Blog or white ... because it never is.

For years, those demanding stricter gun control in America have been asking the question, "Is this enough?  Through all the mass shootings and casualties, they are basically asking how many have to do before enough is enough?  No matter how horrific the tragedies, law makers have been seemingly unwilling to make any changes to gun control legislation because that means taking on the NRA. Surely, they have hid behind the 2nd Amendment but the reality is they really are unwilling to take on the NRA.  There is no doubt that the founding fathers of America never envisioned mass shootings on innocent civilians when they were drafting the 2nd Amendment.  So, after decades of protests, petitions, etc, stricter gun control advocates have been unsuccessful. But, now we have some hope.  Enough is enough is the rallying cry of students who were attending Stoneman Douglas School at the time of the shooting.  There is some hope that enough is finally enough. These students have accom

The federal budget was released yesterday.  I am sure this will be a win for belabored Mourneau.  He needs a win after a few uncomfortable months in Parliament.  By and large, Trudeau is leading our country in a positive direction.  Unemployment is at record lows and hasn't been so low since Trudeau was Prime Minister.  (Trudeau the father).  We know that things are moving positively when the Opposition spends time on trivial matters.  Mourneau has been the one taking the most wrath, largely because he is financially savvy and successful.  He clearly doesn't need the salary or hassle of being finance minister yet he seems to be called to serve and to improve our country's finances.  He is exactly the person we would want to be finance minister. The budget was a feel good budget with something for everyone and focused on gender equity.  Every line item, apparently, went through a gender equity filter.  You know it is a good solid budget when the opposition has littl

Yes, I live in Winnipeg.  No, I don't cheer for the Jets.  I've been called various things for not cheering for the Jets.  Traitor.  Debbie Downer.  Turncoat.  That's ok.  I've been called worse things for nothing to do with sports.  Of course, I wish the Jets no ill will and I hope they are successful.  But, I have a few reasons for not being a fan: a) Growing up outside of the Perimeter, I always felt Perimeter Vision.  I always felt the province of Manitoba really only catered to its largest city and didn't really care about the communities outside of the perimeter.  Sadly, I sort of always have resented Winnipeg.  When the Jets came back, I thought it would be more appropriate to call them the Manitoba Jets.  b) I already have my favorite hockey team and I don't want to spread my cheering between two teams. c)  I remember the heartbreak when we lost the Jets before.  It was so sad and I don't want to ever have to go through that again.  In my hea

Of course, this is the famous song from the musical Annie.  Annie experienced much hardship as an orphan yet was determined to be positive.  So, she adopted the philosophy that the promise of tomorrow was positive and as long as we believed in the positive, better things would happen.  Yesterday, I felt so positive about the world knowing that the next generation is going to get things right.   While most adults in the USA were celebrating 44/45 Presidents, the Youth staged demonstrations all across the country advocating for gun control.   With a simple rallying cry, "Shame on You", this generation did something adults have been unable to do for a generation.  They called out the NRA and those who been influenced by the NRA  My partner has been speaking in classrooms for students from Grade 7-9 for a couple of years about mental health.  This is a tough age group to get through to, yet, every time he does a talk, he literally walks out higher than a kite.  He is amazed a

Those who are opposed to gun control are blaming mass shootings on mental illness. There are just as many women who have mental illness as men.  If it was about mental illness, half of the mass shooters would be women, which is not the case. However, if it really was about mental illness, then perhaps we should offer help and treatment to those who suffer from mental illness rather than making their access to guns an easier option.

