Tag Archives: #politics

Where the Sidewalk Begins

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Where the Sidewalk Begins

Every week Fandango over at This, That and the Other posts a provocative question. This week’s question follows on the heels of his unfortunate fall from a ladder. I think the accident probably had a huge influence on this week’s question…

“Have you ever fractured a bone (or bones) that was serious enough to require inpatient hospitalization and a post-operative stay in a rehab facility? What bone(s) did you break? How long did it take in rehab (inpatient or at home) before you were back to “normal”? And did you actually achieve the same level of functionality you had prior to the fracture(s)?“

While I cannot claim to have required hospitalization or a stay in a rehab facility I wanted to participate so this is as close as I’ve come.

The worst bone break I ever suffered was a fracture of the scaphoid bone. Certainly nothing like Fandango’s ladder/hip mishap. There was no hospital stay outside of the lost hours spent waiting in Emergency but there was lots of physiotherapy after to get back to a full range of motion.

It all started on the first day of school. No, I wasn’t going to school. Those days were long behind on this fateful September 3rd. I was out for my morning ride. I’d just purchased a new road/gravel bike a couple of weeks earlier. Before this bike, I’d been a mountain bike guy. I’d taken many a spill on rocky tree-lined trails with nothing more than bruises and scratches to show. These bones were tough as nails!

But as a guy in my early 50’s it was time for something less dangerous…

Now, back to the first day of school. It was 7:30am and I was out for my 15km morning ride along my usual route. On this morning I was cruising along at about 25km/h, and gaining fast on a group of 15 to 20 high school students walking in the dedicated bike path like a herd of cattle who’ve broken through a barbed wire barrier to obliviously congregate on the road.

As I approached the group they remained oblivious and did not move out of the way. Instead of slowing or stopping, I veered to my right across the grass boulevard towards the empty sideWALK that was ten feet to the right. Notice how I highlighted WALK because that is where they should have been! Anyway, my front wheel caught a rut along the edge of the cement and dug in sending me and the bike ass over tea kettle. My head (thank God for helmets) hit first with my 6’1″ frame crashing down close behind.

The kids, no longer oblivious, looked over as I skidded across the concrete and popped up seeming unscathed. Yeah, I was bleeding from various scraps and scratches but when some of them asked me if I was okay, I insisted I was alright. After all, my head and frame were still attached to each other! In fairness, the adrenaline of the moment had me believing I was none the worse for wear. Although, I am certain my bruised ego would have told them I was fine even if there had been a bone sticking out somewhere.

An inspection of the bike revealed some damage to the handlebar tape and a couple of superficial scratches elsewhere but no major damage. Hell, that was a minimum right of passage for the mountain bike. If it wasn’t banged up you weren’t doing it right.

Inspection complete, I jumped back on the bike with every intention of finishing the nine or so klicks remaining on my ride but the moment I tried to grab the handlebar with my left hand that notion quickly dissipated, replaced with searing pain shooting up my arm. I couldn’t have gripped the bar if my life had depended on it. Instead, it was a slow shameful ride home with my left arm tucked against my midsection while my weakened legs powered a bike that was being guided by a lone and shaky right arm.

I don’t know if any bones were broken. The ER doctor showed me the x-rays but they did not show a break. Apparently, fractures to the scaphoid bone don’t reveal themselves on x-rays until 48 hours after injury. Based on his experience the doc believed the bone was broken and because the small bones of the carpals, and in particular the scaphoid, don’t receive a lot of blood flow should be treated as such. A lack of blood flow restricts healing and if not immobilized and allowed to heal the bone could die. That was enough for me to accept my fate and follow his instructions.

For six weeks I wore a removable cast without knowing if it was broken. X-rays were never taken again later, I just ran with the emergency room diagnosis. When the cast came off I began three months of physiotherapy to get close to a full range of motion. It would be another nine months before I can say the hand and wrist were back to normal.

Even now if the moon and stars and sun align just right, hidden behind a bank of dark grey clouds that are dumping a cold damp rain down on Mother Earth I can still feel it click and groan. Sometimes, I think that if I’d just plowed through them they’d have moved or at the very least it would have been a softer landing!

Oh, and did I mention all the years of reckless mountain biking where I never once broke a bone?

