Friday 13th

It’s a beautiful morning; it would be a great day to have a reason. On my early walk, I watched a worker with her stop sign keeping traffic moving around a construction site. I wondered about her day and the job she had to do, how at the end of it she might go home to a partner or her children, or pets perhaps feeling content and needed. I hope so. I thought about the construction site in our neighbourhood carrying out utility upgrades to the sewer system, and the whinging bastard cooking up a fuss because he couldn’t get his Lexus through the works. And what of the neighbours lamenting “all the “mess” and “inconvenience” knowing full well it’ll be over in a week leaving a top-notch sanitary system that will keep us well for another thirty years or more. I’ve met parents in other countries who’ve lost children to diseases caused by poor or non-existent water and sanitation systems. It leaves a mark.

And then there is DisconTent City downtown where yesterday, after nearly two months, and following pressure from the health authority, the city council finally turned on the water supply to the benefit of homeless individuals using the site. In a huff and tizzy, Councillor Hong expressed his annoyance in a radio interview saying that homeless people were being given ‘free’ water adding that when he goes camping with his family, he has to pack water in with him. I wonder if he wipes his arse on stale naan bread too, just to add to the experience. Some people using the homeless camp would like an opportunity to go recreational camping as a family I’m sure, and some may have memories of having done so in the past.