On the Road Again 2016 #8

The train had arrive early, I was out of the train station by just after 8:00 AM. The sky was clear and I was ready to go. It is always a bit anticlimactic to hike through the train station, pass through the doors, breath the fresh air, turn left and then drop the pack again. For a brief few minutes I felt free and unencumbered by the routines and schedules of the common man. Then I had to wait for a city bus.

Winnipeg has, at least in Canada, the best downtown bus stops. At every stop there is an electronic sign that is updated every minute or so, clearly indicating when which bus is coming. It means that for the traveller such as myself who only uses the transit system once or sometimes twice a year and therefore is a bit anxious, knows exactly when his/her bus is going to come. It makes the whole process that much more relaxing. The bus came when promised, I took a short ride to the downtown core, got off at the right bus stop and waited for my St. Charles Express. It too came exactly when promised by the electronic sign. Portage  Street is a very long street. The first few times I took this bus, I use to get a bit concerned as to how long it took to get to the last stop just less than a kilometre east of the Perimeter Highway and the start of the Trans-Canada. Now I am use to it and just relax, looking at semi-familiar stores and signs. When I went along Portage Street last year they were doing some major reconstruction. I am saddened to report that it felt as if they were still working on the same sections this year. Perhaps they were new sections but they all look the same to me.

I got off at my usual spot, spent the next twenty or so minutes navigating my way across entrances to and exits from the Perimeter Highway. As always these exits and entrances ramps are busy and not made for being crossed over by pedestrians. While I have no reason to believe it, it always feels as if the drivers can't see me, or even worse don't care if I am there. I am more cautious crossing these lanes than anywhere else in my travels.

As I have mentioned in other blogs, cities are getting bigger and bigger. Consequently I have to walk further and further to find a spot where the traffic is less chaotic. I use to be able to stand just a few metres from the last exit ramp from the Perimeter Highway, I now have to walk past two other stoplights to find a spot where at least some of the commuter traffic has been filtered away and the drivers have settled into some sort of pattern. Of course by the time this occurs, most of the vehicles are approaching their cruising speed. It would have been nice if I could have gotten a drive from a trucker coming out of the Flying J rest stop, but I didn't even try. I have never had any luck there.

I was feeling a bit lazy so I dropped my pack earlier than I normally would have. After fifteen or so minutes I picked it up again and walked to just after the next set of lights. Within a few minutes a car quickly, from the outside lane, swerved over to pick me up. (This almost never happens. Cars in the outside lane do not stop for me. It is amongst everything else, usually too dangerous. It happened twice this year). My first driver of the trip west was going to Regina - a ride of almost 600 kilometres. A pretty good start to the trip!

Preferential Treatment

The CBC ran a story last week about the fact that Canadian veterans who served after 1953 are no longer eligible to be cared for in a specialized long term care facility. I did not know that such facilities existed. I knew that after WWl special hospitals needed to be created to assist the men who had been injured, some of whom required life-long care. My father was taken care of in such a hospital after WWll. I did not know however, that those individuals who were involved in either the Second World War or the Korean conflict had the option, as they aged, to go to a veteran's nursing home. The argument is that those individuals risked their lives for Canada and therefore deserve special treatment.  I am not sure I agree. I see no reason why a veteran, especially one who served in peace time, should get preferential treatment. My comments have nothing to do with disrespecting those who served, but rather being aware of how unfair it is for one group to get better/easier access to services.

The issue seems to hang upon such questions as whose service to the country was more important or who suffered more for their country?  I think that those are the wrong questions to ask. There is a great documentary called The Story Telling Class. It is about a group of Winnipeg high school students who, after reading Ismael Beah's book A long Way Gone; Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, decide to listen some of their classmates' stories of what their life had been like before they came to Canada. At some point the Canadian born students start to want to tell their stories too. Beah meets with them and talks about the fact that sadness or sorrow is not competitive. That if one feels profoundly sad for whatever reason, we need to accept that person's sadness. We should not say "my sorrow is greater than yours (and therefore more meaningful) because my life experiences are worse than yours". Sadness or anguish or any other emotion is relative. What may appear to some as a relative minor reason to feel sorrow (e.g. the death of pet) can profoundly affect people. One sorrow is not greater or more important than another.

I think it could be useful to think of Beah's comments to the students when considering how we decide who gets special treatment. How do we decide whose service to the country is worth more than someone else's? Should a fire person or a police person get preferential treatment over someone who got up early every Saturday morning, in the  winter, for twenty-five years to coach minor league hockey? Can we compare each of those services and say which one is more important, which is better? If I feel as if I have provided a service to my community - is not that a valid perception?

If emotions are relative and have equal validity - should not all service to one's country/community also have equal validity. If we all are doing the best that we can - then surely none deserve a higher level of support as we age.

Just asking.....

On the Road Again 2016 #7

I saw more wildlife between Hornpayne and Winnipeg than I have in almost all of my other trips combined across Canada by train. There was a beautiful healthy looking white/grey wolf standing in a clearing just off of the tracks, a couple of bald eagles playing tag and/or flirting just after dawn, a golden coloured bear close to the tracks who I could almost swear made eye contact with me as the train passed and perhaps most surprisingly a large flock of white pelicans somewhere east of Sioux Lookout. I think, because of these rewarding occasional sightings, I probably spent more time looking out the window than I normally do.

