Tag: life

DEATH BY E-SCOOTER

Man, that kid was flying.

When I was a kid myself, I used to have these little fantasies involving me as a cop or soldier fighting the bad guys.  I’d even entertain my own demise, sometimes as a result of a huge gunfight with a dozen robbers where I would single-handedly bring them to heel with my revolver that never seemed to run out of bullets despite it being a six-shooter and the math of the situation not looking good.  And yes, sometimes bad stuff happens, even in the imagination of a child.  One of those bad guys would get a lucky shot in, it would kill me, and I’d immediately go into visuals of my state funeral with throngs of weeping citizens lining the street on both side, not a dry eye anywhere.  And all of this before my mom called me in for lunch.

So, like any kid, I visualized myself as a hero, and in this particular case a dead one, with all society grinding to a halt at the loss.  Man, I still get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

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BUSTED BY THE JUMBOTRON

Having a romantic affair can be nothing short of awesome.  I say this only because from the outside looking in, given the numbers of people who seem to carry on with affairs, what other conclusion is available to the rest of us?  Surely a past-time with so many merits, so many selling points, would be considered a legitimate way for one to spend their disposable time and money.

Unless you get caught.

Then I think it probably sucks big-time.

Getting caught and getting exposed is probably the worst thing that can happen, obviously, because where before you were moving heaven and earth to spend time with your latest squeeze, now you have a couple of divorce attorney’s driving the essentials of your life.  And when it all clears, you’ll probably have a lot less time with your kids if you have any, and more than likely a lot less cash to spend time with as well.

Even the dog stops talking to you.

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CHILD SAFETY AT PLAY

He was at the very top, a boy, maybe six, perhaps seven years old.  His mom, or the person responsible for his safety, was at the bottom, looking up.  He seemed unsure of himself.

The boy was at the very top of a play structure, a modern one, by all appearances state of the art.  His hesitancy involved coming down a ladder-type feature, with rungs, where a climber could move down or up, depending on which way a child might want to go.

Sometimes the climb up is easier than the climb down because, well, you start low and work yourself high.  And you’re not necessarily realizing fully how far up off the ground you might be climbing, what with your eyes being directed upwards, towards the top.  But when you’re at the top looking down, you become more fully aware of the drop, and of the reality of elevation, and the further reality of gravity, and what it might do to you if you make some sort of mis-step on the way down, or even before you begin the journey down.

It’s a play structure, though, for heaven’s sake, and so safety was obviously top-of-mind for the people who designed it and manufactured it, not to mention the people who researched it and procured it, in this case on the part of the municipality.  And so, as a play structure in a public park, one swarming with kids at times, the assumption is that there is no danger here.

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FEEDING KIDS AT SCHOOL

You can go ahead and call me crazy if you want, but I’m adamant in my belief that Catholic kids have the same right to eat as their non-Catholic counterparts.

And, of course, who’s going to argue with that?

Times are tough all over, as the saying goes, and when times are tough, it’s often children that bear the brunt of it.  And sadly, they often pay the price for tough times by going hungry more often than they should.

It’s easy to say that no child should ever go hungry, ever, but the sad truth of it is that it happens all the time.  Derelect adults, neglectful parents, down and out care-givers more concerned with their next fix or hit, all of this kind of stuff happens in the world, and you’d have to be wilfully blind to think that it does’t happen right here in Renfrew.

Right under our noses.

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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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COMMUNITY GARDEN PARTNERSHIP FORMALIZED

The creation and implementation of a community garden at Oddfellows Park on Sidney Avenue in Renfrew is a really good adaptation of a really good idea.

In association with the Renfrew Food Bank, the town has set aside one of its several parks for use as an urban agricultural experiment, where citizens can rent a plot of land, or space if you will, to cultivate for themselves any fruits or vegetables they may desire to bring into this world.

Not only does such a program benefit from a “farm to table” aspect on a smaller scale, but it also fosters a sense of community through interactions with others tending their own plots.

And further, it benefits the efforts made by the volunteers over at the Renfrew Food Bank.

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THE CONE OF SILENCE

What is it about the Town of Renfrew that makes its representatives so rude?

I mean, I don’t know if all of them are, but I can definitely say that any I’ve tried to contact officially are.  So, to be fair, that would be the Clerk, the former CAO-Acting, the mayor, and every single councillor.

