Sunday, May 1, 2011
Friday, August 28, 2009
I was on the deck with my arms outstretched. I was thinking about looking down from far above. Visualizing. I could feel the air under my palms. The breeze was on my face. I was ready to leap into the great beyond, when I remembered I had someplace earthbound to be.
The Village council was meeting in an hour, and I had to be there. There's only 900 people in the whole Township and maybe a couple of hundred in the village, so everybody who can be involved in the democratic process should really be there.
There were six members of the council there in the chamber. It was pretty packed, seeing as there were almost as many members of the general public as there were elected officials, and of course the clerk too who takes notes about the meeting.
It was a full meeting too, with a complex agenda. There was a water quality report by Doug. He was all spruced up there with a blue plaid shirt and what looked like new board shorts. He reported that the source of the high e-coli count down where the river empties into the lake was most likely due to a beaver dam. He's figured this out because since the trapper was in to get that creature to move along, the safety of the water has improved. Of course, now there's another problem. I can't recall where on the lake it is because I was working on my Sudoku puzzle and forgot to pay attention, but the interesting fact was the beaver in this case was outside the territory of the trapper they'd hired before. Apparently our village and environs is getting so big we have a trapper turf war. Anyway, Doug said he'd report back after the beaver had been trapped and the follow-up results had come from the lab up in the city.
Then there was some discussion about getting a road down to some cottages ready for the winter. One of the fellows who'd been to council way back in the spring asking for four loads of gravel was back. He was concerned about the snowplow making it down his road. Now the Township didn't want to assume liability for his road. I don't really know what terrible thing might happen over on that side of the lake, but apparently there's no way anybody on council wants to get involved with that bunch and even one load of gravel was going to put them on the slippery slope to hell.
The clerk made the council aware of the correspondance that had come in during the month. Some of the letters were pretty boring, I must admit, but there were two things that made me look up from my sudoku. First was the sad tale by Mrs Moffatt about the destruction of her flower bed out by the road. Apparently all her hard work had been destroyed within a blink of an eye by Kevin the road guy. A couple of times a summer the works department sends a cutter down the roads around the village, removing weeds and grass which grows into the roadways and might even be the source of fuel for a fire or two in the hot weather. Apparently Kevin wasn't paying attention when he drove past her house and he took out all her asters and cosmos and a whole load of zinnias. I think there was even a garden gnome involved. One of councillors said she was sympathetic to Mrs Moffatt's concerns because one day last winter when Kevin was manning the snowplow he had managed to take out her fence. The clerk just wanted to know if he had to respond to Mrs. Moffat's concerns because there was nothing in her letter specifically which demanded a response. He was certain that this was more of an airing of injustice than a request for action.
Finally there came before Council a very weighty matter. Next spring our little village is going to be front and centre, well more like a little off centre, when the G8 summit is being held over Huntsville way. Seeing as we're just next door all the excitement is likely to spill over here, world leaders, the press and the eyes of the all the nations will be on our little part of the globe. So the Mounties have sent out a request for our village to have a security plan in place for the big event. The Reeve read the letter out and council listened. Everybody in the audience was most impressed. For the first time the mantle of this awesome responsibility was weighing on our shoulders. The reality of the big event was sinking in. The Reeve looked serious and the other members stared down at their copies of the correspondence that came straight from the RCMP. Reeve thought before he spoke in that way he has, you know the air of authority which got him elected. "I heard they were coming to the Town of Rosseau," he said. Now the town of Rosseau is not close, but then it's not too far away. "I heard they're coming to Orrville," said Councillor Bill. That had an effect on everybody because you can be in Orrville in under fifteen minutes if you try. The proximity and its inherent responsibilities registered on each and every face. "Huh," said another Councillor. That statement echoed around the table. Reeve stared at the letter. He lifted his eyes a little."Well, he said. There was no other response. Reeve as he passed the letter to the clerk. "What's next on the agenda?" he said, cool as a cucumber. I guess that's why he has this job and I don't. That letter from the greatest police force in the land would have had me in a tizzy, but he was calm and collected under all that pressure. 'Huh'? The meeeting adjourned.
As I made my way home I realized that I was a pretty lucky person. While I was able to indulge myself in my passion for learning to fly, there were others right here in my village who had the weight of the world on their shoulders. Tomorrow I'll work will rededicate myself to my goals. I will work on my takeoff.
The Village council was meeting in an hour, and I had to be there. There's only 900 people in the whole Township and maybe a couple of hundred in the village, so everybody who can be involved in the democratic process should really be there.
