Not often food creates such a visceral memory. I just devoured a Scottish meat pie. It almost brought tears to my eyes. No, it didn’t but that sounded dramatic and was for your enjoyment.

Brought back great memories of my Dad and pipe band. Cue up “Scotland the Brave!”

Scotch meat pies were, and I hope they still are, as much a part of the pipe bands as the kilt! 

After every highland game and/or competition we had peas and Scotch meat pies and beer served in the parking lot heated with Coleman stoves. (The pies, not the beer.)

Possibly the only reason folks play in a pipe band. Free beer and Scotch meat pies. 

That lil pie (From a small local butcher here!) tasted exactly, and I do not mean reminded me of … tasted exactly how Scottish meat pies should taste!

Tasted so good … that I grabbed the old Alex Duthart sticks and …

It’s possible that I’ve lived too long, seen too much and have too much common sense. Three things prompted this post.

First, years ago Premier Harper was accused of silencing scientists. He was, in fact, silencing government employees who were scientists, he was not silencing scientists all across Canada.  It was probably a stupid thing to do but he was trying to stop the government rank and file from coming out with proclamations that were personal statements/findings and not the official government position.

Second, I read about a few police officers reprimanded for either supporting the anti-vax movement and/or the trucker convoy. Not good. Stay in your lane folks!

Today Colin Kaepernick is in the news Well, “news-ish” he is trending on Twitter.

Racism is a huge issue. Yes, conditions are better than 50 years ago but still, it is evil. Was Colin right to protest racism and treatment of POC by cops? Absolutely! Was he right in doing it wearing a team uniform? Absolutely NOT! Just like the examples above. 

I applaud Colin in his protest. But he has to do it on his own dime. Same with the cops and the government scientists.

Should Colin be allowed back in the league? If course … but see the cautionary tale of the image I posted here.

I’m vaccinated and, no, I don’t know what’s in it – neither this vaccine, the ones I had as a child, nor in the hot dogs I love or gluten-free bread I eat, or in other treatments…whether it’s for cancer, AIDS, or vaccines for children. I trust my doctor when she says it’s needed.

I also don’t know what’s in Advil, Tylenol, or other meds, it just cures my headaches and my pains …

I don’t know what’s in the ink they used for my maple leaf tattoo or every ingredient in my soap, toothpaste, shampoo or deodorant.

I don’t know the long term effect of cell phone use or whether or not that restaurant I ate at this week really used clean foods and washed their hands.

In short…there’s a lot of things I don’t know and never will…

I just know one thing: life is short, very short, and I still want to do something other than just go to work every day all day or stay quarantined at home.

I still want to travel and hug people without fear and find a little feeling of life like it was before.

As a child I was vaccinated for mumps, measles, rubella, polio, chicken pox, and others; my parents trusted the science and I never had to suffer through or transmit any of those diseases.

I’m #vaccinated, not to please the government but:
* To not die from Covid
* To not clutter a hospital bed if I get sick
* To hug my loved ones and friends
* To not have to do tests to go to a restaurant or go on holidays
* To live my life
* To have my kids and grandkids go back to living their best lives
* For #Covid19 to be an old memory
* To protect us, locally and globally

My own views…

Text copied, you can too!

#vaccineswork #flattenthecurve

I woke up late this morning and received a call from a very close friend.

He informed me that a person that I knew quite well in a past life had posted a picture on Facebook and they had suffered what seemed to be a serious injury.

The picture he spoke of was of someone in a hospital bed, bandaged up with broken ribs, a broken nose and a broken leg.

So, social media.

The person in this photo I have not spoken to in 1over 10 years. Not that there was the rift but they had moved far away and subsequently I moved even farther away.

My friend and I on the phone started to chat about this person and I immediately started to get feelings of how much I missed them and I needed to reach out.

I found their Facebook page and there was nothing about an accident nor pictures.

My friend on the phone did the same thing and announced maybe it wasn’t the right person … so hang on.

He did a quick search of his history and said, “Oh no it wasn’t so and so it was someone else.”

That is the power of the Internet but you have to see it through you are your own gatekeeper.

When my friend phoned he found a good friend of mine that was hurt, but that was misinformation as it turns out.

It caused me care and concern ’cause I then felt bad that I haven’t spoken to them in a while, felt guilty and also worried about their wellbeing.

But if you see it through as your own gatekeeper asking the tough questions … “Is that true? Did that happen? We need to confirm it.”

And confirm it we did!

This is a small, oh call it a case study, showing the power of the Internet two clicks and all is back and right with the world. I called the person in question immediately and had a terrific call!

But as your own gatekeeper you cannot let things go open-ended you have to close them off with the truth!

So PLEASE stop tweeting the nonsense you hear!

The pandemic …

So the New World Order, eh? I thought they ran everything?

If they do then it seems they want millions and millions of us dead. On the other hand, I think it is a kooky conspiracy theory.

What have individual countries spent since the start of the pandemic – in relief and medical support and unemployment benefits, grants, and lost opportunity costs? What about the millions now deceased? Trillions? Multiple trillions?

If there was a smart person – more than likely an adult vs say a Greta at 15 yelling at us, or a leader who wasn’t corrupt or inept when all this started would we have had a chance to avoid this plague?

That smart adult (Similar to a sharp CEO of a very successful company.)  might have said … “OK CONFERENCE Call with all the leaders, NOW! Here is an immediate plan. All travel is hereby canceled. I have had the Chief  Accountant run some numbers – it would be cheaper to pay the airlines and any folks wanting or needing to travel all expenses, put em up in 5-Star-Hotels and feed em vs letting them travel and spreading this shit all over the world. And do it now! Right now!!!!”

“Now, if any cases that got through and in our countries, immediately do a serious ‘get em isolated and treat them like Ebola’ (Cause it is actually!) and then compensate em after they are well — “Mr or Ms so and so … here is a million dollars thanks for your patience and service to humanity! Hell, make it 10 million whether they survive or not (Pay the families!)  It is well worth it and cheaper.”

We paid a terrorist $10 mil just to avoid a court trial!

Could all of this have been averted if we had adults running things? I bet, yes we could. But we have governments with hundreds of layers of decision-making and layer upon layer of bureaucrats and lawyers trying to cover their collective asses? and net/net incompetence. Full stop.

There should be a lesson learned here! And if you do NOT believe me watch the coverage and the bickering and the experts going back and forth on everything,

We need some serious people now. Some adults. I know why folks do not run for office – they more than likely have an indiscretion in their teens or at university that will not stand the scrutiny of out petty minds and woke cancel culture. Or as I have witnessed the really bright serious people who run and get elected are so beaten down by the bureaucratic system they resign and head back to private business.

Yes, we need change. And we need it now.