The Hike of Nature's Call

The first picture shows the Beginning of the hike.

The second picture shows the results of beaver handiwork

The third picture shows the 'snow' covered forest. White remnants of last year's leaves.

The final picture is of the caterpillar coming for my boot.

Making It Up As I Go Along #267

MONDAY...
— Take the day off work. It’s pretty nice out and not a bad time for a three day weekend. I go hiking at Mer Bleue for an hour and a half. It’s weird to be out somewhere in Ottawa and go so long without seeing other people.
— Get a few groceries and relax this afternoon. The hike actually wore me out a bit... sad to say.

TUESDAY...
— I go to work and some wonder where I was yesterday. Seems that the message my team leader gave when she called in sick didn’t make it to my team. No harm though... they figured it out by lunch.
— Work’s alright... I do pretty well stats wise.
— Because Janice is off sick, Karl and I postpone movie night. It was going to be a late night so it’s probably a good thing... I could use the sleep after being up late last night watching the Vancouver hockey game.

WEDNESDAY...
— Work is fine... go across for lunch with a few people and it’s a relatively friendly office.
— Go to supper with Karl tonight... just a pub but it’s a nice night.

THURSDAY...
— Work is okay, not as good as yesterday but still okay. A drink at the Mess after work is fine and I come home to hockey games and baseball.
— No Sammy this weekend after all. He was supposed to come for business and a visit but it’s squashed... too bad, hope it happens soon.

FRIDAY...
— Work’s alright... hockey game in the evening then out with the crowd to the bar downtown. I go with Kiyomi and it’s nice to talk with her some. I get home for the overtime of the Vancouver hockey game and, luckily, they win.

SATURDAY...
— Quiet day around the house with hockey, baseball, naps, and a movie.


Nature’s Call
It was a fine weekend last weekend. The sun shone and the temperatures were in the low twenties. It was perfect... but it wasn’t enough. Not for me anyway. So on Sunday night, I called Janice to let her know I’d be taking Monday off work.

I had been thinking of this possibility for much of the week. Monday was supposed to be sunny and hot and I hate working day shift anyway. When I heard three tours were coming on Monday, it made me lean all the further towards taking it off. But Sunday night tested me. The forecast for Monday remained warm... but now rain, and maybe thunder showers, were included in the afternoon predictions.

Still, I decided to take it. I’d do my hike in the morning and hope to beat the rain.

Monday morning starts as advertised. It’s not brilliant sun but it’s nice out and warming up quickly. I relax in the early morning and then go for my hike by 10:30.

I drive to Mer Bleue. There’s something great about doing these kinds of things when it isn’t a weekend or holiday. The rest of the city is business as usual and I’m on my own schedule. There’s only a couple of cars at the parking lot for the boardwalk trail.

The boardwalk is nice but it’s not my destination for today. It’s quick (about twenty minutes) and I’ve done it several times now. But today, I’m interested in checking out another trail I’ve previously noticed but never walked. It’s to the right of the boardwalk trail and runs along a ridge to the west.

I have gotten an idea of this trail, in our modern age, by way of the internet. I went to goggle maps and zoomed in on the area. I could follow the trail from one end to the other this way and I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into.

It’s still early in the season. Leaves remain absent from the trees and it makes this ridge trail a little less scenic but it still allows for the forest to hit you in a unique way. There’s an eeriness to it. Even though it’s midday on a Spring Monday, you can’t help but feel like you’re walking along in a post apocalyptical world. A plane flies overhead and I almost feel as though that is the only other fragment of civilization within a thousand miles of me.

I’m on the trail for a good hour and a half. And during my time there, I see no other people. That’s something I enjoy. It’s easy to do in a place like St. John’s. I can find several trails back home and know that I’ll be walking by myself while I’m there. Ottawa is twice the size of Newfoundland (Population wise) and nearly ten times the size of St. John’s. So for me to be able to isolate myself while doing something outside here is a real treat.

