There are a lot of Americans apologizing to Canadians for their President’s outlandish and embarrassing behaviour. It’s all over TV, Facebook and even posts here:
https://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com/2018/06/16/apologies/
It’s OK. We don’t hold it against all Americans. I prefer humour so I’m going to post a couple of photos that may be banned in America.
Rag Tag Prompt; antediluvian. And you say you use it all the time? Holy Moly. What a way to divide time; before and after the biblical flood.
Of course there are a lot of flood stories in many cultures which sort of proves it happened. Melting ice caps, perhaps? Who knows….. it was antediluvian.
Yesterday I was talking about a First Nation Reservation and there seems to be a lot of interest so today I will give the Abnishinaabe Creation Story.
I encourage everyone on Turtle Island (North America) to find when and where their local Powwow is and GO.
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/06/17/antediluvian/
I live in a strip of land that is between two First Nations reservations which is really one Reservation.
At the onset of the Second World War the government forced everyone off of the Stony Point Reservation and told them to go live on Kettle Point so they could take over their home for an army base. They assured the people, with written documents, they would get their land back when the war was over. They demolished all the homes and made an army base.
The ones who had family in Kettle Point moved in with their relatives, others were not so lucky. Some were displaced from the U.S. where their reservations no longer existed.
They didn’t give it back after the war. They kept for an army training camp and kept the beautiful beach for a Provincial Park.
The families fought to get it back, taking their documents to Toronto and Ottawa for years and years with no action. Finally, one hot summer the younger generation, now crowded and needing their land back, forcefully took it over in a stand-off.
The end result was a First Nations man, Dudley George, getting shot. Police thought he had a gun….. he had a stick.
Since this is Stream of Consciousness, I could write on and on and now I want to edit it; if you are interested, Google ‘Ipperwash’.
I get so frustrated by the white people who have always lived around here and still resent them for getting this land back. My hairdresser went on a vent about; “They’ve had it back for so long and haven’t done anything.” because the descendants are still living in the old army barracks.
They just ‘officially’ had it returned 3 years ago and got compensation. A good portion of the army camp still has land mines from training that have to be detonated. The Reserve has to send men out to be trained for that since the government did not do it.
It has to be worked out which families will get housing and where…. this all takes time.
I already have some photos from previous posts about this subject, I’ll step out of SoC for a bit to put them in.
It still chokes me up. In the meantime; I’m looking for a new hairdresser.
https://lindaghill.com/2018/06/15/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-16-18/
Rarely do I talk politics but todays prompt ‘bastion’ brings to mind our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is the bastion of Canadian values these days. We are known for our polite and possibly ‘meek’ nature which can be seen as weak by macho, aggressive alpha dogs.
Donald Trump, I’m sure, perceived Trudeau this way but is now having a hissy fit because he’s not getting his way. He has to insult Trudeau (or Justin as he calls him; to be extra patronizing) by calling him weak and dishonest. The U.S. economic adviser called him ‘two-faced’.
Trudeau does not succumb to name calling and insults. He doesn’t call him Donald or mention how stupid and arrogant he is. He stands firm in trying to implement better changes for everyone in the world, including those whose voices are never heard.
Most of the G7’s collected billions of dollars to educate the world’s poorest girls; America and France declined to contribute. https://globalnews.ca/news/4264640/g7-girls-fund-education-school/
The summit opened with a meeting on gender equality; Trump showed up late. Trudeau describes himself as a feminist and is a bastion of gender equality. We’ve all heard Donald’s views on women.
I’m old enough to remember his father being Prime Minister. He was flamboyant and free thinking, way ahead of his time. But when terrorists from Quebec known as the FLQ, French-Canadian separatists, kidnapped a Cabinet member and murdered him, Trudeau reacted swiftly with martial law. People were astounded that this ‘hippy’ peacenik Prime Minister would bring in the army. “Just watch me”, he said.
When someone is truly strong they don’t have to put on a big show to prove it. Now all the eyes of the world on two crazy, blustering cocks who could potentially destroy the planet. What could possibly go wrong?
