The Black and Blue Edition

Wow...what a week it has been (and as such this is a bit lengthy). I've been a little sheepish in the last couple of weeks because there wasn't really all that much to report, but alas, be careful what you wish for. There's been so much flying across my radar this week that you should be warned to fasten your seatbelts and keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle until we come to a complete stop. Here goes: Last Friday night, a scant few hours after my last dispatch, I went to see Shrek 2 with Shelley, Tim, Les, Leah and Quinn (he of the newly 4 year old persuasion, dressed like Harry Potter no less). After the movie Shelley and I walked into Chapters (for the Yanks here that's like Barnes & Noble, without those scary sketched faces on the shopping bags...somehow I'm frightened by shopping bags from which I can't shake a stare...but anyway). There we were on the third floor of the downtown Chapters, enjoying some quiet book reading (read: loitering and reading for free...okay but I bought the book "Play Poker Like A Champion" by Phil Hellmuth) when a young couple who had been sitting near the window wandered away and left their bags. I heard a cell phone ring and looked around and there was no one on the third floor (at least that's what it seemed like to me). Basically, I got a little 'skeeved', 'spooked', or otherwise 'let's get the heck out of here' in my gut. So we left. When walking through the parking garage (like that's the place to go after you've seen a massive terrorist attack scenario rushing though your mind right?...Ron=nimrod), I rolled my ankle. Me, ankle, pain. It didn't hurt all that much after the initial sting, and I drove us home. Somewhere along 2am I was suddenly unable to walk. Nothing, nada. Just intense pain. So that's how the week began!! On Saturday Shelley and I went to Renee and Jeff's wedding, which was so very lovely and I muddled through (cue the superstar action hero music) and with the exception of a little boy apparently nearly drowning in a well before the reception everything went smoothly. You know what I always say, "it isn't a wedding until someone loses the will to live...it's just usually the groom". Well, that's what I say? (I just make sure I'm not anywhere near my wife when I say it!!!) (aside to my wife: I love you honey and I have plenty of will to live still) Sunday I was still pretty banged up but I went to work, only to be sent home halfway through because I was limping pretty severely. I've been back and forth this whole week though. Just when it feels better and I go in and work a shift, I come home and the next day it's killing me. So I was off today in the hopes that three days of straight rest will finally make me able to walk better than someone staggering home from the $.50 Well Drinks Happy Hour at Chi-Chi's (memories...like the corners of my mind...misty water colored memories...) Where was I? Time for a random comment. Apparently Paul McCartney granted an interview where he said a lot of the Beatles songs they wrote in the late 60's were influenced by the drugs they were taking!! "I'm shocked, SHOCKED to find there's gambling in this establishment" C'mon Paul... cellophane flowers of yellow and green, towering over your head, look for the girl with the sun in her eyes and she's gone... you, John, drugs?? NO!!! Say it ain't so!!! Back to my life now- We finally have photos you've all been waiting for (those of you in my LJ circle you've seen them so move along)- the Bathroom is done. and here's the link http://stamant.org/Albums/Renovations/Image1.htm to the before and after pictures. Just scroll though by clicking on the arrows and you can also get a bigger image by clicking the magnifying glass. Some details for you: The floor is new though you might not be able to tell. The color as I mentioned last week is a Granny Smith Apple Green and it is very lovely. The tub surround was actually pretty easy (I say this like I actually did something other than watch Shelley "Amy Wynn's got nothing on me" St.Amant work some magic). All of the wooden trim was painted white and the light fixtures changed. Shell asks that I point out two things. First, the curtains shown in the after pictures have NOT been sewn yet, but I bugged her since I wanted to send these out, so she pinned them up. Second, Shell made that door above the toilet to turn a horrendous shelving unit into a cabinet!! Well, I clearly married UP but you already knew that. The week ahead is looking solid, if I can get back on two working feet. Tomorrow night is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Wednesday is Shelley's birthday. You aren't supposed to tell a woman's age so I won't...but it rhymes with "Flirty Kicks". We are going to have a party next weekend for her (assuming I survive the beating for the "Flirty Kicks" comment above). In two weeks I'm heading to the States to gather up some of my belongings from the "Mom And Dad's Garage Storage Facility" where they've been languishing for eons- not my Mom and Dad...the belongings. Mom and Dad are fine. Some of the items I have there have been packed since before I moved to Utah. Sheesh. By the way...has anyone noticed that my Calgary Flames, the team that I have rooted for since they were in Atlanta is one game from winning Lord Stanley's Cup??? Judging by the TV ratings you probably haven't, oh well. Go Flames!! Also Saturday night (or Monday night if it goes to a Game 7) maybe a significant (and sad) night for Canadian Hockey fans who aren't my friend Joni from Halifax, because it could very well be the last Coaches Corner for Donald S Cherry- the man, the suit, the legend. See Don Cherry has a way of saying what's on his mind which tends to offend some people and seems to anger the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) which employs him to, you know, say what's on his mind. So they may not renew his contract and the first period intermission of Hockey Night In Canada may be a lifeless void next year. Except for people who hate having to adjust the color levels on their TV sets, this is sad news. You can see 'Grapes' in all his glory (at least for now) at his CBC website I recommend you click on one of the links to the videos and watch him because he's great. (But don't tell Joni you did) http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hnic/coach.html This week's deeper thought: Decisions are made by those who show up. If you knew how many times I've heard (especially from the Canadians who get this), "I really like your email Ron, but I sort of lose you when it comes to Politics"...I say fear not my Canuck friend, I'm going to lose you in your own forest for a