Posted on September 17, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

What would Moses Coady think?

 

For six years, I have been writing about the lighter side of life. If today happens to be your first trip aboard the good ship “Week45”, I want you to know that this is far from a typical post. I normally avoid talking about politics at all costs. People tend to be very polarized on this subject. My views might cost me a few readers but once in a while, one feels compelled to speak up, maybe even scream in despair.

“Where have all the leaders gone, long time passing? Where have all the leaders gone, long time ago”? This is my cheeky paraphrase of the song “Where have all the flowers gone” popularized by Peter, Paul and Mary back in the 1960s.

I will leave it to the experts to tell us how we have arrived at a time where people holding the levers of power in many parts of the world, particularly in democratic countries, seem intent on unravelling decades of progress.

I am not an American. I have never lived in the United States. Tribalism in American politics is nothing new although it seems in recent years, it has been ratcheted up several notches. I have been reluctant to say anything about the behaviour of the current POTUS (President of the United States). Until now.  I have never been to Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. I was not there in the fall of 2017 during Hurricane Maria. I did not go to the morgues to verify the number of people who lost their lives in this devastating hurricane. Apparently, the official number is 2975. Not according to POTUS. More fake news according to him. About people who lost their lives.

Doug Ford seems intent on disrupting the status quo now that he has his hands at the tiller of the Province of Ontario. I am not a resident of Toronto. I don’t understand the complex dynamics of running Canada’s largest city. I have no opinion on the number of elected officials required to efficiently operate the GTA. Most reasonably intelligent people understand due process. Mr.Ford has unilaterally decided to impose his will on the populace, overruling a judge. The judicial system provides checks and balances to protect the people and uphold the spirit and letter of the law. Premier Ford has decided otherwise. In the midst of a municipal election, he has decided to change the rules. He not only wants to change the rules, he also wants to use a sledgehammer to do it invoking the “Notwithstanding clause”.

I ran the Boston Marathon in 2011 and 2012. When I got to the start line, I had trained for months. My expectation was to run from Hopkinton to downtown Boston, a distance of 42 kilometres, plus a few extra steps to use the porta potty. Now imagine, that you have started your run and you have arrived at the halfway point in the race when an announcement is made that the remainder of the route has changed as has the length of the run. It would be chaotic to say the least. This is my impression of what is going on in Ontario.

Our own beloved Coady Institute is in turmoil. I have never worked at the Coady. Change is inevitable and is often painful. We all must adapt to the changing times. But something seems amiss at the Coady with the plethora of staff departures. I am not in a position to judge. However, I have spoken with people who worked there in the past. I have read their stories about the “crisis at Coady”.  They are amongst the most thoughtful, level headed and educated people I know. When they speak, I listen. I have also read articles from other equally thoughtful individuals who have a different assessment of the situation. This is more than change. Something appears to be wrong and needs fixing.

It’s not easy being a leader but it appears that these days, the reins of power, in some quarters, are in the hands of “disruptors.”

What is one to do in the face of seemingly never ending despair?

Sometimes, the thought of running to the nearest cave and hiding sounds like a good option. But we can’t just bury our heads in the sand. Writing letters to those in authority carries weight. I’m not suggesting that you fire off a note to POTUS. When things affect you directly, write to your councillor, Member of the Legislature, Member of Parliament or to any other institution.

I have found that hope trumps despair and volunteering is usually a pretty good antidote. The recent National Special Olympics held in our small town is a shining example about what’s best in us.

“Where you lead, I will follow, anywhere that you tell me to,

If you need, you need me to be with you, I will follow where you lead.”

Where You Lead. Carole King

 

Posted on September 10, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

Sunset in Nelson, B.C.

 

Oh Canada, our home and native land.

We crossed the mountains and the prairies and traveled dark roads through Northern Ontario late at night. We saw wild fires in the hills and pristine rivers. We witnessed the majesty of towering Douglas firs and the vastness of wheat fields. We zipped along country roads where we felt we were the only people on the planet only to be brought back to earth by heavy traffic when he hit the 400 near Parry Sound.

True patriot love, in all of us command.

If you want to try and understand why Canada is so hard to govern, hop in a car someday and drive from coast to coast to coast. You will quickly realize the enormity of this landmass and the complexity of its makeup. You will come to know why so many of us cherish it and feel that it is the best country in which to live. So much of the population live in a handful of big cities and sometimes you can travel a hundred kilometres without seeing a single human being, such is the vastness.

With glowing hearts, we see thee rise, the true north strong and free.

