A collection of thoughts

We recently celebrated Terry Fox locally, nationally and internationally. We know his tragedy of stopping his run near Thunder Bay as the cancer had returned to which he succumbed. Motivated by Terry, Steve Fonyo, who has the same handicap of losing a leg to cancer made the same attempt of running across Canada with one difference; he was successful.

Should Steve’s criminal history of DUIs and domestic assault diminish his accomplishment?

It is difficult to enter a government or professional office without seeing the walls adorned with paintings by Robert Sebastian. We have enjoyed the works of another B.C. painter Robert Bateman. Now I know that when it comes to art appreciation, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but I would submit the difference is obvious. Sebastian’s work looks like paint by numbers where Bateman’s looks like a photograph, especially his wolves head and the eagle landing. It’s like comparing the housepainter to Picasso (with apologies to housepainters).

Stephen Harper apologized on behalf of all Canadians to the Indigenous and Metis people for the legacy of residential schools and the ’60s scoop. This was followed by a national inquiry, attempts at reconciliation and compensation, both with mixed results. Angela Merkel apologized on behalf of all German people for the misery perpetrated by the Nazis and particularly to the Jewish people for the Holocaust. And that was it – a simple apology. Maybe she knows that you can repeat history but you can’t change it.

While as a freshman in Calgary, I heard Dick Gregory who was a comedian turned anti-Vietnam war protester speak to the student body. To illustrate the violence that pervades American society, he queried as to why on TV and the movies, you can often see a gun go off but never a penis.

One can destroy life; the other creates it. I still scratch my head over that.

Doug Strachan Prince George