There were six members of the council there in the chamber. It was pretty packed, seeing as there were almost as many members of the general public as there were elected officials, and of course the clerk too who takes notes about the meeting.
It was a full meeting too, with a complex agenda. There was a water quality report by Doug. He was all spruced up there with a blue plaid shirt and what looked like new board shorts. He reported that the source of the high e-coli count down where the river empties into the lake was most likely due to a beaver dam. He's figured this out because since the trapper was in to get that creature to move along, the safety of the water has improved. Of course, now there's another problem. I can't recall where on the lake it is because I was working on my Sudoku puzzle and forgot to pay attention, but the interesting fact was the beaver in this case was outside the territory of the trapper they'd hired before. Apparently our village and environs is getting so big we have a trapper turf war. Anyway, Doug said he'd report back after the beaver had been trapped and the follow-up results had come from the lab up in the city.
Then there was some discussion about getting a road down to some cottages ready for the winter. One of the fellows who'd been to council way back in the spring asking for four loads of gravel was back. He was concerned about the snowplow making it down his road. Now the Township didn't want to assume liability for his road. I don't really know what terrible thing might happen over on that side of the lake, but apparently there's no way anybody on council wants to get involved with that bunch and even one load of gravel was going to put them on the slippery slope to hell.
The clerk made the council aware of the correspondance that had come in during the month. Some of the letters were pretty boring, I must admit, but there were two things that made me look up from my sudoku. First was the sad tale by Mrs Moffatt about the destruction of her flower bed out by the road. Apparently all her hard work had been destroyed within a blink of an eye by Kevin the road guy. A couple of times a summer the works department sends a cutter down the roads around the village, removing weeds and grass which grows into the roadways and might even be the source of fuel for a fire or two in the hot weather. Apparently Kevin wasn't paying attention when he drove past her house and he took out all her asters and cosmos and a whole load of zinnias. I think there was even a garden gnome involved. One of councillors said she was sympathetic to Mrs Moffatt's concerns because one day last winter when Kevin was manning the snowplow he had managed to take out her fence. The clerk just wanted to know if he had to respond to Mrs. Moffat's concerns because there was nothing in her letter specifically which demanded a response. He was certain that this was more of an airing of injustice than a request for action.
Finally there came before Council a very weighty matter. Next spring our little village is going to be front and centre, well more like a little off centre, when the G8 summit is being held over Huntsville way. Seeing as we're just next door all the excitement is likely to spill over here, world leaders, the press and the eyes of the all the nations will be on our little part of the globe. So the Mounties have sent out a request for our village to have a security plan in place for the big event. The Reeve read the letter out and council listened. Everybody in the audience was most impressed. For the first time the mantle of this awesome responsibility was weighing on our shoulders. The reality of the big event was sinking in. The Reeve looked serious and the other members stared down at their copies of the correspondence that came straight from the RCMP. Reeve thought before he spoke in that way he has, you know the air of authority which got him elected. "I heard they were coming to the Town of Rosseau," he said. Now the town of Rosseau is not close, but then it's not too far away. "I heard they're coming to Orrville," said Councillor Bill. That had an effect on everybody because you can be in Orrville in under fifteen minutes if you try. The proximity and its inherent responsibilities registered on each and every face. "Huh," said another Councillor. That statement echoed around the table. Reeve stared at the letter. He lifted his eyes a little."Well, he said. There was no other response. Reeve as he passed the letter to the clerk. "What's next on the agenda?" he said, cool as a cucumber. I guess that's why he has this job and I don't. That letter from the greatest police force in the land would have had me in a tizzy, but he was calm and collected under all that pressure. 'Huh'? The meeeting adjourned.
As I made my way home I realized that I was a pretty lucky person. While I was able to indulge myself in my passion for learning to fly, there were others right here in my village who had the weight of the world on their shoulders. Tomorrow I'll work will rededicate myself to my goals. I will work on my takeoff.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
day one
Goals. It's all about goals. So I hear. For more a few years I've been thinking about what I want to do when I grow up, but I've pretty much shot that bolt, so I'm going to the '100 things to do before I die' plan. Not having the greatest regard for lists, I have decided to just jump right in at the top. I've always wanted to learn to fly. You know, spread your wings, and take off. So that's my goal. I'm learning to fly. Stay tuned. I'm going out on the deck right now and see what happens. I'm not expecting much, and sure hoping to avoid the worst, but I'll be back and I'll let you know what happens. Maybe.
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