01:13 - 23.03.06
poison
I couldn't figure out what that smell was. Started just after my youngest came back from the store. It wasn't the scent of something burning, like the other morning when I woke up thinking the house was on fire. Mine wasn't, but three sets of sirens cutting through the cold air told me something was amiss within a ten mile radius. Went back to sleep thinking I'd have plenty of time to get out of my home if whatever it was got out of control. Lucky we have such great firefighters, eh? This scent was more like one would smell in a port city or along a seashore. Ocean-y. Went in to the kitchen to check what was up and found the cats feasting on tuna. Ok, fine. What's up with that? Well, my youngest responded, I went to the store for treats. I see - for the cats. Yes. This boy is too young to be dating - it's addled his brains, or whatever. First love is fine, but don't spoil those felines. They'll be expecting more of the same for decades now - long after the bloom is off the rose. Oi.
A lot of talk with family and friends today. One son is dating a young woman of another faith. No problem there, except when the order is conveyed to me by my son that I must conform with their church's expectations or else. I'll take the "or else", thank you very much, but it is causing my son a lot of grief. Each times he demures he hears, "but what will everyone in my church think". Well to my way of thinking, the minute one starts living by the mantra of "what will they think", meaning any group of non-rational faiths, cults or other similar institutional groups like political parties, one has basically given up one's life and might as well be dead. Worrying all the time that someone might not approve of your thoughts or ideas if they conflict with theirs is like Aesop's story of the miller, the boy and the donkey. "Try to please all and you end by pleasing none." With the codicil that the one person who will never be happy is one's self. Hopefully it will work itself out in the end. Best parenting advice for children over 18 - bite your tongue. Hardest lesson I've ever had to learn.
One call from Elections Canada. "We can't find these receipts". Yes well, my mistake. Our directions were to keep those for a couple of months in case the candidates found they still needed some. I'll send them back - soon. Another notice that there is a letter from EC at the post office. I think that the depression that caused me, when I got the notice, means that I really should rethink my commitment to the job. I love the work, but the working conditions have become steadily worse over the decade I've been a Returning Officer. I don't see any indication of even the intent to improve things. Could be wrong, but I don't know if it's worth the bother anymore. I'm going to the memorial service for the one Returning Officer this weekend so maybe I'll wait until then before I make any other decisions. Or "a leopard can't change it's spots" if one listens to the venerable Kung Fu Tse.
There has been a lot of angst about sovereignty with respect to our northern territories. To wit that little tiff with the Danes over a piece of rock in the middle of the strait between Greenland and Baffin Island. That issue of who controls the sealane really. Then there is the issue of the dramatic effect global warming - maybe - has on northern environments. Melting icebergs are no joke if it means New Jersey gets drownded now is it? With all the caterwauling going on in certain political circles one would think that common cause would be made with other nations sharing the northern arctic. (In the right hand corner click on the flag that has the language you wish to read the articles in.) In fact given the delicacy of the area I think collaborative efforts are the only way that success can be assured. Another hot issue - pun intended - is the one over contaminants of a chemical sort that are continually making humans sick. Apparently one of the major concerns of the Nordic Council is that a common ingredient in soap in Africa is mercury - that of the major neurological damage. Like the women in Elizabethan Europe who used a mix of white lead, sulphur and vinegar as a face paint, the intent seems to be to lighten the complexion. Maybe suntans aren't that dangerous after all. Because of the way the global ocean currents move that mercury is washing up quite frequently on arctic shores. Small world isn't it? Then there was this article about drugs pushed on to our children at an alarming rate - even without the side effects. Oh yes and then NASA just has to throw in radiation of cosmic rays. I think I'll just hide under my bed and wait for rescue there.
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