I lost just about all faith in the human race a long time ago, but that doesn't diminish the amount of disgust I feel when I see this unspeakable crime in Cleveland where a man, allegedly, kept three girls hostage for over ten years in order to satisfy his sick ways of getting pleasure. To me, there is no need for a trial here. It's a waste of money (likely taxpayers' money because he'll use a public defender). It's also additional unnecessary hardship for the victims to have to relive their ordeals in front of a judge, lawyers, and nosy members of the public. I think they should turn this sadistic animal over to the victims' families and let them decide this guy's fate. I know what I'd be doing to him. Not even I will print it, though!
A Mother's Day explosion in New Orleans, the missing man from Hamilton who was trying to sell his truck on Kijiji, the 12-year-old boy who stabbed his 8-year-old sister to death in the US, it's all too much for me to digest. What's wrong with us?
Thankfully, there are some good natured people stories out there; but the feel good stories don't motivate people to subscribe to CNN the way tragedies do. I'm pleased to say I was part of a good-person story over the weekend while I was in New Brunswick. I spent Sunday morning in the Village of Gagetown, a tiny community of less than 700, because I used to live there as a 9-year-old and I wanted to see what had changed over the years. I parked my rental and went for a walk and just took my time digesting the sights. As I was headed back to my vehicle, two men approached me and made the immediate observation that I wasn't 'local'. After about five minutes, one of them said he was going to put on some coffee and wanted to know if I would stay and chat with them for awhile. It was like a scene out of the movies. After about an hour, I was on my way to the next destination. It was a visit I won't ever forget. Very cool. What made it even better was that I lived there about 30 years ago and they moved to Gagetown about 20 years ago. So as much as they taught me, I was able to share a bit with them on some of the community's history that pre-dated their arrival.
When I left the Maritimes for prairie life in 1995, I can recall a hot button issue was privatizing highways; which meant allowing a private company to construct and upkeep the roads. The sticking point was that travellers were charged a toll (or a fee) every time they used the highway. Well, after spending a number of days roaming the Maritimes, I can say I am in favor of this measure and I think Saskatchewan should take a long, hard look at doing this along the Yellowhead Highway from Saskatoon to Yorkton as well as Highway 10 from Yorkton to Balgonie. I realize people won't like to pay, but I would much rather pay and enjoy the comfort of a four lane highway as opposed to what we have now, which can be dangerous at peak travel times.
I really liked the laid back personalities of the flight attendants during my trip east. Not only is WestJet a less expensive option than the other guys, but their employees on the front line are more likeable. When talking over the sound system, one flight attendant (while we were at 39-thousand feet) made it a point to remind passengers not to smoke or else they'll be asked to leave the airplane immediately. During one of the landings, another attendant asked passengers to take all of our baggage into the terminal, including emotional. And, I'm not sure if this is legit or not, but two of the flight attendants on the Saskatoon-to-Toronto leg were champions in the Synchronized Seat Belt Demonstration event at the Flight Attendant Olympics.
We are quick to criticize and point out bad customer service whenever we get it, but never usually as loud when we get workers who go over and above the call of duty. So, I feel it's important to mention the staff at the Yorkton ER last Monday were awesome. Mallory (regular readers may remember she broke both wrists last summer) had a scare with her right wrist and they didn't take it lightly. She was hustled into care and looked after in very short order. Thank you! I thought, 'here we go again'. Instead, she suffered a sprain and bruise. Crisis averted.
My Twitter quotes this week: "If you lower your expectations, you limit your disappointment." And, "The real happy endings come after a story with lots of ups and downs. If you can make it, if you can last, you will get what you want."
Nice person mentions this week to Dana Rathgeber, Dave Joy, Scott Stackhouse, Lloyd Seymour, and Emma-Jayne Owen.
