Say what?!! Autumn has quietly set in? Oh, for the love of my arthritic knees!
Jointly, all that we — members of Seniors Aging Gracefully (forget the acronym, please) like me — could do is to hang on to our incessant cold night ramblings, highly-anticipated post-winter musings and much-expected pre-summer day dreams.
What else is new, anyways? Winter and autumn are in the offing, and will forever naturally be — as long as the earth spins and as long as the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars glide from east to west.
Guys, just ignore those who ask where the sun. Further, hold on to those year-round fashionable and handy dark-shaded specs.
No matter what, be optimistic! Rise and shine … errr, okay, shine and shine with every new day!
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Shine, shine, shine! Tie that string around your finger. Stick that tab on the refrigerator door. Encircle in bold red that important calendar date. Etch it in your brain.
Never forget to ask your grandchild to remind you. Thanksgiving Day is on October 14, 2019, a Monday.
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Perhaps this one time, may we forgive and forget the turkey?
To mark her birth anniversary that same day, my sister agreed but asked that we keep the cranberry sauce.
Seriously, a stuffed turkey does not necessarily make a stuffed belly.
Be kind to animals. Have a great and blessed Thanksgiving Day.
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In an e-mail survey I once conducted for a community newspaper eons ago, many immigrant Filipinos had so much to sincerely thank Canada for.
They were, however, unanimous in saying that they owe Canada a great amount of gratitude for letting them in and making them an important part of the country’s diverse mosaic.
Canadian acceptance and inclusion, from way back when to this day, have been very visible.
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About four months ago, on June 9, the City of Markham in Ontario added a new landmark to its rich cultural landscape. Officials recognized the Filipino community’s contributions to the city’s social and economic growth by giving due credence to Philippine history and the country’s 121st Independence Day anniversary.
They unveiled the Dr. José Rizal Monument at the city’s Luneta Gardens on June 9, a gift of the Filipino Canadian Community of Markham to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday on July 1.
Markham artist Mogi Mogado sculpted the Rizal monument, one of many he had created and are displayed in community centers in Toronto and Mississauga.
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Weather permitting on October 5, city officials will preside over the dedication of a park to honor Filipino-Canadian statesman Dr. Rey Pagtakhan at 369 Beliveau Road in Winnipeg, Manitoba, an initiative that depicts another shining beam of Canadian acceptance and inclusion.
Pagtakhan — a Canadian physician, professor and politician — served as cabinet minister in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, and served as a member of parliament from 1988 to 2004.
Fellow journalist Kris Ontong reported that Winnipeg city councilor Brian Mayes sponsored the move.
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Since we are lately immersed in politics, better get ready to cast (it’s clearly cast, not cash) your ballot during Canada’s federal elections on October 21, 2019, a Monday (or during the designated advanced voting days from October 11 to 14)? Voting by mail or living abroad, surf Elections Canada for more information.
Federal polls were set to elect members of the House of Commons to the 43rd Canadian Parliament, which Governor General Julie Payette dissolved on September 11, 2019.
This political civic act and duty is the precious moment when citizens are called to exercise their right to choose from among a variety of noisy sweet talkers and elect so-called honorable persons who everyone expects will – without flair or flavor – unflinchingly represent their voices and feelings and their common goals and interests.
Come on, a few minutes won’t hurt. Let us troop to our assigned polling place, check out our preferred candidate, secure our ballot in the poll box, and go home feeling proud that we have voted wisely. By the way, is that a Mr. or Ms. Wisely?
Then, hope, hope, hope and pray, pray, pray.
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With the October 21 federal elections heating up (although it has little effect on dipping temperatures), politicians of every kind and character are turning to the streets, trying to reach and cover every nook and cranny of their wards and ridings – a few nationally — to get the electors coming and the latter’s votes counted for the former.
Sans the pleasure of having so much time to campaign, some will enlist the employ of media and public relations to do the talking, branding and advertising for them.
A “few” who are so desperate to win will go as far as using social media trolls to handle the campaign’s toxic department of dirty tricks (DDT).
Then there are the annoying yellow-page armed phone brigades who are likely to wake someone from their nap or distract an elector’s attention from more important matters.
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On a more personal note, politicians must realize that before they can mesmerize voters with their fake smiles, sanitized handshakes, flashy names, pretentious honorable looks, colorful posters and glib talk, they have to first persuade voters that they can really administer — not so much as legally than morally — and really efficiently handle the tasks and calling at hand.
Calling the public “my friends” through the boob tube; telling voters “I have a plan” without laying down specifics; and spreading dirt all over no longer works. However, it might as well be a most effective way of showing people that the candidate is a loser.
It is time to pull the plug off politicians who make huge promises that are too good to be true.
Nonsense it is when a poll bet promises to put in a hefty amount of money into something he or she says will get people ahead. Never did I hear any politician say that the money will come from his or her own pocket. Eventually, taxpayers’ dollars are spent. And they do not even have the balls to praise and acknowledge those whose belts have been tightened, whose purses and wallets have been scarred, whose children might face a bitter future.
Win or lose, I still expect to see politicians go into winter hibernation and take long slumbers. No matter what, I still want them to rise and shine any day of the year.
I am still optimistic that what politicians have turned themselves into these days do not evolve into the new normal.
Query: What do you see? (Ano sa tingin ninyo?)
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Okay, back to that e-mail survey I did for a community newspaper eons ago, many immigrant Filipinos also tried to express, in a politically-correct manner, two things they hated most about Canada.
The other is snow; the first one is taxes.
I understand now why many Canadians find it hard to come to terms with that democratic process called suffrage.
No matter who gets elected, politicians could only do so much to prevent deep freezes and snow from falling and piling up; or to stop hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, wildfires, flashfloods and all those weather disturbances from wreaking pain, havoc and destruction. Truth be told: These politicians are not gods.
No matter who gets elected, politicians will never do away with taxes or even dare lessen anything that already is being pulled away from the taxpayer’s pay slip or debit/credit card.
Once I heard a politician say: “People are used to taxes, never let it go.” Was it fate or a funny episode? He never won an election.
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Beware, politicians! Highly Intelligent Voters (forget the acronym, please) are watching. #####
