Little Things

It's the little things in life that make me smile...or frown.  Here are a few.

I smiled when I read stories about Syrian refugees learning to be Canadians.  They're going to the Stampede, they're learning about Canadian football, they're learning to skate.  They're taking English classes.  They're working hard to become Canadians, like the rest of us had to do when we (or our ancestors) came to this, the greatest country on Earth!

I smiled when I see folks dressed in green and wearing watermelons on their heads or with red painted faces with a galloping horse on it heading for a Canadian football game.  That's what I call Fan Loyalty.  Fantastic!

I smiled when I see young kids experimenting and playing with scientific apparatus at the annual Beakerhead Festival in Calgary.  The only way you can engage our highly talented group of youngsters with science is to show them it can be a lot of fun!

I smiled when I heard that Airdrie's Urgent Care facility will operate 24 hours a day hopefully after the end of September.  In my opinion, having that clinic close each night at 10:00 p.m. was pretty ludicrous, considering Airdrie now has a population of more than 60,000!  I'm hoping this will be the first step in Airdrie getting its much needed hospital!

I frowned when I read that two students enrolled in an openly non-denominational school demanded to have a place and be able to pray during school hours.  The school advertises that it is openly non-denominational and discourages any outward display of any religion because it wants its students to concentrate on their studies during school hours.  The students won the right to pray in that school.

I frowned when I heard that the old Rafter Six Lodge was demolished a few days ago.  Parts of the lodge were probably less than 50 years old but it was a beautiful structure reminiscent of the old log structures built here over a hundred years ago.  I assume the new owners had no idea of its historical and cultural value.

I frowned when I heard that the province was no longer sending out vehicle and drivers' licence renewal notices.  Instead they have allowed the authorities to levy hefty fines for those who didn't renew on time and they have employed an American company to send out telephone robo-calls to remind us!

I frown every time I look out my back window on the huge mess that used to be the Bassano Station.  I frown even deeper when I realize again that there is nothing the village can do to  force the mystic railway museum or Alberta TrailNet to clean up that mess!