Still, I am aware of life around me. Every hundred yards or so, I’ll hear a rustling in the bushes as I pass by. Snakes, squirrels, chipmunks, birds... it could be anything that’s startled by my presence. I look down at the soil, that is still soft from recent rain and the early Spring melt, and I see paw prints. I guess them to be of racoons but I also see some birch trees that have been felled by beavers and I wonder if the prints are from them instead.

And constantly there is the sounds of birds in the area. Woodpecker strikes, and the songs of several species that either of my parents would know better than I.

Occasionally there are pools of water crossing the trail. I suspect that, in mid summer, these pools would be long dry. But now, with melting from the winter, the half foot of snow that fell a week ago (and since melted) and the rain of four days ago, the water pools in low lying areas.

I come to these pools and navigate my way. I always joke with myself that I’m an expert at such navigation due to my Newfoundland upbringing. Kids back home would always be bouncing along shoreline rocks, skipping their way past and through tidal pools or over slippery, sea weed covered rocks. I’m not too proud to say I have never made a bad decision on these Newfoundland obstacle courses. I’ve fallen in and gotten cold and wet on more than one occasion. But years of this has made me pretty good at avoiding the wet without much slow down.

There are keys to such walks. Aim for higher ground... go for the biggest rocks or fallen logs that you can find... and don’t be afraid to step on some vegetation (a big tuft of grass will likely keep you out of the muck).

About half way through my walk, I come to a spot that’s quite unique. The trees are all bare but their fallen leaves remain from last autumn. They cover the ground in white and it almost looks like snow on the forest floor.

A few, mostly dry river beds create little valleys and channels to cross. I wonder how much water would have been running through here just as the snow was beginning to melt. And then I look at my watch, see that it’s lunch time in the office, and wonder how my team mates and co-workers are doing with their day. It’s funny that it was near this same time that my team mates were asking each other where I was. I can’t say that it makes you feel incredibly special when it takes four or five hours for your team mates to begin to wonder where you are. Maybe such things are part of what drew me to taking the day off in the first place?

Forty minutes into the hike and I’m looking for the end of this trail. With each corner, I expect to see the other parking lot that marks the opposite end from where I started. But each corner only brings more forest and I keep going. That is until I reach a major pool of water. I may be good at navigating such things but, after forty or so minutes, I’m more inclined to turning around than pushing through thick vegetation along the side of a sea such as this.

So the other parking lot isn’t reach but I’m fine with it... I retrace my steps and begin the trip back.

I see the snowy ground section of forest from a new perspective, and it’s just as interesting as the first. I jump when a piece of twig slithers off the path and into the underbrush... I’m still not used to run ins with snakes (another consequence of growing up in snake free Newfoundland). And I stop to take a few pictures of a fuzzy caterpillar who seems keen on reaching my boot, until I finish with my camera and leave the poor creature in my dust.

I reach the car about an hour and a half after I left it. And my time alone and in the woods has done me good. It may have been a bit of a waste of leave, but my Monday hike made the rest of my week go much easier.

Making It Up As I Go Along #266

MONDAY...
— Nasty day with morning snow (likely ten centimeters). It takes two and a half hours to bring mom and dad to the airport, make sure their flight isn’t cancelled, and go home again. I take the day off work and just do some cleaning up and relaxing. The snow turns to rain before I’m home in the morning... but it’s still nasty out.
— Dad leaves behind a few reminders of himself. His blazer remains in my front closet... and his “Ah Caramel” Vachon cakes remain unopened in my kitchen. Seeing those cakes always makes me think of dad... silliness.

TUESDAY...
— Work is okay. I get the good seat in AFIS... do livescan work, which boosts my stats... and get taught new stuff by Janice. Lunch across with Janice and Dave is okay too.
— Left over Chinese food for supper and hockey and baseball fill out the night.

