1:45 a.m. - 2002-11-22
Notes from Here and There
I talked with my chiropractor today. He's started working on the spreadsheet I created for his Guatemala project. I think seeing a value for his efforts - even if it is just the monetary aspect - has made him feel a little better about things. Up until this last trip in May, he was never sick. Since he returned this time, he has constantly been fighting some sort of flu or bug. Whatever upset him during this last outreach must really be eating away at him.
He was telling me about another doctor he works with who has a mission in Africa. Most of the children in the region are orphans because all their parents have died from AIDS. That doctor is also trying to raise some funds for a nurses' shelter - I'm not certain if its for teaching or for housing. We talked about the difficulty of gaining the status of a charity in Canada. It takes about two years to get the paperwork processed. Personally, I think that's a good thing - there have been too many scam artists who prey on peoples' wish to help those who are struggling. I don't understand people who think it is ok to steal, yet act as if they have been mistreated when they are brought to justice. I think I've mentioned that before. Anyway, my doctor, to some extent, wants to model his work on what the doctor working in Africa has done - he has built homes for the orphaned children and their caregivers already. I think there is an educational component too. We talked about different avenues to approach that.
People have been acting very strangely in our city the past couple of weeks. A lot of random acts of violence; too many including knives. Attacks on perfect strangers - that is not the norm here. It was apparent on the train today too. Passive-aggressive behavior. One ticket - one seat. Not so today. A lot of passengers sitting like bulldogs on the benches denying other passengers the same benefits as they expected; like the woman who spread her newspaper across the seat beside her and slowly thumbed through it while glancing up at the people standing in the aisles as if daring them to ask her to move it. Given the temper of the times no one did. Kind of sad, one young man trying to get a date with a sweet young thing using the wounded puppy routine. She didn't go for it. I felt sorry for the guy in some ways, but asking for a date on a first encounter on a bus just doesn't happen except among the young teens. Doesn't mean there aren't transit inspired romances, but among adults it usually happens over a long period of time with regulars who travel together at the same time every day. Those are kind of heartwarming to watch - ditto for the longtime couples who choose to travel together every morning on the train.
Stopped for groceries before going home;never thought that I'd hear Madonna or Phil Collins as Muzak. There was a gentleman shopping at the same time as me who looked like the twin of the astrologer whose work I prefer to read. Wasn't about to ask though - "excuse me sir, what's your sign?" I didn't want to appear like the young fellow on the bus. The astrologer I mentioned lives in Texas and he has commented that he finds temperatures below 70 F cool - don't think a Calgary winter would be very appealing to him. Calgarians have been golfing in the city the past two days though - green grass and temperatures in the 60 F/16 C range are considered balmy for this time of year. My farming friend was saying that they are still harvesting their crop and taking off the straw. A cold, wet spell had interfered with most of the farm folks' combining in October. If there is no moisture for another couple of days they should be able to complete all their work.
Read to my youngest son for the first time in a while tonight. He's spending a lot of time on the school work. I don't think he realized how much extra reading there would be. Might be good for him in the long run though since that's more the way work is meted out in college or university.
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