12:07 a.m. - 2004-04-19
up and around
Roller coaster today. After the post last night, we watched the hockey game go into triple overtime. Couldn't stand the tension, so we switched over to the George Carlin special. HBO is hosting a series of his stage shows. They are both entertaining and thought provoking. Some of the comments made by any other person would probably evoke violent responses, but he seems to know just the way to wrap the comments in enough wool that his audience can at least contemplate their truth. Interesting. At the end of his show we switched back to learn that the Flames had just lost the match. Ties up the series. The final game is tomorrow.
Woke up this morning from a dream where I seemed to have an office located in a hotel. A stream of people from the past kept arriving for visits or meetings - all tying up loose ends. Some from high school, some from volunteer projects and others from different jobs I've had. There was a break in the appointments and it seemed I needed to wear a particluar blouse for the next interview. I pulled out an ironing board, then went to get the iron. My Mom was all of a sudden part of the scenario, in that the cord for the iron was also the cord for a replica of a railway steam engine. My Mom loved trains and always wanted to go see the exhibits when they were here. I had a vision of the process that she had used to bring the iron to it's current state. Oh wait - the railway trains were called the IRON horse! Anyway, my Mom seemed to have owned this particular engine, but it wasn't working any more. The electric cord had frayed too badly to repair. I watched in a bubble of time as she took electrician's tape and spliced the train to the electric iron's cord, so that it would run. The train was also contained within the cord of the iron - don't ask. It looked a bit like a python had swallowed the engine but it ran nonetheless. However, when I picked up the cord, meaning to plug it in, it started to grow very hot. I could feel the rubber starting to get very soft. By the time I had the plug near the outlet, the heat was unbearable. I managed to plug the iron in - had to have that blouse, you know - when the train burst into flames. I grabbed a blanket that looks like one I keep at the foot of my bed for really cold nights and beat out the flames with that. I then ironed my blouse, all the time telling myself I was crazy. Don't understand that dream sequence at all.
This morning the groceries I ordered yesterday arrived on time, intact. The delivery was very professionally handled - I even got a call just before the truck arrived to ensure that it was still alright. The cats were very happy. Their litterboxes should have been cleaned last night and their room was "strongly scented". They supervised me very closely to make certain I got ALL the old stuff out. They tasted the new kibble and decided it was good to go too. First full rain of spring came at about that time, so we put the cats back in their room for a bit and opened all the doors and windows to let it in. It smelled wonderful - fresh and full of new life.
I read the paper while I was waiting for the delivery and came across some good research on the circumstances that caused the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the 1600's. Canadian_Encyclopedia. Their exile was Louisiana's gain as the Cajuns (Canadians?, Acadians?) came to call and settle there with cousins who had arrived there from France before the Louisiana Purchase. I think.
I was still feeling pretty sick most of the day, but I was finally able to eat something at supper time. Called my assistant at the hospital after I felt a bit better. He has suffered a relapse and was in very poor condition. The doctors had talked with him and his wife an hour or two earlier about his options. Of course, Doctors will always look at the worse case scenario, just to be certain there are no surprises. He was really struggling with the possibilities they raised. Right now they have put him on a very aggressive antibiotic treatment to see if that can salvage the results of the surgery. Pray for my friend dear diary, please.
Talked with one other Returning Officer tonight, trying to work out exactly what Elections Canada wants and intends with this new public relations campaign for "marginalized" electors - youth, and ethno-cultural groups, especially aboriginal. The reaction I'm getting from people "so called" is that they weren't aware that they were "deficient voters" and don't appreciate being singled out. The term "racial profiling" came up around that. Sometimes bureaucracies have the sensitivity of rocks, don't they. It reminded me of the way I and my guys felt everytime the media and the government talked about bringing single moms and children from "broken" families up to the level of "non-broken" families. Since our only problem was lack of money and that was the one thing that was never offered - why address poverty when it is creating so many government jobs - we weren't interested. Often what was offered also cost more money than we had and didn't replace the funds so we could meet essential needs - you know like food and shelter. This initiative won't cost the target populations any money, but I don't like the idea of implying, even by action, that some segments of the community are less competent at understanding how to mark their ballot than others. Quite honestly, the strongest voter turn-out in our area is New Canadians who have achieved citizenship. They've come from countries where it can literally cost one their life to walk near a polling station. They treasure the right and freedom to vote here.
With the aboriginal community - well they weren't allowed to vote until the mid 60's and they were not allowed any control over their affairs until much later than that. Why would they show up when they were still disenfranchised by fiat? That hasn't changed much - especially not for the women. When a sense of self-determination returns to them as a community, then they will vote.
A few things made me feel a little better tonight. I watched "Whale Rider". It was very well done and it addressed the issue about aboriginal self determination somewhat. The Maori in New Zealand have shown tremendous leadership in establishing and maintaining themselves as their own culture. It is possible and it doesn't take any hand holding from the "outside" for that to happen. The second bit of happy news was that Aung San Suu Kyi, the nobel peace prize leader from Myanmar (Burma), who was kidnapped last May by the ruling junta, may be freed shortly. Apparently a number of the people detained with her have already been released. There was no word on how well she has recovered from the beatings she received when she was captured, but I guess one thing at a time is enough for now. Aung_San_Suu_Kyi. The Canadian taken hostage in Iraq is now safe in Jordan Hostage and the Dalai Lama is safely sharing his wisdom with Canadians on the left coast. Wish I could hear what he has to say, but I think in some ways I already have. Yes that is a koan.
This article was my laugh of the day. Baking. Bake sales across the US to raise funds for politcal campaigns. When our community was first heard by city hall on the issue of having a park built in our area, we were told we would have to come up with the funds to buy the land for it. That notwithstanding no other part of the city had ever been required to do such a thing. Every other quadrant of the city also had multiple parks, including very high maintenance garden parks and in each area at least one park that was thousands of hectares in size. No other part of the city had been required to pay for development of said parks either, but we were. Our inventory of park space at the time was a few tot lots and school yards. The city claimed they had already provided us with equal park access by providing grassed berms along the major roads in our areas. Sure kids - go out and play in the traffic. The only fundraising I had done up until that time was bake sales and I found myself trying to calculate how many bake sales - in the mid 1980's - would be needed to raise the $1 million just for the land. I think I finally decided I would be 84 by the time the first tree planting ceremony would be possible. So when I saw this grass roots effort to do the best they could, I recalled that sometimes what seems impossible just requires extra effort. Right?
Anyway I've developed an earworm - that's happened a lot lately - but tonight it's Pavrotti and he's singing one of my favorite arias, so I think I'll go listen. Good night dear diary.
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