WEDNESDAY...
— Work is okay... it’s nice out by this afternoon and Kiyomi and I go for a walk at second break.
— Hockey on TV tonight and some car studying on the internet. I’m thinking of what to do when my lease runs out in the fall.

THURSDAY...
— Well the vacation is booked. Mom and dad called today to let me know our flights are booked to BC. For me, it’s June 16th to June 30th in Castlegar. Should be good to be out that way again and visiting the sissy and family. Flying with mom and dad will be neat too... and having them in Ottawa for a few days first is good.
— Work is okay. Learning more new stuff and that’s good... and it’s sunny and 18 by the afternoon. Ground hogs are all around Kiyomi and me at the afternoon break.
— Get a few groceries and some gas after work.

FRIDAY...
— Work’s okay but it’s too nice out to be working. Tonight, Linda, Sheila, Nick and I are down to the bar to watch Jonathan and Read singing. It’s a good night.

SATURDAY...
— Lazy day around the house. Some napping, baseball and hockey. It’s nice out too but I just open all the windows and let the fresh air come through.


A History of Home

A sea side pond.
Surrounded by great hills where if you look towards the west, you see forest and fresh water.
And to the east is vast ocean and the distant cliffs further up the coastline.

Slowly, the seas rise.
The melting of great ice sheets that once covered this land bring a creeping change to the coast.
And one day, no day in particular, and with nobody there to witness it, the sea rushes in.

The lowest hill is breached.
A mossy covered piece of land between two bodies of water. Had people been there, a place to picnic and dream during sunny days.
Overtaken and lost, the shoreline grows a little more, with a pond becoming extinct.

Generations later, visitors.
Ships drift overtop of that once mossy covered piece of land and find a safe haven for weary travelers.
The surrounding forests are removed for homes and roads and the hills guard over a growing city.

The pond, turned inlet turns once again.
An enclave of sea becomes a hub of new world activity with ships, people, trade and waste.
Generations of garbage followed by generations of fuel poison the harbour.

People overtake nature.
Wood buildings are overtaken by brick. Dirt roads turn to cobble and then to pavement.
The harbour edge is covered over, overtaken by a road and dock. Visitors don’t know the sea is beneath them.

And with the passing of more generations, more change.
A far away ice cap melts away. Great mountains of ice which once brought bergs to this coast, gone.
And the sea grows again, with a green Greenland comes nearly twenty-five feet of water.

Nature overtakes people.
The road and dock are gone the way of the mossy hill of generations past.
Roads of dirt, covered by cobble, covered by pavement are now covered by ocean.

Islands of building roofs.
Where the homeless once laid to sleep, in alleys smelling of urine, drink and drugs.
Now crabs, flat fish, snails and mussels have taken over. Clinging to bricks, exploring shards of bottle, and hiding in the kelp which has overtaken the city.

People remain nearby.
High hills for berry picking and overlooking the city below are now a little less high.
These hills are now part of the city itself, homes encroaching the forest.

Perspectives change.
Tourists come to dive and explore the downtown core. Swimming through Water Street and picking through garbage.
What was garbage on land, becomes artifacts under water. Mementos of a past civilization in an ever changing world.

Making It Up As I Go Along #265

MONDAY...
— The last day of my five day weekend. It went by too fast too. Shannon comes over for a bit to help set up the Playstation 2 that he gave me... his getting an X-Box does good all the way around. We go for supper after that and then it’s some baseball on TV as I try to get back into day shift mind.

TUESDAY...
— It feels like the office is getting smaller and that they’re cramming more people into it. There’s a point where I’m working with six people all standing or sitting within ten feet of me... and probably five of them all talking (about work issues, but it’s still not a great layout for productivity).
— I sleep part of the night away. From around 8:15 to 9:00 I have no real memory. It’s the cost of not sleeping well last night.

