Category: Uncategorized

SOBRIETY

Sobriety is not something you ever take for granted,  

I know this because I’m sober, for now anyways, and I hate the influence that alcohol has had on my life.  And the pull it maintains upon me today.

Any good time, almost every good time that I’ve had in my life, is associated with drinking.  Beer was my glue, my response to everything, the constant, the thing that tied everything else together.  

When I drank, I wasn’t a dirty drunk, a falling down drunk, a crash into the Christmas tree kind of drunk.  I never drank and then operated a motor vehicle.  I didn’t fight or slur my words.

I was happy.  I was content.  I was funny.  I was smart and articulate.  I could even work while I was drinking, pounding out policy papers, directing communications for serious enterprises, and playing prominent roles in election campaigns.  I taught for over thirty years.  My students over that span will attest to my commitment to them.

And I drank through all of it.  Maybe not every day, maybe not all day, but often enough.  And every time I “quit,” which is the word often employed when we actually mean “stopped,” I came back to it stronger than ever.  The cans got bigger and there were more of them.

The way it goes I guess.

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CANADA’S MILITARY PROCUREMENT

What a beating Canada’s military capacity seems to be taking.  And it’s a beating coming at us from our erstwhile friends allies, nations with short memories who ought to know better.

These are important considerations for us to keep in mind as we spend our way to the 2% of GDP threshold we committed to as part of our membership in NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Some European countries question our reliability as an ally if we can’t seem to reach that 2% threshold, which is bonkers.  Canada has a much higher GDP — Gross Domestic Product — than all but three of our European NATO allies, those nations being Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.  The first we defeated in battle (twice), the second we fought to restore their territorial integrity (twice) and the the third we came to the rescue of (twice).

My point is the higher the GDP, the more money on defence spending that 2% represents.  Which means that, despite spending less than that percentage, Canada spends more in real dollars than 26 of our European allies.

So stuff it.

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CLERK ERRETT MADE DIRECTOR

Mayor Tom Sidney and Clerk Carolynn Errett are head table pals.

That much is evident just by watching Renfrew Town Council meetings in person, as the two are in constant and consistent sidebar discussions, which I guess is completely natural and to be expected when you have a mayor who seems not to know what he’s doing and a clerk sitting as the procedural expert.

These kinds of synergies are essential in professional environments, and there’s no reason why a small-town council ought to be an exception to that.  The mayor is still in his on-the-job training stint, over two years after his landslide election win back in 2022, when he prevailed over all his rivals in what can only be called a political magic carpet ride of euphoria not seen in these parts, well, ever.  And no doubt ever again.  Sidneymania has appeared to reach it’s end-of-use date.

With his clear mandate of 873 votes, maybe a dozen or so over his nearest competitor, Mayor Tom sits astride an empire of influence and power, especially now since our premier fell and hit his head on the barbecue and granted Strong Mayor powers to the chieftains of small municipalities across the province, including those currently swirling down the drain.

Like Renfrew.  And like Mayor Tom himself.

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NEPOTISM AT TOWN HALL?

Nepotism is generally regarded as the practice of hiring or favouring relatives over others.  It’s using personal influence, even power within an organization, to give a friend or family member a leg-up when it comes to an opportunity.

It happens everywhere.  It happens here.  And no matter what attempts are made, or lip-service offered, it’s something that’s awfully difficult to get rid of.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t try, or do our best to ensure it doesn’t become SOP, or standing operating procedure.

The staff of the Town of Renfrew is riddled with nepotism.  I’m sorry, but there it is, and there’s no point in running away from that fact.

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FROM A 300 TO A MACAN

I currently drive a Chrysler 300S and have for several years.  I have absolutely zero complaints about my ride other then the fact that, with rear-wheel drive, it’s not the robust champion I’d wish it to be when operating in slush and snow, even with snow tires.  But aside from that, there are not many places where you can get this level of sport and luxury without jumping into the big German sedans or Italian racehorses.  

Plus, the 12-speaker Beats By Dr. Dre stereo system is an attention getter, perhaps wasted on a man in his sixties, but something I nevertheless make every effort to take advantage of, sixties be-damned.

