Canadian Edition

Technically, this week's TGIF should be changed to TGIM to stand for Thank God I'm Canadian...except I'm really only Canadian-ish. But there you go. It's official. This week the wonderful country north of the 48th parallel decided I was good enough to sit at the cool kids table. I was officially welcomed into the country with the blank stare and monotone voice of the processor at the Immigration office in Toronto. No big fireworks, or grand celebration by the immigration people (I'd even have settled for a punch drunk moose in a hockey helmet, something, anything). As we sat there awaiting my name to be called, Shell had to calm me down several times as I was knee-shakingly nervous. There really wasn't anything to be nervous about, but it is sort of like when you're driving your car and suddenly you notice a cop in your rear view- you know you haven't done anything wrong but there's still that little twinge. I was so nervous that I was sure when they called me up for my interview I'd blurt out that I was actually the Lindbergh baby kidnapper, or that I was secretly in league with Alger Hiss, or that I knew where they buried Hoffa...it was THAT kind of nervous. But all went well. They looked at my documents, made sure Shelley was Shelley, and I was me, then I signed some stuff and whoosh- Canadian-ish. They also told me I could apply for citizenship in 2 years and 7 months..."I'll have my people call your people" So apparently I have a lease with an option to buy- how quaint. The rest of the week has passed with little excitement, though after game 7 of the Leafs-Sens series, we are all pretty worried about the citizens of Ottawa committing mass hari-kari. They are oh so serious about hating Toronto in the capital city. We are having a big garage-yard-going out of business sale here this weekend as we try to clear out some stuff before we make the big move in 2 weeks *yikes 2 weeks*. Shelley has the cold I had last week and is soldiering forth with the sheer force of will (and some Fisherman's Friends cough drops). Dixie and Willow are getting a bit unsettled by the sight of boxes and packing materials. Dixie is convinced we'll forget her and Willow just doesn't know what to make of the whole thing. Earlier this week, Shell fell asleep in the back room with her arm hanging off the bed. Willow crept over and put a tennis ball in Shell's hand...well it SEEMED open and ready for play time I suppose :) Work has been somewhat of a struggle this week as morale sinks there each day. I'm having a better time handling the physicality of the job, however the tension that is pervasive is a bit to overcome. Tonight they asked me to stay late, work all weekend and yet mentioned that they have a problem with me taking some time off as we close on the house and move. I think they missed the sarcastic head scratch I made. I did stay a bit late last night and tonight though as a gesture of good will- for what it is worth. Also please note that as of May 1st...ron@stamant.com will no longer work. Remember the new place to find me is ron@stamant.ORG Much love and prayers go out to my friend Susan who lost her grandfather this week. Susan is visiting us this weekend we hope and will get to be the first person to enter our new house after we actually OWN it- if it was a ship she'd get to smash champagne bottles against it but since it isn't a ship we just might let her throw a can of beer at the porch...maybe...we'll make it a Molson because as of Tuesday... I AM CANADIAN (okay only a permanent resident but I just like the way that sounds). This week's deeper thought concerns the Spanish withdrawal of troops in Iraq: I'm dismayed that so many good people can't seem to understand that the net result of the new Spanish socialist government's decision to remove their troops from Iraq in the wake of the terrorist bombings in Madrid is complete and undeniable capitulation in the face of terrorism. I'm sure the fine citizens of Spain don't believe their actions are appeasement but folks...if the Neville Chamberlain black umbrella fits... How can they believe they've done something noble? A hypothetical: Let's say Al-Qaida cells, with the backing of say Syria, attack a NATO country, say Italy. As a member of NATO, Spain is obliged to assist in any war against a state that has attacked a fellow Alliance member. Do they really believe that in the face of their recent capitulation, they won't be one of the first NATO countries to suffer retaliatory strikes by supporters of Syria in an effort to force a retreat? Appeasement doesn't stop the threat, it merely postpones it and in turn makes the second wave worse than the first. Rather than making herself safer, Spain has painted a huge "Hit us, We shall cave" sign on her back. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, the Foreign Minister of East Timor and winner of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize wrote: "As human beings we must always pause, reflect and resist the temptation to use force and the practice of an eye for an eye. However, there are times, when the use of force is legitimate and necessary. In the face of evil, invocation of false pacifism leads to inaction and betrayal of the victims of oppression. " Something to think about! See you next Friday folks, Cheers Ron