politics

wild strawberries today

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The wild strawberries are ripe.  Little splashes of red winking at us as Jasmine and I wandered on our walk today.

I used to pick wild strawberries and make jam.  It took hours to pick enough  to make even a few jars of jam and it was a labour of love for Mark who appreciated the effort and loved the jam. There was time.  Time to spend long afternoons picking wild strawberries, saskatoons, blueberries and after a hike up to the abandoned mine on the mountainside, prized huckleberries.

There was time.  In Hazelton we had two television stations…..on a good day.  Letters and updates – contact with friends and family came by way of letters in Box 84, South Hazelton. If we were home to answer the phone we did and if we weren’t home the phone just rang and rang. There were no voicemail messages, no robo calls, no text messages. Term papers were typed on a manual typewriter. There were no ear buds keeping us plugged in and it was just the quiet;  the sounds of the river, the birds and the occasional bear crashing through the woods in search of the same berries I was after.

Now my  phone is in my pocket on my walks and listen to CNN on my bluetooth hearing aids as I walk .  I snap pics of Jasmine just to text to Mark as he is at work.  I watch television shows chosen from hundreds of channels and movies on demand. Work follows me home with laptops and cell phones and doesn’t end with an 8 hour day.

Today my heart hurts because someone I knew only from television and books took his life.  We’ve become interconnected with strangers in intimate ways sharing dreams and sorrow in ways I never could have imagined all those years ago.

Today I am a bit scared at being called back for a second more intense MRI with all that can mean again in ways I never could have imagined all those years ago.

Today I feel frustration, helplessness and anger watching the shit-show the selfish, spoiled child running the USA is spreading around our world in ways I never could have imagined all those years ago.

I’m not saying it used to be a better place all those years ago, but there was time to pick wild strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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the past month or so

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I’m back this month, but I needed a break in January.  Needed it bad.

Lots of people do because basically January sucks…..because……

  • the novelty of living in snow country is pretty much old news and slipping on the ice hiding under the snow is a bitch
  • nothing good on TV to watch and the local theatre clearly doesn’t pay attention to award-winning movies
  • the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party of politics south of our border (that doesn’t have a wall and doesn’t need one) is making me weary with basically a new reality every single day based on the whims of the man with little hands and less respect for the truth
  • I’m ensnared and yet helpless in watching someone want to die which is a very, very terrible thing
  • 20 below celsius is just plain nasty
  • this whole deafness thing is just plain nasty and I’m frustrated
  • this whole “ate too many Christmas cookies” muffin top thing is just plain nasty

Yup, not sorry to see January gone but I survived by emersing myself in home, family and a good place to go to work everyday.

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And now, I look forward to spring coming.  The days are getting long enough to go for walks with  Jasmine after work and not worry about meeting a lynx or other critter in the dark.  And although this weekend brought a foot or so of fresh snow, it will shrink with a few sunny days.

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Into February I go; booked a trip to San Diego next month to feel some “no snow”, booked a new test for my hearing stuff, stopped gobbling cookies to lose the muffin top and am remembering to laugh and love.  Even when it’s hard sometimes.

Thanks, Pipy the parrot for illustrating the month for me. You make me smile.

 

 

so many shattered glass slippers

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It’s about TIME.  Well done, TIME magazine for recognizing change makers and bringing them to the forefront. The change makers who chose not to be victims any longer and cast off the shattered glass slippers of shame and fear and are speaking out.  Well done.

Here we are at a time when women can have amazing careers. Not trying to be men; trying to be successful in their own right as women and doing very well at it.  The glass ceiling if not shattered has been hiked up by trailblazers.  And we thank them.

Once upon a time a man could barge into a private office and stand over her desk and fondle his penis through his pants as he ranted at her.  He hated her and let her know it. Seated in her chair with her back to the wall and no way out, the man laughed as he had his say.  And he did it again. And again. The woman told the senior executives about it.  Continue reading →

empathy……we miss you

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The spiteful mean man with his fingers tweeting out vicious vindictive comments to make himself feel bigger and better.

The rush to vilify those of “the other side” regardless of circumstances while excusing the in-excusable.

Those wearing the badge of empath while cruelly hurting people who supported and loved them.

Empathy, we miss you.  We have become numb and desensitized. Continue reading →

satellite radio, cable news and the snoring thing

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I love my cable news.  Not the news station with the animal name; nope, the other one. Cable news when it’s not breaking and covering tragedies is a bit like a soap opera complete with the albeit orange-tinged patriarch with expressionless Botox beautiful women following dutifully along behind in red-soled stilettos.  You get my drift.

I love my cable news so much that I listen to it on satellite radio on my short commute to work, but for heaven’s sake, what’s with the ads on satellite radio? There are proportionally more snoring ads – ads for snore stopping devices than anything else and in my short 35 minute commute I hear my share.

To be fair, there are also ads for hair loss, owing back taxes, luggage and hemorrhoidal treatment tucked in amongst the snoring ads. Yeah, I wonder what demographic study was done for effective advertising for the satellite radio-listening audience.

I for one do use luggage and have paid back taxes.  I guess 2 outta 3 ain’t bad.

damage control…….just zip it

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Stuff in the news south of our border this week just makes me all snarky.  All edgy waiting for it to be fixed.   What the heck is wrong with people?  When the proverbial foot is stuck in your mouth, back off and fix it.  In other words, own up to the fact that sometimes your words come out wrong and hurt or anger others.  Continue reading →

on being “the complete” woman; are you listening, Melania?

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How are we to measure “the complete” woman-ness of ourselves?  I ask because over the years the ideals and metrics by which we measure ourselves have risen and in some standards lowered much like our ever-changing hemlines. I ask because over the years the role models and those we emulate change as well. And that can be a good thing.

And talking about role models……..Melania, Continue reading →

looking for courage

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The ever-changing rhetoric from day-to-day, hour-to-hour has our heads spinning wondering what is going on in the mind of Mr. Trump. And before you say anything; yes it does affect us tucked deeply in the Canadian north just as we’re watching the fireworks of his actions interspersed with our northern lights.   Continue reading →

9 people, 6 days, a tribe and a mug

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9 people in a room for six days.  Like really, really in a room.  Not leaving. And days are 12-14 hours long. That’s what it means to work for our election as an officer facilitating advanced voting opportunities for the masses.

I don’t care who you are, it still takes a big inhale and twinge of expectation and anticipation mixed up with the tiny insecurities we all pack around when you commit to in this case, 6 days of intense group dynamics.  Continue reading →