The front section of the train (economy section) was once again surprisingly empty. I thought about asking one of the VIA people if they would sell me a cheap ticket all the way to Vancouver. I knew that was beyond their power, but a near empty train was going that way and that seemed a silly waste of space. An extra twenty or so more people would not make either the engine or the staff work harder. Even if those twenty people only paid $100 for the trip....that would still be $2000 more than VIA had started off with. Perhaps VIA should have some sort of standby system with tickets available at half cost 12 hours before the train leaves.

As it was, the car was delightfully quiet. Everyone had their own seat and for the most part, I think most folks kept to themselves, with the exception of course of the twenty-something crowd who spent their time in the dome car. The young lady in front of me was off to Edmonton for a new job - I only know that because I heard her talking on her cell phone to one of her roommates. The few times I spoke to her, she always seemed to be shocked that I would say anything and never responded.

The couple across from me were getting off in Sioux Lookout. At one point in the early evening they got off for a smoke. I didn't see them get back on. As the rain was leaving, I spoke to an attendant who said he was pretty sure that they had got back on but that they had warned people that it was going to be a short stop and not too stray too far. I fell asleep not being sure if they were on the train or not. The couple must have been in the dome car as they were back in their seats and all packed up in time for their stop. The attendants did not seem all that concerned as to whether or not they were on the train. On some trains the crews are very engaged with the passengers - giving lots of instructions such as wearing shoes when crossing in between cars to prevent the soles or toes from being pinched as the connecting compartment's floor moves, drinking lots of water or reminding people that if they get off the train for a break, that it is fine to miss getting back on - as long as they don't mind waiting three days for the next one. This crew did not seem to be around much. I wondered if it was because they all knew that a strike could have been called fairly soon.

The young lady behind me was Asian. I do not think she spoke a lot of English. At one point, early on the first day, an older couple came up to and offered to buy her lunch. They said that they wanted to show her some "Canadian hospitality". I thought it was a nice gesture. She said no. The couple looked disappointed. They were, I think, trying to be nice. The young lady, except to use the bathroom never left her seat. I noticed the next morning that she slept wearing a face mask which always looks a bit strange to me.

The musical entertainment was a couple - not as young as some others that I have seen. She played the guitar and he the electric bass. The audience initially was not that appreciative with one older lady requesting songs such "Little Boxes" and another passenger, who may have been drinking, trying to engage the singer in a conversation that neither I nor the singer could understand. When they sang their own material, she had a remarkable voice. But singing to a small audience (perhaps ten people) in a swaying car must be challenging. When she tried on a couple of occasions to sing songs that she thought people might like to hear (Cash's Ring of Fire and House of the Rising Sun) she did not know all of the verses. If she only knew one verse of House of the Rising Sun - she probably should not have tried it.

I did my usual thing on short trips - I slept a lot, listened to music and read. Not wanting to sound jaded but the train trip from Sudbury Junction to Winnipeg is just a ride. I was glad when the train arrived just before 7:30 - thirty minutes early.

Ode to Canada Post

A few years ago I realized that my pack was far too heavy to hitchhike with. Because I was going to be gone for two months, I needed to carry with me all of my clothes and all of my camping equipment. Most of the clothes and equipment were not needed on my travels but when I got to where ever I was going. The pack towered above my head and was heavy enough to make getting it into a large truck almost impossible. Every time I picked it up, my already prone-to damaged back groaned in anticipation of another strained muscle. Trying to run with the pack to chase down a stopped vehicle was difficult and I am sure - not a pretty sight. My shoulders, in spite of the well padded straps, were constantly sore.  There are some spots along my trip where I have to walk a couple of kilometres to get out of town, up a hill to a better spot or even to find a bus stop. The heavy pack meant that I had to stop too often to rest my shoulders, my back and my heart.

The solution to this problem was simple...... I re-packed my pack - only taking what I needed for the travelling and put the rest in a box which I mailed to where I was going. Within an hour I had cut the weight of what I was carrying in half. Problem solved. I can walk further, run more (slightly) gracefully and lift my pack into a high truck.

It cost about $25.00 to mail the box and it is worth every penny. I have now mailed a box back and forth across the country eight perhaps ten times. Every time, a nice person at the post office tells me that it will take eight to ten business days for me to get the parcel. Every time I get it within a week (including weekends). I mailed my box last Tuesday in Sudbury. Yesterday (Monday) it was delivered to my door in Duncan.

In this day when it is ever so easy to complain about the poor service from various places - all I can say is well done Canada Post!

Discourse on Parenting and the Law - Addendum

Yesterday I posted a piece about how it takes a village to raise a child and how the village that we all live in had failed a teenager named Alex. In that piece I somewhat excused the social service system. In  light of the most recent news as reported by the CBC, I was wrong to do so.

The CBC reported late in the day that the B.C. Ministry of Child and Family Development knew where the young man's family had moved to in Alberta.  The worker from that Ministry testified in court that they did not notify social services in Alberta as to their concerns or the address because "It's not part of our procedure"( CBC).

While it appears as if policies have changed and now BC Ministry staff are required to exchange critical information with their counterparts in other jurisdictions, "It's not part of our procedure" is quite simply not a good enough excuse. In the midst of complex procedures and policies, the filing out of countless forms, the relentless scrutiny from a sometimes angry public - those in social services need to be reminded that their primary concern is to protect those who are vulnerable. "Not my job" is never a valid excuse to avoid doing the morally right thing.