The move south has heated Rotzy up…politics heats everyone up a bit…but Rotzy is steaming!
It’s Been 100 Years….
Since Germany surrendered to the Allies and the Armistice was signed November 11th 1918, thus because it’s a full century ago, Remembrance Day seems to take on a new ‘aura’, at least to yours truly….as if it’s ‘bigger’, or perhaps ‘more important’ than ever. It is certainly more poignant and even attention-getting when one watches the old film clips from WW I that have been running on TV for the past three weeks or so. It appears that technology has allowed considerable improvement in these 100-year old films, and I find the images of desolate, bombed-out countryside, destruction and death very heart rendering. And difficult to watch. But I always do. Watch. In truth I find them quite captivating. Another day and another tyme where, when called upon to serve, I believe something like seven or eight out of ten Canadians answered the call. Sorry, that isn’t gonna happen 100 years later, but that’s another story.
As to Remembrance Day 2018….today, as I write this….for the first tyme since 11/11 2000 Miz Jo and Rotzy will NOT be taking part in the service in Nakina, where we’d make up a loaf of sandwiches and drop them in at Branch #116, go up to the school and join the townsfolk, parents and kids and follow the Legion colour party and OPP cruiser 3 or 4 blocks down to the Cenotaph for the service and laying of 20 or 30 wreaths, with the kids always helping out. Recently with Aroland’s Johnny T. School taking part, the students would head back uptown for hot dogs whilst the adults gathered in Branch #116 for Denis’s soup, sandwiches and cetera. A great tyme to chat/get caught up on what’s happening and the day most Legion members get their new membership. I/we will really miss that annual get together today, although I saw Nakina’s temperature on my PC and this ayem at 6:00 it was -21C, feels like -27. Well sorry but I/we won’t miss that.
So, what is the olde guy gonna do? Well, I stopped into the Mount Hope Cemetery a couple weeks back to say ‘Hi’ to my Mom and Dad for the first tyme in a number of years. Took a while to find them….they both have ‘flat’ grave markers, as do all others in that particular part of Mt Hope, and the recent winds and rains had covered virtually all the graves with fall coloured maple leaves and tho I was in the right area (near the trees) I uncovered at least 15 markers before locating my folks. Anyway, after apologizing for my ‘prolonged absence’, then letting them know I’m back in Brantford, we had a great visit and chat. Anyway, on my way out I decided to take a ‘different route’ and came upon a lot of upright grave markers, all identical, all in neat rows, hundreds of them, so I pulled over and got out. Not surprisingly, ALL of the markers were dated during the years between 1939 and 1945….soldiers, sailors and flyers, even a bandmaster!, and most of whom never saw their thirtieth birthday….many in their early twenties. Anyway, I’m writing this column Sun morning Nov 11th and Miz. Jo just advised me ”It’s almost 11:00 o’clock” so together we had our ”two minutes silence”…then when “From Nakina” is done, altho it won’t likely be until noon or 1:00PM, I’m going back to Mt Hope and walk the rows and rows of veterans, maybe lay my poppy at one of them….the brave men and women who paid the supreme price in World War II.
It’s Been A Good While….
Since I’ve done a ‘Rotzy Rant’ on anything ‘political’. In fact I can’t even recall how long or whom it was aimed at! No matter. It’s also been ages since I handed out a JOTW (Jerk Of The Week) Award. Guess what? It’s tyme. For both….kinda like ‘two birds with one stone’. For the uninitiated, parts of this item might come across as somewhat of an ‘EX-PO-ZAY’ on this week’s JOTW Winner, but that will be from his many years as a Conservative MPP, not regarding his recent and current years as a Progressive Conservative MP. I’m talking about Tony Clement…..a PC MP who’s a Shadow Cabinet guy for the Conservatives. Well, Tony WAS a Shadow Cabinet guy, but Tony got caught with his pants down a week ago. Actually Clement was ‘EX-PO-ZING’ himself….giving pictures of himself…,,.’suggestive’ fotos (selfies?) in a state of undress to a woman he was trying to woo. Well, woo-hoo!….dont’cha know somehow the pics got into the hands of the enemy….the Liberals, the press, the media and Lord knows who else?! A little bit of ‘digging’ shows this ‘self foto stuff’ isn’t new to Clement, that he’s been doing this in order to ‘impress the ladies’ for some tyme. (*I’m typing this, but I’m having a hard tyme believing what I’m writing, but that’s what the news said.) The reports also said that the ‘disgraced former PC MP’ Tony Clement was/is claiming he’s a ‘victim of extortion”….perhaps by ‘another party’? Well Tony, even if that IS the case, and given your track record, I rather doubt it, somebody tossed out the bait, and YOU took it! Pretty much devoured it I’d say. Clement has been at the public trough for about 20 years, maybe more and has ‘wormed’ his way out of trouble and overspending charges several tymes over the years. The last ten or so as one of P/M Stephen Harper’s go-to guys, currently (up to last week) sitting in the Opposition as a PC, and prior to that he was an MPP with the Harris/Eves regimes in various cabinet postings. Well, the reason Rotzy has been grinning like a Cheshire cat at poor Tony’s ‘bad luck’ goes back to his MPP tenure under Harris at the tyme of Mike’s wanting to ‘super-size’ and/or ‘privatize’ everything….and he had a real ‘thing’ for amalgamation of towns and cities. Yes, I’m talking about Greenstone….dammit!….I said I wouldn’t do this again but here goes. Clement was Min of Municipalities or Whatever at the tyme and as such had the power to call for a ‘stay’, and ‘stall it’ or even better, ‘kill it’ completely. I have a quote made by Clement just months before the January 1st, 2001 amalgamation date. It said (loosely quoted) “I gotta do something about that mess….it isn’t gonna work”. Well, Tony did nothing….at all….but he was right that ”it isn’t gonna work”. Amalgamations….like Greenstone….were supposed to save people/governments money. How ridiculous!! By the bye, as far as Rotzy knows, the Municipality of Greenstone is/was the LAST attempt at amalgamation in Ontario. Thanks for that Tony…and have yourself a real fine day. Ditto for your wife and kids. (*Rant complete)
Thought Of The Day: If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders Field. (Lieutenant.Colonel John Mc Crae….written May 3/1915 at Ypres, Belgium)