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Unarmed

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Every week Fandango over at This, That and the Other posts a provocative question. This week’s is a doozy…
“In your interpersonal relationships with acquaintances, friends, and family, are you able to separate political ideologies from the people who hold them? Why or why not?“
Cue my rambling answer below…

I’ve always been able to separate issues from those on the other side. That is probably why I am so good when it comes to disciplinary matters at work. None of it is ever personal. Just deal with the facts and move on. If the other party has hard feelings, there is nothing I can do about that. I just go about my business and do my best to treat them the same afterwards regardless of what may have transpired. There are plenty of people who get themselves emotionally invested and it eats them up inside. They generally burn themselves out or get run out of town at the end of a pitchfork. Either way, they do not fare well long term.

I admit I approach debating, political or otherwise, through a similar lens. Everyone has an opinion and I encourage them to bring it to the table. The best policy is to treat people with respect even when their ideological compass is pointing in a different direction than our own. Sometimes those views, extreme or absurd as they may seem, can shift perspective for everyone involved and lead others to think outside the box and find common ground leading to more moderate solutions. Even if it amounts to nothing at least I know who the imbeciles are.

There is one group that I do tend to distance myself from and they rarely make it to my inner circle. The exception is family – unfortunately, you are stuck with ’em! If they start I normally throw a couple of jabs in and walk away. So back to that group, I’m referring to those who refused to acknowledge facts when forming opinions. The brazen efforts they will go to refute proven science or obscure the facts to mould opinions that support their ideological fantasies suggest they aren’t likely to see reason. At some point, it doesn’t make sense to continue banging your head against the wall. I was saving the following graphic for a future T-Shirt Wisdom Tuesday but it seems appropriate right here and now.

Greg Glazebrook @ GMGCreative


For example, rabid anti-vaxxers and political anarchists who insist on comparing democratically elected political leaders to Hitler or Stalin. I’m the first to admit that I am not a fan of the current prime minister here in Canada but not every decision of his government has some hidden agenda or has been bad for the country. The government is not trying to overthrow democracy and appoint him the Supreme Ruler of the Northern Realms. Truly, I can only think of one instance where that may have been the case on this continent. Does January 6th ring a bell? The funny thing is the idiots who believe the previous scenario are the same clowns driving around with Trump stickers pasted on their back windows and bumpers.

Okay, so maybe I’m less tolerant of idiocy than I thought. lol

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Happy New Year

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Happy New Year

Now that 2022 is firmly in the rearview and we can all look forward to a new year I can say that overall it wasn’t a bad year personally.

Yeah, the world went to shit with Russian aggression in Ukraine and COVID spending policies coming home to roost.

Inflation fucked with most of the free world’s economies in 2022 and we will likely see its ramifications for years to come. Still for those of us who lived through the late 1970s and early 1980s these rates are not that bad. Imagine a U.S. peak of 18.39% in July 1981 or a Canadian high of 21% in August of that same year. Things don’t look bad viewing it through that lens. Let’s hope we don’t let it get there.

On the European front, the tone from the Kremlin over the holiday has started to shift. Russia’s military is floundering badly in Ukraine and the Motherland’s losses continue to mount. Even more crippling to Putin’s war effort, the U.S. and its allies now appear willing to provide assistance to Ukraine in the form of modern sophisticated weaponry it needs to push Russia to the brink. In light of these factors, it would seem Putin and Moscow’s resolve for war are beginning to wane. That does not mean we are out of the woods and Russia’s nuclear arsenal remains a constant threat. That said there does seem to be some hope for optimism as the Kremlin’s apparent shift may be signalling that Putin and his government are laying the groundwork for possible exit strategies that would allow the tyrant to save face and hold onto power. Time will tell.

Closer to home, Greg’s Blog has had a great year, by far the best on record for my tiny corner of the world wide web. (Does anyone call it that anymore?) 2022 saw views of my blog climb from 1071 in 2021 to 6156 in 2022 (a 475% increase year over year) and visitors climb from 467 to 2785 (+496%). In terms of real numbers I know it’s still relatively small compared to some of the superstars I like to follow but it’s still something. Keep in mind it has also been my most active year blogging and it did see the start of a couple of weekly or bi-weekly features on my site. With the hectic holiday season over I hope to get back at it more regularly again and hope I can build on some of that 2022 momentum in the new year.

