Dear Reader
January did not bring any surprises in our own community; instead
we watched intensely what was going on south of the border. We observed,
we debated, and we hoped and speculated, and we were not disappointed.
It all played out as we hoped it would. Obama won and was inaugurated
in an atmosphere of extreme exhilaration, which is an emotional
quality that sweeps along all other lesser ones. Even the cynics
and the racists shut up for a while, and I noticed, that most of
them still do. The ones that still argue we need to be patient with.
We truly hope that this huge wave of enthusiasm continues and that
in its wake many good things can happen, that slowly but surely
will eradicate the monumental mistakes of the past.
On our own hill in Ottawa reason prevailed over jealous political
posturing, enhancing the chances for a changing of the guards at
a later date - hopefully pulled through by national parties only,
without separatist help. The decisions that are being made and implemented
during the next few months are of great impotence to the survival
of the world economy and therefore all our wellbeing.
It will be a time of adjustments and for many a time of learning.
So many of our young people have never experienced anything but
a horn of plenty. They have no idea how to do without anything or
very little. They whine into their blackberry or video phone as
soon as someone says NO. And NO it will have to be for a few things,
while we adapt to a new economy. I truly hope that this opportunity
will be taken to revamp an ailing system that is not equitable and
does not play by the rules of fair exchange.
 Please
read Sybille reports. This time it contains some news from the German
Consulate General which recently moved to a new address high above
the corner of Bloor and Yonge, Toronto. See picture.
I do want to remind you that Bill C51 is still
waiting in the wings and that we need to be diligent in protecting
our rights to choices in healthcare. A separate charter would be
an ideal way of protecting such rights and I urge you again to sign
the petition. Go to
www.charterofhealthfreedom.org
for your copy of a free charter, print it and distribute it and
have people sign the petition. It is vital for our health choices.
In the meantime I recommend you stay warm regardless of what the
groundhog Willie and Company and their shadow say, cozy up to your
friends and family, celebrate all possible customs with some ingenuity,
and be grateful for living in Canada, where we still say "thank
you" to the bus driver, something that visiting Europeans always
notice instantly with much astonishment.
The picture on the front page is another look out my back door,
where Blue Jays and other birds come to be fed together with the
squirrels, raccoons and stray cats, while our own cats watch. The
grateful creatures come regularly and enhance our lives with their
chirping and bright colors or their footsteps in the snow. They
wait patiently, knowing that no one goes or flies away hungry from
my yard.
And buy the way, when it starts smelling a bit gamy in the yard
get a bottle of Febreeze and spray, it handles even the heavy odor
of skunk!
I wish you a happy Valentine’s Day!
Until soon
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
|
 |