change. Federal elections have been called here in Canada for June 28th which means Canadians may or may not elect a new Prime Minister. Right now, Paul Martin is PM but his Liberal Party is in a bit of trouble because of a number of scandals that have been plaguing them lately. He is opposed by Stephen Harper, the head of the Conservative Party (more on that in a moment), Jack Layton of the New Democratic Party, Gilles Duceppe of Bloq Quebecois, and Jim Harris of the Green Party. Quick political science moment for my American friends. Review of a Parliamentary Government. Basically you vote for your local candidate, which ever party has the most candidates when the smoke clears, is the majority party and has the right to elect the Prime Minister (Somewhere Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert is a jealous man). Told you that was a quick review. Essentially on the Conservatives and Liberals have a chance at winning but this is far from a two party government. The NDP (which are the left-left leaning party) draws anywhere from 10 to 20% nationally and that can swing an election (think Ralph Nader but with clout). The Bloq Quebecois are really only a power (and less of one today) in Quebec (they are basically the French party, so thing of um The French only with less appeasement of the Nazis...I kid the French, I'm a kidder), and the Green Party are pretty much on the far side of nowhereville (think your average audience for a Phish concert!...I kid Phish fans, I'm a kidder...and they're all too high to notice anyway). The biggest change in Canadian politics has been a merger between the two right wing parties (or I should say the two most recent ones) The Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. The CA came out of the Reform Party in the late 80s/early 90s and the PC was the result of yet another merger between (obviously) The Conservative Party and the Progressive Party in the 1940s. If all this sounds too Melrose Place for you...welcome to the Right Wing in Canada. Unable to dent the Liberals, the CA and the PC have joined into one party with the hopes of regaining the government (though it didn't look like it was going to happen for a while as there was much infighting between factions in both of the older entities). Confused yet? Well so is the electorate. Recent polls have shown the Conservatives have narrow what was once about a 10-12 point lead for the Liberals down to about 3 points (35%-32%). The NDP is polling around 18%, Bloq Quebecois is at 10% and the Green Party is at 5% (but remember they're probably too stoned to notice). Nationally they are projecting the Liberals to have between 122-126 seats, the Conservatives 107-111, Bloq Quebecois 56-60 (remember most of that is because they nearly run the table in Quebec) and the NDP between 15-19. The Greens are not projected to win a seat (note: I erased another 'pot' joke here because really the Greens aren't all that bad and besides there's already a Marijuana Party in Canada...yes I'm serious, they even have a website...though I'm sure it just links to the official website of OREO cookies...look I got a pot joke in anyway...go me!). Now we haven't even gotten to the fun part (the part that affects most of the Canadians who read this- the Ontarians). The bulk of Liberal support federally comes from Ontario. Of the 168 seats controlled by Liberals in Ottawa, 95 are from Ontario. You could see then how a shift in Liberal support in Ontario might go a long way in determining the race. So what gets thrown into this then?? At the moment, in Ontario, we have a very unpopular Liberal Premier, Dalton McGuinty, who was just elected last year. The Liberals took back the Provincial government from the Conservatives (who remember weren't unified as The Conservative Party then) in a landslide (72-24, with the NDP getting the remaining 7). The Ontario Liberals have been seen here as going back on some campaign promises, and their shrinking support is probably one of the big reasons why the Federal election is closer. So there's elections north and south of the 48th parallel this year and they are both seemingly up for grabs. Makes a political junkies dream, trust me :) What's the point of all this? Well back to my original one- decisions are made by those who show up. Whether it's Ottawa or Washington DC, your vote matters. If you think your vote doesn't count think of it this way- If you lean to the Democratic Party, let's say you are pro-choice, and the Democratic Party is generally the party of pro-choice candidates (not all but a healthy majority). You don't vote because you don't think your vote matters. It now takes 2 people who share your opinion to vote, to make up for the vote you didn't cast to balance it out. Also low voter turnout in your area might mean that in the next election candidates don't bother visiting your area, or putting effort into winning the vote in your district (which means your Congressman has a harder time getting money for your neighborhood in the Legislature, or the local office of the opposing party gets more funding to get out the vote). Decisions are made by those who show up. Look at the news. Read the newspaper. Can you honestly tell me it isn't important that your voice is heard? We live in deeply serious times, and everyday, people we elect to be our representatives make decisions on our behalf that have far reaching consequences, historical consequences, and even a few that hit close to home. In the US, our Constitution begins with three words. Words written 5 times as large as all the rest. These words signalled to the world that "WE THE PEOPLE" were now the government. Let that one sink over you. The government is us. You and me and the neighbor down the street, and the guy at the gas station, and the old lady sitting behind you in church, and the rancher in Wyoming, and the machinist in Michigan, and the teacher in North Carolina...all of us. To tie it all together, to bring both the country of my birth America and the country of my new home Canada together I leave you with this... Sunday is the 60th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. D-Day saw Americans and Canadians fighting together to defeat the greatest terror of the 20th century. As we remember the sacrifice of those who gave what Lincoln called "the last full measure of devotion", let us also remember that the sacrifice demands of us to make of our future something worthy of that devotion. So to those men of June 6, 1944, to those of that day and others, to those who served in time of war, and especially for me to my father, who served his country with honor for 21 years, I say thank you. God Bless Canada and God Bless America Ron