Rain, rain, gone away?

My routine each morning, for now anyway, is to rise around 6 am, make a cup of coffee and watch CBC's "The National." CBC is an acronym for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's equivalent to Great Britain's BBC.

At the end of "The National's" daily broadcast there is a report on Canada's weather for the next few days. It is at this point that I switch to the Environment Canada website and look at the seven day forecast for Nanaimo, BC, where my son and grandchildren live, and Winnipeg Manitoba, where I spent most of my adult life.

I have a MacBook Pro, which means I have a dashboard. After looking at the weather in Nanaimo and Winnipeg I open my dashboard and look at the forecast for Oaxaca. Oaxaca's weather, compared to Canada's weather, including the mild west coast of the country, could be described as . . .well, consistent. We are in the rainy season, so everyday the forecast was rain with noonday temperatures of 28 C. It was the amount of rain that was so extraordinary.

Rain is necessary to sustain life, I know this, I don't care, I pretty much hate rain. I love sun. Tuesday, September 28 I could no longer stand the frequent torrents of water pouring from the sky, the ceaseless dark unbroken clouds and the drizzle that existed when the torrents broke. I gave in and fell into a state of inertia. Then the rain stopped.

I watched the clouds in the sky during the first week of October, at first numerous and large, now virtually non existent. As for the forecast on my dashboard - sun, sun and more sun with temperatures from 24 C to 28 C. Perhaps the dry season has arrived an early this year, normally November marks the end of the rain. I can only hope.

Holiday Season

Although Winnipeg has excellent symphony, ballet and theatre companies, fine restaurants and beautiful parks and gardens, it is not a sophisticated city. Historically, right up to the present, it is a place where people from less fortunate countries come to improve their lot in life. One would think with this influx of varied cultures there would be greater savoir-fare, instead it remains a parochial place.

If you are, like me, living in Winnipeg without family and it’s the holiday season it is a lonely place. On occasion, but not often, I was invited in to a family’s festivities.

This Christmas was quiet, but not lonely. I’m simply a renter, living in the upper portion of a bungalow at the back of a garden, and yet anyone who lives here becomes part of the family. So it was, on Christmas Day Kelly, John and myself, renters from distant lands, were not only invited, but expected, to have a Christmas meal with the family. This meant my original plan to attend a Christmas potluck got pushed aside.

Everyone who is a member of the Oaxaca Lending Library received an invitation to buy a ticket to a New Year’s Day international buffet. I bought my ticket early, which was a good thing because it sold out.

The event was held at the home of a couple who are members of the library. A beautiful home too big for two people, as far as I’m concerned. Full of art, gardens and rooms where tables were laid out for guest to sit. Attendees was a sophisticated group. One of the guests mentioned John Updike had been a good friend, and quoted a humorous story told to him by Mr. Updike. Another guest mentioned he had been a wine taster for forty years. A couple recently moved from Guatemala where they had owned a coastal hotel. Although I enjoyed the company I couldn’t help but feel a little angry, not at the people I met, but at a world situation which is so unfair. The children at the center will have so very little throughout their lives, and yet others have so much.

The very definition of sophistication includes an understanding of one’s privileged position, being humbled by it, and doing something to help those less fortunate. The Oaxaca Lending Library, which has been in existence for over forty years, is a nonprofit organization setup to create libraries throughout the state because Mexican public libraries do not allow books to leave the facility. The lending library also offers children the opportunity to learn English, and adult Spanish and English speakers a place to improve their second language through language exchange discussion groups.

Oh yes, the food: Christmas - Ponche (a warm fruit drink), roast pork, sweet potatoes, both potato and pasta salads and cake for dessert. New Year’s Day - Italian pasta, Greek potato salad, green beans, beets, Indian curry and many varied desserts - plus a cash bar.

Getting the House Ready For Sale

Yesterday I worked until I was too tired to move. I hauled dirt, pushed the lawn mower, which is a push mower, dug out dandelions, edged the hedges on both sides of the front yard, and painted the outside front door frame. I'll double check today, but I think the front of the house is ready for sale. It has as much curb appeal as I can manage.

The World's Worst Drivers Live in Winnipeg

Driving the streets of Winnipeg is a terrifying experience. I suspect we are the world’s worst drivers.

After work on Friday I wanted to fill the propane tank for my BBQ, this meant travelling a different route than the one I usually take. Everyone in Winnipeg had a TGIF attitude, and it showed in their driving.

The first near traffic accident was my fault, as I moved into the oncoming traffic I cut off an oncoming van. Perhaps its driver was driving too quickly and not paying appropriate attention. Nonetheless, I was in a yield lane and ought to have exercised more caution.
I was grateful for the near miss, and I vowed to drive more cautiously.

The next near accident is a puzzler. I knew, as I attempted to make a left hand turn into the business where I would have my propane tank filled, I would have difficulty getting across the four lanes of rapidly moving traffic.

I lucked out, the driver in the lane closest to me stopped, allowing me to begin my turn. The driver in the second lane stopped. The vehicle in the second lane was a van and I could not see into the third lane. I was nervous. The potential for an accident was great. I slowly inched my way into the third lane. A van came speeding along. Fortunately the screeching of brakes and the sudden stopping of the van meant we did not collide.

The driver began shaking her fists at me. Obviously believing I was at fault. It’s a puzzler because I may very well have been at fault. I was cutting her off. Yet, what else could I have done? I was holding up traffic while making a totally legal left-hand-turn.

More and more people are driving vans, 4x4's, and SUV’‘s, for safety reasons. Yet, I wonder how many accidents these types of vehicles are causing because regular vehicles can’t see around them.

After two near misses I wanted to go home. But, I was also determined to get the rest of my shopping chores completed. My next stop was the drug store. The drug store has a parking problem, too many shoppers who come in vehicles and not enough parking spots. I was puzzled, there was a parking spot, but even my subcompact would have difficulty fitting in it. And, it was the only parking spot available. I lucked out, the driver in the vehicle beside the parking spot no one could park in, was leaving.

I carefully parked precisely in the middle of the recently vacated parking spot, got out of my car and noticed that the reason I couldn’t park in the first vacant spot I saw was because the car adjacent to that spot was over the line, taking up two parking spots.

Hogging two parking spots has become increasingly more prevalent, especially by drivers of 4x4's, vans and SUV’s. Attempting to protect their vehicles, when parking is at a premium, they are making life inconvenient for other people.

At this point the driver in the van parked on the other side of my vehicle started yelling at me. According to him, I was discourteous, he was going to have trouble getting out of his parking spot because of the way I was parked.

I looked at how he was parked. Like the car on the other side he was not parked properly. I tried to explain to him he had not parked properly. If he was willing to listen, I would have also explained I was attempting to be courteous, in my opinion, by parking properly I was, unlike him, giving more people the opportunity to park.

But, he was not an intelligent person. He was scruffy looking, his van was filthy and rusty and he was too emotional. After battling traffic for about forty-five minutes, trying my best to think every move through, I resorted to "Shut-up," as I went into the drug store.

Then I remember the times when after parking I’ve returned to a damaged car. Classed as a hit and run because the driver who has hit me left no note letting me know who they are, I’ve had to pay my insurance deductible. I took out my notebook and wrote the license number of the van.

I’ve driven in New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, Vancouver, and Montreal. Winnipeg has, by far, the worst drivers.