How comforting it must be for the families and friends of the latest mass shooting in Florida that Trump tweets that they are in his thoughts and prayers.   First of all, is there anyone in the planet that actually thinks this man says prayers?  When would he do this?  In between bites of Big Macs?   The fact that he is actually capable of intelligent thought could also be debatable. Thoughts are prayers are not enough and it is an embarrassing response.  I can't imagine being in school in America and having to wonder every day if this is going to happen at their school.  We have seen that it can happen anywhere.  What type of emotional scars are the future generation going to bring with them?  What is going to be their view of the world? Granted, this is a complex problem, however, why can't stricter gun control be explored as an option?  Nothing written in stone, and no, this actually doesn't contradict the 2nd amendment. Deep sigh.   I often don't sleep because

A few days ago, there was a picture of Stan Struthers in the Winnipeg Free Press.  It was almost half a sheet of paper.  There have been allegations that he was sexually inappropriate while he was in the Manitoba Legislature.  He represented my home town of Dauphin for over a decade.  I have never met the man, but I believe the allegations against him.   Not only because I don't believe that many women would make this up, but because of the company he keeps.  I know (or used to know) a man who calls Stan a friend.  I used to hear a lot from him how wonderful Stan was and what a great guy he was.  This friend of Stan's was the one who I made the biggest mistake of my life with.  I had an affair with a married man, something I swore I never would do.  It was my mistake and I take full responsibility for it.  But, with every monumental mistake, it doesn't just happen, it is a process.  It is hard to know when my process started, but I think it started when I was in Grade 9

We awake to our very last day and we know it will be a long day.  We are packed and are experiencing so many emotions, it is hard to know what we are really feeling.  We have breakfast at 6:30 am and I am feeling good so I just have a banana along with my glorious juice.  We go back to our room for one last time to pick up our luggage and then we report to the lobby, along with 2700 other people.  Apparently, there is a delay by customs, for some reason.  People are encouraged to go to Deck 5 or 9 to wait in comfortable chairs.  The crowd is quite ugly actually so we go to Deck 5 and enjoy breath-taking views of the Miami skyline.  Finally, we see people starting to disembark so we go back to the lobby.  People are still cranky and rude and shoving and cutting in line.  So much for us being one big family.   We are in line and it is hard to keep positive when everyone is pushing and shoving.  When, like a phoenix rising from the mist, is my Leo manning one of the last turns

Friday, February 2 Today is our last day at sea and we disembark tomorrow. We wake up early and there just seems to be a different vibe on the ship.  I hope I am just imagining things.  We exit our room and there is Garry, as pleasant and friendly as ever. We get into line for breakfast at 8:10 am.  It doesn't open until 8:30 am.  There are a bunch of people in line and they are all talking loudly so it is impossible not to hear.  They are all annoyed.  Annoyed at each other, annoyed at the weather, annoyed that they have to wait even though they knew they were coming earlier than opening.  Finally, the doors open and people rush the doors like they are going to the Macy's After Thanksgiving Sale.  Really.  Do they think they are not going to get a seat? The Maitre D asks us if we want to sit alone or with people.  I say it doesn't matter as long as we don't sit with anyone who has been in line with us.  She seats us a a private booth and one of the hostesses

Thursday, February 1 I wake up feeling happy.  It is my baby's 21st birthday today.  I am so blessed to have two perfect children, the most beautiful grandson in the world, and a son-in-law who treats my Princess, well, like a Princess. And, here we are in Cozumel, Mexico.  My sweetie and I exchanged our deal breakers very early in our relationship so there would be no surprises.  One of his deal breakers was that he was never going to Mexico.  I get that and know that there will be enough activities for him on board. We enjoy our breakfast and to my surprise, my sweetie is rushing me because he wants to go to Mexico !!  This ship is magic ! Cozumel is beautiful and we encounter the most security going ashore, which is actually comforting.  Next to our peer, there are four all inclusive resorts all with lovely beaches.  My sweetie thinks he would love to come back here and stay in an all-inclusive.  I have to sit down for a few minutes. It is about 10 am so, of course,