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/06/11/prompt-11-bastion/
Ragabash That’s a new one. It’s very English: scoundrel, ragamuffin, idle worthless fellow, shiftless disreputable person. Mass noun: rabble or riff-raff
My neighbour immediately came a to mind. He is 30-ish, doesn’t have a job and doesn’t have a car which you need if you live around here. He does work occasionally for a guy who does renovations but only sometimes. The guy he works for has to come and get him and wake him up. I’m not kidding. I’ve also seen someone honk his horn and pound on his door at 10:30 in the morning then give up and leave.
Once, when I was still at Sobeys, I was sadly leaving for an afternoon/night shift on a beautiful day, wearing my horrible polyester uniform, as he was going out to putter in his 10′ X 10′ garden.
“Going to work for The Man?” he joked.
Oh boy, not funny. I was fuming for days. Yes, I am going to work so I can drive a car and keep my home. You are living in your girlfriend’s house who works full-time you lazy bastard.
On that day I decided I was never going to offer him a ride anywhere. You made your choice, buddy.
Recently I broke that rule. I’m retired now so I don’t have to feel so pissed off at him. “It’s none of my business” I keep telling myself. I was going to a local herb farm and asked him if he wanted to go. It’s owned and operated by one lady who works her ass off.
I overheard her asking him what he does and heard him say, “My girlfriend makes enough money to cover both of us.” OMG, I’m biting my tongue off! She has student loans and they rent the house. She drives an hour to work everyday to work in a hospital. And get this; she wants to have a baby.
They moved in here about three years ago. He has not cut his hair or trimmed his beard since then. It’s so gross. (And I have to laugh at that because I remember my young hippy husband growing a beard and thinking it was great while his mother thought it was so gross.) Even worse is when he is shirtless, his skinny white body with that scraggly beard…. barf!
He thought he could cut his own firewood. Got 8′ logs and started to cut them with his tiny little chain saw. Didn’t get very far. Ordered firewood but then they had gas lines put in. That costs thousands of dollars. As soon as that furnace went in there were no more fires in their fireplace even though they have a mountain of firewood on their front lawn.
He always says he’s going to help me. So far that hasn’t happened, I think his chain saw doesn’t work. I have a few jobs that need a chain saw: I’m thinking of buying my own I’m so sick of waiting.
On top of that he is an expert at everything. He talks to me as if he was the older and wiser one and I was just starting out in life. I’m waiting for the right moment to say, “Just think how much you’ll know when you are 65!”
But then/ its none of my business.
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/rdp-9-ragabash
Rain! Please, we need rain. I’m so sorry to wish this on a Saturday but we need it here so badly. This area seems to cut rain clouds in half and send them north and south. It’s so frustrating to watch the radar moving across Michigan then just evaporate as they approach us.
It’s cloudy and the mosquitoes are ferocious. My 2 rain barrels are down to dribbles that take a long time to fill a bucket. If I walk away from the filling bucket I’ll forget and let it overflow, loosing precious rainwater. Standing by the bucket in a cloud of mosquitoes is a bummer, too.
Going outside is a major commitment of sunscreen and bug spray. The other day I tried to hang my wash on the line but was chased inside. I had to spray myself just to finish hanging my wash they were so bad. If I go out just to water the new plants, I have to spray myself with Deep Woods Off.
O, I’ve used natural sprays. In fact I use it on my neck and around my face, then I spray the Off! on my gardening clothes and hat.
I know more rain won’t help mosquitoes but frankly I can’t see them being any worse. We need a real ground soaker.
But the real reason I want rain today is that I want to stay in the house on a dark rainy day and watch movies. There is always something to do but today I don’t feel like doing any of it. I want to sit inside and watch it pour.
Right now its dark and cloudy. Please, please do it ….. rain!
https://lindaghill.com/2018/06/08/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-9-18/
Now we are in a pickle. No fresh fruits of ideas coming here; we are thrown back into the vinegar of patriarchy. The Conservative Doug Ford was elected to be premiere of my province. That’s the equivalent to State Governor.
This guy has been a fan of Donald Trump and is just a watered down Canadian version. And like Trump; he’s not very smart. He got in with a large majority who believe that he will bring down their electric bills and gas prices. He tells people the bullshit they want to hear and they eat it up.
