To Spank or Not to Spank

There was an interesting article in this evening’s paper discussing the Canadian Medical Association Journal’s push to have spanking outlawed.  Section 43 of the Criminal Code was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2004 ruling that the provision did not infringe on a child’s right to security under the Charter of Rights & Freedoms.  But the CMA feels that it is archaic and inhumane to spank a child.

       I can see it all now, a five year old termagant secures a lawyer and sues his mother for spanking him after he screamed the house down because he didn’t want to eat his turnips or go to bed at bedtime.  Yes, yes, let’s just talk some sense into the child, give him a timeout somewhere (but not too isolated because that could also be considered cruel and unusual punishment – though in a practical sense I’d be wanting to keep my eye on the termagant in case he decided to scrawl on the walls with his . . . you know).

       I am certainly not opposed to teaching parents how to handle children, and I understand why Dr. Phil wouldn’t publicly advocate spanking but even Dr. Spock lived to publicly regret saying spanking didn’t have a part to play in parenting (look it up, it’s true). 

       Here are my thoughts, spanking may be a tool like any other tool in teaching and raising children.  Not every child requires spanking, a word or a look is all that child may need to get her attention.  However some children simply cannot focus no matter how much you may strain yourself to explain the reason for the no.  If a parent must resort to spanking, it should be done in a restrained manner, on the soft spot of the derriere and with a reasoned admonition before, during and afterwards.  Too often an adult may lose their temper and simply hit the child which is wrong.  Of course it is wrong.  But if the adult has said no and the child continues with the bad behaviour to the point of being unmanageable (if you have never dealt with such a child, God bless you), a smack on the bottom, an explanation of why and the resultant escort to bed has always worked for me.

       In a perfect world there would be no physical punishment.  In a perfect world there wouldn’t be lunatic speedsters on the highway either.

       I’m just saying.

Decision Making 101

Weighing in on the “decision” to suddenly cancel a facility that had actually broken ground in Fort McLeod a week or so ago I find myself asking the question, “why now”?  This facility had been in the works for several years but after the last election the riding turned into a Wildrose constituency rather than PC.  Historically ridings that were non-PC have been have-not ridings and looks as though the pattern is not changing with our new premier.  Her reply to the question “why” is that she got a letter from police departments telling her they didn’t need it.  Really, is that what we now call “consultation”?  Where was the original consultation to set up the police academy in the first place?

       Here’s another interesting tidbit from today’s news; one of our senators-in-waiting (apparently that’s what they call hogs now) who until recently was on the board of directors of the University of Calgary has been caught with his hands in the cookie jar or more aptly with his snout in the pig trough all through sending in expense accounts without anyone approving them.  How much money can a person dip into at a university?  Apparently enough to actually be told to pay it back!   And now he’s headed to the greatest trough of all, the Canadian senate.  Where there is no accountability at all.  Hog Heaven Indeed.

 

       And we wonder where our tax dollars go!

Fall Cleanup

There’s something gratifying about feeling that one has cleaned up in preparation for winter despite the aches and pains of shoulders, shins and other body parts one generally isn’t aware of owning.  There’s also something a little sad about saying goodbye to green leaves, cutting lawns and weeding out colourful flower beds.

       Then there is the sense of renewal, new beginnings which hale back from school days.  It’s time to pull out the exercise and weight loss programs, pull out Continuing Education pamphlets and pour over possibilities.  While September is a putting to bed of summer time fun and games it is also a time of regeneration.  September brings out the social aspect of life in a big way that ramps up to the finale of New Year’s Eve.  Let’s not think beyond that because that distant time can be a little grim.

       I’m looking at my critters and wondering if they feel the change in the coming season?  It seems to me they are more eager to come in at the end of the day than at the height of the summer.  I also notice that the smaller birds seem to be more busy in the trees as it becomes cooler.  I think they know “make hay while the sun shines”.

       And that’s what I’m doing too!

