Florida Politics

Florida political ads are a little different from our Canadian ones. It doesn't much matter who the politician is but when they're running for election they love to put out T.V. ads insulting their opponents. It starts to sound like young children complaining about children they don't like...but these are adults who want us to believe they're fit to run the country, or state, or city. Of course, they also say that they, and only they, will be able to help the poor, elderly, and young...the usual promises that never pan out. Then they close by saying "I'm John Doe/Mary Doe and I approve this message". They have no shame.

I gave up voting years ago because I'm of the opinion that all politicians are crooks and liars. People tell me that I have no right to complain if I don't vote but I figure I'm just circumventing the procedure. If I voted, I'd be complaining about the idiots I voted for. When I don't vote, I've saved myself the job of going to the polling station and I can still complain about them. Sounds sensible to me.

At one time I was a die hard New Democrat supporter. When the New Democrats won power in Ontario (with the help of my vote) I was ecstatic. Then, over an embarrassing short period, they almost bankrupted the province and that is when I lost all faith in politics.

To my knowledge, there has been only one Canadian politician who could wear the title proudly and that was Pierre Trudeau. I never voted for him but if he was alive and running today he'd have my vote.

I Have Arrived

I drove through a lot of rain on Friday but still managed to reach my more than half way destination around 6 P.M. Staying in a motel room alone will never be easy but, since it's a necessity,it gets done. Unfortunately, someone was having a party in the room above mine and kept me awake most of the night...one of the hazards of spending the night in a motel! After 2 hours sleep I hit the road Saturday morning around 6:00 A.M. and drove till 3 P.M. under sunny skies.

Arriving at my beloved park I drove through the gate and saw that the ponds are very low (not evough rain this summer) and then on past the pool and to my trailer. The yard was a disaster but cleans up fairly fast because weeds growing in sand are easy to pull out. I went inside to a lovely clean trailer (my daughters had hired "Merry Maids" to clean it for me) and began to feel at home almost instantly. Before long neighbors and old friends began to appear at the door to welcome me back and give me hugs. I'm so lucky to have settled in this park and come to know these very special people.

Sunday I did laundry and washed cupboards (Merry Maids wanted $100 extra to do that...they charge way too much anyway). One of my friends came over in the afternoon to invite me to dinner. There were 8 of us and it was as pleasant as always. After dinner we went to the clubhouse where we had our usual Sunday evening ice-cream...another tradition here.

This morning I tackled the weeds and discovered that all this bending over hurts my back more than it did last year. Could I be getting older??? Another friend stopped by and promised to find me someone to do the initial gardening next year. By noon I wasn't moving too well so I thought it best to go to the pool where I spent a few hours in interesting conversation with a few more friends. At home I have a very few close friends but here in the senior park they seem to abound. We all live so close to each other and have nothing much to do that doesn't involve fun...and the people who get along best are the ones you have the most in common with.

Tonight I'm staying home and watching "Deal or No Deal" and my friend, Sylvia, is coming over to watch it with me. She and her husband first came to our park last fall and we hit it off right away. I feel as though I've known them all my life. I think that senior parks give us many choices of people who might become friends and this park has provided me with a plethora. Life is good!

I'm Gone

Because of the unseasonable weather we've been having, I've spent the last two weeks bundled up in an afghan...but today I leave for Florida! The car is packed and I've only got 2 small totes to carry out to the car this morning. One is the little laptop computer I splurged on last year and couldn't do without.

I've got my trusty CAA strip map which will insure that I don't get lost on the way down (well, almost insure), my travelling cash, and my country CD's. I'll be wailing along with George Jones for most of the approximately 1200 miles to my Florida trailer. Right now I'm killing a bit of time before leaving because I want to cross the border in daylight...my night vision isn't the best and heaven forbid that I should miss my designated highways. But if I do I always stop and ask for directions. It's a woman thing!

Driving long distance is a pleasure for me but it still requires a bit of inner strength to convince myself I can do it. Here's to all the widows out there, who might carry on their lives with a degree of uncertainty, but who do carry on with will and determination.

Gotta Go!!

Miami Whine

I'm cold and I want to go to Florida. I think that qualifies as the "Miami Whine" and I can sympathise with any northerner who complains about the darned cold, damp weather we've been having. I started spending my winters in Florida in 1998 but had to stay home the winter of 2005. I thought I'd perish from the cold...and I was only in it long enough to get from house to car and back. What stupid Irishman (my ancestry) thought it would be a good idea to uproot his family and drag it across the ocean to settle in a country that had 5 months of winter??

I love my country and wouldn't live anywhere else in the world but I'll complain about the cold until the day I die!

