Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Deadly rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic When people see a crisis, disaster, or tragedy that could as easily happen in their community, they act. Tens of thousands of people step up to lend a helping hand, or offer condolences or donations as needed. They are Canada at its very finest. We tend to take for granted how caring, generous and loving our neighbours are. The current coronavirus crisis has made us realize how much we depend on our neighbours, friends, relatives, and even those we encounter in our day to day interactions. Collectively, they are an integral part of our lives.  Most of us have a favourite barber, hair stylist, coffee shop and so on. It is not the space that attracts us, it is the personalities of the people we tune into. We change gears when someone falls victim to accident, illness or injury. We are caring, compassionate and try to help if we can. There is a bit of the Good Samaritan built into our psyche. It is never more eviden...

99% of us awoke this morning with no more that the usual aches and pains some of us have acquired through wear and tear. The people of my generation drank from a hose, rode bikes without chain guards or helmets on gravel roads, climbed trees (and fell out), used willow sticks to propel mud balls at targets, played ball without gloves, played hockey without shin guards or gloves, played football without armor. We froze our toes skating on outdoor rinks, drank and drove, smoked like chimneys, survived chicken pox, a couple of varieties measles, whooping cough, colds, the flu, pneumonia, and are still here. The 1918 influenza epidemic infected an estimated 500 million people -- or about one third of the world population at the time -- and resulted in about 50 million deaths. The polio virus first hit Canada in 1910. That virus hung around for decades, sometimes dormant sometimes not. Between 1949 and 1954 about 11,000 Canadians were left paralyzed. In 1959 the...