Spring.....at last!

In the words of my favourite spring song, the Beatles'  Here Comes the Sun;  "It's been a long, cold lonely winter. Little Darling. It feels like years since it's been here." Such a long drawn out winter we've had, here in Ottawa and right across the country.

And so I rejoice, along with everyone else, at the simple changes in lifestyle these past couple of weeks have given us: the joy of walking outside without shoving feet into winter boots, walking on bare sidewalks, sitting on the front verandah again.

Lately, I've been reading some of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency stories. While some readers might find these short novels simple and slow moving, I enjoy them. His slow paced storytelling, with vivid descriptions of life in Botswana and keen observations on human nature provide a charming and comfortable read. That "slow down and take time to smell the roses" philosophy is worth repeating. Is it not similar to some of the comments made following Jim Flaherty's unexpected death last week?

McCall Smith closes Blue Shoes and Happiness with a few wishes for a happy life, "It is important just to be able to sit and think. ...There should be some time for work and some for play....And some for sitting and watching the sun go up and down....And some time for listening to the cattle bells in the bush.."

Perhaps this appreciation for the simple pleasures of life is rubbing off on me, for last night I went to sleep feeling very grateful for  two spring items: cotton sheets and open windows. At long last we have stripped our bed of the fluffy flannelette sheets we have burrowed under all winter and happily replaced them with their  cotton counterparts . With the screen newly installed in our window, I opened it wide to let in the fresh air and sounds of outside. What a treat!

Our bedroom is small and simple. Some of the monster homes being built in our neighbourhood feature master bedrooms as big as bowling alleys with their accompanying walk in closets and ensuite bathrooms. On the street next to us, the owner of such a room, remarked to our friends, who lived next door, in their regular-sized home, "We just really need a lot of room, so we have two queen beds pushed together."

Anyhow, my needs are not that grandiose. Give me fresh cotton sheets on our bed, right close to the open window and I am a very happy camper.

Last week on Rewind, CBC's look back at old radio shows, Michael Enright played some signs of spring that listeners had sent in to Peter Gzowski's Morningside show, many years ago. My favourite was one sent in by an emergency room nurse. She remarked that, "It must be spring because we just pulled the first pussy willow out of a toddlers' nose."

Ah spring....

Pierre Poilievre

There is nothing much I can add to the discussion around the "Fair" Elections Act that has not already been written. Andrew Coyne summed it up nicely in this piece titled "A normal government wouldn't ram through this elections bill".

What is truly amazing is Minister Poilievre's total disregard, even contempt, for all the criticism levelled against the bill by all kinds of experts: the current chief electoral officer, the former chief electoral officer, and Sheila Fraser, to name a few. And yet Poilievre refused to admit that any of these experts had points worth considering. As Coyne writes,"If this were a normal government it would not have as its minister for democratic reform, such a noxious partisan as Poilievre, whose contempt for Parliament and its traditions registers every time he rises to speak in it."

Fast forward to today's news. The Conservative Senators are asking for significant changes in the bill. Now that it is Conservatives asking for changes, suddenly Poilievre has changed his tune completely.

Wait for it.........."I have always been open to ways we can make a great bill even better."

God give me strength.

Harperland 3.5

Well here I am again, playing catch up. After that last post about naming things after Conservatives I read this piece in the Ottawa Citizen. In fact, this appeared the day before my post, but like other things in my life, I often read papers a bit late.

Here Andrew Cohen elaborates on the same theme, but in this case it is all about Dief the Chief. As he states, "It is deeply cynical for a minister and his government to lavish praise on a former prime minister of their party while consciously ignoring -if not disparaging-the memory of those who were not....Baird pointedly does not mention Pearson; he treats this country's most celebrated diplomat like a contagion."
Enjoy!

