It Is The Simple Things

My, my, my, what a crappy day!

The temperature was about 25 degrees yesterday, but today the high is expected to only reach 8 degrees. To top it off, there is a steady rain coming down. It is a cold rain as well; the kind that I would dread when was delivering mail. There was just no way to stay warm and dry, you would just focus on the job at hand and put one foot in front of the other.

It being a Saturday and given the fact that I am retired, this shouldn't really be an issue. Unfortunately, this is the weekend that the Calgary Canoe Club (CCC) is holding races. That shouldn't be an issue either, except that Louise has two races today, Bummer!

I was just about to go down to the reservoir when it began to rain. I am all for supporting my wife and her paddling in warm water places like, oh...I don’t know...say Hawaii, but October in Calgary during a rainfall. Nope. Nada. Not going to happen. She races tomorrow, and I will be the devoted hubby then. Well, I am assuming that the weather will be somewhat improved. Just so the morning wasn’t a total waste, I packed up some reading material and went to my favourite Scottish restaurant for a coffee. It was pouring when I went in, but by the time I came out it was a beautiful, sunny day. That’s great for the CCC and their races.

I had a little shopping to do and of course I needed to buy my ticket on a dream. The library had “George Harrison: Living In  A Material World” a coffee table book based on a documentary by Martin Scorsese, which is something I am going to have to keep my eyes open for. I love to read these books, mainly for the hitherto unseen photos and commentary. The subject is dear to my heart, as I live with the hope that I am somehow related and some of the genius is flowing through my veins. I live to dream!

Louise came home and told me how her day went. There was a bit of a problem with the rain of course, but by and large it was a successful day. Now, for as long as I have known Louise, she has been if not out and out NDP, then certainly she was very left leaning. She has always been involved with the unions where ever she has worked. Her concern is always for the plight of her fellow workers and making their working life better if possible. I on the other hand have always mistrusted the motivation of stewards and executives of the union that I know best. I look on them as a necessary evil and Louise sees them as the saviors of the worker. Her entire family are as involved as she is, and have always served the left. I find it commendable, crazy, but commendable.

You can imagine my surprise when she came home and after she had changed she told me that she was going out to buy a conservative party membership card. HUH???? WTF???? I have had realistic dreams before, but this just seems surreal. I pinched myself and said “WHAT?” Turns out that she doesn’t like the front runner for the Alberta Conservative party and it is a case of “anyone but Mar.” The way they are selecting their new leader, who will be the Premier, is legal although somewhat less than democratic. I wished her a fun time and washed my hands of the whole affair. When she came back she told me that she actually felt sick to her stomach.

No matter who is elected to be our next Premier, I know that I have a life time of being able to tease Louise about being a card carrying member of the Alberta Conservative Party. Just wait till I tell her brother George. It is the simple things that make life so wonderful.