ANTIQUE HUNTING IS PART TWO TODAY BECAUSE I'M MAD!
A SHORT COMMENT FROM A REALLY PISSED-OFF CITIZEN - BY ANY OTHER TITLE - A RANT!
UPON FINDING OUT THE GOVERNMENT SUCKS - CANCELLATION OF GAS-FIRED GENERATING PLANTS MAY COST US A BILLION - HOSPITAL MAY CLOSE TO SAVE BUCKS - TEACHERS?
THERE REALLY ISN'T ANY REASON THE PROVINCIAL LIBERALS SHOULD BE IN POWER TODAY. I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE REASON WHY THEY SHOULD BE SPARED AN ELECTION. FRANKLY, I THINK THEY NEED TO BE PROSECUTED FOR THE FISCAL DISASTER THEY HAVE PERPETRATED. THEY SHOULD ALL RESIGN NOW, OR JUST QUIETLY WALK AWAY FROM QUEEN'S PARK, (NOT LOOKING BACK) AND ALLOW THE OPPOSITION TO TRY THEIR HAND, TO RECOUP SOME OF THE MONEY THEY SQUANDERED. PARTICULARLY ON THE CANCELLATION OF THE GENERATING PLANTS, PRIOR TO THE LAST PROVINCIAL ELECTION. HERE THESE CLOWNS…..AND I'M SORRY TO DISPARAGE CLOWNS AROUND THE WORLD, SQUANDERED THIS WHOPPING AMOUNT OF MONEY, TO RE-LOCATE THESE PLANTS, TO APPEASE THE ELECTORATE OF THOSE TWO RIDINGS, AND THEN HAVE THE GALL TO SQUEEZE TEACHERS AS IF THEY'RE THE UNSAVORY FAT CATS. THEY SQUANDERED MONEY ON OUR AIR AMBULANCE SERVICES, AND E-HEALTH BEFORE THAT, AND JESUS, THEY THEN TELL US WE ALL HAVE TO TIGHTEN OUR BELTS……AND HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO GET ALONG WITH LESSER MEDICAL SERVICES, LONGER DRIVES TO GET TO THESE SERVICES, AND POTENTIALLY, LEARN TO LIVE WITH ONE HOSPITAL IN MUSKOKA INSTEAD OF TWO. HONESTLY, IF THE OPPOSITION AT QUEEN'S PARK DOESN'T SHIFT THESE PEOPLE OUT OF OFFICE SOON, YOU BET TAXES ARE GOING TO HIT THE NOSE BLEED LEVEL, TO PAY FOR THEIR MEGA EXTRAVAGANCES PAST AND PRESENT. THIS IS A DANGEROUS GOVERNMENT WHEN YOU LOOK AT FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. I BELIEVE THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMED THE CANCELLATIONS OF THE POWER PLANTS REPRESENTED IN-AND-ABOUT A FORTY-EIGHT MILLION DOLLAR CRUMBLED COOKIE……YET WHEN MORE OF THE DETAILS EMERGE, IT'S FRIGHTENING AND SCANDELOUS WHAT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN DOING WITH ONTARIO'S RESOURCES. AS FAR AS BEING STEWARDS OR OUR ASSETS, THEY HAVE DUG ONTARIO INTO A HOLE SO DEEP, WELL SIR…….OUR FUTURE IS FALLING INTO THE SINK HOLE, AND THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT EXCEPT TO SMILE AND WAVE FAREWELL.
