Thoughts on the New Year - 2006

2006-01 Wordsworth was right, wasn't he? He may have lived and died in the 18th and 19th centuries, but he knew a thing or two. When he writes that: 'The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!' It is almost as though he could foresee where 'progress' was leading mankind. If he really thought that people in the Lake District of England in the early 1800's had lost touch with nature, he would despair at our sorry state. Now Wordsworth lived in the beautiful English countryside long before shopping malls were even dreamt of. His was a world of village shops and home made goods. What would he make of the Boxing Day sales, I wonder? But then, what do many of us make of them? Talk about 'getting and spending'! To be fair, there was a time when it seemed worthwhile to stand in long lines in order to get Christmas tree ornaments at half price, Christmas cards for next year, and yet more wrapping paper and ribbon - how would we ever use it up? No more. Boxing Day sales used to be relatively gentle affairs, with people buying clothes and boots and marked down books. Now these sales are only for the young and the strong. They have become almost a 'rite of passage' for the twenty-somethings to show their hunting prowess. They can read the sale flyers and plan their hunt, stalking their prey through the early morning hours, and then making the 'kill'. Depending upon which stores have the best deals, they can divide up the quarry and hunt in packs; then they can meet again, after the hunt, and compare their trophies. Instead of hanging a moose head on the wall, they have got the latest flat screen TV. It seems that the sales that follow Christmas now overshadow Christmas. They have become a feeding frenzy of people waiting in line for hours, even overnight, in order to carry away giant TVs and DVDs and armloads of CDs. If there are truly great deals to be had, then let the young folks have them. Many of us now prefer to be out in the snow, feeding the birds. Score one for Wordsworth. Looking back at this time last year it seems as though 2005 was an awfully eventful year - literally a year of awful events. We had just watched in disbelief the videos of the terrible Tsunami. It is difficult to imagine a wave that could sweep away a loaded freight train. Canadian aid flowed in and we took some pride in helping. Then we had the terrible flooding of New Orleans and the areas surrounding that city, and again Canadians were there. Search and Rescue from Vancouver, as one example, arrived there to help the rescue work four days ahead of the American National Guard. The Salvation Army, led in part by Kelowna's Captain Les Burrows, was on the ground establishing soup kitchens and disaster relief within 48 hours of the storm passing. People will be arguing for decades as to whether this particular disaster could have been prevented, but no one can argue the fact that when we were asked for help, we responded, as we did after the earthquake in Pakistan. It's hard to imagine a tent hospital serving over 300 injured a day, but the DART team that we sent over had treated over 30,000 people in the short time they were there. The hospital they set up was left behind, in the capable hands of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, to continue the work the Canadian team began. Their water purification plant began turning out pure water within 2 days of their arrival, and was providing water to 50,000 people by the end of their operation. It too, was left, as a legacy of Canadian aid. It's a record we can all be proud of as we head into the New Year, the Year of the Dog. Dog people are said to be loyal, honest, trustworthy, ethical - but stubborn and somewhat eccentric. It is interesting that 2006 will also be the year that the first wave of the Baby Boomers turns 60. That should mean than a wave of honest and ethical people are slowing down, retiring, changing careers - perhaps some of them might consider going into politics. Wouldn't that make a refreshing change! From all of us at Seniors CHOICE, have yourselves a happy and healthy New Year. Drop us a line and let us know what's going on out there, or join us on our website and let everyone know! - Pat Archibald, Editor -

 

< Prev		Next >