Rhino's Ramblings - Summer Is Over

By Robert Thomas - Opinion/Commentary

Well it has been quite the summer and despite stating I would be taking things easy for the months of July and August to allow me to rest and get a lot of personal things done it - like for most people - just didn’t seem to work out the way I had wanted it to.

I was never able to get everything done I planned to get done but at the same time it was not a total wipeout when it comes to the home front.

All of the work I had planned to get leisurely done over the two months of summer was either put off or did not materialize largely due to the excessive heat we had for the 60 days the kids were around the house on an all day basis.

The summer of 2022 is now one for the history books and whether we like it or not it is time to get ready for what the Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting to be a long and cold winter - ugh.

My now aren’t I the optimistic one aren’t I???

If you believe the Olde Farmer’s Almanac when it comes to the weather it seems the Prairie Provinces are going to experience a lot of snow. For me if it is true buy those snow scrapers and shovels early - as in now - before they sell out.

But with that said I will predict despite the Almanac’s predictions of cold and snowy weather the most popular outdoor winter footwear will be running shoes once again.

As for me I do not have to worry about buying a new pair of winter boots as the tow pairs I bought last year ended up only being worn for two days in total as I was in Odessa, Ukraine where the temperatures were a balmy 10C - 15C for most days.

Pigeon out strutting his stuff Jonesing for a french fry at a McDonald’s in Odessa, Ukraine - Robert Thomas photo

I only wore the winter boots for two days to help and make the luggage weight on the plane.

When I got to Odessa I was laughed at then when I was near Lugansk I was laughed at for showing up in you guessed it, running shoes. So I ended up buying my second pair of boots I wore for a couple of days and then left behind as I headed for Kharkiv.

But this is not a column about my life but rather I wanted to highlight a couple of the key issues out there as I see them.

Vending Machines and Harm Reduction

After I wrote the story about some people in the older part of South Hill not wanting the vending machine for harm reduction supplies in their neighbourhood I was bombarded by calls and emails with people wanting to express their opinion and win me over to their side on this issue.

I can tell you what I told them. I really do not have an opinion on this one.

I quite truthfully can see why people and businesses in the neighbourhood do not want the machine there. And I will tell you like it is.

Quite frankly they are tired of some of the things now happening in what are seen as the older and traditional areas of South Hill. People are tired of the noise, the thefts, the harm to their loved ones and the worries that have come from narcotics in their neighbourhood.

South Hill has traditionally had a bit of a different flair then the rest of Moose Jaw. It is a spirit of independence but also one of toughness and pride.

Many people there see their neighbourhoods forgotten by the City, the Police and the Government in general at the time when they really desperately need help with the many struggles that are happening at the present time.

With that said I can also personally see why the government or rather the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is striving to do something when it comes to narcotics and harm reduction.

With medical treatment free in Canada the number of diseases that could potentially be contracted by sharing needles is huge. Diseases that are in many ways preventable if people have the ability to access clean needles and properly dispose of the used needles.

Drug, or for that matter, any addiction is something that will take hold of its victims and despite hard work not let go of people. It is an uphill battle that can be won but there is a lot of falling down and getting back up to win.

This is meth, this is opiods, this is alcohol, this is so many other things that take over people’s lives.

Now where do you find a happy medium to protect the neighbourhood including the children at the two daycares is a gargantuan task and sadly the funding and the will from those who should be fixing the problems just is not there.

Sad but in my own opinion it is true.

Recession On The Way????

People can call me a pessimist, people can call me a naysayer but no matter any way you slice it I can see there is an economic downturn approaching.

On this issue I can tell you I am no financial expert but I can give you this piece of advice and that is the best way to survive any economic downturn is not to run up debt.

It may be tough and the kids and others may hate you for it but the best advice I can say in this is to do your best to pay off debt or at least keep it at bay.

Personally I do not know how many times this past summer I have held back on borrowing money to get some of the things I want to get done around the house.

I had wanted to go and buy a new television set to replace the Panasonic that died a quick death about five years ago. That is how long I have survived without a television.

If I need to watch television I go to my mother’s house and watch hers. Usually what she wants to watch is what I want to watch anyhow in a television universe where there is really nothing on.

Perhaps I am just being nostalgic but the older shows were - despite their corniness - what I like watching anyhow. She has the same viewing habits and I have seen my fair share of Cary Grant classic movies this summer in black and white that I even forget at times what colour television is all about.

With that said try to find enjoyment in the smaller and less expensive things as we head into what is looking like a much slower 12 - 18 months starting sometime in the next couple of months.

A Fractured Society

Despite what we all may think about things, we as a society, are becoming more split than ever.

It seems what was once there as good natured and moderate people is, or has it, already dissolved that there is no middle ground on anything.

People have seemed to have turned into a society of Cancel Culture, Karens, wingnuts, extremists or whatever term you want to give to them on both ends of the political spectrum. While the ones in the center seem to be sticking their tongues out in disrespect to everybody.

Nobody seems to get it we live in a democracy that should be priding itself in respecting differences in opinion.

As Yakov Smirnov, who hails from Odessa, would say “Oh what a country” but this time it is not something in a good way.

All I can say is - quit being stupid if you already are and above all just try to be kind to one another the best that you can be.

Turn the other cheek to some of this stuff going on.

MJ Independent’s Future

With that said people ask me what is the future for MJ Independent?

I will be honest but I have asked the people who like to contribute to this publication what should I do with it?

And every time I say it their response is “what do you mean?” followed by the “Oh no” when I tell them that heart disease, depression, being shot more than once in my lifetime and breaking more than a couple of bones in my lifetime means I am getting tired now a lot more than often and it is tough at times to go on.

And my offer is still out there to community groups if you want to submit news to the community about what your group is up to - sure no problem, it will be published.

My mother has told me “what would you do with yourself” if I did not do this.

In some ways she has a point. The thing is she never reads me on-line she reads me in the newspaper diligently clipping every story I submit and is printed. It is all in a box some place, tucked away as memories.

With that said I cannot see me making the extended trips any longer to cover amateur female hockey even though I now have all of the equipment to do everything I would want to do that I only dreamed about five years ago.

So if you have not noticed I am making the move to high school sports.

It is not a step backwards but rather it is putting an emphasis on an area that does not see enough light thrown on it - especially when it comes to the female part of it. Sort of like female hockey.

It is why I showed up to the Vanier Vikings game on the weekend - I know they were not the premiere matchup when it came to high school football but maybe the underdogs are the ones we should be covering when it comes to sports in general.

Not because they are likely to lose but because despite the odds they still go out and try each and every day despite it all. They want to get better and who knows they may have that one big win that is worth any championship.

The human spirit lives on.

Have a great week.