Harperland Part 3

As I stated in a previous post, there are many aspects of life in Ottawa that have been painted by Harper's brush. The former Ottawa River Parkway is one example. I grew up about a block from that river and I remember when the houses closer to the river were expropriated and the scenic driveway was created. It was in the early sixties I think. That four lane parkway is just one little piece of Ottawa's complicated jurisdiction. Unlike other cities, decisions in Ottawa are often complicated by the fact that this is the capital city. There is a lot of land that is federally owned. Relationships between the feds and municipal politicians are not always friendly. Anyhow the Ottawa River Parkway is maintained by the National Capital Commission, a federal Crown corporation.

Since its creation, it was known as the Ottawa River Parkway, probably because it runs along....the Ottawa River. It ends as Wellington Street starts, with The Canadian War Museum, the Supreme Court Building, Parliament Hill ...the whole nine yards. For maybe fifty years it was the Ottawa River Parkway but no more. In August of 2012, Minister John Baird, the minister responsible for the National Capital Commission, renamed the route as the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. Earlier in that same year the former Bank of Montreal Building on Wellington Street was also renamed..the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.

I am not arguing about the importance of Canada's first Prime Minister. I'm just saying that with Harper, you're far more likely to have a building or roadway named after you, if you happen to be a Conservative.

As with the summer Mosaika film on Parliament Hill, Harper loves to insert a little military history whenever he has a chance, even if it is temporary, like in an ice sculpture.

For years, Winterlude and Ottawa's Canada Day festivities were organized and run by the National Capital Commission. However, the March 2013 federal budget stripped the NCC of its responsibilities for those two major Ottawa events. Now the federal Department of Canadian Heritage has that role.  This is all leading up to 2017, the celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation. That federal department will have total control of that major event.

Anyhow, back to this year's Winterlude, the first one run by the Heritage Department. While admiring the ice sculptures we certainly noticed this one, set part from the others in a prominent location near the front of Confederation Park.

It is a train scene. There are soldiers on board the train, leaning out to wave goodbye to folks on the platform. It was an impressive sculpture. It is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One.

Again, I am not saying that this was not a significant event. I'm just saying that when you go to Winterlude, to look at the sculptures and listen to music and eat a Beavertail, you are not necessarily thinking that this year just happens to be that anniversary. Unless you're Stephen Harper.

We can only imagine what they are cooking up for this year's Canada Day!

April Fool

Well, that's me, the biggest April Fool of them all!

You would think by now that I would be used to the fact that our daughter Norah is the queen of practical jokes, but no, sadly, she got me again today. When I turned on the radio this morning I remembered that it was April Fools' Day and I listened to hear what joke they would try to pull on listeners. Why then, did I totally forget the day, so soon after that?

About 9 AM Pat told me that I had better read Norah's blog. There was a photo of her latest ultrasound which looked a lot different than the last one we saw. This one had two babies in it! Under the photo was her write up, all about the big recent surprise about expecting not just one, but two babies! I couldn't believe it and yet I did. I re-read it and re-read it in amazement. Then I was upset that she would share such important news in her blog and not call us. That's not like her.

We were prepared for the fact that the fall was going to be busy with the new baby, but now two?!
I spent the next couple of hours fretting about it. She was at work so I couldn't call her. Why hadn't she called us before she went to work? I sent a brief email to her..."What the heck? Why didn't you call?" Then I went off to my doctor appointment.

I couldn't stop thinking about the implications. With twins, well I may as well just move into their basement for a few months. Where would they put the second crib? What about us? Now we would have to buy a second crib. Where would we put that? And what about their car? Their back seat would be filled with three car seats. Would they go out and buy a van?

When I got back home I asked Pat if she had called and he said no. (liar) I checked email and she had replied to my message. "Call about what?" she had answered. That's when I finally realized that it was a joke. She had called when I was out and told Pat to tell me. He, being much smarter than I, had recognized the joke right off the bat.

So, it is only one baby. Before today I was thinking about how busy they will be with two kids so close together and what a big adjustment Avery was going to have. Now, having faced the prospect of twins, it feels so easy. It is just one new baby....a piece of cake really.

Where would the second crib go?

Winterlude/Rick Mercer/Mental Health

So, I'm still on my winter theme here. After this week's snow in Ontario, I think I can get away with it. 