It has been fun interacting with so many of you and I hope to continue reading/viewing what everyone has to offer and hopefully put out content that you enjoy interacting with. Thanks to everyone for a great 2022 and I hope 2023 turns out to be a phenomenal year for everyone!

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Same Shit, Different Day

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The following is in response to Fandango’s Provocative Question #166. The prompt is:
Do you feel that President Biden’s plea to take action and to do something to stem the rising tide of gun violence in America have any impact? Or will lawmakers at both the federal and state levels do nothing more than offer their useless “thoughts and prayers,” which is all they ever do?

Content Warning: Offensive Language

Same Shit, Different Day

Ten days, 21 more lives, 19 of them ten-year-old children. The same old news with different names, different faces, and subtly different storylines. The one thing they all have in common is the same all too familiar outcome.

Unfortunately Fandango, I don’t believe Biden’s call for action will have any effect on Federal and State politicians, the NRA, individual gun owners, and most everyday Americans. These types of pleas have fallen on stone deaf ears in the past and there are no signs that America’s views on guns are any different now than in the past.

I have already heard from family and friends in the United States and in particular, Texas that don’t believe gun control is the solution. Instead, they believe training and arming teachers to carry in school is the answer. It appears the best option is to shoot our way out of these messes.

Hell, I suggest we not stop there, empty the entire gas can on the dumpster fire. Let the elementary kids carry too, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday they should take several hours out of science, math, and literature (but not religion) classes and learn how to shoot stuff (or each other.) If that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it absolutely is ridiculous. If you are reading this and it doesn’t sound absurd to you then let me spell it out…

The answer is NEVER more access to guns! NEVER!!!

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Buffalo

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In light of this weekends senseless massacre in Buffalo, New York, it still baffles me that in this day and age people can’t wrap their heads around the idea that we are all human beings, the same species down to our DNA. As a Canadian from the Greater Toronto Area, I have spent a fair amount of time in Buffalo. For several years my son played baseball for a traveling team based in Depew and we would cross the border two to three times a week. My heart goes out to the friends and families of those slain. As a city mourns I sincerely hope the slow and seemingly tenuous process of racial healing in the United States and around the world can continue in light of this heinous act.

Buffalo

A killer lurks
in the shadows.
Silently shedding
white hot anger.

A snake slithering
into the spotlight.
Spitting venomous
black hate.

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A Common Fate

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A Common Fate

Carbon floods the atmosphere,
Blankets the cerulean veil.
Oceans, rainforests exploited,
Industrial Man, tipping the scale.
Smothered and left gasping,
Mother Earth’s lungs begin to fail.
Rush headlong towards extinction,
Forsaken and unable to exhale.

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The Blood of War

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This originally started as a reply to a post that Jim at A Unique Title for Me posted. It got me thinking about the broader context of government and in particular the idea that the people are accountable for the action of their government. In particular, Russians when it comes to Putin.

Yes, Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine, the former Soviet republic that declared its independence on January 22nd, 1989. Putin has chosen this path not because of the excuses such as “denazification” or the perceived threat NATO presents to Russia if Ukraine achieves member status. It is all smoke and mirrors to hide the real reasons for Putin’s war, to turn back the clock to a bygone era. To return to some perceived Russian greatness that never really existed. He alone must answer to the world for his illegal actions in Ukraine and the war crimes he has committed in the name of Mother Russia.

I will say that from a world perspective I do not believe the international community and the allied countries of the West are doing enough to quell the Putin threat. Russian aggression in Ukraine has the eerie feel of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. The parallels are well documented elsewhere and too many to list here. We the world must stand with Ukraine and prevent history from repeating itself.

I believe the Russian people are good people. Historically they have suffered immeasurable hardship. For the record, the Russian experience is not unique. Many other peoples in various parts of the world have suffered repeatedly at the hands of internal and external forces. That type of suffering creates a certain pathos that brings about insecurity in the people of a nation. It doesn’t require a great leap to see how people end up following someone like Putin who instills a sense of national pride by assuaging their collective vulnerabilities and making them feel whole again.

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