Bits and Bobs - Post No. 20
A few random thoughts that must be set free so that I can think about the things I'm supposed to be thinking about (spousal hint noted):
When is a Referendum Not a Referendum? Politics has become the art of making everyone equally disgruntled, unhappy or just mad as a way of trying to hold onto to the power you've grown to like having. Alberta Premier Smith has painted her way into a corner by trying to appease the loud minority in her party who want to "send a message" to our federal overlords. Prevented by her own legislation from actually holding a separation referendum (oops, we have to consult with First Nations peoples now??), she thought that she might just be able to have, you know, a referendum about whether to have a referendum and thus please everyone. Well, no. And since there is no election to tie this non-referendum referendum onto, Elections Alberta must gear up for this vote only. Having a vote about whether to have a vote would be hilarious but for two glaring facts: Elections Alberta estimates it will cost about $130 million to conduct the vote (results are hand counted), and on July 1 the Province of Alberta is cutting the amount of Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) it pays to the most vulnerable among us. But wait, the Minister says! The severely handicapped will be able to earn even more money by working without affecting their payments, which drop from a maximum of $1900 per month to around $1700 per month. Perhaps there are a (very) few AISH recipients that will benefit from this change, but it seems to have escaped the notice of the political class that the reason the large majority of these people receive AISH in the first place is because THEY ARE DISABLED AND CAN'T WORK. So at the same time as we are reducing funding for the vulnerable among us (and let's not forget the cuts to the funding of women's shelters too), we are spending absurd amounts of money on a question about a question. I would suggest that the whole thing is Kafkaesque (meaning it has a nightmarishly complex, bizarre or illogical quality) except that I've not read Kafka, so can't say for sure. It just feels like it.
Book Talk. In January I wrote about how I go about choosing what books to read and you readers responded with a blizzard of suggestions that I am still working my way through. Michael Crummey (The Innocents, with The Adversary coming up, thanks Gillian), Kate Quinn (The Rose Code, The Alice Network, with others coming up, thanks Cheryl and Dave) and Percival Everett (The Trees, thanks Diane) and Stephen Greenblatt (The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, thanks Bob) have all brought me great reading joy. This post also scored me a guest pass to a meeting of the world's smallest book club (the Old Bastards Book Club, 2 members, thanks Scott). Collectively these suggestions led to the founding of a loose virtual book club called "Birdsell Book Banter" which meets every couple of months. We do not all read the same book; instead we talk about good or great books we've been reading, and those we want to read. I am happy to say that from the comments and recommendations of the friends and family in this group, the members of BBB have taken over first place in my list of sources for books on my TBR list. BBB is not an exclusive group, so if you would like to sit in on our next Zoom, let me know and I'll get you the details. An unexpected benefit of this approach is that from time to time members (some of whom read a lot of books) send out What'sApp messages about books that deserve special notice. Because of the broad range of reading tastes and life experiences of the members (some are what we elders call Young People) I have been gently led (by Janet, Jodie and Diane, among others) to more general fiction and fewer mysteries. It will eventually, I think, make me a better person. At the very least it has me reading better quality books, which means I'm reading faster as I more often choose to read rather than do something I should do, but would rather not.
The Importance of Milestones. We are in the heart if the Milestone Season: graduations, weddings (shout out to son Blair and wife Kristine!) and summer wedding anniversaries, with a smattering of new babies thrown in. Given our age, many of our friends are having or nearing 50th wedding anniversaries. This past Sunday afternoon we joined a small group celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of old friends (or rather, friends of long-standing). One of the couple had recently had an unplanned hip replacement the result of a fall at home, and so the celebration was held in the cafeteria at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, where the affected spouse was confined for a couple of months relearning some necessary skills, like walking. It could have been sad, but it was not. We were both reminded that temporary challenges cannot dim the appreciation of decades of memories, the joys those memories hold, and the promise of new memories to come. You will hear more about our 50th wedding anniversary, and the events, activities and and travels that are happening under the broad heading of "Anniversary Celebrations" in future posts. The actual anniversary is August 28, which more or less coincides with the due date of Kristine and Blair's first child. This puts an exclamation point on the whole summer! A year to remember, much like 1976. Stay tuned.
The Coming Apocalypse. By now I should have read Edward Gibbons "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," but I haven't. Is one of the markers of the impending collapse of the empire a UFC fighting cage on the lawn of the Caesar's house? Asking for some friends ...