One of Ottawa's winter highlights is Winterlude, a festival held over three weekends in February. I must confess that I didn't see much of it this year. I was too busy going to physio and walking very carefully with my sore knee. I didn't want to chance a re-injury, while skating on the canal or sliding down the ice hills in Jacques Cartier Park. At least that's the excuse I'm going with.

However, I did manage to make it to Confederation Park for one evening event. Along with many others we admired the ice sculptures.

Those sculptures were not the main reason for going downtown on a cold winter night. No, Rick Mercer was the draw for us. There was a free event in the park as part of the Cracking up the Capital Comedy Festival.

Mercer did not actually speak for long that night. But what he said was heartfelt and impressive. He gets my vote for one of Canada's true gems.  His television show is not only funny, but intelligent and enlightening. I can't think of another show that appeals to both my kids and my parents. When many of us used to listen to Peter Gzowski  on radio, we felt connected, all across the country. Likewise with Mercer. In a very entertaining manner he teaches all of us about various aspects of our country.

On this particular night he was talking about the importance of recognizing mental health issues and standing up against bullying when we encounter it. They played a rant from his show, when he spoke about the bullying that lead to the suicide of Ottawa teen  Jamie Hubley.

Mercers' part of the event was followed  by Jamie Hubley's father, city councillor Alan Hubley. He too called for better communication, recognition and support for those with mental health concerns. He has been very vocal in this field since Jamie's death.  

I was lucky to know Jamie for a short time. He was a student at my school and I was his resource/special ed. teacher for part of a year. Like many young teens he didn't want a lot to do with a spec. ed. teacher. What grade seven student wants to be known as a spec. ed. kid? And so our interactions were few. My main memory is a conversation we had about an upcoming figure skating competition he was excited about. He just seemed like a sweet kid. Shortly after that conversation he left our school. I found out much later it was because of a bullying incident. I can't imagine being his parents and living with his loss. It's very generous of his father to use this tragedy as an opportunity to de-stigmatize mental health issues.

And so, what we thought was going to be a light hearted evening turned out to be something a lot more serious. However, hearing that message again was far more important than just having a few laughs.

Paralympians..the real heroes

If non NHL players at the Olympics sometimes suffer from little media attention, what about our Paralympic athletes? Just how much attention do we give these people? Unfortunately I'm not able to follow Canada's Paralympic team on TV, while in the U.S., but  CBC does have a good Paralympics site.

A couple of weeks ago, while listening to an interview on CBC radio's show, C'est La Vie, I suddenly realized that I know someone who is competing at these games; Caroline Bisson.

Four years ago I took a creative writing course at a neighbourhood bookstore, with Ottawa author, Richard Taylor. (Unfortunately this store, like so many independent bookstores has since closed.) Anyhow it was a small group. We enjoyed each other's company and writing. One of the members of that group was Caroline. I remember her as a friendly and confident person. To be blunt, it is not often that you meet a young person who is missing an arm. Caroline never gave the impression that anything was out of the ordinary. It is only now, that I have heard the  recent interviews, that I realize that she had undergone her life-changing surgery only a year before I met her in that group. If that was me and I had faced cancer and the amputation of my left arm, shoulder and part of my rib cage, there is no way that I would have been  cheerfully participating in a writing group, besides  holding down a job. No, I would have been at home,  feeling sorry for myself for a very long time. However, Caroline is obviously made of stronger stuff. Here she is in 2014, having qualified to compete in both the biathlon and cross country ski events at Sochi.

In that radio interview Caroline shared valuable insights about Paralympic athletes and all people with physical disabilities.  She wants people to know that "people with physical differences are able to achieve great things." She sees the Paralympics as "an opportunity to celebrate life." She noted that  "the athletes at these games have all overcome serious traumatic events. They have shown determination to overcome whatever happened to them, before they ever started to train for their event."
Amen!

 Caroline is not counting on winning a medal. She is there to compete to the best of her ability. From the CBC schedule, it looks like her events will start today. I hope she has a great day and totally enjoys the experience.

                                         Caroline Bisson, from a recent CBC TV interview