Scattered Thoughts....and Lake Tahoe

Tomorrow we are off to Lake Tahoe and Heavenly Valley Ski Resort in Nevada for our last kick at the hills this year. I can only think how fortunate we are to be packing up skis, poles, boots and warm clothing and looking forward to powder, great runs and a quiet evening by the fire. Of course as an octogenarian I will not be able to ski seven consecutive days and will probably use the down time to visit casinos, view the countryside, and enjoy some of the local cooking.

Unfortunately, I cannot fully enjoy the anticipation of these wonderful events because at the back of my mind lurks the plight of so many other innocent people around the world who may never be as free and fortunate as we Canadians.

At the moment the multiple disasters in Japan are front and centre. TEPCO or the Tokyo Power Company workers, especially those referred to as the "Fearless 50", will battle the smoldering nuclear plants knowing at the same time they are probably sacrificing their very lives for others. One volunteer is only six months from retirement! Given what the religious fanatics are doing in other parts of the world, this suicide mission is so different and heroic, at least in my eyes. As well, thousands of homeless and displaced survivors will never be able to return home to rebuild their shattered lives. Their land, or what is left of it, will probably be uninhabitable. And I am going off on a ski vacation!

Back home in Canada there seems to be one political scandal after another. Apparently all levels of government are broke, yet they still seem to spend our (thinking it's theirs!) money unwisely. The mayors of our large cities, where 80% of Canadians live, are screaming for help as our crumbling infrastructures fall apart. No real solution has been found for our health care system and, in spite of the ads to the contrary, thousands are still unemployed. Yet our so-called representatives say they have money for fighter planes, huge jails and all the other "goodies" to be announced prior to the possible election. Why the mayor of Toronto even started his own "gravy train" and it is fueled by Ootes!

Perhaps getting away from it all, concentrating on the terrain, the company and the joys of skiing, I can forget it all for a while.

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week.