Monthly Archives: February 2024

DETATCHED

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My friend told me this incredible kidnap story that sounds like a thriller plot. According to her this really happened, although I could not find any reference to this particular case on the internet. Since the story was incomplete, I filled in a lot of the blanks. It’s called artistic license or fiction. Not to be confused with real life. Or as Mark Twain said: don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.

A young man, let’s call him Joey, in upstate New York who was with a small gang of misfits was a bystander in a liquor store heist by his friends. A struggle ensued and a store employee was killed. Afraid of being implicated, Joey ran to the home where his girlfriend, Naomi, was babysitting a small girl. Being just 18 himself and Naomi 16, they acted on impulse. Joey told her of the heist gone wrong and in order to evade the subsequent police hunt they decided to run at a moment’s notice. Joey thought it a good idea to take the toddler along and pretend they were a young family and were able to slip under the radar. They headed north and made it across the Canadian border as a young family. This was in 1999, before 9/11, when border security between the US and Canada was relatively lax.

Somehow the young make-believe family ended up in a small community in northern Alberta where Joey, who looked older than his years, took on several menial jobs over the years and eventually became the manager of a gas station that also had a gas bar and restaurant. He was able to keep the three of them financially afloat. Eventually they were able to buy a small bungalow in a cul-de-sac and proceeded to live a very quiet, middle-class life, respected by the neighbours and the community to which they now belonged. The young girl which they named Leslie went to school and grew up like any other child, firmly convinced that her two guardians, Joey and Naomi were her parents.

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Boomers Time is Up

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‘Farewell to the Boomers is the title of the new book by the German sociologist Heinz Bude. He’s a boomer himself and explores the present state and the legacy of the boomer generation. ‘Okay Boomer’ a New Zealand MP accused an older colleague in 2019, dismissing him as somebody past his due date and taking up space,’ Camp said.

‘We’re both boomers aren’t we,’ I pointed out and looked around the pub. ‘And we’re not alone.’

            Camp gave me an exasperated look and kept on going. ‘Okay Boomer became a generational battle cry meaning: your time is up, move on over, make room, head out to pasture and all of that.’

            ‘Who are the Boomers? I know it’s short for baby boomer. Most of us are now in the process of retiring or are already out of the workforce.’

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Brother Wars

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‘As the world seems to arm itself to the teeth and wars are being fought in many places it strikes me that these conflicts more often than not involve members of the same tribe, the same ethnicity and the same geography. I’m referring to the Bosnians vs the Serbs, the Chinese against Taiwanese, the Irish against the Irish, Somalis against Somalis, North Koreans against their southern brothers and sisters, Ethiopia vs Tigray, Russians vs their cousins, the Ukrainians, even the Palestinians against the Jews, members of the same gene pool, way back when they were all Canaanites. What’s with all that? Why do we fight our neighbours and brothers and sisters?’

‘Most the world’s conflicts are all based on cultural belief systems. Religions against each other. Like in Sri Lanka, where the Sinhalese Buddhists hate their cousins, the Tamil Tigers,’ Camp said. ‘Or the eternal schism between the Sunni’s and the Shia’s, hatred even within the same religion.’ 

‘Small tribes, small wars; big tribes, big wars,’ I said, quoting a well-worn cliché, and let’s not forget it’s always men against men while the women and children bear the brunt of the misery these wars create.’

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Retirement

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‘Two weeks ago, we had the coldest week with persistent sub-zero temps, ever recorded in these latitudes. Minus 50 degrees in parts of Alberta. It almost broke their power grid. All e-cars were parked.’

‘Frozen Tesla’s everywhere,’ Camp said.

‘And now, this past week, atmospheric rivers lasting over a week with accumulated rainfall of almost 2ft, 220mm with the warm springlike weather melting the snow and raining on the mountains. What kind of winter is this?’

‘Do you really want me to answer that? No. I didn’t think so. Extreme weather patterns are the new normal. Get used to it.’

            ‘You’re right, no point complaining. Nobody is listening.’

‘’You’re retired so why are you hanging around this year?’ Camp wanted to know.

            ‘Something went wrong in the planning department,’ I admitted. ‘We did a road trip  to California but next year, we will not be around for the deep freeze and biblical rains if I have a say in it. How about you Camp? When do you plan to retire?’

            ‘What is retirement? Just quitting the job and staying home? I happen to like my job and don’t see it as a burden. Also, the book store is not exactly a valuable corporation and the occasional paycheck comes in handy. I could not live off the government pensions and since I’m self-employed I get no pension from the bookstore.’

            ‘I guess you have to define retirement,’ I said. ‘Like you said, it’s doing what you like to do but without having to worry about money. In other words, it’s an affordability question. Many people would like to retire but can’t afford it. Not if they still carry a mortgage or have expenses that cannot be met with the meagre government pensions.’

            ‘Exactly. I’m lucky to love what I do and many who continue working into their dotage are happier for it. Look at Henry Kissinger, who worked until his death at 100, or Clint Eastwood or Joe Biden for that matter. Grand-grandpas all of them.’

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