Pillow Talk
Regarding a not nice letter in response to my hockey team analogy.
I have been writing letters to one editor or another in Aurora for more than forty years. I cheerfully admit, I always hope to have readers. Why else would one write?
I would not like my letters to have been considered dull, innocuous or mediocre. I want to believe they may have sparked a little interest in whatever idea was being expressed...maybe even a chuckle, or a tear.
Politicians do not usually express themselves in writing. From a political perspective, it is at best unwise and at worst, definitely risky. Generally speaking, I think risk is the spice of life.
Nevertheless, I have been publicly shat upon once too often. I am no longer sure I can accept abuse without succumbing to the overwhelming temptation to hurl a wheelbarrow load of the stuff right back at whatever clumsy oaf may be wielding the shovel.
But doing that runs against the grain. It represents a terrible waste of time and space, to say nothing of the powerful impact of the malodorous emanation.
I shall heretofore confine my efforts to my blogging boudoir. I realise not everyone is wired but if our editor spots something he thinks might be of interest to Auroran readers, it shall be yours.
I have been writing letters to one editor or another in Aurora for more than forty years. I cheerfully admit, I always hope to have readers. Why else would one write?
I would not like my letters to have been considered dull, innocuous or mediocre. I want to believe they may have sparked a little interest in whatever idea was being expressed...maybe even a chuckle, or a tear.
Politicians do not usually express themselves in writing. From a political perspective, it is at best unwise and at worst, definitely risky. Generally speaking, I think risk is the spice of life.
Nevertheless, I have been publicly shat upon once too often. I am no longer sure I can accept abuse without succumbing to the overwhelming temptation to hurl a wheelbarrow load of the stuff right back at whatever clumsy oaf may be wielding the shovel.
But doing that runs against the grain. It represents a terrible waste of time and space, to say nothing of the powerful impact of the malodorous emanation.
I shall heretofore confine my efforts to my blogging boudoir. I realise not everyone is wired but if our editor spots something he thinks might be of interest to Auroran readers, it shall be yours.
Posts
Evelyn,
ReplyDeleteMy curiosity was piqued when I read Mr. Maddock’s response to your letter to the editor in this week’s Auroran newspaper. I visited your website, and was pleased to see the link to your blog.
I sat down with both issues of The Auroran to try and make sense of it all. I don’t believe that you was solely comparing hockey to politics – I understood it as a contrast between the two. Hockey is a team sport whereas politics is about individuals intending to “do what each believes to be in the community’s best interest. That does not imply a shared interest.” I understood ‘unctuous righteousness’ to be the opposite of ‘team spirit’.
I’m quite surprised at Mr. Maddock’s vitriolic personal attack on you, to reuse his own term. I believe that you’re happy to share your opinion on many subjects – and can only surmise that this both aids, and was developed through, your experience in politics.
Aren’t councillors supposed to absorb as much information as they can on a given issue, and then put their opinions forward through debate, and finally a vote to make a decision that best suits the needs of the Town itself? How is that different from what you are doing?
You weren’t “firing your warning shot” at any one in particular, you simply voiced your educated opinion, that sometimes hockey and politics are similar, but more often than not, they’re just not the same. You weren’t the one who appears to be firing any warning shots at all.
I didn’t quite understand his comment about how you received only enough votes to finish ahead of the last-elected candidate. Like the old story of Ollie and Newton who had been hiking all day with heavy packs through the wilderness.
It was towards the end of the day when they saw a very large brown bear standing up on its hind feet about 300 meters away. At that moment they could see, even from such a great distance, the bear twitch his nose, sniff the air, and presumably begin to think about supper.
Newton became worried, more so when the bear launched on all fours in their direction. He reached for his rifle he watched as Ollie sat calmly down on a rock, took off his pack, opened it and brought out a pair of never used running shoes. As the bear rapidly approached Ollie calmly put the shoes on.
"What on earth are you doing?" Newton yelled. "Don't you know you can't outrun a hungry bear?!"
Ollie looked up just as he was finishing lacing his shoes. "Yeah, I know. But you see, I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you."
4089 Aurora residents helped you tie on your running shoes.
Run, Evelyn, Run!