Is it possible to track the polarization of American politics to two very different country songs released in the wake of 9/11 – one contemplative and questioning while the other is aggressive and angry?
Not saying this is the reason politics is so polarized but definitely a reflection of a moment where American politics got more divided…
“Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)?” – Alan Jackson
“Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)” – Toby Keith
If you believe in mythology, it’s a lot harder to believe in science…
(And honestly, I picked one random example but there are dozens if not hundreds of examples from across North America and around the world where religious leaders are playing a role in making the pandemic worse by giving bad advice to their congregants.)
What’s the sad joke?
Christian in ICU bed dying of Covid: “God, you were supposed to protect me!”
God: “I sent you a vaccine – what else did you want?”
I know lottery tickets are a waste of money but I buy them for a few reasons:
1) Lottery money helps fund a lot of great organizations including many of the non-profits I used to work for/with/volunteer for.
2. As a colleague once said, “sure, you’re not going to win but what you’re actually buying is permission to dream about what life would be like if you did.”
3) I’m fairly restrained in my purchases, only buying a single ticket at a time and not even for every draw – only if jackpots get huge and/or coinciding with when I’m at a gas station or convenience store or a similar place where I might have occasion to buy one. (It always pains me if I’m buying tickets and somebody else buys like $100 worth of tickets at a shot.)
At any rate, posting this pic makes me feel like my aunt who goes to the casino and always tells you how much she won but never how much she spent to win that jackpot. But since I rarely win more than a free ticket or $10, this was a pleasant surprise the other morning.
As yesterday was my “work-iversary” of starting at Regina Public Library in 2008, I thought I’d post one of my favourite pictures of all-time for “Throwback Thursday”.
This is a scan of a print (remember those where you’d get 24 photos in a roll of film for a camera?) of me coming out of the main doors of Regina Public Library,
What I love about this picture is, at a time when every photo was fairly precious and you didn’t waste film taking pictures of every single thing like you can now with 256 GB of storage in a smartphone you have on you at all times, whoever took it (my parents?) recognized that this was something that was significant enough in my life that it was worth taking a candid photo of me at this very special place.
Cameras in this era didn’t have zoom lens (unless you were a pro!). so it’s pretty far away and I’m not sure how old I am in this photo – late teens? Early 20’s? – but again, that’s what makes this photo special – obviously libraries have played a large part in my life for a really long time before library school was something I knew existed, let along considered.
But I sort of wish I could go back in time and whisper to that young kid that he’d take a fairly circuitous route to get there but would eventually be working at that same library system including five years in that very building!
Today marks 13 years since I started at Regina Public Library on September 8, 2008 (and I got to celebrate by taking a rare opportunity to exercise some front-line librarian muscles by reading a couple stories to a grade 3/4 class that visited our branch today!)
If I had a traditional 30-year career, I’d be nearing the halfway point of that tenure.
But because I took five years to complete my four year degree then spent nearly a decade in the non-profit sector plus a couple years in a regional system before being hired by RPL, I’m actually closer to the end of my career than the halfway point.
I turned 48 this summer which means I’m eligible for early retirement in seven short years when I turn 55.
It’s hard to say how long I’ll work – until I’m 55? 60? 65? (which is the only way I would end up having a traditional 30 year career – even as a relative latecomer to libraryland.)
I don’t know how long I might work but I do know what I want for my retirement party!
Some may have photos of memorable moments or tributes from former coworkers or a cake party with the presentation of a retirement gift.
Whatever combination of the above I may have, I’ve decided one thing I absolutely want is a Powerpoint presentation playing in the background of my retirement party with the titles of various Incident Reports I’ve been involved with! 🙂
How many of these things did you learn about in library school???
“Kid tries to start library on fire”
“Passed out man wakes up swearing”
“Two patrons scream at each other at the photocopier.”
“Report of someone smoking marijuana in washroom.”
“Child asks for bandaid for wasp sting.”
“Stolen Bike.”
“Stolen iPhone.”
“Stolen purse”
“Stolen iPhone”
“Stolen sunglasses.”
“Stolen iPhone”
“Altercation in parking lot”
“Empty liquor bottle found in toilet.”
“Man throws brick at window.”
“Woman screams obscenities at boyfriend.”
“Poop found in children’s area.”
“Baby left in library at closing by new dad” (this is a legendary story at RPL that occurred before I worked there so I’m claiming it!) 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4uiCvXYpaQ
“Cody” – The Killers
Between Shea and I, we camped a personal record of 62 nights this summer from May to September including two 2-week stretches, every weekend, every long weekend and probably a few extra nights we managed to squeeze in here and there.
Here’s some highlights from the month we just wrapped up…
1. Cornhole Tournament
My father-in-law was busy this winter making us both a ladder golf and a cornhole game. We played a few times through the summer but the highlight was the eight-person tournament we had when my parents came to camp with us for a few nights. After some early drama about whether she even wanted to play, Sasha ended up beating out the field to take the championship match over her brother!
2. Rasslin’
I missed their return in July when we spent the day at a family funeral (damn priorities!) but I made sure to take Pace and his cousin when Canadian Wrestling Elite returned to Weyburn in August and it was a blast, totally reminding me of going to wrestling shows with my own dad when I was that age!
3. Boating
We’re pretty fortunate that my father-in-law has a pontoon boat so we got out quite a few times over the summer. It was a hot summer and I’m not sure if there’s anything better than floating in a tube just off from the boat, listening to tunes from the speaker on the boat and sipping a cold beverage (soda pop only, of course!)
4. Grid Road Drive To Oungre
We had one rainy day forecast so decided to head south to Oungre Regional Park which we knew has a very nice heated indoor pool. The whole day was great but I particularly enjoyed my decision to avoid the highway on the way down and have a leisurely drive on the grid roads, checking crops and watching the activity in the oil patch.
5. Halloween in the Park
Lots of other parks do this but this year was the first year ours did “Halloween in the Park” where they have a Halloween-themed night with decorating contests, trick or treating at participating campsites, and a spooky movie double-header with the first targeted at kids and the second one for adults.
I may do a few entries about our summer but, for now, just sad that another great summer of camping is coming to a close…
