Talk about scott free!

I wrote a carefully-worded letter to 'The Calgary Herald' pointing the finger at one of the biggest culprits -- literally and figuratively:  Brenda Lucki.  She continues to disgrace herself and the once-revered RCMP by her inaction, incompetence and torpor in the face of crisis.  Here's the letter:

I had to word it very carefully, with a lot of "may have's" and "?'s" so they would publish it, but if you read between the lines, you know I am blaming her incompetence.  (I have also blogged about another fiasco, Peter Sloly -- sadly, another affirmative action disaster.)  

And speaking of affirmative action, the clerk of the Privy Council Office, Janice Charette, and her flunky testified last week at the "inquiry".  I was appalled!  I remember the days when clerks were experienced, astute and able; now they are token appointments.  Jean-Luc Pépin once said that public servants must be political, but not partisan.  He was dead-on, but that's all poofed.  Now senior bureaucrats are all partisan, as Charette demonstrates in her role as clerk.  

She said that the act could be invoked, but that a legal challenge would ensue.  Whaaaat??!  Obviously, she knew the threshold hadn't been met, but advised Trudeau to invoke away with gay abandon.  She should not have knowingly given him that advice, but having been fired as clerk by Trudeau in the past, I guess she wanted to keep her job.  

Googled Charette and her background for the job leaves a lot to be desired; her gender, however, doesn't.  A graduate of Carleton (OK, me too), she has been a policy advisor in some form or another her entire career in the public service; never run a chip stand.  Someone needs to tell "policy" advisors that all that stuff is dreamt up by the kids-in-the-hall gang in the PMO.  And, as I said, it's all purely political; nothing to do with anything that will help Canadians.  She is also a dyed blonde and you know my opinion on that file.  Here she is:

B's boss, when he was at PCO, the venerable Gordon Robertson, is turning over in his grave.  

Once again, affirmative action fails and tars all of us who share the gender.  Fifty years of work by many of us on the feminism file and nothing's changed.  Sigh.

_______________________________

Guess the Greens have a death wish.  They've elected Elizabeth May as leader.  Again!  She is another unmitigated disaster who will ensure the Greens never see power -- thank God.  Frankly, what is the point of that feckless and ineffectual party?!  There are so many disgraces to our gender I have lost count.  Here is the hapless May again blabbing incoherently into the void.  Over-refreshed anyone?

More sighs......

   

     

   

Two

I've had two 'I Remember' columns published in 'The Globe and Mail' in just a couple of months.  I am quite pleased about that because it's not easy to get into that publication.  Here I proudly offer my contributions:

I don't know anyone else who's had even one.  I also wonder about the people I've worked with over the years -- especially at the Canada Revenue Agency, where I was not the most popular with other women, for some reason -- think?  A couple of female bosses spent their entire careers in CRA, the big moments coming when they finally made it out of a TC counter or TSO clerking to HQs.  On the other hand, I was lucky and my talent allowed me a varied career in both the private and public sectors; it was my writing skill that always gave me the edge.

 

(Note:  I remember one appraisal I got from M J-K, which I am sure she regretted having written, after digesting my "comments".  They ran for two articulate pages and were essentially a truthful, but damning, appraisal of her incompetence.  All but one of my managers couldn't have been bothered to read my CV.  The one who did, SW, nosily only quizzed me on my personal life and why I had been "Nancy Russell" for early jobs and "Nancy Marley-Clarke" for later positions.  She didn't give a toss about my experience.  I've listed my career path in "They used to all be hippies", Oct. 26/22) 

I especially loved working with Blanche van Ginkel because, as I write above, she was a pioneer feminist.  B sent the articles to his daughter (my stepdaughter, who I raised, by the way) and she couldn't bring herself to congratulate me -- couldn't even thank him for sending them along.  That's real dedication to envy!  I have no clue what happened to her, but we are completely estranged.  Her choice.  She's gone to the dark side. 

