Cheers & Jeers
CHEERS: to musical possibilities. It took a village to successfully free dolphins trapped by harbour ice in Heart’s Delight last week, and that had some wags musing about the possibilities for a new smash Broadway hit to follow hot on the heels of “Come From Away.” Imagine it: the story of a small town whose heart grew three sizes bigger on the day it rallied to save a pod of majestic marine mammals. It has it all — playful creatures who steal people’s hearts, a community brought together in a common mission, actors dancing in dazzling dolphin costumes, a salty musical score… Picture it: “Flipper From Away,” with the standout opening number, “Welcome to the Wharf!”
CHEERS: to shattering stereotypes. And while we’re talking dolphins, perhaps the story of how people used ingenuity and co-operation to free creatures trapped by sea ice in a Newfoundland outport will make its way around the world. It sure would be a nice counterbalance to the old stereotype still propagated by certain anti-seal hunt groups that Newfoundlanders are cruel-hearted barbarians just waiting — hakapik always at the ready — to bash some poor defenseless creature’s head in. Maybe someone will be moved by the efforts of a whale release group, the local fire department, DFO and ordinary citizens to set the dolphins free — even staying up all night in case the creatures beached themselves and needed to be physically relocated. Perhaps someone will spread that word around. Let’s see if good news travels as fast.
JEERS: to stupid rulings. Last week we brought you an Associated Press story of a Romanian man who was declared legally dead even though he was very much alive, all because he missed the deadline to appeal his having been presumed dead some years earlier. Now, a Romanian man who is dead has been given his driver’s licence back, even though he, well, can’t drive anymore. Valerian Vasiliu lost his driver’s licence in March 2017 and was issued a fine for speeding. He appealed the ruling. On Thursday the court found in his favour and his licence was reinstated. The only problem was, Vasiliu had died in the interim. Talk about too little, too late.