Monday, 30 December 2013

Christmas 2013.....A Ramble

It will not soon be forgotten.  It was a week without communication.  No phone. No internet. The car stuck  in ice like  the  Arctic Ocean.

We had no heat or light for a couple of days. But we had hot  water and we could cook .We had natural gas.  If the power had stayed off any longer, next step was to put  food  that needed refrigeration outside.

Stephanie had a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. All the characters of Disney land.   Put  together by candle-light.

I  don't  like  thousand piece puzzles. . It's not just that there are so many pieces unidentifiable .  It's the decision to break it up after spending hours putting it to-gether that's hard.

We had to re-schedule the family Christmas gathering. That was the day of the ice storm. We  gathered yesterday.

On Christmas Day, I went to Barrie , to Martin and Marnie's house. It has  become a tradition.

They had no power  disruptions.   Barrie always gets everything.

The countryside looked like another planet. Landmarks  were undistinguishable.

Nobody on the media was talking about global warming.

My street is a scene of devastation.  Never happened  before.

Grandson Cameron lives in a condo on the sixteenth floor  of a building in Toronto. Elevator operated by generator.  No  water.

Places  in Toronto  are still without power.

Toronto's Mayor was on T.V. providing bulletins.

Deputy-Mayor  was  there too.  He had been  in Florida.

The media reported  criticism of Deputy. Then said he didn't need to apologize for visiting his elderly sister who was ill.

But  they told  he was in Florida in the first place.  In the second  place, nothing  was known about his sister. It  never was their business.

Deputy-Mayor said it didn't matter he was in Florida because he was in touch with the city at all times.  Neither did that make  a difference


 The Mayor was  apparently on the job at all times.

Both were at the press conference.

What a farce !!!''

They say 20% of  Toronto's urban forest has been lost. to the ice storm. Including trees injected  to save them from the pesky little beetle from Korea.

How many millions have  been  spent to  protect trees from a natural predator?

How  loud  will be the lament about cost to replace trees destroyed by  natural devastation?\

Oops !!  same thing !!! Right!

Just turned  on T.V. for an update on Toronto's situation.

Watched an interview with Toronto's Police Chief.

Asked about his "disappointed"  reference to Toronto's Mayor...theoretically....from a public perspective.... his  boss..... he denied  political implications.

He said  it was an honest answer to a question.  He accepted  no responsibility for public reaction to his comment that he was disappointed.

Three thoughts occur:

First;   is  expectation of judgement from  a police  chief an archaic concept?

Second; does professional integrity have no place in modern  society? Is it just another relic of times past?

Third; Does Toronto Police Department  function under the authority of a  Police Governing  Board?If so , where are  they?

13 comments:

  1. Oh Evelyn…You know the answer to those questions....Follow the money! Unfortunately it’s the answer every time.

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  2. http://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/4293288-aurora-launches-election-web-page/

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  3. Welcome back in all your angry glory. Knew you would land on your paws.
    The streets look like disaster but trees are resilient. One small Japanese maple was lying in layers across our walkway. A bridal arch for demented elves maybe. As the ice melted, it gradually loosened each branch slowly. Looks like it will make it.

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  4. @17:07
    Your money theory might be right. Nothing else explains why the Smitherman household was allowed to adopt 3 children when others with decent backgrounds would have loved to be able to adopt.

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  5. I'll add to your ramble. Oakland Hall was open for business on the 23rd. Another business we cannot afford to lose.

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  6. Gay-bashing, 21:07?

    Stay classy.

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  7. 21:07... I guess you are a homophobe? Smitherman household is NOT a decent background?

    This is the sort of ignorance that gets people upset at blogs.

    21:07's real name must be Phil Robertson.

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  8. 8:20
    The ignorance would appear to be on your side this time. You cannot label anyone a homophobe unless you have sat at their Christmas dinner and put individuals attending that event into little pigeon-holes of convenience. It's just a cheap shot based upon no evidence.

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  9. 10:12..

    I think the comment that 8:20 was talking about had enough "evidence" to not only pigeon hole the commenter but to ensure that everyone else could see.

    How would you interpret "decent background"? Who is the arbiter of decency? 21:07 comments tell me that the Smitherman household was not decent.

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  10. 12:31
    I get it. You not only want to label an individual but you also want ' everyone ' to see & accept your labelling. Doesn't that strike you as a bit presumptuous ?

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  11. Weird how everyone interprets comments so differently. I read 21:07 comment meaning simply that there are others with decent backgrounds that could have adopted children as well, but because income/money situations of certain families….they don’t have the same opportunities.

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  12. Weird how everyone interprets comments so differently. I read 21:07 comment meaning simply that there are others with decent backgrounds that could have adopted children as well, but because income/money situations of certain families….they don’t have the same opportunities.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you, 15:30
    I've been called a lot of things . " Homophobe " was a new one & quite a shock .

    ReplyDelete

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