Elections and Weddings

It's election time...again. I'm working the polls and I'm getting paid so it works fine for me, but it's costing Canada a fortune.

Our set up is quite different from the States even though we're both a democracy. To be honest, I think the states has a better system. There are three changes I would like to see to our democratic process, things that the States does.

1. Have an election every four years. The way it is now they have an election anytime they want to. It becomes a game, especially when there's a minority government (minority means that they have less seats than the combination of other governments). You can see the other parties gang up on the elected party. You can see the elected party doing things to force a vote in hopes of getting more seats. If they all knew that there was only a vote once every four years then they could spend more time actually working instead of playing the game "when shall we have another election."

2. Limit an individual from being the prime minister to two terms. Remember Trudeau? He was in power for like a hundred years. It was like having a king that wouldn't die. He's responsible for the metric system, French being on everything (even though English isn't), and Margaret.

3. Allow us to actually vote for our prime minister. Put his/her name on the ballot and let us put an x there. Right now the prime minister is determined by how many seats his/her party wins. I remember one year I wanted one guy from a party to represent me, but I didn't want his party leader to be prime minister. You can have a great representative be in the wrong party. So make it two separate votes. One for your local rep and one for the prime minister.

4. Yes I know I said three but I just thought of a fourth. Allow our representatives to represent us. When King Mulrooney was in power he kicked out people who didn't agree with him. There should be room for dissention and our reps should be able to vote according to how they think the people they represent want them to vote, not according to what the prime minister tells them.

So there we go.

By the way, did anyone watch the wedding? Yes, I did stay up. It's history in the making. The dress was beautiful and she was glowing. I remember the other wedding - yes I am that old. The dress was overwhelming and Diana didn't look very happy. As it turns out she wanted to run and she should have but then we wouldn't have had this wedding. Let's hope that William and Katherine's (could you get any more regal sounding names?) marriage is a long and happy one. Will seems like a much better man than his father and might actually take those vows he made today seriously - unlike his lying, cheating dad(can you tell that all my sympathy went to Di?), and Kate seems far better prepared than Diana.

Adventures at the Wedding Part 1

"I only have enough helium for the balloons," the bride's mother, Marilyn*, informed me. "So we can't have anyone playing with the helium."

I nodded. "I'll keep the boys away," I said, secretly thinking that it was me that should be kept away from it.

My son had been married in the Seattle Temple the previous day to a lovely young woman. It had been a glorious beautiful afternoon and the couple looked estatic. Now we were all in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver, decorating the church gym for the reception that evening.

Later that morning while talking to my 24 year old daughter, Claire*, about an archway that needed decorating, my 15 year old daughter ran up to us. "The balloons are all blown up and there's still helium left."

Claire and I took one look at each other and made a dash for the little room that housed the helium tank.

There's nothing like singing with chipmunk voices to draw a family close together. "You guys," I said to the five of my children who were in that room with me, "don't be so loud or Marilyn will find out."

"Marilyn will find out what?" Marilyn said, poking her head around the door.

I looked guiltily at her, my mouth filled with helium. I gulped. "The balloons are all blown up," I squeaked.

"All right," she said and then disappeared.

The next day at brunch and present opening my now-married eldest son turned to me and said sternly, "So I heard you said to the others while sucking on helium to be quiet or Marilyn would find out."

"You heard about that?" I cringed.

"Marilyn told me."

"And what did you think when you heard that?"

He grinned. "I thought, 'that's my family'."


*Names have been changed to protect...well, me.

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A post on Cindy Becks website made me remember something my 18 year old told me.

"It was once said that the U.S would get a black president when pigs fly. A hundred days into Barrak Obama's presidency, swine flu."

*****
There's another give-away at Anne Bradshaw's website. This time it's a couple of CD's by Jesse Clark Funk.