So, was that an exciting municipal election or what?
I am going to go with the “or what” option. Here is the thing about democracy, it depends on the participation of people. I think the mail-in only aspect of the election diminished that. I think our returning mayor and newly-elected city council really need to address this and make people more involved, not less.
Congratulations to all who ran or attended the forums and voiced their opinions. Having said that, the city really needs a central place to post forums, election information and consider new ways to get voters and candidates to interact. I am sure for many people the forest of “Vote for me signs” was all they saw or heard about the election.
So, they really need a couple of meetings or to have a think-tank on how to get people more engaged. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, all levels of government seemed to withdraw and become more insular. We got a lot more top-down governance and now would be a good time to think of ways to make things, debates, ideas, plans and policies more bottom-up. That would be my overall suggestion. But that’s enough politics for now because we are rapidly approaching Halloween and winter.
One thing about the North is we do get a lot of weather and our seasons tend to be extreme. In some parts of the world there are bookies who will take bets on just about anything and one big issue here is always “Will it be a white or green Halloween?” I’ve been around long enough that I have seen both, although most tend to be on the snowy or at least the slushy side.
However, one year when I lived at Northlands, I can remember a Halloween that had a very cold, windy snowstorm that was getting close to being a blizzard. The kids were tougher in those days and most still went out to trick-or-treat even though you couldn’t see their costumes under the parkas, toques and mitts. Also, half the trailers were in darkness because people were either out at a Halloween party or turned off their lights because they didn’t want to be opening their door and losing their heat.
So, Halloween night can be quite variable, and I am surprised there isn’t a contest to bet on the weather that night. Also, for several years there was a big Halloween party at one of the airport hangars for teenagers. The idea was to keep them off the streets and not getting up to mischief or hogging all the candy from the smaller kids.
One of the things I like about Halloween is it gives neighbours a chance to see each other, and I always enjoy the parents taking their toddlers from house to house, although I do sometimes wonder how much of the candy or treats goes to the adults versus the toddlers. One adult told me that Halloween candy magically has no calories, so it doesn’t count if you are on a diet. I’m not sure I believe that one but what the heck, winter is coming so a few extra calories might be OK. It’s only one night of the year. So if you don’t like Halloween then consider it meet-your-neighbourhood-kids night.
I also like seeing some of the inventive costumes kids make. I grew up in an era when most kids or their parents made their own costumes. You scrounged around and put together something. One year I turned a rather large cardboard box into a jack-in-the-box, with a hinged hatch on the top that I could pop my head up through. Yes, it was rather awkward to walk around in, but I am sure I got a little extra candy for originality.
Speaking of candy, how many of you are old enough to remember “candy kisses,” which were made of very sticky molasses and chewing them? One risked pulling out any filling you had in your teeth. Also, they weren’t the best tasting things but for those who liked them you could trade a chocolate for a lot of kisses the next day at school.