Racism

As a Canadian I like to pride myself in the fact that racism here isn't as prevalent as in other countries. When I was a child in grade school (in the 1940's and 50's)we never had any black students but always a few orientals who were quite popular simply because they were nice children. The only form of racism practiced was that we thought these children were perhaps superior because they were ALWAYS the brightest in the class.

My sister has been married to a black man for 20 years and he is especially loved by our family because he is a wonderful human being. He had a military career until retirement and now spends his days keeping his home ship-shape and helping my sister with her day care business. His neighbors also think highly of him because of his friendly, helpful ways. They've lived in the same house for approximately 15 years and never suffered any racial insults until recently when some imbecil wrote these words on his car..."go home n----r". My sister is furious but I can only imagine what my brother-in-law is feeling. This is his home, his neighborhood where he has felt safe and accepted for 15 years. Now when he steps outside he must be wondering which smiling white face masks an inner hatred against him based soley on the color of his skin.

I had hoped that the widening variety of nationalities and races which now comprise my country would result in less discrimination and more harmony in our everyday lives. It pains me to accept the fact that I won't live long enough to see this happen. The plain truth is that there might always be a few dimwitted, frightened little fools who need to feel superior to people of races or religions different than their own. The saddest truth is that one of those dimwits caused a good man to feel less secure in his own home.

Dreary Days Again

It's another dreary fall day with no sunshine and damp, cold air. Some people become very low spirited or even depressed when they're deprived of sunlight for too long. My personal limit is two days and then I find myself feeling like a trapped tiger. Shopping sprees and casino binges occur for me at that time.

Centuries ago there was a religion that worshipped the sun and I would have been an easy convert. We owe our lives to the sun because without it none of us would exist. Vegetation couldn't grow without the sun's rays. We hear how governments are concerned that air pollution is interfering with the penetration of sunshine upon the earth but we continue to fill the roads with gas guzzling cars. If we don't see the immediate effects of our actions we pretend the threat isn't there. In truth, our economy would collapse if we drastically reduced vehicle traffic so it is to our advantage to ignore all warnings and let future generations deal with the problem. How selfish of us.

I hear the warnings and try to do my little bit to help the situation...like recycling. I don't drive as much as I used to but my feeble attempts at conservation probably won't save the planet. It's going to take a genuine effort by everyone to clean up the air so that our great-great granchildren can breathe it. In the bible it states that the meek will inherit the earth. The dictionary describes "meek" as having a patient, gentle disposition...being compassionate and kind. If we want life on earth to continue, we'll just have to respect it and treat it with kindness.

Canada's Health Care System

My 71 year old sister-in-law had a hysterectomy yesterday and is coming home today. She's always been in terrific shape for her age but being released from the hospital just one day after surgery seems a little premature. I remember when we were kept in the hospital for 5 days of observation after giving birth.

My last experience with hospitals in Canada came a year and a half ago when my husband, who had cancer, was there for a week of tests. He was in a ward consisting of 3 other elderly men, all suffering from different maladies. One was senile and kept trying to climb over the bars of his bed. I was afraid to attempt to handle him so I'd go searching for a nurse but often had difficulty locating one. They were never just standing around doing nothing but always very busy taking care of too many other patients. There simply weren't enough nurses on staff to properly take care of their patients.

One evening, as I left to go home, I saw a trail of dried blood on the floor of the main hallway in the ward. When I returned the next morning, it was still there. It's upsetting to think that there isn't even enough cleaning staff to keep our hospitals as free of germs as possible. And anyone sick enough to be in a hospital in the first place will have a weaker immune system.

We realize that we'll probably have to rely on the health care system more as we get older and it worries me to wonder what degree of care we can expect. Apparently, major surgery allows us only one day in a hospital bed.

Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law states that if something can go wrong it will go wrong. Murphy's Law is an integral part of my life. For instance, I don't have a very busy lifestyle while I'm home in Canada so I rely on memory and jotting appointments on my wall calendar. I've managed to make 3 appointments for the same day (and almost the same hour) next week, one of which will just have to be cancelled. There's absolutely nothing going on for every other day of that week.

A few years back, when I was still working, I became concerned that I was losing my memory because I missed 2 days of work thinking I wasn't scheduled for those days. I took my concerns to my family physician and he sent me to a specialist who proceeded to give me hours of various tests. I was finally told that my memory was phenomenal but I was attempting to fill my head with too many tasks and dates instead of recording them on paper. I now have slips of paper all through the house with little notes reminding me to phone, buy, or meet. What I need to do now is get a little date book for my purse so all this information is in one place. I'd better make a note!

Guns Vs Yelling

One of the funniest lines I ever heard was from a comedian comparing Canada to the United States. He said that the United States has drive by shootings but Canada has drive by yellings. What a terrific perspective on our more gentle society. Of course we have the same murders, robberies, etc. that occur in the States but on a smaller scale. It appears that we're no different but just about 50 years behind in development.