WEDNESDAY...
— Work is okay. In AFIS today and that’s much better than the closet that is now QC.
— The hockey playoffs are here again. Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa tonight. I’m torn... not a fan of the Senators but I want a Canadian team with the cup... and there are some friends I have that I’d like to see made happy with this team doing well. But there are so many stupid Senator fans who are too petty and silly... and I love seeing them whine. Good to see Vancouver back in the playoffs... much better than watching Ottawa.

THURSDAY...
— Get up only a couple of hours after the Vancouver game ends (thanks to four overtime periods). I guess it’s good I didn’t stay up to watch. In fact, it’s my first good night sleep this week.
— Work is half half. Lunch with Megan and Sonya is good... stats are not bad... rest of it I can do without.

FRIDAY...
— Better day at work. I’m in QC checking and doing some set ups... and we get to go to lunch because it’s the office curling day and, for those of us not curling, we get an extension for lunch. So Janice, Mark Gray, Laura, Megan, Sheila and me go to Grace O’Malley’s for some good food.
— After work it’s the hockey pool playoff draft. I get the first pick overall and fill out my team with all Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks. The draft is a bit of fun too with hockey talk being a fine thing over office gossip.

SATURDAY...
— Some cleaning and work around the house. I move the old computer up from the living room to the spare bedroom... watch a ball game and some hockey... and then go get mom and dad at the airport.
— Dad helps me put together the computer again and move the table up to the bedroom. The living room looks more civilized without it taking up so much room.
— We get Chinese food and then watch some hockey and CSI to end the night.

SUNDAY...
— Busy day shopping and going out to supper with the parents. We have some hockey on in between times... a pretty relaxing day with them here in town.


Always Get Your Transfer
Public transit. Every town that has even a few thousand people in it has public transit of some sort. Buses are everywhere and bigger cities have light rail or subway systems as well.

One day last week, a bunch of us talked about public transit. One mentioned how they “don’t do buses”... claiming to have only been on a city bus once in her life. And I claimed that, if Ottawa had a subway system and I could live near a stop, I’d actually be willing to give up my car... but I agreed with the anti-bus point of view. When it comes to buses, I’ll keep my car.

So that left me wondering... what is it that makes subways appealing and buses a pain? In Ottawa, there are Transitways. These are separate systems of roadways where only buses run. There are even subway style stops along the way... it’s as close to the subway as you can get without getting on a subway. So what makes this unappealing?

I guess there’s the fact that the Transitway is only part of the bus system. They do leave this road network and enter the city roads as well. And here’s where buses become a pain. Slowed by traffic, taking winding routes to get from point “A” to point “B”. And often packed full of people.

Before I got my car, I took the bus from my aunt and uncle’s house to my friend’s place at the other end of town. It’s a trip that, by car, takes around fifteen to twenty minutes. That day, on the bus, I was in transit for an hour and a half.

Subways simply zip through the city. Under the city... beneath the buildings, streets, traffic, and buses... the subway shoots you along as a family theme park ride. Sometimes it’s running along in darkness and other times it bursts out into the light, showing parts of the city at a different angle, unseen any other way.

The Vancouver Sky Train is almost a tourist attraction. You’re glued to the window, watching the rest of the city interact while you fly by care free... minutes from your destination.

Of course, today I saw another reason why the subway is a much better system than the bus. Weather.

Driving the parents to the airport is usually an easy thing. When they spoke of this trip to Ottawa, I assumed that I’d drop them off and be about a half hour late for work. But last night, the weather sounded like it would be nasty and I decided to take the day off work today. So I got up without dressing in shirt and tie or grabbing breakfast before leaving. I’d just take them to the airport and go home again.

It took an hour to get to the airport (it’s normally closer to a half hour). And when we got there, ready to turn off of the busy thoroughfare and take the ramp to the airport road, trouble. Up the ramp, on a peculiar angle, sat a bus. Yes the wonderful bus, there to make the commute easier for us all, was stuck in the snow.

