Hi there, Summer is officially over in Canada but don't tell a Canadian, or you risk having sensitive parts of your anatomy squeezed into a milk product! However, Fall (Autumn) is now with us -- my favourite time of the year. It is a time when Mother Nature displays her remarkable skill as an artist. She hauls out her palette and paints the most beautiful pictures imaginable -- pictures that can never be captured on camera or canvas. You must see it to believe it. Fall also marks the start of the new school year. Parents (and especially grandparents) have a Fall ritual. They run out on to their balconies and patios and, in unbridled joy, shout Ya Bloody Hoo! I had my 7-year-old grandson home for two months -- a daunting task even for the most dedicated of parental types. He drove me bonkers! He stayed hungry so I stayed in the kitchen. He had all his buddies over everyday and they stayed hungry. So I spent even more time in the kitchen. I feel like a proper utensil right now. They watched every karate movie ever made in Hollywood and Japan and the sound of Playstation games will haunt me forever. Beep, beep beep, beep beep beep are deeply etched in the recesses of my brain. On a more serious note, some strange things happen in Canada that never cease to amaze me. The government has just announced that it plans to spend $7.5 million to research the healing properties of grass, otherwise known as marijuana, dagga, ganja and weed. Ask any pot-head what a few drags on a joint will do for their aches and pains and the answer will be as clear as daylight. And think, the government can save themselves 7.5 million bucks! We have a homeless problem in Toronto (which pales in comparison to the millions who live in poverty in South Africa). Yet the do-gooders are campaigning to find affordable housing for 4000 odd souls who find themselves on the street. I estimate that more than 75 percent of them chose to be freeloaders and panhandlers and the rest are victims of circumstance. Help the rest and let the government deal with the social ills of the others. Let the government provide more shelters and a safety net for the addicts and misfits who roam the streets. Let them try to blank out the perceived blight on the city. After all, they have $7.5 million to screw around with. And here's something that had me on my knees saying prayers. The Canadian emergency response team leapt into action after the Turkish earthquake disaster but it took them four days to move their butts. The official reason for the delay boggled my mind. Canada has no expertise in search and rescue after an earthquake -- but they're damn good in providing purified water and medical aid. God help us if an earthquake hits Toronto! ColinD PS: Take care and please make sure that you always stay safe. |