Labour Day Weekend 2012

Traditionally the Labour Day weekend is the one where I normally start the fall cleanup of the yard and such.  This year the weather is still too nice to put lawn furniture away but I did get a start on umbrellas and tools.  We didn’t get much of a harvest this year, our big bumper crop being our apples.  The birds got the gooseberries and our raspberries were dormant this year (probably due to neglect and being choked by thistles).

       This weekend my brothers are working on repairing my garage, which seemed to be coming apart at the seams.  I was helping as I dodged their ladders, chains and electric wires but now I am exhausted and as they have gone for a siesta I thought I would peruse last year’s September writings.  So the first thing that caught my eye was the mourning of All My Children and One Life to Live.  I believe Oprah missed the boat on that one; can you imagine the built in audience she would have had for her new network if she took over those two shows?  Who is her consultant anyway?  Is it too late?

       Last year we had our golf tournament in mid September and had a glorious day.  We are experiencing like weather at the moment and with the good news that we are supposed to have a warm autumn, I am in heaven.  With mother at the kitchen helm we’ve been enjoying apple pies and apple sauce and perhaps tomorrow it will be my turn to make an apple crisp.  Autumn is a great time for apples which I think we can call “every man’s fruit”.

       On Friday it was the 15^th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.  I well remember my sister and I being in shock during the whole Labour Day weekend 15 years ago.  It hardly seems that long ago and yet so much has happened around the globe and in the Royal Family.  It’s sometimes hard to keep timelines in perspective as one gets older.  Some things seem like yesterday while other things are so far in the past you cannot even remember more than an outline of the story.

       I often find the Labour Day weekend a time of unreality, as I sometimes feel that I am disconnected from the outside world.  Traditionally I don’t travel on this particular long weekend and as most people either also don’t, or else they go camping or travelling to family, I am frequently alone for the whole three days.  Certainly not this weekend, where family has been coming and going like a revolving door.  It’s nice but also unsettling.  Routines don’t happen.

       But what’s so great about routine anyway?

On the Bright Side of Life

After a few days of ranting it’s time to turn over a new leaf and look at the nicer side of things.  Canada has received a very nice forecast from Environment Canada for the fall weather, above seasonal temperatures for most parts of the country.  Economic growth is slow, but it’s still growth.  The harvest has been good in most parts of the country due to a nice warm summer.  In fact, I have been very grateful that we are in the last days of August and still haven’t had frost.  How good is that?

      There’s all the good things in a person’s private life; family and friends who socialize and laugh together.  The fact that we live in one of the safest countries in the world.  The fact that we have food in our grocery stores and schools that function.  Hospitals with terrific doctors and nurses.  Things we generally take for granted.

      But somehow, it’s always easier to complain than to say thank you.  I’m a month early, but I am saying thank you tonight.

After a few days of ranting it’s time to turn over a new leaf and look at the nicer side of things.  Canada has received a very nice forecast from Environment Canada for the fall weather, above seasonal temperatures for most parts of the country.  Economic growth is slow, but it’s still growth.  The harvest has been good in most parts of the country due to a nice warm summer.  In fact, I have been very grateful that we are in the last days of August and still haven’t had frost.  How good is that?

      There’s all the good things in a person’s private life; family and friends who socialize and laugh together.  The fact that we live in one of the safest countries in the world.  The fact that we have food in our grocery stores and schools that function.  Hospitals with terrific doctors and nurses.  Things we generally take for granted.

      But somehow, it’s always easier to complain than to say thank you.  I’m a month early, but I am saying thank you tonight.

Righteous Wrath and Ignorant Anger

It seems to me that there are a lot of angry people in the world.  I was just roaming through Facebook and some of my friends were sharing various items and one of them struck me.  It was a picture of Republicans beating up on a gay marine (staged photo, I hope).  Which got me thinking about how violent our society is.  For example, just look at the type of shows on television that endorse bad behaviours. 