Despite all the attention that cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal receive, it is often the smaller towns and cities that produce some of Canada’s most recognizable names. We drove past Shaunovan, Saskatchewan, a village of 1750 souls that produced quite possibly the greatest female hockey player of all time, Hayley Wickenheiser. It’s hard to escape the image of Bobby Orr in Parry Sound. I’m no expert on hockey but I always felt that Orr was the greatest player to lace them up. Sault Ste. Marie is home to Dr.Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space during the flight of Discovery in 1992.

From far and wide, oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

By and large, Canadians are pretty decent folk. You end up inadvertently striking up conversations with complete strangers on a long road trip in restaurants, gas stations and rest areas. Canadians don’t have a monopoly on kindness and decency but as a collective we don’t seem to be as driven and competitive as some countries. We enjoyed spending a few nights with friends and friends of friends. The hospitality was extraordinary. I have come to the conclusion that Canadians laugh, joke and poke fun at each other more frequently than most other nations. We take things seriously but not ourselves.

God keep our land, glorious and free, Oh Canada we stand on guard for thee.

We can’t be complacent. We mustn’t take our good fortune for granted. Our country is clean and safe. We enjoy an abundance of riches: our forests, minerals, and plenty of water. We live in a democratic country where governments change hands peacefully and orderly. In a seemingly hostile world, we must maintain our civility and decorum.

We’re in the home stretch. Two more days and we’ll be back in Nova Scotia, the home of Keith’s beer and Wheel pizza. By the way, on a short whistle stop in Lethbridge, Alberta, I met up with two former colleagues from the teaching fraternity. We taught together in Fairview, Alberta in the late seventies and I hadn’t seen them in 39 years. We did our best to cram in as much information as 40 minutes would allow. As we got up to leave, one of them mentioned The Wheel. They had been in Antigonish years ago and had a few memorable slices!

Put this on your bucket list. Drive across Canada before you get too old. May I suggest that you don’t try a non- stop 54 hour drive from Edmonton to Antigonish with four children, as one of my faithful readers has done on more than one occasion, unless this is your idea of penance for some transgression?

Canada. What a country.

Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Have a great week.

P.S. Why don’t you regale us with your favourite Canadian travel story? Best story gets the first copy of my fourth book about my travels in India which will be published in November.

 

Posted on September 3, 2018 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

Flowers and Footwear

 

A little later this morning, Peter and I will be beyond hope.

What? A little depressed with the thought of a 6000 kilometer drive across Canada?

Au contraire, mes amis.

Getting off Vancouver Island can only be done by ferry or plane and on the busiest weekend of the entire year, that can be a challenge. Last Friday, me and brother Tom went from Victoria to Vancouver for the day. Based on anticipated traffic, we took the first sailing of the day at 7:00 a.m. That is, until there was an accident on the vessel during an early morning training exercise resulting in the cancellation of this sailing. This would have repercussions that would ripple through the weekend.

Just a quick note. The purpose of the trip was for me to meet with a renowned physiotherapist to take a look at my fragile neck. I’ll spare you the boring details of my appointment but Carl was awesome and he also had a great sense of humour. When I told him that I could no longer play golf and that my pain started around the same time that I stopped drinking alcohol, he suggested that I take up golfing and drinking again. He was kidding of course… I think!

I really enjoyed my few days in Victoria, my favorite city in Canada. The day after I arrived, I took a walk into the city. Give or take, the population of Greater Victoria is around 400,000, big enough to be anonymous. I was a bit jet lagged and while strolling along a major thoroughfare, an SUV went by and the driver yelled,”Hey, MacDonald.” I wondered if it was fatigue playing tricks on me. She was wearing large sunglasses and I had no idea who she was. It has been 46 years since I first came to Victoria but these days, I only know a small handful of my brother’s friends. Through some sleuthing (and social media), I discovered that the lady in question was one of the first people I met over four decades ago.

I walked familiar streets and decided to have breakfast at the White Spot, a diner I frequented in the early 70s. It felt like a time warp as the music that was playing in the background included songs like “Lean on Me” and “Oh Girl”. I stood and observed one minute of silence at “the Bongo Pad”, my old apartment building. It should have been condemned back then but it’s still there.

Oh, that summer of 1972. Every time I hear a song from that summer, I am immediately taken back in time. How many of these great tunes do you remember that came out that year: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face; American Pie; Brand New Key; Brandy; Heart of Gold; The Lion Sleeps Tonight; Nights in White Satin; Rocket Man; Everything I Own (Bread. One of my favourite bands from that era); Mother and Child Reunion; Layla; Sealed With a Kiss; Taxi; Roundabout. I betcha that one of these will give you an earworm today.

And why, you ask, will Pete and I be beyond hope? Because last night, we stayed in Hope, B.C. and later today we’ll be well beyond Hope!

More tales from the road to follow.

Have a great day.