O, People. I knew he would get in but I’m so disappointed that so many of you voted for him. Luckily, NDP (New Democrat Party) made huge headway however it was mostly on people’s hatred of Kathleen Wynne and that’s largely because their electric bills went up a lot. At least Andrea Horwath will be IN YOUR FACE at every turn right, Mr. Ford.
He’ll ensure the rich get richer, the poor can go …. (who cares?) and group homes won’t be in THEIR neighbourhood, if at all.
Yes, its a sad day.
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/rdp-9-pickle/
Since I edited this to fix my link; I’ll add something I got on Facebook yesterday;
“Unless we stand up and really create change, we are complicit whether we know it or not”
Heard this on a pod-cast about Bikram Choudhury (the “inventor” of hot yoga) and his downfall. His misuse of power lead to sexual abuse. The above statement was about those who see but do not speak out. It struck me how true it is with so many issues such as racism and poverty.
https://lindaghill.com/2018/06/06/one-liner-wednesday-bird-dog/
Last Thursday I attended a seminar called “Bridges Out of Poverty” which is also the title of the book that inspired a whole new movement in the welfare system.
This is about the growing gap between the rich and the poor. In my lifetime I’ve seen this gap grow wider and wider and it really disturbs me.
Back in the ’50’s and ’60’s, a middle class family could do well with one pay cheque. They could carry a mortgage, own a car and take the kids on vacation every summer. Now the average household needs two incomes and still has a hard time making ends meet.
Even worse for single mothers. What do they do? Get a minimum wage part-time job (because all jobs now are part-time) and pay for child-care? Impossible. Corporations are making money for their share holders….. the rich get richer off the backs of those people working hard and making way too little.
A lot of the social ills we blame on racism are really about poverty. We, privileged middle class people are raised with certain tools that help us think about our future. We take for granted we have food and place to sleep and we are asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. There are role models all around to learn from.
In poverty you are raised ‘putting out fires’: are you going to eat tonight? Do you have a safe place to sleep? What are you going to come home to? Just getting through the day is a struggle: there’s no time to dream about your future.
We heard many heart-breaking stories of people in poverty who, even though struggling to pull themselves out, get pulled back down again: take back an abusive mate back or numb the pain with drugs or turn to prostitution to feed their kids. That’s what they are raised in: the tools they have are for surviving day-to-day, not living, certainly not moving ahead.
Bridges Out of Poverty addresses exactly this issue and the ‘bridges’ are bringing middle class people together with poor people just as friends. Friends who listen, friends who help, friends who have connections, friends who have been there and got out because they had help and support.
In Canada, we have started the Circles program; bringing people together three times month just to eat and talk. Children are welcome and play together. Some of the younger kids ‘adopt’ a new gramma. They are starting a group in my area and I really hope to be a part of it.
For anyone who is concerned with these issues or wants volunteer work that really makes an impact, I encourage you to read this book and/or find your local group. It’s called ‘Bridges Out of Poverty’ in the U.S. and in Canada its called ‘Circles‘. Whether you are rich or poor or somewhere in between, you have something to offer. Those who were brought up living in poverty have so much to teach us, too.
This gives me hope for the future as long as everyone is on board but they are not. If Doug Ford (Conservative) gets in you can be sure the poor will get the shaft. But it won’t stop this group of friends who just want to get together for dinner. If Andrea Horwath (New Democrat Party) gets in…. women can change this world!
So Google it or look it up on Facebook and find your local group….. it’s a growing movement!
Favourite word. I really like the word ‘flabbergasted’.
I get flabbergasted when people are ignorant. When people say stupid stuff like;
“Welfare people are sucking the system dry.”
“If they worked they wouldn’t have time to do shit like this”
“They come here and then they won’t even let us say the Lord’s Prayer!”
“Why don’t they just go back to where they came from.”
“The trouble is; they think that they should have what WE have!”
Those are a few that I remember off the top of my head. Statements that make my head spin, leave me jaw-dropped speechless: Flabbergasted!
https://lindaghill.com/2018/06/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-2-18/