It appears I’m not the only one to feel this way or experience this phenomenon.  I just wonder how long it goes, or how many people are rubbed the wrong way, before the pitchforks come out and the mob storms Town Hall.

Actually, that’ll probably happen on its own once people get their property tax bills.  Or lose the front undercarriage of their vehicle in a municipal tank trap that advertises itself as a street, and that’s after it’s been “reconstructed” by Renfrew’s default road construction specialists.

But back to the rudeness.

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DOGS CRAPPING WHERE JAGUARS ROAM

There’s a bit of a problem over at St. Joseph’s High School.

Nothing as dramatic as protestors and counter-protestors separated by police because some kid had his way with school staff over gender-specific washrooms.

No, this is bigger shit than that.

This is about dogs going toidy all over the soccer pitch because people are letting their pets run wild in there, that enclosed space the school has recently created as part of its major overhaul and new construction project.

Principal Pamela Dickerson said in a community letter that people were using the field “as a dog park” without bothering to stop and pick up any of the little treasures that Sparky leaves behind when he plays with his pals or is out for his regular sniff and squat routine.  

Those people I described in my Christmas messages?  The ones who are caring and decent  and thoughtful at their core?  Well, it’s tough for them to walk around like that all the time without reverting to their other selves, the careless, lazy and thoughtless ones, perhaps the ones they show by default most every day.

So much for Christmas spirit.

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“DELIVERED.” WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

“0-3 to base, 10-4.”

As a courier driver, it meant that I, the driver, had received the message.  And it didn’t matter if I wanted to make that inconvenient pick-up 5 minutes before the end of my shift, I still had the responsibility to do it, convenient or not.

It meant that I had received the message, and accepted the fact that it was now my responsibility to take that action for that customer.  You know, the people who pay my wages.

Often, as I said, it would be inconvenient.  Reichhold Chemicals was like that.  They were in a kind of out-of-the way spot on my route, on Wallace Road, and because of that, I’d plan my run accordingly to try and maximize my efficiency.  So when I made my stop at Reichhold at a little after 4 PM, I could quickly get back into shape to respond to things coming from the city core.

But if they called in for an “Oops, we forgot,” pickup after I’d already been there, it would mean scrambling to get back to them before they closed at 5 PM and bending me out of shape location and time-wise for other customers also closing at 5.

More often than not, that message of “0-3 to base, 10-4” would be followed by a stream of rich, creative profanity that would probably last until I got out of my truck at Reichhold, to be replaced by my corporate sunshine and roses demeanour for the secretary in the office, who happened to be cute.  Pretty shallow shit, but there it is.

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SEEMING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANOTHER’S WEAKNESS

What do you call it when one party of a deal profits from the misfortune or disadvantage of the other party?  When one party enters into the agreement with eyes wide-open, with intent, and full knowledge that the other party is in a vulnerable situation, or the other party is misrepresenting their authority, or not having the full approval of a superior person or body to exercise that authority with respect to the deal in question?  When one party knows, or ought to know, that they are perhaps fleecing the other party, or the third party that person ostensibly represents?

What do you call behaviour like this?

Exploitation comes to mind as a start.  Taking advantage of someone else’s stupidity or possible malfeasance or misrepresentation, recognizing the advantage you possess, and seizing the opportunity to do just that.

Maybe opportunism is the correct word instead, just for the fact that you saw the opportunity, recognized it for what it was, and looked like you jumped on it to your advantage, possibly to the disadvantage of others.

What about predatory?  Where you may have recognized the situation, inserted yourself into it knowing that an unfair advantage could be obtained, and pursued that unfair advantage for your own benefit.  Where maybe you actively worked in concert with the weaker party all along, creating the situation where your advantage and their disadvantage would be cemented by contract, knowing that once signed, that contract would be considered valid except for very rare circumstances.

In business, they might call this business savvy, good business acumen.  They might say a deal is a deal and the other party should have known better.  They might say it’s not their fault the other party was stupid, or didn’t follow the proper rules, or that the people above that person didn’t exercise their proper due diligence.  They might say it’s not their fault everyone on the other side of the contract appeared to be asleep or intimidated.  Business is business.  If you can’t play with the big boys, get the hell out of the ring.

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