The Buzzing Kind Of Concerns Me

It has been an interesting day. There have been a lot of important things happening according to the newspaper.

The two parking authority bosses that were terminated last year received about $600,000 in severance pay. That is a lot of coins fed into meters. Well, not anymore, because these two guys were instrumental in taking the city parking meters high tech and doing away with coins altogether. You can pay with credit cards or even with your phone…somehow. The lawyers for these guys said that they needed this amount of compensation to help them transition into the next stage of their lives. It is called retirement and I didn’t get any six figure severance package, but I suppose they deserve it.

It seems that we are being overrun with dandelions in Calgary. The city is being selective about where they will spray, and the cities criteria doesn’t include any cosmetic spraying. I guess if they didn’t spend $600,000 plus on two guys to help them transition, then there might have been enough in the budget to cover more weed killer. What we really need to do is to make the public aware of how useful and delicious the dandelion is. Its flowers make a fine wine, the dried roots are a good coffee substitute, the leaves make for a good and tasty salad and the stems…well, they produce a white milky substance that get on your hands and is tough to wash off. Knowing how beneficial the plant is, well except for the stems, there is a good chance that you won’t be able to find any by next year. Uh- huh!

Robin Gibb died of cancer. I liked the Bee Gees and they brought joy to millions of people. He will be missed.

The NATO allies are meeting to discuss what they are going to do about Afghanistan. What they are really trying to decide is how they can save face and get out of the cesspool that Afghanistan is. They simply can’t keep throwing money and men at the problem without any solution or resolution on the horizon. The Russians were mired in the internal conflict for years and when they pulled out the US and NATO got involved. I think they all want out but just don’t know how to withdraw without tossing their Afghan allies to the wolves. They will of course, and this meeting will more than likely decide just how they are going to go about it.

There is no end to the number of important and serious news stories. Today I don’t really care about them one whit. I have other things that concern me today.

The 10 year old grand daughter of a friend of mine was struck by a car today. All of our thoughts and prayers go out to her for a speedy and complete recovery. I heard on the news that she is in hospital and will recover. I am not aware of the circumstances, but I do know that there are many very good people that have been on an emotional roller coaster today. Good luck and get well.

This is what concerns me.

I have another friend whose daughter gave birth today to his second grand daughter, Elizabeth Ann 10 lb. 11 oz. and 21 inches. That is almost 11 lbs. of pure joy and love. I understand that mom and daughter are doing well as is daddy. Grandma and Grandpa won’t be able to get the smiles off of their faces for a month or two, if ever. Congratulations!

This is a pleasant concern for me.

I helped my son move some paving blocks today. I like to help whenever I can, because he is always busy as are most people his age. We got the job done with little difficulty. The only problem was when an older gentleman pulled a muscle in his back, but thanks to modern over the counter drugs, he is feeling no pain but has a buzzing in his ears. It could be either tinnitus, the effect of over medication, or our house is filled with large, invisible and very loud bees.

The buzzing kind of concerns me.