    

Charles the second?

That's what a full captain in the Canadian Navy called our new King, Charles III.  Didn't know The Second was still around, but obviously he must be?  Charles II reigned from 1649 to 1651, but this female armed forces member called him Charles II.  How could she have made such a gaffe?  Did no one review her material?  

Too bad she had to be a woman, tarring us all with her ignorance.  That pisses me off.  But, at any rate, we watched the Remembrance Day Service in Ottawa today, as we always do, and it reminded me of the many times we bundled up all four children and trekked off by bus with strollers to the Cenotaph to attend the service.  Both our families had members who served and died in WW II, so this is always a special day.  Here they are:

My Dad, Thomas Raymond Griffith, head of the NRC Rubber Lab and inventor of synthetic rubber.

B's Uncle Clive Marley-Clarke, killed on the march to Florence, aged 23

B's Grandfather, right, Cecil Walsh, his Great-grandfather, George, and Great-uncle Jack.

My Uncle Rollie Brousseau, served in WW II in Italy

B's father, Ivan Marley-Clarke, served in the British Merchant Navy, and his mother, Diamond Walsh.

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Frankly, it was a snub and a disgrace that Trudeau was winging his way to Cambodia, instead of honouring our war dead.  But then, why would we be surprised?  His father shirked his duty in WW II, hiding out in China -- a country sonny boy actually admires!  (A reader of this blog actually added Trudeau, senior, to the list of Canada's greatest prime ministers!  How ignorant can you be?)

He had Sophie and his son fill in for him.  Whaaaaat??!!  Reminded me of when Payette had her teenage son with her shaking the hands of honourable vets.  And don't get me started on Mary Simon in uniform with her purple hair!  Gawd!

To add insult to injury, the defence minister Anand, the deputy PM Freeland and the Indigenous affairs minister Marc Miller all skipped town.  What a dishonourable thing to do.  Absolutely scandalous.  I enjoy watching such ceremonies with B because he knows everyone's rank and affiliation by looking at uniforms, ties and hats.  Always amazes me!  

Here are a few images of today's ceremonies:

What has our country become?  It's outrageous and anyone who voted Liberal should hang his/her head in shame.  

  

   

 

Pool porn

"See that guy on the deck to your right?" I said to M the lifeguard this morning, as we were chatting.  "He needs to be jailed."

I slowly turned and beheld the grotesque affront.  Here is something similar from stock photos:

This guy actually walked in wearing a bright blue thong thing!  I mean, it barely covered his "junk", as it is called, in the front and featured only a thong wedged into his revolting crack in the back!

I kid you not!  Hey, buddy, this isn't a beach on the Mediterranean, it's a family swimming facility.  There are kids here!  Parents don't want their toddlers asking what "that" is below the belly button.  

It was absolutely sickening, but this guy obviously thought he looked hot, or else why would he wear it?!  M, only 19, but a good buddy who has now become used to my up-fronted-ness, burst out laughing.  "You should see him on weekends when he comes in with his kids," he exclaimed.  "What??!!"  "Yep, he has an orange one and his kids -- both girls and boys -- wear the same thing."

I was appalled in the extreme!

"And that's not the worst," said M.  "What!??"  "No, people wear their underwear in the pool."  "Whaaaat!!??"  "Just men?"  "No, women too!"  

OMG!  How hideous!  

What is wrong with people?!  Where have sense and decorum fled?!     

  

How would this work?

Sent to me by a friend.........................
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Just wondering - Hurricane season with Electric Vehicles

Imagine Florida with a hurricane coming toward Miami.

The governor orders an evacuation. All cars head north.

They all need to be charged in Jacksonville.

How does that work.? Has anyone thought about this.

If all cars were electric and were caught up in a three-hour traffic jam with dead batteries, then what?

Not to mention there's virtually no heating or air conditioning in an electric vehicle because of high battery consumption.

