A Few Things

  A few things came to my attention today that I wanted to share with you. All are happy, to me anyway. Positivity is the theme of the day most days recently.

  Julian Fellows is writing a Downton Abbey movie! Now he is pretty quiet about its story line but I relish the chance to see what Carson and Elsie are up to. Were Edith and Bertie able to keep Marigold's secret? Did Mrs.Pattmore start a romance with Mr. Mason? And did Tom find someone to share his life with? 

  There is also talk that maybe it's a prequel! Taking all the characters we know and love and showing us their first days at Downton would be fun. Seeing the Dowager Countess in charge of the Abbey. Watching Robert and Cora marry and then fall in love. It's a fan's dream! Fingers crossed this comes to be.

  Canada's 150th birthday is just two days away and the police are doing everything in their power to make sure it is a safe one if you are going to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Those of us who live here are working around road closures and massive delays but I believe it is worth it to ensure people's safety. 

  Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are stopping by to celebrate. As are the fabulous Bono and the Edge. While we are happy to have them party with us, especially Bono after saying how "the world needs more Canada", they aren't Canadian. Like all birthday boys/girls, we want to celebrate with our friends but we still want to be the center of attention!

  Speaking of Canadians, Michael J. Fox got the Governor Generals Award. A huge honor. The speech he gave was so......Canadian. He thanked everyone. From his family to his first drama coach. It was funny, kind and sweet. Exactly like we imagine Mike to be. Martin Short, who I love love love, got the award as well.

  It's graduation time! Lots of kids ready to move on to the next phase of their lives. Congrats to you all especially Matt, Brennan, and Avery. Get out there and show the world what you are made of. Be fearless in your choices. Experience all that is possible. Discover who you are while remembering where you came from. 

  See...there are still wonderful things going on in the world. We just need to open our eyes to see them.

  Ang

  

100% True

  Most of the world....at least 2 billion of us....are on Facebook. While they have taken a lot of flack recently about "fake news" I saw an article the other day that had a statement so perfect I don't care if it's fake or real. And it doesn't even matter.

  The article was, allegedly, from a mother who posted her son's itemized hospital bill from his most recent heart surgery. I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with his heart but he has had several surgeries and a few more are in his future. The total cost was huge. Hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  Also, she stated they have many specialist visits, prescription drug costs, regular doctor visits and home care. Almost all are covered by their health insurance. But if this new health care bill passes, "Trumpcare", they will lose coverage.

  This statement made me stop in my tracks....the Republican Party is pro-life til the child is born!! Think about that. It is perfection. And 100% true.  Whether you believe the article or not. 

  As a political party, they preach continually about the rights of the fetus. How abortion is murder. How they must fight to protect the health and safety of the unborn. But if that child is born sick...oh well it doesn't have a "right" to healthcare. And I use the word "right" because that's the word the party uses as a reason not to have universal healthcare. 

  Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belguim, Brunei, Canada, Cypres, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxemburg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. ALL these countries have universal healthcare. ALL of them.

  If the Republicans don't think this is a good idea they should ask the First Lady's extended family. After all, Slovenia has had it for years. 

  Ang
  

Thank You Teachers!!

  Dear Ms/Mrs./Mr./Mme. (insert any teacher's name here),

                 Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!

  Thank you!!!  For showing my child a whole new world. For opening their eyes to other cultures and histories. For listening to their stories and life experiences. For sharing your life and your wisdom with them. For going over the multiplication tables just one more time. For admiring their use of adjectives instead of focusing on the words spelled wrong. 

  Thank you!!! For holding their hands when they are crying because the ball hit them. For giving them the tools to "work it out" when conflict arises while standing nearby just in case. For boosting their confidence when speaking. For listening to stories about their vacations.

  Thank you!!! For letting them rewrite a failed test. For the countless hours of your time given for extra help. For staying after school to coach the sports teams and organizing clubs. For understanding when a report isn't printed because the family printer doesn't have any ink.

  Thank you!!! For eating lunch at your desk so they finally get that math equation right. For discretely giving your lunch to a student with none of their own. For buying pens, pencils, and supplies for those in need. For ordering books you know a child who isn't an interested reader would love. For understanding not every child has a computer and giving them access to one during school hours.

  Thank you!!! For having as much patience as you do day in day out. For caring whether our children succeed. For praising a B- from a C student. For calling home and talking to parents when marks are going down hill. For sending an email when a mark is on the rise. For allowing extra credit work to a borderline mark.

  A special Thank You to Mme. Roy, Mrs. Frappier, Mrs. Wahler, and Mrs. Als for being such fantastic teachers to Riley! Mme. Seguin, Ms. Jackson, Ms. Felippe....Thank You for helping Alex excel this year.

  To all of you teachers out there...enjoy the summer. You deserve it!!

  Ang

  

#PoorPeople

  If you are a Twitter fan.... thekernicklife @AngelaOttawa.....you  will have seen the #poorpeople everywhere this morning. That you can thank the 45th President of the U.S. for. His comments at a rally last night about how he doesn't want poor people running the government (I'm paraphrasing here) are what has prompted this backlash.

  Except he didn't get any in Iowa last night. Nope, he got cheers, applause, and accolades. Seriously. He did. I guess that's to be expected since it was a venue full of his supporters. But if I was a supporter of any politician who said because I'm not rich I can't do a job, I know I wouldn't be happy about that statement. In fact, I'm 100% positive I wouldn't be jumping to my feet clapping. I would, however, be re-examining my support and doing some serious digging into their policies. 

  How many of the hard working, poor people in Iowa are thinking about changing their support this morning? Not many I imagine. Mr. Trump has said far worse with no repercussions. Why would this statement be any different?

