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!  

____________________________

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.

________________________________

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.

 _________________________

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.  

_______________________________

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.

___________________________

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.