If you get stuck on the road all night, no battery, no heating, no windshield wipers, no radio, no GPS (all these drain the batteries), all you can do is try calling 911 to take women and children to safety. But they cannot come to help you because all roads are blocked, and they will probably require all police cars be electric also. When the roads become unblocked no one can move! Their batteries are dead.

How do you charge the thousands of cars in the traffic jam? Same problem during summer vacation departures with miles of traffic jams. Yes, AAA is starting to prepare tow trucks to charge electric vehicles. How many can they charge before returning to home base and recharge the trucks?

There would be virtually no air conditioning in an electric vehicle.

It would drain the batteries quickly. Where is this electricity going to come from?

Today's grid barely handles users' needs.

Can't use nuclear, natural gas is quickly running out.

Oil fired is out of the question, then where?

What will be done with billions of dead batteries, can’t bury them in the soil, can’t go to landfills.

The cart is way ahead of the horse.

No thought whatsoever how to handle any of the problems that batteries can cause.

The press doesn't want to talk or report on any of this.

Meeting Mike Babcock

Last night, we went to a lovely dining establishment just outside Cochrane.  'Flores and Pine' is very elegant and I usually insist we sit at the bar anywhere we go because that's where all the fun is; I can talk to B anytime.  Unfortunately, the bar was full, so we sat at a nearby table.  

"Isn't that Mike Babcock sitting at the bar?" I said to B.  I'm going to say hello.  So, I did.  Yes, it was Mike Babcock and he immediately stood up and gave us a huge smile and handshake.  "Let's take a selfie," he suggested.  So we did -- he holding my camera and taking it himself, as he must have done hundreds of times.  

What a charmer.  Googling him, I learn he coached the Mighty Ducks and Red Wings to Stanley Cups, becoming the winningest coach in the latter's history.  He also led Team Canada to two Olympic Gold Medals.  In his early years, he played for a number of farm teams, as well as the McGill Redmen.  Despite his 2015 $50 million, eight-year contract for coaching the Leafs, Mike could do nothing with them and was fired in 2019.  But then, nor has anyone else been able to in the 55 years since they last won the cup.  The Leafs are a team of a few overpaid superstars, but they do not play as a team.    

When we left Mr. Babcock to enjoy his dinner with his wife and sister, numerous other fans approached and he was a gracious with them as with us.

All in all, a fun evening!  

Why does RCMP Commissioner Lucki still have her job?

Finally, someone other than I, is publicly asking that question.  That was the headline of Robyn Urback's column in 'The Globe and Mail' today, as she finally outed the incompetent Lucki.  Urback points to all the f-ck-ups that have occurred on Lucki's watch:

• The 2020 massacre of 22 people in Nova Scotia, during which Lucki was nowhere to be found;
• The political interference she put on senior brass to identify the weapons used in the above;
• The fact that she has effected no change in the culture of the RCMP since her appointment four years ago -- despite vowing it was one of her most important objectives;
• The fact that she secretly suggested members of the armed forces dress up in RCMP uniforms to infiltrate and deal with the truckers convoy;
• The fact that she lied about contacting OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique to suggest they communicate via an app that does not store deleted messages; and
• The gravitas that is now wholly lacking in our national police force and its once sterling reputation, thanks to her incompetence and lack of integrity;

In fact, Maclean's Magazine called for her to resign back in 2020.  Nothing happened.  Lucki has much blood on her hands, as I have repeatedly said, but she is not sacked because the Liberal triumvirate of Trudeau, Blair and Freeland finds it useful to keep her there as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act -- i.e., because of Lucki's incompetence and failure to deal with the convoy mess.

The cynicism is breathtaking.  I feel for all the RCMP officers who are now tainted because of this disastrous affirmative action appointment.

_________________________________

On the Indigenous file -- again -- three stories today highlight what is wrong with this mess.  Within the space of a few pages, I read that the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is going to hire a deputy commissioner to address the soaring rates of Indigenous incarceration -- including taking into consideration family background in sentence determination. 