  Trump has sold himself as the  "swamp cleaner" but didn't do anything close to cleaning. Instead, he surrounded himself with rich, white men....and the occasional rich, white woman. Maybe he needs some #poorpeople to come in and give their opinions. Let them explain what the country needs when it comes to health care, tax reform, education, housing, and jobs. 

  When you are worried about paying the next hydro bill, doctor's visit or your child's education your perspective is much different than those of the super-rich.

  That is something you really need to learn from poor people Mr. President!

  Ang

School Driving Safety...AGAIN

  I missed Father's Day....again. In my head, I had these wonderful thoughts on John and the amazing father he is. I had planned to talk about my own dad and how I wish he was still here. And how lucky you are if yours is still alive. But I'll save those for next year.....FYI I said the same thing last year!

  Today though I want to rant about drivers. Not just any drivers. Parents...who drive. Specifically, parents who drive their children to school. I've talked about this issue before but weekly it drives me insane. Insane. 

  Let's start with the easiest one. You can't park on the sidewalk in front of the school. That means don't drive up on it to let your child out. You can't turn off the engine and walk your child over to the fence. You can't leave the drivers and back seat doors open and chat with your child. Why can't you do these things you may ask? Because children are walking on the sidewalk!! Where they are supposed to be! When you park there, even for a few seconds, those children must walk around your car. Sometimes that means stepping out into the road! Use some common sense.

  U-turns. Don't do them in front of the school. Ever. You are not the only vehicle on the street. Yes, yes I know you have to get to work. But there are children, again those damn kids ruining your morning, who are walking or biking. And you seem to absolutely need to make that u-turn in the crosswalk. But hey they aren't your kids so what does it matter if you scare them or worse case scenario.....hit them.

  Speeding in a school zone or residential street during bus pickup times. What possible difference could 15 seconds have on your commute? Let me answer that for you.......NONE! Your children are now safely on the bus so it's ok for you to hit 70 km/hr driving past my house? MY child is trying to walk to his bus. He's not safe from you yet. Guaranteed you would be banging on my door, yelling at me if the roles were reversed. And with no sidewalks on this street, it's even more dangerous.

  There are 7 school days left this year. Let's try something new for those days. Drive into the parking lot or park your car on a side street. Walk with your child to the gate. Walk back to your car. Drive slowly and patiently away. Speed all you want on the highway I don't care. Just stop putting my child's life in jeopardy because you don't want to be late for work, or the gym or whatever the hell you have planned for the morning.

  Maybe we need common sense testing added to the driver's exam.....at least in Ottawa.

  Ang

Free Speech

  Free speech is a wonderful concept. At it's best it is a way to protest against injustice. Or government policies we do not agree with. At it's worst it's to suppress people's individual rights or to express hatred towards a group based on religion, sexual orientation or something else that is none of our business. As much as we may not like what is being said we must all defend the right to say it. Or do we?

  Megyn Kelly, who has a news interview program on NBC, has done an interview with Alex Jones. Mr. Jones is a far-right radio talk show host who is also a well-known conspiracy theorist. What NBC and Ms. Kelly are trying to do is "shine a light" into the mind of this very controversial man. They are saying that if you can expose the absurdity behind the words and ideas, then you can keep people from falling for their rhetoric. Makes sense I suppose. However....

  Alex Jones thinks the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 school children is a hoax.  Brought about by gun control advocates. Twenty children aged 6 and 7. Twenty children. No one, and I mean no one, believes in anything enough to pretend their child has been murdered. And most certainly not twenty families. The idea is ludicrous. 

  The murder of children is condemned by everyone. Giving him an even bigger platform than he has already, almost 650 thousand Twitter followers alone, seems wrong to me. Why? Because it's children. Plain and simple. You don't use children to further your personal agenda. Period.

  The parents of these children have spoken and they don't want this interview aired. As it is they are being harassed by some of Mr. Jones' followers. They are concerned, and rightfully so, that more trouble will come their way, if and when, it makes it on the air. I can't blame them. I'm sure these families will never fully recover from the deaths of their children. They don't need to deal with conspiracy theorists banging on their doors.

  Maybe NBC will pull it. Perhaps it will be seen by millions. Either way, we all need to learn a very valuable lesson from this. There are consequences to everything. Nothing in life is free.

  Not even speech.

  Ang

  
  

Busy Busy Busy

  June is turning out to be an even busier month than May for me. I honestly didn't think that was possible! While I have a few minutes of breathing space let me catch you up.....if I can remember it all.

  Our friend Dan retired from the airforce after 35 years. 35 years! Like all service people, he has helped change the world and made it a better, and safer, place. The sacrifices both he and his family have made for Canada should be honored and celebrated. Enjoy your "free" time Dan! I'm sure there is a to-do list with your name on it somewhere.

  We got a pool! A pool. The kids are beyond excited and even though the heater isn't installed yet, fingers crossed that's today, they have swum the past two days. And come out purple but with huge smiles. It's been a lot of work for us to get the yard ready but in the end, I know it will be worth it. I can picture the lazy days of summer. A book, a beverage, and no fighting children. Bliss.

  The boys' activities have almost finished. Theater, volleyball, and swimming are over. Scouts, hockey, and piano are in the final days til the fall. And let's not forget school. Less than two weeks and they are free to sleep in and I don't have to scramble in the morning for lunches. Lots of free time on the horizon!

  Boy, it doesn't look like I've done much but trust me I've been busier than it looks! Making that backyard pretty was an undertaking in itself. And the car repairs....I almost forgot about those. My bank account didn't though. Life is busy. For all of us. 

  Remember..you woke up breathing or a reason. Take a minute to enjoy today.

  Ang