{Luna, watching over my house yesterday evening}
Now and again, in an obituary here, everyone predeceasing and post-deceasing (eventually one would assume?) the dead person is listed both by name and relationship. Then the oddest thing: “several great-children” will be added. Or in some cases “several grandchildren'. Why, did no one bother to count them? Or was the seed so profligate it was impossible to track?
St. John's, oldest city in North America, must have the most efficient and speediest snow ploughing of its streets I've ever witnessed, but guess what? Its sidewalks have to be seen to be believed. The snow is piled high against them so you can't cross the street (even at pedestrian crossings) and in winter one has to walk in the midst of traffic as the sidewalks are impassable. There are many bad accidents as a result of cars hitting unfortunate pedestrians who have no choice in getting anywhere but to risk life and limb or stay home-locked for the entire winter. I have never witnessed such utter disregard for ordinary walking citizens whilst the vehicular culture is elevated to the level of a sacrament.
Can anyone figure out why DST (Daylight Savings Time) still exists? Days are getting so short here and by the time we get to Solstice (December 21st,) our sun sets at 3.30 p.m. just when we need the health benefits (Vitamin D amongst others) the most. Kids don't get to play outdoors after school (do they do that anymore?) as it's dark. Anyone?
You do have me pondering about those things now. I have no answers to your questions. These are conditions that exist in your particular area of the world. Except DST, I know no reason why we keep that up. The Russians have done away with it. Why can't we do the same?
ReplyDeleteNora:
ReplyDeleteNormally I follow the money on such a dilemma as DST but here it does not compute into money unless I'm missing something?
XO
WWW
..vehicular culture is elevated to the level of a sacrament.
ReplyDeleteSo true in the USA too, WWW - whatever the season, whatever the weather. I often wonder why evolution hasn't relieved USA-ans of their legs and feet. ;-0
DST is a nonsense these days, a relic. Can't see any advantage at all.
I remember walking to school in Halifax down sidewalks with snow piled higher than my head on either side. So somehow they cleared the sidewalks.
ReplyDeleteI think inertia is the problem. We have lots of bad laws still on the books thanks to inertia.
ReplyDeleteIn many cities, sidewalk snow clearing is the abutting property owner's responsibility, not the municipality's. However in many small towns of Nova Scotia the municipality takes responsibility. So a lot of small towns such as mine have cute little sidewalk ploughs.
I remember when we got our first sidewalk plough, and it was run for the first time after dark (of course) on Main Street. I think half the town showed up for the occasion, it was such a cute little machine!
And if Nora is right, then that explains why we still have DST, godforbid we do what the Russians do!
ReplyDeleteWe have a Province wide newspaper called the Belfast Telegraph. In there the death notices can run for pages. Every member of the family. their sisters, cousins and aunts and everyone in-between inserts their own death notice with added verse or poem. So Joe Soap can have maybe fifty notices. What a money spinner!
ReplyDeleteLast December there was so much snow and ice on the pavements here the only place to walk was the roads. And as you say, that's not very safe when cars are hurtling along not expecting pedestrians to be sharing the tarmac.
ReplyDeleteNice oddments.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be sad if we couldn't let off steam here, in the company of the like-minded?
Is anybody listening to us otherwise? No, not likely.