But nothing can last forever, and I know that.  As a gas model, it’s on a bit of a downward slide into oblivion, with no plans to re-boot it as an electric model.  In fact, there are no more Chrysler 300s produced at all anymore, meaning I have a bit of a collector’s item.  The only problem is that I don’t have the money, the space, the resources, nor talent to baby this thing into the future so I can motor around in it while enjoying my golden years, a situation light on gold and heavy on years.

As they say, nothing lasts forever, and in my hands, it probably lasts a lot less.

If everything goes right in my life, if I continue to exercise, eat the right foods, and look both ways before crossing the street, there will be a half-decent chance that I live long enough to need a new car.

And a new car looks more and more like it’ll be electric, because that’s the way she goes, or the way she’s going, and I honestly have no problem with that.

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THE LOSERS AMONG US

What makes a loser a loser?

That was a question put to me this past week, and it’s a fair question.  I guess I must have referred to someone as a loser, and my companion wanted to know how one would qualify to have that word directed at them, not to their face mind you, but cowardly just thrown in their general direction.

Perhaps she was just challenging me on my poor behaviour, but as the weirdo that I am, I dug into the whole thing a little more than maybe most people might, because I can be like that and maybe just wanted to know if I was, in fact, a loser myself.

There are different degrees of losers, just like anything else.

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MEASLES MAKES A COMEBACK

Measles.

An old world disease, vanquished in this part of the globe since 1996, yet coming back like gangbusters.

And all of it thanks to our recalcitrant couldn’t-give-a-hoot about anybody other than themselves anti-vaxxers.

You know the type.  The type where nobody tells them what to do.  The type that doubles down on their ignorance rather than accept the facts of medicine and medical science.

The type that would rather bring harm to the rest of us than to grow up and maybe crawl out of their self-imposed ignorance.  The type who would willingly place their own children in harm’s way to make a really bad and uninformed choice.

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POILIEVRE, BY-ELECTIONS, AND OFFICIAL RESIDENCES

Rideau Cottage, Stornaway, and 24 Sussex Drive.

Three of Canada’s official residences, two in stages of disrepair, while the third is, well, a cottage.

The Americans have their White House, the South Koreans have their Blue House, and most of the world’s nations have some form of presidential palace, although the word palace doesn’t really have a good Canadian feel to it.  That said, the point is that most countries have an official residence for their head of state, although I’m not counting Hitler’s Führerbunker, since that place wasn’t really big on splashy amenities and I don’t recall any elaborate state dinners being held at the place that served as home for the Nazi dictator’s final days.  To fit into my discussion, I’d prefer there not be bullet-hole pockmarks in the brickwork, bomb damage to the exterior and the grounds, and the torched remains of the owners in the front court.  Decidedly not the look and feel I’m going after here.

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TRANSPARENCY IS BLIND

Renfrew Council goes into closed section a lot.  Like, an awful lot.

And how is one supposed to know if these closed sessions are legitimate?  As in some of them?  All of them?  None of them?

Of course, that last one would never apply, because there are legitimate reasons for a council to meet in-camera, a term I’m surprised I don’t hear more often from the pretentious bunch who otherwise like to stick to their in-house admin vocabulary, because I guess they feel it makes them sound smart.  Or at least smarter than us.

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PARKING REPORT TENDERED

I’ll come right out and say it, I’m no expert at parking.  And as painful as it is to personally admit such a shortcoming, I’ve never been tasked to look into parking on the scale required for a municipality of some 8,000 souls, give or take a dozen.

The working group formed to study parking in Renfrew and make recommendations has done so, and much to my surprise, it came back with recommendations and I’m still alive.  I had suggested that the whole working group thing was just another piece of due diligence, which may be a bit of an over-reach, but I suppose such steps are part of any healthy exercise by which a municipality can come to grips with its current parking policy, and adjust it to fit the emerging needs of the community.  Such gatherings usually take time, and more time, and then more time, because people like to talk, and then talk some more, and then even more still.  But this group somehow got it all done in a few months.  And I’m still alive!

With respect to parking, there’s no standing still.

Which brings me to one point, the point where it’s recommended that all prohibitions against standing — stopping your vehicle for a period of time with you still in it, often with the engine idling — will be removed.  

I think.

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