Sherry MacDonald appears at The Flame

Before we left for our Sojourn in Paris, Sherry appeared at The Flame in Vancouver.  In this case, the event took place on April 1st and featured eight storytellers.




The Flame is an almost-monthly event that features storytellers telling stories. The stories have to be true, personal and have some sort of consequence for the teller. And, they have to be told without any notes. Storytellers are given from 8 to 12 minutes to tell their tales.





About 150 people attended the Cottage Bistro on Main Street where this event, and others like it, happen throughout most months. The Cottage Bistro features an eclectic mix of menu items, and the usual refreshments. It's always best to arrive early for The Flame as standing-room-only often happens before the stories begin.












The Flame is open to the public though many friends and family come to support their storyteller. Others attend because it supports the art of storytelling, and is great entertainment too. Sherry had a wide swath of friends and family attending on this night too.




The genial host for the April 1st Flame was Joel Wirkkunen. He gets to refer to, and even read from, his notes.








Sherry's story was about the events around the birth of her second second Adam. It is called "Are we like the video yet?" and is from a series of stories Sherry is writing about being a single mom raising three boys.

























And when your storytelling time is finished, the applause has drifted into silence and your breathing has become normal again, it is time to relax and enjoy the storytellers who follow.



Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2015.

Jeem's visit to the French Senate

Within Jardin du Luxembourg rests the old Palais du Luxembourg, a majestic edifice to be sure, almost palace-like. It is here that one of Canada's newest senators recently attempted to visit.

The truth is, after a lengthy career attacking and vilifying the Canadian Senate as unrepresentative, unelected and certainly ineffective in every possible way, Jeem now finds himself a member of that august body, and ready to ring up all kinds of expenses as is the appropriate custom of senators in Canada.

To be clear, possibly more honest and certainly less deceptive, Jeem has been elected to the University Senate of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, his term beginning in September. And to further clarify the previous statement, which might be slightly misleading, though not in any way by intention, Jeem wasn't actually elected, instead he was declared "elected by acclamation." Jeem would argue that acclamation is a higher, purer form of democracy. The bothersome spectacle of campaigning for votes is, somehow, an ugly side of democracy and unworthy of true democrats. Like Jeem. Better to be appointed. By acclamation if at all possible. According to Jeem.

Having wasted no time getting on the gravy train, Jeem has journeyed to Paris, and in the true spirit of international goodwill, made his way to le Sénat. His goal, and the reason for the expense to KPU and to the taxpayers of British Columbia, is to research ways the Senate at KPU might benefit from improved relations with le Sénat of France. And of course Jeem hopes to confer with like-minded members of the Senate accustomed to even larger expense accounts than those of any senator in Canada.





All of this might have seemed a good idea in the morning when Jeem et Sherry caught the 95 bus from the 18e arrondissement.  Now, in the afternoon, the enterprise is complicated by the fact that the Palais du Luxembourg is guarded by large, burly men carrying sub-machine guns. They aren't all that keen on letting some guy with an ID badge from some unknown École polytechnique in Canada into the halls of serious second thought, or whatever the hell they do in there.

Maybe raising his voice didn't help either. Claiming diplomatic immunity when the guard asked for proper identification might not have been the right choice to make at the time. In the end, much later that night in fact, Jeem was released. He has promised never to return to le Sénat.

His claim for expenses, including legal costs, and a personal trainer while in custody, will be submitted. Of course. It's the Canadian way.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2015. 

First published at www.sojourninparis.com

Trudeau's tax cuts as seen by John Ibbitson

The Liberals have released a major policy announcement around taxes. The Globe and Mail's John Ibbitson reviewed the election-platform plank and here are some of his observations:

The Liberal Leader is dedicating himself, his party and his electoral prospects to making life easier for people earning between $44,700 and $89,401 a year. 

But...

If you make less than that, especially if you’re childless, Monday’s announcement offers you less.

And there's more:

It punishes the wealthy, and focuses laser-like on the middle of the middle. It is as important for what it leaves out as for what it includes.

If you believe that Canada has dug itself an infrastructure hole, and that Ottawa should be spending more to repair it, then be warned: Mr. Trudeau’s middle-class tax cut sucks up so much money that there will be little for trains and airports and sewers and highways.

If you believe that fighting global warming should be the first priority, then be warned: There will be few dollars available for converting from mean to green.

Many activists who are sick to death of years of Conservative hostility to their cause, whatever that cause might be, and who have poured their aspirations into the empty vessel known as Justin Trudeau, may only now be realizing that their hopes were misplaced.

And this, about Trudeau and the NDP:

... Mr. Trudeau has clearly decided to ignore the NDP. If they want to tailor policies for lower-income workers, if they want to guarantee subsidized daycare spaces, if they want to fight climate change, the Liberals are happy to let them... It can be exceedingly dangerous to turn your back on Thomas Mulcair.

Five months until the election, and:

Mr. Trudeau’s biggest challenge is to persuade those middle-income voters that he gets them and is willing to fight for them. It may be a hard sell... 

Five months can be a long time in politics. The NDP are going up in the polls while the Liberals and Conservatives are done slightly. Will tomorrow's provincial election results in Alberta boost the NDP federally? 

As citizens concerned about the least fortunate in our society, about climate change and about the terrible state of our nation's infrastructure, we need to be very careful about Mr Trudeau and the Liberal Party. Very careful indeed.

John Ibbitson's column appeared in Monday's Globe and Mail, 04 May 2015.