11:17 p.m. - 2003-11-21
Sundown
Canadians are crazy. The big entertainment item for this weekend in Calgary is located in our sister city of Edmonton - about 160 miles away. Busloads of Calgarians are going to pay for the privilege of traveling to Edmonton so that they can stand outside for a few hours watching some of the greatest names in hockey play a nostalgic hockey game on an outside skating rink. Now the reporter on the 6 pm news tonight from Edmonton was commenting that it was -31 C/-25 F as she was speaking and she allowed that she was wearing five layers of clothes and still felt coolish. The temperature with the wind? You don't want to know. It might warm up by 10 degrees tomorrow. The reason the event is so popular is that nearly everyone here grew up when outside skating rinks were a staple of winter fun, along with tobogganing and skiing. Well ok, at least we don't roll naked out in a snowbank after a sauna like the Swedes - well not usually. We have "polar bear" swims in lakes instead. One scientist at work tonight asked another if he would like his tickets for the event in Edmonton, since he wasn't going to be able to get away. The other fellow was obviously ecstatic. A new great friendship developing.
Snippets tonight. When I was in the record store picking up new headphones there was a feature display of - drum roll - real LPs. New ones. I asked the gentleman serving me (he was too) why? He said it was driven by the demand of music lovers for songs that can't be found on CDs - ones that were recorded by artists before that technology was developed. In addition, music aficionados feel the quality of sound is much better than current standards. I asked if that meant they also stocked needles for the old stereo units a lot of us still have. Yes and no was the answer. Only if it was bought from their store's stock.
Walking to work from the train this morning it was about -21 C/ -05 F. I glanced down a lane to check for traffic and realized there was a woman standing there. Wrapped in several old overcoats, toque, and scarf she was huddling over and protecting the grocery cart that obviously contained all her worldly goods. Being that she was already there, it likely meant she had slept outside last night. Anyone who does that truly is homeless. Our government often accuses the shelters and workers who help the homeless of "making an industry" out of their charges. Believe me, anyone who is still not in a building during the day - let alone the evening - has no other place to go. Estimates are that there will be close to 1000 people who need emergency shelter tonight. 40% of that number are families. It made me count my considerable blessings this morning, but it also made me frustrated all over again at the attitudes of our community and government about those who haven't been so fortunate. This is a country where winters are unforgiving enough without beating up people who have already hit bottom.
Up nearly 50 floors looking outside, a haze of ice crystals frost the mountain scene we see. Quiet industry for most of the day - the library humming with activity. I had my headphones on to focus my attention on my work. "It takes more than one robin to make the winter go, it takes two lips of fire to melt the winter snow" You've Got What it Takes with Brook Benton and Etta James singing. Got that right. Not that I'd know anything about melting snow of course, but Mr. Benton's voice did send shivers up my spine. And that Etta - I wish I could sing like that. It would be interesting to see some of the hip hop artists remix some of their music, although I'm not certain there is anyone who could compete with their vocals. I needed the extra help from my music, since I'd only had four hours sleep the night before. My supervisor had asked for another report to be done at home, when he dropped by the morning before, after discussing what was going on with the project and I had about 4 hours of computer mapping to complete on my election assignment - I'm way over the hours EC allotted but I've got to get it done. Oh well I can sleep this weekend.
I was listening to Eric Burdon's "Shake" just after lunch and was thinking about the evolution of hip-hop. The sound is certainly different but the style of dancing is quite similar to what I remember. No wonder I was in good shape then. I loved to dance and partners weren't required during the sixties.
Strange reaction set in about then and I'm not certain why. In the news the night before a good report. One young Calgary woman abducted by her ex-boyfriend had been safely rescued by police 2000 miles away. I had known her from the time she was about 3 to when her family moved away when she was 15. Her Mom and Dad and I volunteered together on a lot of community events and I like them both. Her Mom and I had talked last a couple of years ago and she had just remarried, got her daughter happily settled in a new school and was so happy. I admired her courage to start over again both physically and with a new relationship. It was very difficult to watch her plea to the abductor on the news.
As I was working away over lunch, bits and pieces about that family's history started tumbling unbidden into my thoughts. Tumblers moved and suddenly I realized what hadn't been said on the news. It's very difficult to deal with strong emotional reactions at any time. In the middle of the wide open work area, where my desk is situated, it becomes very tricky. Doubly so because I couldn't understand the intensity of the feelings I was experiencing. I turned up the headphones full blast to drown out the thoughts that wouldn't go away. The amount of anger I felt was so unusual for me, that I didn't really know how to deal with it otherwise. Lucky I face a wall and had my back to everyone. Don't know how much of the sound was leaking out from the headphones, but it was the least distracting thing I could think of to do to cope. It felt almost like having a flashback, but I couldn't figure out the connection. I did a lot of work as a volunteer around family violence, but that wouldn't explain it either.
Just puzzling. Maybe that's the effect of the solar eclipse on Sunday making itself known. It makes exact contact with the planetoid Chiron - the healer - in my birth astrological chart. Maybe I'm due for catharsis in some way. Maybe it isn't anything to do with the eclipse either. Either way the Discovery channel is going to broadcast the event live from Antarctica - total eclipse just before 6 PM EST.
�
�
