Blog or white ... because it never is.

Not ready to go back to the gym yet, so I am enjoying 10km walks throughout the city trying to find the road less traveled and places I have never seen.  I am finding I am exercising my mind and soul, as well as my fat little legs.   Today, I happened to notice several examples of clover replacing grass on boulevards and other small places.  I never had given it much thought until I saw Coun. Allard talk about this and bringing it forward to City Council.  It is brilliant.  It is very lush, doesn't grow high, and better for the environment because of less maintenance.  And, somewhere along the way, I see this man approaching me. He looks to be atleast 70.  But, instead of moving to one side of the trail or another, he seems to be heading right for me.  I wonder if he is confused or needs assistance.  I stop about 3 meters away from him and extend my arm in a stopping gesture.  He says to me, "you look like you are down on your luck,...

My mother was one of the proudest Civilian Members of the RCMP.  She felt it was her role off-duty to be a mother figure to all new (and old) recruits.  I got the opportunity to meet most of the members who came through the Parkland region.  Most were treasured friends of not only my mother's but of our family.  Many went on to have illustrious careers in the RCMP.  They were all special and I truly can not imagine any of them treating anyone badly.   But, I grew up and began having my own adult experiences with police forces.  Decades ago, when I was a young Social Worker, I got an opportunity to attend training on Conducting Sexual Abuse Investigations Involving Children.  It was a week long course held at the police forces training headquarters and we stayed in barracks.  There were 4 Social Workers and 20 Police Officers.  The course was taught jointly by a Police Officer and a Social Worker.  Well, I'm sure that was...

Like most Winnipeggers, I was amazed at the power of the people at the Justice4BlackPeople rally.  It was simply overwhelming.  For some reason, I was thinking a lot about what would have happened if the Blackface Trudeau pictures had emerged during the last week and what effect that would have on Canada.  Media across the world are sharing the image of Trudeau kneeling at a rally in Ottawa. I am doubtful it would have made a difference in the election.  Andrew Scheer was/is just not leadership material.  Don't forget he beat out Maxime Bernier in the Conservative leadership race. The man that we know is racist.  Regardless, the blackface scandal hasn't stuck on Trudeau, but I think it effected other races.  I remember when Trudeau issued his apology in Winnipeg.  I remember his fellow Liberal MPs and candidates stood behind.  I remember Robert-Falcon Oulette and Doug Eyolfson standing next to each other.  Oulette was wearing a b...

Notice the crap on top of my china cabinet?  I can't stand any of it.  I don't like looking at it and like being in denial that it exists.  Fortunately, I am quite short, so my eye level is very much lower so I can actually go days without looking at it.  So, why is this stuff up there.  Well, my partner moved in, he put these items up there.  I was not in the least bit happy, but, I smiled and said "great" when he showed me this display.  Essentially, it wasn't worth fighting over.  I love my partner more than I wanted to waste energy fighting a fight not worth it.  Plus, it was important to me for him to put his own touches to make our home "our" home.  A couple of weeks ago, my partner was having a facetime conversation with a loved one in hospital. He happened to be sitting in a chair where a portion of the china cabinet was in view.  The loved one asked my partner why some wine glasses weren't on display and the first react...

I just noticed this vacant car dealership yesterday.  I can't be sure, but I think it is a Covid19 economic victim. I am sure, like many businesses, it was struggling before the State of Emergency but even with generous government assistance couldn't see a pathway to the future.  I wonder how many families this represented.  The residents in Dauphin and surrounding community articulated extremely well what the closing of the jail would do for Dauphin.  It was more than 70 jobs lost.  It meant 70 families were likely going to be lost.  70 houses put on the market that was already struggling.  Great opportunity for those wanting to buy in Dauphin and also will bring down the housing prices throughout the community.  The 70 families had a huge economic impact in tp the community in terms of shopping, eating out, worshiping, volunteering, etc.  The closure of the jail likely means that two or more teachers will lose their jobs.  There wi...

It is hard to see what is going on in this picture.  That is on purpose.  I am trying to protect the privacy of the person sleeping on the bench in the background.  Also, I am not going to reveal the location as it is one of the treasures we have discovered in St. James. Despite the paved walking path, it is a very secluded location that we didn't know existed.  We have tried to go on walking adventures whenever we can and we deliberately are taking the road less traveled to see where it leads us. We found this gentleman pretending to sleep on this lonely bench in the middle of the day with his bags safely stowed until the bench.  He confirmed that he currently didn't have a fixed address.  I offered to drive him to a shelter but he preferred to be in a solitary environment.  He has anxiety and doesn't like crowds or communal living.  I told him I had a friend who was very active in helping people without an address and I could take him there ...

It is Saturday morning and my partner is doing what he enjoys most on Saturday morning, reading obituaries.  I don't understand this "hobby" of his, but, contrary to popular belief, I don't control him.  Reading obituaries is one of his things.  In this time, I am aware that the revenue from obituaries is very important to the Free Press, so I am glad he is taking the time to read them.  In the last year or so, he has been inspired by the obituaries by some who have died by suicide. Their obituaries have been authentic and honest and talked about their struggles with mental illness. The focus of his blog has been on his own journey with mental illness, so he is admires those that are so brave to chronicle their journey in their obituary.  It is one way to break down the stigma. Today, he found more than one obituary in which the death was likely by suicide.  This is one day after one of the the most peaceful marches in the world Justice4BlackLives....

Once upon a time, there was a company called Central Park Lodges and they wanted to get into the long term care business and opened their first home in Winnipeg which was referred to as CPL1. Today, this building is called Parkview Place on Edmonton Street.  Then came CPL2.  This building is also still in operation and was aptly called Poseidon Place. The company moved on and opened other facilities in several other provinces and other homes in Winnipeg.  Throughout the last six decades, the company has transformed itself by name several times and is currently operating as Revera. They are a publicly traded and are a for-profit company.  The company also owns several Assisted Living Facilities. There is always some tension between the two lines of business as to which is more important to the company.  Currently, the charity that the company partners with is Habitat for Humanity. That should answer that question.  Part of my job was to recruit residents...

A police officer is a trauma trigger for me.  It is not something I can control.  When I see a police officer, my body reacts.  I start sweating, and my body starts vibrating. I have to use all of my self-talk to keep my body from shaking.  It is genuine panic.  I sincerely wish I could control my body more and not be triggered by the presence of a uniform.  I have learned some techniques that help.  I follow my police service on twitter so I can be aware of all the good work that they do.  Another technique is called "opposite action".  It basically means that instead of running across the street and allowing myself to convulse and making myself a target for police intervention, I take some deep breathes and talk to the officer.  Basically, it is trying to train my body not to be triggered because there is nothing to be afraid of.  About this time last year, I was walking down a street downtown going to my partner's office....