We got lucky. We turned back, took a couple of side roads that connect us to another route to the airport, and were back on schedule in less than ten minutes. And as we passed the bus, driving by the ramp we had tried to access, we look over to see the empty vehicle, jackknifed in the snow. And I imagined how much of a pain the trip to the airport was for those people who had to be rescued.

And then it was clear to me why the subway is so much better than the bus. It never snows underground.

Making It Up As I Go Along #264

MONDAY...
— Sort of my Tuesday because I worked yesterday to get Thursday off... and even more like Wednesday cause we’re off for Good Friday too.
— Baseball is here. A bit of the Blue Jays on TV before work.
— Work is alright. I’m alone in TC AFIS... see a bit of Megan, Janice and Laura as they pass by and stop for a second... otherwise, I’m all on my own.

TUESDAY...
— Lousy day stats wise at work. I just don’t get in any sort of rhythm and it shows. Janice (my team leader) doesn’t seem concerned... she says it happens to everyone. But I’ll be putting some pressure on myself for tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY...
— I’m a twit at work. I’m alone in TC AFIS again and just anti-social for some reason. It makes it all not a super night... but my stats improve from the last few days.
— I come home to a blackout. Looks like it’s been out a while too cause my nightlight (the one that’s supposed to come on automatically when the power goes) is also not on.
— I fumble for some candles and go battery power with the laptop.

THURSDAY...
— Quiet house day for me. I get back my recycling box that was taken by some other putz two weeks ago... I hope they’re scrambling for a new one now.

FRIDAY...
— Another quiet day around the house. Kind of boring to report but pretty much needed by me.

SATURDAY...
— Yes, another quiet day... but at least I go outside. Of course, outside is just long enough to drive over for a Shwarma for supper.
— Don Cherry is going senile. He tries to say that one of the worst goals I’ve seen a goalie give up in years wasn’t his fault. I’ve never seen a bad goalie given so many breaks. Toronto’s media love Andrew Raycroft. Anyway, the senility of Cherry continues as we whines about the possibility of New Jersey playing their backup goalie tomorrow. Dink.
— Change up my cable. Typical Rogers Cable... I end up getting more than I previously had and I’m paying about $10 less per month. Slime bags ripping us off.


A short Easter writing for today... you’d think I was busy or something wouldn’t ya? Weird stuff, but time flies by.

Easter ‘07
Most Easters, in my life, have been spent with family. They involve chocolate... maybe some presents... meals cooked by mom... and lots of flowers in every corner of the room (again, thanks to mom).

Last Easter was spent in Halifax with mom, dad, Ruby and Lee. Cousin Jeremy even showed up for some meals and lots of chocolate came back with me, crammed into my bag.

Easter, this year, has been different. A card came from the folks and well wishes from Edena and some friends... but Easter has, from the family holiday aspect of things, been largely ignored.

Flowers have remained near the forefront of my mind though. Today, I drove over to Shannon’s. And on the way, an interesting scene repeated over and over again. Each gas station has turned into a flower shop as well. Right out at the corner of the road sat buckets of flowers. It would look sort of pretty if this was a regular occurrence, but it rings a little sad to me here and now. Some of the buckets have $7 price tags taped to them and I wonder about the quality of gas station flowers... wondering if they’re worth such a price.

It leaves me thinking back to the Simpson’s and Apu... running his convenience store, proudly charging customers and arm and a leg when they’re at their most desperate. A carton of milk... $8... Nickle candy... $3.50... and when Homer forgets about Valentine’s Day, stale chocolates... $50. For me, the buckets of flowers sing of stale chocolates. So I guess $7 is fairly reasonable after all. But I’m left thinking of the sap guy, so desperate to avoid trouble at home that he sees a bucket of flowers outside a gas station as salvation. Yes salvation... quite fitting for a religious holiday.