Wednesday, January 31 We are having breakfast like a King and sitting next to another amazing couple.  He is retired Air Force with 32 years of service mostly overseas.  She is semi-retired as a realtor.  They met in England when they were both married to other people.  He was stationed there for a year and she was a lawyer and a high-ranking government official.  A year later they met again and this time they were both divorced and the rest is history.  They now live in Del Ray.  I love the way this man looks at his wife as he totally and deeply in love with her.  We have a wonderful chat about politics.  They voted for Trump and now regret it, but they didn't realize how bizarre he would be, and how deeply he is not making America great.  I forgive them for voting Trump and indicate that the problem is the Trump is just drunk on his own power and no one could have predicted this.  The Retired Air Force Commander thinks that is a brilliant observation and writes it down and c

Tuesday, January 30 As we are enjoying our breakfast like a King, we are casually docking into Isla Roatan.  We are sitting at a huge window and are enjoying the view. I don't know anything about Honduras other than they are famous for pirates and I can understand why.  Honduras is a series of small islands that is essentially mountainous with lots of vegetation.  It makes for perfect lookouts and perfect hideouts.  It doesn't seem to have any usable natural resources so it seems like piracy is the natural thing for the ancient Hondurans.  I share this observation with my table mates at breakfast.  They all think this is a brilliant observation.  I can't believe how smart I am on the cruise. With our view, we can see a spot where boats go to die.  They are salvaging everything they can down to the metal frames.  It is not a positive visual but it is also interesting and sad. We finish our breakfast and my sweetie and I decide we are going to walk to Honduras.  T

Monday, January 28 Welcome to the Grand Cayman Islands.   We awake at 8 am.  This is significant for us as we get up without an alarm clock at 6:50 am every day.  Sleeping in this late is unheard of for us. We find "Breakfast for a King" in the Platinum restaurant.  An amazing sit-down dining experience.  There is an amazing menu but pretty much tell them what you want and they will bring it.  Cranberry juice is not on the menu but I order half cran half orange for my juice.  It arrives in a wine goblet over ice.  The orange juice is freshly squeezed, of course.  That juice is worth the price of the cruise because it is just like paradise in a glass. No, we go and get our tender boat stickers to go ashore to the Grand Cayman.  The first tender was at 7:45 am and we both revel that we were not on the first boat.  It is hard to claim we are "morning people" when we keep sleeping in. Despite the crowds, the tendering process is efficient and amazingly quick.

Sunday, January 28, 2018 Since I basically didn't sleep, I am dressed and ready to go a 7 am. My sweetie remains asleep snoring softly.  I don't have the heart to wake him although as time goes by I seem to have less and less heart. He wakes up at 9 am, meaning he slept 12 consecutive hours.  But, he is feeling exceptional.  No more seasickness and he is ready to take on the world.  He obviously needed the sleep.  He dresses slowly and we go to the Lido deck for breakfast, even though I am still full from yesterday. I have a delicious made-to-order omelet from the omelet station.  He has a plate of carbohydrates with one egg for good measure.  I suggest we take some milk and yogurt back to our room to put in our fridge in case we want a snack in our room.  How ridiculous.  There is nothing but exceptional food here wherever and whenever we want.  I am still full from yesterday and stuffing an omelet inside me only because it is so good. Since today is our fun day at

Saturday, January 27, 2018 7:00 am and we can't wait to leave Hanoi Hilton but we stop at the desk to share with them our long list of complaints and security concerns.  The desk clerk, who has basically been there every moment that we have (I guess they don't have labour laws in Florida) is the one who has been sitting there every time we have gone done to the lobby and the one who has repeatedly assured us that she will send a pillow right up.  Regardless, she expresses outrage at us not getting a pillow and indicates that the lobby phone should be answered 24 hours a day.  She indicates she has no decision making power but she will transmit our concerns to Ms. Elaine and that she would call us in a couple of hours to give us a discount but she wasn't sure about how much of a discount, other than a discount.  We are still waiting for that phone call.  As we exiting, however, we notice UBER coupons offering $10 off the next ride.  Looking closer, we see that the coup