       Violence isn’t just the notion of beating someone over the head with a baseball bat.  There’s the subtle type of violence that includes passive aggressive behaviour.  The thing to consider is that everyone’s skin had a different thickness.  Some people can take a lot of abuse seemingly, while others are extremely sensitive to the slightest comment (that would be me).  But even those with thick skins have a breaking point when it comes to harsh words.

       In the last 2 weeks there have been numerous incidents in Calgary but at least two with fatal consequences.  A couple of weeks ago an 18 year old boy was knifed to death by a “friend” because of a “dispute”.  This weekend a man was killed by a sucker punch outside of a bar, apparently over  a disagreement about a picture.  Really?  Someone was killed because a person couldn’t control his feelings about a stupid picture? 

       Once again, I can harp on the way drivers behave on the road.  Twice a day I see the most outrageous type of driving and you can disagree with me until the cows come home but I will NOT back down.  Speed is a huge factor in aggressive driving and I absolutely believe that Deerfoot should be reduced to 80 km an hour.  The nutbars that come zooming up the Deerfoot to connect at the junction to Okotoks is beyond anything.  All they care about is getting to that intersection ahead of everyone else, faster than anyone else.  I’ve seen them going at speeds of over 140 km an hour . . . so what about the poor folks who have just lost speed on the Macleod side and are going 107 while trying to merge to go further south?  They DON’T CARE since it’s ALL ABOUT THEM.

       Was society always this selfish, self-absorbed, aggressive, mannerless and just darned nasty?  I don’t think so.  I believe that we are creating ever increasing morons rather than human beings.

High School Reunions

The other day we were watching “Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion” and I couldn’t help laughing.  The writers capture some of the angst of high school and the residual effects of being put in pecking order.

       What I find interesting about reunions is not the comparisons on how successful persons were or how much people have changed.  Instead what I truly enjoy and find interesting is how people connect with each other.  There is the reconnection of friends who have lost touch over the years but there is also new connections of people that you knew only “in school” and who you discover are kindred spirits now.  It’s really nice to discover new friendships.  I think it is a terrible pity for those who don’t find the time to attend reunions because they really are missing something.

       I must say that I think we have been very fortunate in our classmates as I haven’t found anyone being mean or petty after all these years.  I don’t know how things were for others in school but I sure hope that no one had the experiences that we see in various movies.  I just don’t get it when people are mean and I know it can happen at any age.  I prefer to find a solution although sometimes it can be difficult when the other party avoids coming to a “meeting of the minds”.  In such a case, I simply throw up my hands and say “c’est la vie”.  We can’t win them all.

What's Wrong with this Picture

There are a number of things that I question but I wonder if anyone else is asking the same thing.

       For instance, how is it possible to call the services of nurses, teachers, postal workers, paramedics, and even air line workers “essential services” but at the same time we have privatization of services like heating and electricity?  In other words, as private services the name of the game is profits first, care of public well being is not even on the agenda.  Is this what we want in our society?

       How is it possible that the powers that be can roll back the pension plans, dip into the pension funds of private corporations and basically reduce certain sectors from the retirement expectations they have worked and paid into for decades; but at the same time the same powers that be can grant themselves obscenely high retirement packages, severance packages and whatever other packages tickle their fancies?  Just how much money can the pigs at the trough gobble up – is that a question in Trivial Pursuit?  Oh that’s right, it’s an upward moving target.

       In your ideal world, what do you think would be the right amount of disparity between the privileged and the not-so-privileged?  Between the educated, under-educated and over-educated?  Between the hogs and the horses?

       Just wondering how your world is ticking along.

 

Last Weekend of Summer

Here are some of the things I remember about the end of summer. 