Supper tonight is one that has been had a bit much as of late... pizza. Although Louis’ Pizza can not be compared to other pizzas... and it’s still a fine meal indeed. But Dick’s Diner lets us down. Yesterday I called to make sure they’d be open for the holiday... but today they still were closed. Their lies betrayed us... betrayed us much like... Judas! Hmm, once again, fitting for the religious time of season.

So we drive to Louis’ and rejoiced in the wondrous pizza they blessed us with. We take it home and watch hockey while stuffing ourselves. Hockey on high definition, at that! It may not be chocolate Easter egg hunting (complete with mom’s poem clues) but it ain’t half bad all the same.

But the hockey, it brings us a shootout. The Lord, Gary Bettman, had proclaimed the shootout to be good and righteous. But on this day, it brings us much pain and suffering. For, because of it, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been cast out of their quest for heaven... and on a religious holiday, of all times. What a sin... what a sin.

Making It Up As I Go Along #263

MONDAY…

--- Birthday time is home time. I took the day off. Still, not able to do much with some morning thunder and lightning and rain most of the day. I head out for an hour in the afternoon (gas, return beer bottles, groceries)… but that’s it.

--- Lots of people getting in touch with me today though… about a dozen or so e-mails and several phone calls. It’s nice… I sort of thought maybe I’d get three or four e-mails and two calls… although two and a half hours on the phone is too much tonight.

TUESDAY…

--- Slow day at work. Set ups aren’t too bad or anything but I just have a hard time not watching the clock as I do them.

--- A couple of bits of bad news today. A sad day for some family… and some disappointment for a friend. Together, it has me thinking of a couple of other people today.

--- On the positive side, it’s birthday cake day for several of us. A bunch of us all have birthdays within days of each other so rather than have five different cakes and cards among different teams, they shut down all of QC for a bit and give five of us cards and a big cake. So that’s nice.

WEDNESDAY…

--- Not a bad day. I spend most of it checking other people’s QC work.

THURSDAY…

--- Again, spend most of the day helping Janice by checking other people’s work.

--- Go to the officer’s mess for a couple of drinks after work (with Leslie, Sheila, Janice, and Leslie’s husband and some of his friends). Then we go for some supper.

FRIDAY…

--- Shortish day due to a staff luncheon. I drive with Carole, Melissa and Jaymie… and sit with them, Leslie, Laura, Janice and Krista. It’s decided that Laura has bad taste in Will Ferrell movies. She hates “Stranger than Fiction”… the fool.

--- Quiet night around the house after I got some groceries on the way home.

SATURDAY…

--- 58 years ago today, Newfoundland became the tenth province of Canada. I can’t say this is an event I look back on with a “oh happy day” point of view. I love Canada and all but I had the second class citizenship that Newfoundland has been force fed by the rest of the country… and I am often left wondering “what if” when it comes to that vote. Newfoundland is the only country in the history of the world to voluntarily give up its independence. And that isn’t a fact that makes me proud to be a Newfoundlander.

--- I am so sick of the bloody pet food crisis! For more than a week, the CBC has made tainted pet food as a top story. Sweet mother do we live in a boring country!

--- Karl comes over and we watch four James Bond movies with pizza helping us through. Good time.

Mixed Bag

Two subjects to hit upon today…

Being ‘Picky’

I was recently talking to some people about being single. It was actually started by four of us working together (two guys and two girls) and the girls asking both of us guys why we’re single. The verdict by the ladies… we’re both too picky.

It got me thinking… being told you’re too picky is really a dulled down way to insult someone… without necessarily thinking you’re doing any insulting.

Too picky is code for a few things…

1… You just aren’t that much to look at. When you’re told that you are too picky, it means that they think if anyone of the opposite sex finds you even slightly appealing, grab on quickly and hold on tight. You’re basically being told that you have no ground to stand on when it comes to relationship choice. To say “no” is simply foolish.

2… You’re a drab individual. See item number 1 and substitute personality for looks.