But low and behold, a couple of pages later I read that the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Indigenous people do not have a constitutional right to special treatment in the criminal justice system.  What?!  I wholeheartedly agree, but then why is the CSC going to hire a special deputy to do just that?!  Did someone miss this ruling?  Obviously.

On the next page appears another article about "Indigenous identity fraud" whereby non-Indigenous people can simply claim they are native or métis because of....of....um....living with Indigenous people, or marrying them, or being part of their community, or whatever.  

Finally, someone has said that's not enough.  The report's author, métis lawyer Jean Teillet, wrote that applicants to any job must provide evidence supporting their claims to citizenship in an Indigenous group.  Unfortunately, the kicker is that the evidence is determined by the Indigenous communities themselves.  So, that still means that if the community agrees, anyone can claim he or she is Indigenous.

What a never-ending mess.   

    

Busted again

 "And G-d knows what else," said granddaughter about something when we were driving to waterpolo last night.  When it's just the two of us, we have such amazingly adult conversations, discussing everything from sports to how her classes are run to her friends to real estate (i.e., where Grandpa and I should live because we're "old") and to current driving conditions.  She makes connections that even I miss.  

"Grandma, did you know that when you were in kindergarten, Grandpa was in grade six?  He's six years older than you, that's why."  How did she even know that?  How did she figure that out?  No clue!

 A precocious, lateral thinker is how I'd describe her.

Last night we had a huge dump of snow and the highway from Cochrane to Calgary is treacherous when it's snowing that hard.  With no trees to block the drifts, the snow flies across the highway in sheets, icing the road into a virtual skating rink.  As I drove along in my trusty, 2002 Honda Civic hatchback -- thankfully with new tires -- I had the flashers going to warn other drivers that this grannie was not going to drive the speed limit just because that's what the sign said.  

"Better safe than stupid," pipes up granddaughter, as we passed a number of cars in the ditch -- the same vehicles that had just sped past us.  At least three fire trucks also passed us and she wondered if Daddy was in one.  "I think I just saw him in the passenger seat," she excitedly exclaimed.

But back to, "And G-d knows what else."  Finally, I asked, "Where did you get that expression?"  "You see that person sitting beside me at the moment?"  "You mean me?!"  "Yes, grandma, you say that all the time -- that and 'idiot', which Mummy tells me not to say."

So, as I say, busted again.  Here she is in full, waterpolo flight:

Amazing young ladies

Every morning, when I arrive at the pool, I see these protheses propped up against one of the lockers.  They belong to two beautiful teenage girls who have each lost a leg, but who swim and train every day.  They have other legs they wear to and from the pool deck, but when they swim, they don't use them.  And boy, are they fast!

So, when I complain about aches and pains, I should just shut up.  Today, one of them pushed an even more disabled friend who had climbed out of the pool and into her wheelchair.  So, there we had a girl with a artificial leg pushing her buddy in a wheelchair.  What an inspiring bunch of kids they are.

  

p.s.  Neat place to hold her water bottle.  

________________________________

Just a word about Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe formally apologizing for the fact that one of his members invited Colin Thatcher into the legislative chamber to hear a speech.  Yes, Thatcher was convicted of killing his ex-wife Joanne Wilson, but he served his term and was paroled after 22 of his 25-year sentence.  My issue is that Moe's apology repudiates the legal system and that's not a good thing.  

You can hate Thatcher all you want, and he is odious, but the legal system legally dealt with him legally, get it?  An apology flies in the face of that system and our rule of law by means with which he was dealt.  So no, I don't agree with Moe.  What he should have said was, "I won't comment on what the courts have decided.  That is not my jurisdiction."  He must have ignorant advisors unequipped to compensate for his own.  Afterall, he has a degree in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan; he is not a lawyer.