Various Veins
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My intended subject for today was the mad rush by Justin Trudeau to fix a "badly flawed" electoral system. The P.M elected with 30 per cent has no trouble acting as if he had a majority. What's flawed is giving party leaders a veto over who may be nominated in a riding. Beyond that is the misunderstanding by Canadians of what representative democracy is.
Didn't take long to realize I was sticking my hand into a bee hive.
Reading the opinion pages of the Saturday London Free Press I was transported back to Expo in Montreal by an article about skin whitening that reported the jerking of an ad by a company, Seoul Secret. They killed the ad but not the product. It makes too much money.
Martha and I walked into the Belgian Congo pavilion late in the day. Only the coal-black curator was there. I was impressed by a large model of freighter. I addressed my question in English. The African asked if we had French. Martha said, "No." I said "Est ce que le pacboat fait dans Le Congo?"
The wide-eyed look the man gave her was priceless!
Since French was a second language to both of us we had a good chat.
Just this week I have started the process of moving to Harvest Retirement Community in Tillsonburg. I've stubbornly resisted this, but it's putting too much stress on my son, Doug, who lives closest to me. I opted to take permanent residency rather than trial period. That would only leave coming back here putting Doug right back in the situation he is now.
The Rev. Cordell Parsons visited me a couple days ago. He's there regularly to visit members of his congregation. He's very impressed with the amenities and social life.
He asked what I'll take with me. I said not much. He told me of a family member who went into a retirement home. She said we don't own things, we simply use them for a time. In the end it's all just stuff.
I will have a new phone number after 54 years. I wonder how long it will take to stop the often asked question?
I'll have to change computer server, too, after many years. Some people do that once or twice a year when they go to cottage.
A sick raccoon was euthanized in the area last week. Haven't heard whether it was rabid, or had distemper. Warn the kids to stay away from animals displaying no fear of humans.
The cold snap that came across the area last week created trouble at drive-thrus and pay at the pump. The pumps worked but the electronics were disabled. It created angry lineups.
All these time savers are not suitable for our Canadian winters. Maclean's had an article poking fun at Canadian wusses who dress for arctic conditions. Maybe the wusses aren't so stupid. A good old snap can cost you fingers and toes.
Years ago when snow blanketed this area in winter we used to have fun tobogganing. Usually those outings ended with someone with an arm in a sling. It was a small scale bit of daring do like snowboarders and mountain climbing today.
I passed the new driver's test last week. When I had to put an X on the medical conditions the trainer was reluctant to let me proceed. I told her likely I would not activate the licence anyway. I just wanted to try the new test. My retired OPP son who spent many years trying to keep old drivers alive is urging me to give it up.