"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Sunday, 5 August 2012

Granger Sighting In The Park

The Jazz Bash is underway.
The fence  has been  up since Friday
I hear vendors  paid  $600 a pop to peddle merchandise in the  park. But not to the town. 
Apparently, a permit fee to use the bandstand   provides many a blind eye benefit.
Last night was an interesting scenario. 
The  Provincial Minister of Culture was present at a walk about. Tis said,  he was invited to attend by our Federal M.P. the Honorable Lois Brown who was also present.
Aurora Councillor Chris Ballard was a member of the entourage .
Councillor Gaertner was taking money at the gate.
Granger was sighted briefly before Councillor Able,  gatecrashed the party and introduced himself as Acting Mayor for the day,  and welcomed the Minister to Aurora.
Talk about being disrespected on your own turf. 
Whatever the  arrangement  was supposed to be,  it came to an untimely end with sharp rolling claps of thunder , streaks of  frightening lightening and a fitting deluge of drenching summer rain.
It reminds me of the  last time the  Minister came to town
Aurora was  honoured to be chosen by the Ministry to open Library Week in 2010. 
Librarians from surrounding areas  were invited .. A private reception was prepared  to allow the Minister to  make personal contact with  librarians from a distance, all brought together for the purpose. 
The plan was the Ministry's own.
All was prepared. Librarians arrived in good time out of  respect of the Minister's  schedule. . 
We  waited. And waited. Embarrassed by the Minister's no-show.
Eventually the august personage arrived,  guided by  ex- Mayor  Morris grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
The Minister had been highjacked on the way to the library to visit  Church Street School. Morris' little gang were in attendance,  thrilled by the success of their strategy,
It wasn't clear the Minister was in on the plan.
I  deny absolutely responsibility  for the storm last night. 
But I would  bet, in the right creative mood ,with the right associates, I could write a fitting  version of  a  British Pantomine Farce;

Dick Whittington, Dick Whittington,
Where have you been?

I've been to London to visit the Queen.

Dick Whittington, Dick Whittington
What did you there?

I frightened a little mouse under her chair.







4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a matter of priorities. Aurora badly needed the rain. The town did not need the Jazz Festival.

Anonymous said...

It's too bad our town cannot issue compulsory exit visas to unwanted opportunists.

They destroy what little aura is left in Aurora.

Anonymous said...

The Jazz Festival is just like Carnival in so many countries. The locals cede all authority to outsiders & get out of town if they are able. We will never know the real attendance figures but I have heard that the thing in Toronto drew far fewer than usual this year. Hopefully the Jazz Group took a financial hit too but not likely enough to deter them..

Anonymous said...

12:28 PM
May I respectfully disagree with you? That Jazz Gang and the hi-jacked Museum are aberrations in Aurora. There is nothing wrong with the the town itself - just a few of our self-entitled, self-help residents and their followers. The aura still exists except when those two subjects appear on an agenda - which is far too often. All other organizations run smoothly without creating angst.