3… It’s time for you to settle in love. I can understand certain levels of settling in life. I settled on a cheaper car when I moved to Ontario. I had to decide how much money to put towards several aspects of my life and the car got only so much. So no dream car came my way… I settled.

You may settle in your job. I mean I don’t picture anyone growing up wanting to be a meat cutter… but people do it for years because it’s a paycheck and they find different avenues of life to get reward from.

But to settle in love? I don’t see it. To meet someone and think “well, they’re okay I guess”… and then to still plan to be with that person for the rest of your life because you just don’t want to be alone… well that doesn’t seem all that rewarding to me.

If there’s anything to hold out for… to wait to be wowed by… to feel like you’ve just won the lottery in… I’d think it’s love.

So to have someone tell me I’m too picky, it irritates me some. Whether they know it or not, they’re telling me that I should settle in regards to that which should be the most important avenue of your life. To just be happy with companionship. Well, I can get companionship from a kennel.

Second Class Citizenship

I just saw on the news, Saturday, that this was the 58 year anniversary of Newfoundland joining Canada. It's always something that I stop and think about... the vote was very close (I actually think it was 51% to 49% to join Canada) and in recent years, there has been talk that it was actually fixed... that most people really wanted to become independent instead... so that Newfoundland would be like Iceland.

Here's a trivia question that doesn't leave a Newfoundlander proud. What's the only country in the history of the world to willingly give up it's independence as a country? Newfoundland.

Anytime I think of that, I think of Mel Gibson in Braveheart... giving the patriotic speech to the army before they run across the field of battle... telling them how "they can never take away... your freedom!" And then I think about Newfoundland and I’m left a little ashamed.

Sometimes I wish Newfoundland split from Canada. I love Canada... I'm Canadian first... but I hate how Newfoundland is disrespected by much of the rest of the country’s citizens (and completely ignored politically). My home province is treated like some welfare case. If decisions are made in the country that treats Newfoundland unfairly, the people there aren't allowed to complain. If they do, you just get this backlash of "They should be happy to get what we give them". It really isn't a country where everyone is treated equal... it's much more of "know your place and deal with it." Sometimes I think the rest of the country expect Newfoundland should stay poor... they seem to not want to help the province help itself... they'd rather just throw some scraps at it and say "here, we're taking care of you, now be quiet." I think if the day ever came when Newfoundland did split off and be its own country again (not that I expect it) I'd go back. I guess I’m just too big a sucker for the Braveheart speech… and I’d be afraid to miss it by staying here.

But, as I say, it won’t happen. And my first choice would be that it doesn’t. I just want to see more fair treatment of the people across the nation. Those from Quebec are basically Canadian Royalty. So much politic bowing is given to Quebec that it sickens me. I like the people I know from Quebec… I’m just so tired of politicians willing to sell out other parts of the country, in order for Quebec to be made happy.

Fact is, this is a country of ten provinces and three territories… but it’s realistically run by three provinces. Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are all that really matter for Canada. Politicians aren’t concerned about what is or isn’t fair… they’re concerned with making the people of those three provinces happy. If that means dragging political heels on Native issues in British Columbia, so be it. If it means selling out Newfoundland’s rights… that’s okay too.

Alberta has oil… and so does Newfoundland. But it’s accepted that Alberta is to have a better deal when it comes to the management of that resource. Why? And the French have been politically designated as a nation within a nation. But if you want to define nations… there are dozens of nations of people in this country. Why stop at the French? Native groups make up many nations all by themselves. Newfoundland is at least as distinct (and possibly even more so) than Quebec. BC life is one that is different from anywhere else in the country. As is prairie life… and even city life. Should we come up with an urban nation too? All I ask is for fairness. Treat the people of the country equally. But the problem is… this doesn’t make political sense. And that is one of Canada’s major flaws… to allow the most diverse country in the world to be run by the whim of three provinces.