The nescient mind is both gullible and artless. It is a bad combination for those who are adventurous, though pliable for those who are treacherous. The unsettling distinction however is that more often than not it is each side of the reputed peril which similarly witnesses the other. In the end there is a lingering question concerning who, us or them, is misinformed and thus driven to a faulty conclusion?
Photograph: Doreen and Garnie Ziebarth, pictured on their wedding day in 1963, will be honoured as Pakenham pioneers Friday, Jan. 25, 2019 during a special Pakenham Frost Festival ceremony at the Stewart Community Centre.
I interrupted my routine tricycle ride this brilliantly sunny morning to play the piano at Fairview Manor. It is frankly a depuration for me. From the several kind comments I heard from others (primarily nursing staff), the impromptu performance was welcome. The staging however reminds me that my talent is painfully limited though well intended. Afterwards I chatted with a senior administrative assistant, Cindy, whom I have never met before. She is a local girl from the Pakenham area, a member of the well known Ziebarth clan (and her mother was a Symington, a family name of equal renown). I explained to her that having been a lawyer in the area since 1976 I was familiar with the names. It was the start of an enormously entertaining confab for the next half hour or more. We began by mentioning Duncan Abbott (former acclaimed Pakenham lawyer) and his wife Evelyn Wheeler (who coincidentally was our lawyer upon my retirement).
Reading Country Life this morning while lounging after breakfast I remarked openly (as I have frequently pondered privately) that the magazine is an unending temptation to buy and to spend. The two are naturally aligned but one precedes the other of course. It matters not however (at least not to the reader) whether one is unable to accomplish the peril; though certainly it likely does matter to the estate agents, architects, builders, goldsmiths, auctioneers, museums, art gallery concierges, furniture retailers and tradesmen who undertake the risk of advertizing themselves or their wares in the magazine. The vulgar retail underlay is redeemingly besotted with fascinating chronicled accounts, embellishing manor photographs and uplifting (though frequently dangerously historical) accounts of fishing, hunting, guffawing and guzzling, recipes, book reviews, travel logs, automobiles, Luxury Notebooks (pens, bicycles and nosegays), independent boarding and day schools, interior decorating, rug cleaning and repair, decorative arts, a young woman of note (curiously a feature never recorded in the Table of Contents though regularly published), riddles, crosswords and puzzles, cartoon, antiquities, insurance and finally classified advertising of it all.
There are few if any episodes which could possibly surpass this evening’s extempore dinner with my erstwhile physician at his country seat in the Village of Ashton. We were unexpectedly hailed prior to noon today after returning home from a summary medical attendance and grocery shopping. The invitation was for a late afternoon swim then dinner on the patio before the mosquitoes overtook.
Though it may not amount to commotion, I yearn for a particle of motion in my daily life. Call it the existential vein in me. I’m uncertain whether the enterprise is of any value to me or anyone else. But unquestionablly it alleviates scrutiny arising from indolence. I find there is a need to accomplish something of moderate distinction and activity every day of my life. Of course my pedantry is never of weighty consequence. It may be no more than a tricycle ride or a visit with a friend. There are by contrast those among us who preoccupy themselves with far more elegant or exotic endeavours (matters which I find are often the preserve of athletic people in particular, like hiking or climbing mountains or going to jungles). For some people the plan is to visit every place on the globe. Others prefer bird watching in remote islands off the coast of South America. Some even distinguish themselves by ballooning or jumping out of airplanes.
Immigration is a global issue. It’s three o’clock in the afternoon, the business hour of my day. I’ve just returned from an uncommonly pleasant though admittedly repetitive drive along the Appleton Side Road into the urban periphery and back. I am sipping chilled black coffee and nibbling on sliced green Granny apple. As I stare with wandering mind out of my drawing room window onto the balcony with its artful metal railing and matching black patio chairs overlooking the verdant lush field and the distant river plateau, listening to Solstice d’été by Dirk Maassen, I recall the Indian chap at the gas station moments ago.
The weather forecast for the next week and beyond is positively illuminating! I have even wondered when we might have a break from this Nirvana, when there might be a moment of cloud to balance the scales, to permit one to apply oneself to something other than pure enjoyment. Continue reading
Whether one likes or dislikes a political candidate, very often the more cogent determination of how one votes has more to do with historical party ideology. In the United States of America the Republican and Democratic parties have their singular notoriety. It is these elemental distinctions which characterize the majority of voter inclination. One must therefore be cautious not to misread a person’s favouritism. For example, just because you may not like someone’s uncle doesn’t mean you reject the entire family.
Each election cycle since he became president, Trump has endorsed more Senate, House and governor candidates than the one before, while the manner in which he vets candidates has become much more professional and strategic. And this cycle in particular, Trump’s endorsements have taken on a deeper meaning. Gone are the days of GOP committees in Washington, D.C. carefully rolling out endorsements regardless of ideological purity. This year, more than ever before, traditional arms of the Republican Party have practically ceded control of candidate promotion to Trump. The former president’s endorsement process has evolved from haphazard to sharp and effective, rendering all other endorsements all but obsolete. It’s just the latest example of the Republican Party’s transformation into the Party of Trump.
There are fundamental precepts underlying voter preference. In addition however it is also foreseeable that those who are disadvantaged or who are for whatever reason threatened by society may constitute an independent demographic which is capable of being attracted to one party or the other. It is in that arena in particular the the demogogue thrives.
A demagogue from Greek, a popular leader, a leader of a mob or rabble-rouser,is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, appealing to emotion by scapegoating out-groups, exaggerating dangers to stoke fears, lying for emotional effect, or other rhetoric that tends to drown out reasoned deliberation and encourage fanatical popularity. Demagogues overturn established norms of political conduct, or promise or threaten to do so.
Currently there are wide margins of discontent in America, among them immigration, abortion (including women in general) and age. These at least are among the most popular differences facing the candidates of both major parties. Clearly though there are further interests at stake in the upcoming election, primarily denominated as business interests. Since the evolution of democracy by the Romans, control at the top by the rich has been central. From that hierarchy everything else (senate, the commons and local government) all descended (and incrementally so).
It naturally behooves the accomplishment of one’s objectives to avoid the characterization of self-interest. This too accordingly confounds the true nature of the enterprise.
All of which is to say that there is more afoot than appearances may at first indicate.
I can’t recall who introduced me to the adage, “Manners maketh the man” but I have never abandoned the proposition as sterile. Indeed I prefer instead to regard it as a catch-all that preserves an otherwise difficult situation from submersion. In that respect the maxim is far more than purely social; it is transactional.
Growing up in Toronto in 1967 – 1970 while attending Glendon Hall for undergraduate studies was an eventful time of my life. I am today reminded of those colourful events because I distinctly recollect starting university in what was then a picture-perfect autumn much like today, over 50 years later. I had just graduated from an all-boys boarding school, I was 18 years old and I was studying Philosophy. While there were several of my boarding school classmates who had also chosen to attend Glendon Hall it was of course a gateway to a new crowd. Most of the students within my orbit lived in residence. In that respect the place was very much like boarding school; viz., there were (separate) residences for men and women, and the residences were identified by individual houses (which, if I recall, were no more imaginative than A House, B House and C House). The women’s residence (l think it was collectively called Hilliard Residence) was located on the opposite side of the huge grassy courtyard that separated the two.