Column: Joe Morinville

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There is a lot of gossip going around the community these days. Being retired I get to hear a lot of it and do my part to spread the juicier bits. This week I thought I’d share some thoughts on what people are talking about in town and what people maybe ought to be talking about. There’s only five this week because I was kind of long winded.

1/ Seems a lot of folks are upset about a certain scantily clad missy up on a sign above a local saloon. “She’s naked and her thingies are popping right out there for all to see.” At least that’s what people are saying. “It’s not right. They shouldn’t allow it.” They’re saying that too. Well I want to know how folks know if she is naked or not when the missy in a cowboy hat is a silhouette. And as to her more protruding features, it has been sub-zero weather lately. I’ve experienced the same biological reaction to the cold as the young lass on the sign. I assure you it is not a pretty sight in silhouette or otherwise.

2/ And speaking of frozen assets. We all know politicians are good at going around in circles, but I heard our Council got stuck in the freezing weather at a traffic circle in Edmonton last week. Seems they all hopped on the Town bus to go look at traffic circles up close, got off the bus and got left there when the bus had to take off because you can’t park a bus in a traffic circle. Council was left shaking in the cold for 10 minutes until the bus came to fetch them. I was left shaking my head as to why you’d think you could stop a bus in a traffic circle to go play tourist.

3/ Keeping on the Council theme – there’s a lot of talk already about who’s running in the fall election. I hear this one’s running and that one’s going to run and this other one’s thinking about running if he can scratch up the five signatures and the hundred bucks. Then people start talking about who ought to run, and half the time it’s someone that is most successful running off at the mouth. People need to learn running is one thing, winning is another. And if you get elected you are going to find your time isn’t your own anymore, at least if you are doing your job. If your wife won’t let you out of the house for more than an hour at a time now (and I know several of you that’s the case) she sure as hell ain’t going to let you spend 20 hours a week playing councillor.

4/ And speaking of spending more time with the family. Family Day is coming up and if I remember right, it is a holiday that was created so families could all spend the day together as a family. So what’s the sense of big box stores being open on that day? Parents who don’t work retail jobs get to go shopping with their kids looking for cheap crap made by kids in third world countries that probably haven’t seen their family since they took up a cot in the factory dormitory. Meanwhile parents who work retail get to spend the day wishing they had the day off to spend with their kids. If I went shopping at a store and found it was closed because they decided to lock up the till so their employees could go build a snowman with their kids on Family Day, that business would have my business for life.

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4 Comments

  1. Great column Joe! But…where’s number 4??? I think you were more long winded than you thought…

    • Thanks for pointing that out, Eugene. Joe is frequently long winded. We’ve corrected the numbering there.

  2. Good column – and oh, so true!

    Re: Item #3 and the upcoming election: No doubt there is an almighty heavy load for whomever is elected. Perhaps the time has come to freeze or reduce Councillor salaries and double the number of Councillors, which would effectively reduce each Councillor’s heavy workload to something just a tad more manageable.

    Alternatively, we could consider freezing or reducing Councillor salaries and move to a Ward system (based on our existing named communities?), with two Councillors per Ward.

    And, no Stephen, at this time I personally have no intention of running in the next election. I certainly learned a lot by my initial foray into local politics during the by-election last year, but the continuing intransigence of many members of our Administration has proven to be too much of a disincentive.

    Have a nice day!

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