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A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE - Out the back door I go

Are you happy? Do you bring laughter and good cheer to those you meet? Are you welcome where ever you travel?

I heard about a community survey on happiness being done in Creston. CBC radio sent a reporter around doing the man in the street gig asking people if they had participated in it or not. Then he asked the obvious: “Are you happy?”

He asked about half a dozen people and everyone said they were quite satisfied, thank you very much.

I guess that means they don’t get cable network news in Creston then.

***

While Greenwood council is still working out what their committee appointments will look like for the next year, I think I pretty well have the job of court jester in the bag.

When I walked into council chambers on Monday night there was already a pretty big crowd sitting in the gallery. Jim Nathorst, one of those people who would answer the Creston happiness survey with a big thumbs up, was one of the citizens in the gallery. He’s generally known to be in a good mood and ready to enjoy the next laugh. That laugh was on me because a washcloth had gotten down one leg of my trousers when it was in the dryer and I came waltzing in to this room full of people with a white rag dragging along behind me.

When the meeting got started I was having a really hard time hearing what people were saying. After a few minutes I complained and council did somewhat better on the volume.

But about 20 minutes later it seemed like they were having a nice quiet little chat amoung themselves again. I got frustrated and interrupted again.

In my mind I pictured myself as leading a crusade to get those sitting at the table to speak loudly and proudly. I think I told them if they have a point to make then make sure the others hear it.

I was all set to give council both barrels. I was going to explain that a lot of their constituents were seniors and they would appreciate being able to hear what was being said.

So I turned to the others in the gallery and asked, “Are you people having trouble hearing them too?”

Well I could hardly believe my ears—everybody else said they were hearing things just fine. That took the wind right out of my sails. Mayor Ed Smith and Councillor Lee Cudworth enjoyed looking up every few minutes for the next while to inquire if I’d heard the last comment okay or not. By now though I had figured out the problem wasn’t council but it was the way I had my hearing aids adjusted.

***

The icy weather has certainly made for some treacherous travelling conditions. You didn’t even need to be in your car out on the highway to do some adventure travelling.

Walking up the ramp to the front door of Rags, Relics and Rutabagas last week was fun.

I could tell from the way it looked that it might be slippery but they had asphalt roofing tacked down in strips every few centimetres. I figured that would be all the help I needed. I was about a third of the way up the ramp when I noticed I was going backward a fair bit for every step I was taking in the forward direction.

Once I picked up the rhythm it got to be quite fun, though Pat Pownall wouldn’t allow me to go back out that way—something about insurance and risk or something. Instead she just tossed me out the back door.