Things have been upside down for a long time.  We’re sitting back, blaming a small handful of patently self-interested politicians for what we arrogantly call either bad government or any number of other shortfalls.  Somehow we’ve managed to convince ourselves that the likes of Matt Gaetz or Donald Trump or any numberof other proven idiots are the ones running the world. And it is only my reluctance to appear overly zealous that I choose to ignore others such as Putin or the most historically egregious maniac Hitler.  Since when, I ask you, did any one of them tell you what to do?  It’s just the other way around. And make no mistake, they haven’t any interest beyond preserving themselves to opt for this or that.  It’s otherwise all trifling horseplay to see who wins.

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Today is Sunday, October 1st. It has proven to be an unalloyed start to another month. The day could not possibly have been more enchanting. Clear skies and high seventies! It wasn’t long after 11:00 o’clock this morning following a breakfast bowl of steel cut oats that I accomplished a ritual 4Km ride on my lately lubricated, adjusted and pumped tricycle grâce à Bill Barrie Jr of Almonte Bicycle Works. He does a terrific job!  The proper air pressure in the tyres and professional adjustment of the brakes and gears make all the difference. Our cycling community would be at a loss without him.

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A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. While they were reported to have been literate, they are believed to have been prevented by doctrine from recording their knowledge in written form. Their beliefs and practices are attested in some detail by their contemporaries from other cultures, such as the Romans and the Greeks.

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It is now 3:54 am and I have just returned from a watchful midnight drive in my new Cadillac to the city and back.  I was unable to sleep. The forecast weather today is sunny and 74°F.  It is Saturday, September 30th, the day fortuitously scheduled for our annual family luncheon at the golf club. The weather outlook for the upcoming week is equally favourable with a forecast high of 80°F on Wednesday, declining to 65°F next Saturday before transitioning to 55°F the following day. I mention these details because I blame the unseasonably warm temperatures for my sleeplessness.  I got up after midnight to turn on the A/C.  When that didn’t quell my insomnia I relented accordingly.  Besides I hadn’t previously had much opportunity to test the new car for night-time driving. I am happy to report that the midnight endeavour was not without its profit including my unintentional and now improved acquaintance with OnStar (out of curiosity I had pressed the green status button) .

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Within the space of a couple of hours earlier today while tricycling along nearby Riverfront Park I came across (and chatted with) no less than six people whom I haven’t seen for a considerable length of time, in some cases as much as ten years or more. It is proof once again that life on this side of the river is propitious! As my partner subsequently observed, it’s an older part of town (where we used to live a decade ago before selling our house and moving to the other side of the river). With the exception of two who were I believe coming from a visit to the hospital, the others whom I encountered were all longtime residents of the immediate area. The other two live outside town on a country estate in Union Hall off the Wolf Grove Road.

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The history of Canada (beginning naturally with the most populated and resourceful area of Québec or Lower Canada), like much of that of England, is infused with the feudal ownership of land, primarily a division of interests between proprietary (initially the Crown or King) and tenancy (vassals or subjects). In short it was a separation of government and governed putatively for mutual advantage.

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It is a not uncommon devotion of the elderly (and the rich) to preoccupy themselves with limitless travel throughout the globe. Seemingly there is a race by those who putatively have the most to lose to see everything, everywhere before time runs out. The more exotic the adventure, the more exquisite it is retailed. The prescription far outdistances any chat about getting to know whatever is at hand. By comparison, armchair philosophy is viewed as utterly exhausting (even though it nourished some of society’s most strategic logicians and empiricists, the likes of David Hume and René Descartes). Indeed the more remote the travel venue, the more challenging the familiarity and very often the more expensive the enterprise, the better. There is a perception conveyed when talking to these labouring vagabonds that the Holy Grail (or some other equally nebulous goal) is always within reach.

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My erstwhile physician shared with me this morning an article from The Times to which he subscribes.

The Times is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register, adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Media, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp.

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Our dearest Nancy, this rhyme is far from fancy,
For we have but a diffident poetic bent.
Yet rounding the 80th corner bespeaks by any order
A premium that’s truly Heaven sent!

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While gossip is at first blush and from toffee-nosed reserve normally identified as malicious, I think we can all agree it is mostly just chit-chat or at the very worse whispers or rumour. Sometimes we quip that it is “dirt” (which I interpret not as idle or scandalous talk but rather the latest news). In whatever manner we characterize the enterprise, gossip is little more than scuttle-butt or blather, none of which is especially offensive. If the unconstrained conversation involves details that are not confirmed to be true, this element speaks more to its vitality than its intention. I hardly adjudge a chinwag a court of law. If the canards were to become offensive it is probably because we collectively view the aspirant as a busy-body (though pointedly that seldom succeeds to diminish our compelling interest in what is being advanced).  Being a tittle-tattler is entirely another matter. Spilling the beans is Okay.

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