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane was playing in the drive-in; reruns of “Last of the Mohicans” starring John Hart; late raspberries; peanut butter and cinnamon spread sandwiches; not being allowed to go swimming in the public pool the last 2 weeks of summer because Mom thought the water would be too dirty; Mom sewing our new school clothes; new perms and haircuts; new running shoes; reading Nancy Drew mysteries under the willow tree; reading “Emma” by the pool in Kitchener; reading “The Godfather” on the bus going to my first job; cattle roundup in the dog days of summer; going for a boat ride down the creek with my brothers and nephews; making apple pie with my own apples; inspecting my potatoes to check for ripeness (never ready) and always, always, dreading the first frost!

The end of summer is a very nostalgic time but not always in a good way because the memories are usually bittersweet.  It’s the goodbye to summer part that is so hard to bear even though there are pleasant days ahead in the autumn.  Even the sound of the word “autumn” is nice and brings up pleasant thoughts. But that in between time, the last 2 weeks of August is really hard, like squeezing the last bit of juice out of an already squished orange.  It can be done but it’s tough.

Meanwhile, I’ve been soaking up the sun.

Unsung Heroes

Yesterday they were having memorials across the country for Jack Layton, calling him a hero to the people.  While I don’t wish to take anything away from Jack my thought was “what about all the people who voted For the People”?  Which led me to thinking about all the unsung heroes we have in our midst.  This isn’t about politics, it’s about people.

       There are millions of people who go to work every day, uncomplaining and who uphold the laws, standards and integrity of this country.  No one gives them a memorial, an honour, or even an acknowledgement of a job well done.  Not a new thought, indeed my mother noted many years ago how the good children never seemed to get any kind of reward while the bad ones got to go to horse camps and the like.  We are the humble people of the earth who just make the world go round but whose looking?

       As coincidence would have it this article was being written because of all the attention Jack Layton was getting, and again, I don’t wish to take away from him but at the same time let’s remember there were a lot of other people who helped contribute significantly to the huge win of the NDP last year.  But yesterday at work we also happened to have a town hall meeting to say farewell to our outgoing president.  I don’t usually write about work but today I cannot help myself.  Was I the only person who noticed that he never once said a thank you to his assistant for taking care of him over the last 3 years?  I am aware of the long hours she puts in and how she goes over and above the line of duty and a public acknowledgement would have been nice.  But hey, “she’s only a secretary”. 

That’s like saying “she’s only a mother”. 

       Just Saying.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

I went to bed last night thinking up a very good blog for this morning but wouldn’t you know it?  Gone.  Many a great novel has been lost by sleep.

Weirdness or Laziness

The other day I got a call that I thought “Now this is the limit”.  What was it?  Well, you know how you get these irritating, soliciting phone calls?  Over the last few years there is a pause after I pick up the phone and then someone will get on only not fast enough before I hang up.  But now, a tape came on and asked me to, hold your breath, HOLD.  Are you kidding me?  You ring up my house after 8 p.m. to solicit only heaven knows what, irritation enough, and you then ask me to hold so I can be further agitated?  Unfortunately I hung up (as who wouldn’t?) but I should have held on just to find out what idiotic, rude, obnoxious, moronic company thought this was a good way to get customers!

       I’ve often wondered who first thought up telephone soliciting because I don’t believe I have ever purchased anything that way.  They call to sell magazines, carpet cleaning, furnace cleaning, and who knows what else.  They want us to donate to every conceivable charity possible and some not possible.  I find the charity grab the worst of the lot on so many levels.  Number one, I don’t believe even half the money goes to whatever the charity is.  Number two, when it comes to the research for diseases, who will profit in the end?  The pharmaceutical companies.  Do you really believe that once the cure is found it will be free, or even at a reasonable cost?  Think of how many billions have been donated by the private individual and yet a pharmaceutical company will make billions on the medication while private individuals will have to struggle to find the funds to pay for the new found cure.  You don’t think that is going to happen?  Are you in fantasy land?

       It’s barely 4 a.m.  My alarm rang me up at 3:30, I’ve had my coffee and I am raring to go.  Don’t mess with me today because I AM ON IT.