When I cross the border to the States I instantly become more alert to my surroundings, feeling slightly less secure with my safety. On the surface it looks much the same as in Canada but I know that many of the drivers sharing the road with me in the U.S. are toting guns along with their cell phones. I know that many of the trailers in my Florida park contain guns, also. I often wonder how many people in the U.S. lose their lives every year because they've angered someone who happened to possess a gun...someone who, if no gun existed, would have resorted to yelling at them instead.

There have been times in my life that I was so furious that the object of my anger was fortunate I didn't have a gun. I did quite well with yelling and cursing which did some damage but wasn't fatal. No-one has the capacity to enfuriate a woman half as much as her husband or significant other. It's surprising to me that so many American men survive into old age...especially since many display the same "pain in the ass" characteristics as their Canadian counterparts. And their wives have guns!

My Neighbors and the Massage

I've got some of the nicest neighbors you could find anywhere and one family who moved here only a few years ago has become very close to me. They are Chinese but immigrated from Viet Nam more than 25 years ago. The mother and father speak halting English so it's difficult for me to converse with them but their daughters (aged 23 and 31) have practically adopted me. A few times a month they come together for a visit and we talk and laugh for hours...ignoring the generation gap.

I broke my foot last year and those two young ladies (1 in school and 1 working) would visit me almost every day and massage my poor broken foot with some magical Chinese oil. Their kindness humbled me. Other neighbors have shown kindness and caring in different ways but the personal act of massaging my foot made a strong impression on me. Being Chinese, these ladies have grown up in an oriental culture where the young still nurture the old. My own daughters also tended to my needs at that time but they stopped short of the "massage".

My upbringing was not a loving, touching one and I partially passed that on to my own children. It wasn't until my grandchildren were born that I became more touchable. In fact, I couldn't keep my hands off them! In the main, our society teaches us to keep our hands to ourselves so we tend to repress our need to hug and be hugged. Well, I've gotten older and wiser and now hug just about anyone. I'm not so sure I want to massage their feet, though.

Autumn Leaves

What is it about the beauty of autumn leaves that is so appealing? On my drive up north this Thanksgiving, it was almost more than my senses could bear when we came upon a mountain of golds, reds, oranges and yellows basking in the sunlight. We should be sad that the brilliant fall colors signify the end of summer and the beginning of dormancy but it seems that we're able to find beauty in nature at all times. Autumn is part of the natural order of our lives.

A few years ago my husband and I took a drive through Vermont the first week of October and I'll never forget the overwhelming abundance of beauty that enveloped us. I remember a winding road that suddenly turned to face a wall of the most brilliant fall colors I'd ever seen in my life. It was absolutely stunning and I'll always carry those pictures in my memory.

It's such a pleasure to walk in the woods in the fall. The autumn colors and the crunch of dry leaves underfoot draw up memories of years past and comforts us in some way. Can't you just smell the hotdogs cooked over an open fire after a long trek through the woods where the air is warm but with just a touch of chill? My memories are of children running freely while the adults spread out preparing the meal, lighting the fire, dragging in fallen logs for seating, or just standing around with beer in hand. Wonderful memories from autumns past.

Update on my Basement

I spent a terrific Thanksgiving weekend at my sister-in-law's cottage where we ate, yakked, walked, lightly boozed, flower arranged, Swedish wove (?), did puzzles, and just enjoyed ourselves. While I was gone, my handyman continued work on my basement. When I returned I found the new rec room ceiling finished complete with pot lights; the new wall between the rec room and sewing room completed with wall sconces; a new boxed valance built over the window; and crown molding installed between the ceiling and walls. This is the room that I'd requested only be painted and have laminate flooring installed.

I'm happy but...there will always be an element of guilt for my good fortune. The guilt won't stop me from being thrilled to death with the transformation, though.

Squawking Kids in Public Places

I recently read a blog written by a lady who was complaining about the behaviour of onlookers when her child was having a tantrum at a restaurant. She was livid because her child was laughed at and cajoled by the onlookers who apparently didn't realize that laughing at a crying child only makes matters worse.

If I'd been there, I wouldn't have been laughing but this is what I would have been thinking..."Lady, take your child aside and deal with the situation yourself. He may be the center of your universe but he is only the periphery of mine and I prefer to dine in peace and quiet conversation. I definitely don't blame him for creating a disturbance but I'm looking at you with more than a little displeasure. You are the responsible party and you shouldn't be allowing anyone under your charge to disturb other people. He doesn't know any better but you should!"

