phew, I'm home

edited because I can actually spell COMMUNISTS


I just spent a week in Peter Van Loan country. Made it back alive.

Conversation between my mum and one of her neighbours in her seniors' building:

Him: So, do you think there will be a Conservative majority?
Her: Well I certainly hope not!
Him: Er ... what?
Her: (words to the effect of: worst government ever, etc. etc.)
Him: Well I would never vote Liberal.
Her: Then here's your chance, vote NDP.
Him: I would never vote NDP. They're COMMUNISTS.
Her: That's ridiculous, they're not communists; how can you say something like that?
Him: Well there's no point in discussing it, you'll never convince me.
Her: You're right, it would be a waste of time discussing it with you, so I'm not going to.

I walked 1.5 km and back every day to feed my sister's cats. About 1 km of that was along a busy residential street with houses on large lots and a fair bit of non-built-up land. Maybe, oh, 50 houses. It would be exaggerating to say half of them had Van Loan signs:

Re-elect Peter Van Loan
Delivering Change for the Better

... What does that mean?

I even saw a couple of big Christian Heritage Party signs. There's still a Christian Heritage Party. Who knew?

One of the houses on my walk had a Liberal sign. I wanted to knock on the door and congratulate them. The only NDP sign I saw in the area was in my mum's window.


My mum's little brother (he's about 75), a Baptist convert upon his marriage those many years ago, had seemed to be mellowing in his old age. I had a phone chat with him a couple of years ago and he was telling me how he'd suggested that his U.S.-loving neighbour (they're like that in deep southwestern Ontario) go get his hip replacement surgery in the U.S., as long as he felt like trading his house for it. And uncle was a huge Keith Olbermann fan!

But when my mum forwarded him a copy of the 2004 coalition letter I sent her, and one or two other Harper truths I'd sent her, he replied: please don't send me any more things with an anti-Harper slant. She apologized, said she hadn't known, etc. He said he supported Harper because of his stand on abortion and same-sex marriage. Hey, it worked for Bush ...


I say: time to lower the maximum voting age. ;)

And hmm, maybe lower the maximum voting area code.

Nobody who's over 65 or has an area code over 900 gets on the list!

Over 903 then!

All of the NDP government of NS have 902 numbers ......... :-)

an effete Central Canadian, aren't I? ;)

yesterday spent mail=boxing, (did you know people in Swansea live at the tops of hills? Streets of them) Yesterday's pain is today's muscle tone. I got scrutineer training today and will be at the poll until closing. :)

Vote early and vote often.

Indian Road, Parkside, Sunnyside. Long driveways leading up to steep steps, house after house, day after day till we got everyone.

From the opening of the poll till 3 pm, I'm scrutineering at Howard Public School, which luckily is also where I vote, because I was a poll clerk at an advance poll elsewhere. Where's your poll?

Looking to unseat Gerard Kennedy, who is a helluva nice guy. We're a pivotal riding, I think. I'm scrutineering and just taking a break.

Huge energy today.

The library is just across the street from the Masaryk Cowan community centre, which was where I was an EC poll clerk.

I had to assist in the vote count of the advance ballots tonight at the returning office, and didn't get out of there till half past midnight. I'd intended on going to go to the Cadillac Lounge for the Party party, but I was too tired. If you went, I hope you had a good time.

I was exhausted, so I watched definitive results come in, smiled ans walked home to bed. I'm not a drinker, so I was on Coca Cola.

I nearly wrote coke, that is misleading. :)

on edit: It reinforced my opinion that CP24 are rank amateurs.

According to her, they have her vote because they supported conscription during WW2. She's probably more Liberal/NDP at least fiscally, but nothing we say can convince her to vote any other way.