2:28 a.m. - 2003-07-06
Rambles
July 4 was sort of a triple celebration in Calgary this year. Being the first Friday in July, it was the official opening of the Stampede. Parade marshalls were the Glass family patriarchs- one of the really well known chuckwagon racing families and, I think, Peter Fonda riding his Harley . Next up was the news that our sister city on the west coast - Vancouver - will host the 2010 Winter Olympics. When we hosted those in 1988 - Calgarians partied (volunteered) for months. I think some people here will restart that party here soon too, to help the Vancouver group - work hard as volunteers but play equally as hard, that's kind of a given in this city. It was also Independence Day for American citizens and my Dad's brother's birthday and yes he was born in the USA. He renounced that citizenship in WWII so he could train as a fighter pilot here. We have a large community of them here, so after the American Consul General, Roy Chavera, had finished his ride on horseback in our parade he hosted the traditional barbeque for that. Fireworks for all late into the night.
Lots of dreams still, but can't remember much of them. One where I was living in a third floor walk-up luxury apartment, while attending university. Spacious but sparsely furnished; decorated in creams and white, with a golden quality to the light filling it. Elegant but simple would describe it. If that isn't a paradox for a poor student I don't know what is. Anyway, I came home from classes, my arms full of a few groceries one day, to find thieves inside. Odd thing was they seemed to be looking at the trophies I had there, rather than the usual things that would be stolen. I do have trophies from real life, but they are for academic achievement in school and achievements in the volunteer community. Nothing that anyone else would value. The thieves were still in the apartment when I arrived home. I called for help from my neighbours and they helped me chase them away. Odd. Next dream sequence was in a grocery store. I seemed to be negotiating for something. Don't remember any more there, but I was feeling happy about the outcome of the transaction.
Went out with my Dad for a while today. Back checking the communities where the largest growth in new residents is occurring. And yes, there is a lot more new housing again. Several very large multi-family units and several new streets since last check. Went into the show suites in two communities to get names of the developers. That will give me a more accurate idea of numbers both of housing units and the numbers of people they expect to accommodate.
One guy started railing about the "Federal dictators" as soon as I introduced myself - occupational hazard in this part of the country. The party in power is universally supported in eastern Canada, but nearly as universally loathed in this province. It stems from the beginning of the 1980's when they brought in the national energy policy. The dispute between Ottawa and the oil companies over that piece of legislation caused the oil companies to lay off thousands of people just in this city alone. 30% of the housing in just our community here was foreclosed as a direct result. The impact was so severe here, that many families didn't recover for more than a decade. The oil companies were equally to blame in that, but they are also the major economic engine here, so people tend not to want to examine their behaviour closely regardless of the consequences.
Finally, there was an article in the newspaper last week noting that city council had approved the establishment of a new area on the north end of town that will house an additional 150,000 people once it is built. New library and sport center too. I need to know if they will be constructed in time to give me more space for voting stations in the next election. The development will be split between my constituency and the one just west of me. Guess I'll be spending Monday morning down at city hall trying to get all the details.
My Dad's visit up north went well he says. It rained heavily for six days straight. He said the farming community up there was pretty giddy because they've had drought conditions for nearly a decade. That one rain gave them more water than they've had yearly over that time. Everything is now very green and growing. We talked about family stuff and work issues while we were travelling through the communities I had to inspect and over lunch - just the usual. A lot of people he worked with long ago on the oil crews are now working in social services with high needs children. Some of them worked overseas, when he knew them, for a while and he was telling me what he knew of their stories before they switched careers. Funny how life can change in a hurry isn't it. I didn't realize that a lot of the people who I volunteered with were friends of my parents, I liked them for what they were doing in the community now. Day ended with my Dad's car breaking down just as we arrived home. He has AMA coverage, but it took about two hours before he was looked after and was back home - carless. Lucky we were close to home and it wasn't winter, I guess.
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