I was in a restaurant once where four adults were dining with a 2 year old who was screaming in the upper decibels. It was disgusting to watch those adults chowing down and completely ignoring the fact that their out of control toddler was ruining the meals of everyone else in that restaurant. It showed total disrespect for the rights of others. It also worried us wondering what was actually wrong with the child.

My daughter had the perfect solution when one of her children had a public tantrum. She or her husband would gently take the child by the hand and take them outside. They'd explain that such behaviour was not acceptable and, if the child chose to calm down, they'd be allowed to go back inside. Only when the tantrum was over did they go back in. This is how children learn what is and isn't acceptable in our society.

Many new-age parents are under the misguided notion that anything their child does should be tolerated by everyone else. What happens is that their child becomes disliked through no fault of their own. They can't understand that their bad behaviour, which is lovingly tolerated by their dopey parents, causes others to avoid them. It's sad to watch these lonely and unhappy children trying to make sense of the more judgmental environment away from home.

When my own children were growing up I'm ashamed to admit that the occasional spanking followed bad behaviour. By the time my grandchildren arrived I had dragged myself out of the dark ages and learned that "time-out" and counting 1-2-3 worked much better. Children are smarter than their parents give them credit for...they learn early which buttons to push to get what they want. In the case of a public tantrum, removing the child can only have positive results...both for the poor child and for the captive onlookers.

Congressman Foley

I've been following the reports on the Congressman Foley sex scandal and it's interesting watching all of those powerful politicians try to cover their asses. We hear how they'll attempt to put in more safety nets so something like this doesn't happen again...of course it involves passing a law. Passing another law might make them look good for the moment but the troubling aspect of this incident is that many of these people knew that this man was a pedophile and turned a blind eye to it. Foley claims he never had physical contact with a child but having cyber sex with one is almost as abhorent.

As a society, if we can't protect our children then we are a deteriorating society. Our children are our future and by that I mean the future of civilization. Anyone who has good reason to believe a child is being molested must report it and make certain the molestation stops. Anyone neglecting their duty is as guilty as the pedophile.

When I was young I had experiences with pedophiles but I was a street wise child and usually capable of keeping myself safe. These sick men (almost always) come in every age, occupation, and marriage status. It made me grow into an adult who has trouble trusting anyone. It's unsettling to discover that someone you had trusted as a family friend or close relative (or political leader) suddenly shows a side of their personality you'd never expected.

I don't believe a pedophile can be rehabilitated. Once a person has crossed that taboo line they are lost forever and we should have no compassion for them. By their selfish and despicable acts they might possibly have destroyed an innocent life. I don't advocate capital punishment (although I'd love to) but they should be incarcerated for life...no exception. Let them have the jail cells presently occupied by recreational marijuana users! The horrendous effects a pedophile can inflict on a human being makes them one of the biggest dangers to our society today.

The one constant miracle in mankind is the innocence of a child and it is imperative that we protect them. At all costs!

Wintering in Florida

It's October 3rd and I'm already half packed to make my yearly trek to Florida for the winter. I consider myself one of the lucky seniors who are able to escape the cold and enjoy warmth and sunshine while my Canadian neighbors are shoveling snow and bundling up in coats and boots. It took many years of hard work and saving to accomplish this so I'm not apologizing for my good fortune...I just wish my husband could have enjoyed the fruits of his labor a bit longer than he did.

We bought a little trailer in a senior park in the spring of 2000. We were both so excited when we returned that fall and my husband immediately began fixing it up. He put in a concrete patio where we spent countless hours entertaining some of the nicest people anywhere in the world. Americans and Canadians live in peace and harmony in this park because we don't allow the few political or religious differences we might have to interfere with our commonality.

We are the "average" people who have worked all our lives in average jobs (no CEO's), and retired with enough resources to live out our lives in relative comfort. Our trailers aren't luxurious in any sense of the word but they are well kept and perfect for our needs. We spend most of our time outside visiting, gardening, or laying around the pool. This simple, leisure retirement is on the endanged list, though, because of drastic housing development in Florida. Developers are buying up trailer parks and orange groves with the speed of light. My particular park is situated quite close to a new development where the housing prices range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 and it worries me to think that it will soon be more profitable for the owners of my park to sell it rather than rent trailer lots.

Last winter I decided to accept the fact that my park probably wouldn't outlast me and some time in the future I'd have to move on. When these parks close, the trailer owners receive almost nothing for their trailers so it would be impossible for me to buy in another park. Fortunately, I have a good friend who will share in the rental of a larger trailer when we have to move. The world is constantly changing and we simply have to alter our plans accordingly. In my case, losing my sweet little trailer isn't the worst that could happen but losing contact with the wonderful people I've been so lucky to spend my winters with would break my heart.

But right now I'll go on packing and planning for what I'm hoping will be another wonderful winter at my Florida home-away-from-home. Life goes on, doesn't it?