SO WHEN YOU READ THE LOCAL PRESS, AND IT'S REVEALED, FOR EXAMPLE, THE PROVINCE INSISTS ON MORE EFFICIENCY WITH ITS HOSPITALS…..WHO ARE THEY KIDDING? THIS HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF JOKE. OR JUST REALLY BAD TIMING, WHEN WE FIND OUT ABOUT A BILLION DOLLAR "OOPS," ON THE SAME OCCASION AS FINDING OUT WE MAY HAVE A HOSPITAL IN EITHER HUNTSVILLE OR BRACEBRIDGE, BUT WHICH WILL BE THE LUCKY TOWN TO GO SOLO? SENATORS TAKING MONEY THEY DON'T DESERVE FOR HOUSING? IS IT ANY WONDER CITIZENS TODAY HAVE DECIDED TO GIVE UP TRYING TO HOLD GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE? EVERY NOW AND AGAIN SOME SMUG LOCAL COUNCILLOR WILL POINT OUT THE FACT, THAT ONLY A FEW CONCERNED CITIZENS WILL TURN OUT TO REVIEW THEIR MUNICIPAL HANDIWORK, WHEN GIVEN THE DEMOCRATIC OPPORTUNITY. NOW THAT IS NAIVE THINKING, TO THE MAX., TO BELIEVE WE'RE NOT INTERESTED. ALL WE KNOW FOR SURE, AS CITIZENS, IS THAT IF WE REALLY WANT CHANGE, IT WILL COME IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS, WHEN THE PRESENT COUNCIL IS OUSTED. OR MAYBE IT'S A CASE WHERE ONE BUNCH IS AS GOOD AS THE OTHER, AND FOLKS HAVE JUST LEARNED TO IGNORE WHAT THEY DON'T RESPECT. HAVING A POOR TURN-OUT FOR A GOVERNMENT EVENT, IS AS MUCH AS SHOW OF DISRESPECT, AS IT IS EVIDENCE OF GROWING APATHY…..AND THE TWO ARE LINKED IN VIEWS OF THE OPPRESSED. I FEEL PRETTY DARN OPPRESSED WHEN I READ ABOUT GOVERNMENT OVER-SPENDING, WITH ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNANCE. AND THEY FEEL THE NECESSITY TO SQUEEZE TEACHERS. SAME OLD, SAME OLD.
I READ LAST WEEK ABOUT THE VERY FEW RATEPAYERS WHO CAME OUT TO EXAMINE THE 2013 TOWN OF GRAVENHURST BUDGET, AND HAVE THEIR SAY ABOUT THE PROPOSED TAX INCREASE, AND THE DEPARTMENTAL AND PROJECT COSTS. I MAY HAVE READ THE NUMBER WRONG, BUT I'M SURE IT WAS IN THE BALLPARK OF FIFTEEN SOULS. ONE OF THIS GROUP WAS PARTICULARLY POINTED IN CRITICISM LEVELED AT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE, AND ONE WAS HIGHLY COMPLIMENTARY, AND ONE OTHER, ASSOCIATED WITH A LARGE COTTAGER ASSOCIATION, WAS A LITTL MORE "DELVING" AND THAT IS A GOOD THING. THE POINT IS, AND WE'VE FIGURED THIS OUT BY WATCHING AND READING ABOUT THE DEBACLE OF TORONTO COUNCIL, THAT THERE'S JUST NO POINT INTERVENING……BECAUSE EVERYTHING THESE DAYS TURNS OUT EITHER LOPSIDED, ASKEW, UPSIDE DOWN, COMPLETELY CONTRARY TO WHAT APPEARS TO THE MAJORITY AS SENSIBLE. THERE'S NO POINT FIGHTING THE BUDGET. NONE. BY TIME IT HITS THE PUBLIC REVIEW STAGE, WHAT'S LEFT OTHER THAN MINOR TWEAKING AND THE RUBBER STAMP? WHILE IT'S GRAND THAT THOSE PEOPLE TOOK THE TIME TO VISIT COUNCIL, AND ASK QUESTIONS…..OR STATE SOME OPINIONS (SOME MAY HAVE BEEN VERY LOUD), THE REALITY IS, COUNCIL IS ABOUT AS STALWART AS YOU CAN GET WITHOUT BEING ON A PAR WITH POURED CONCRETE……AND EVEN IF I HAD ATTENDED AND QUESTIONED, FOR EXAMPLE, THE OPERA HOUSE BUDGET, AND IF WE, AS A SMALL COMMUNITY, COULD REALLY AFFORD TO GAMBLE WITH SUMMER THEATRE AGAIN, I WOULD HAVE BEEN FED THE RHETORIC THAT IS COMMONPLACE IN THIS PURPORTEDLY FRIENDLY UPTOWN……WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE BY THE WAY. I READ ABOUT IT, BUT IT'S NOT A FACT. IT'S WISHFUL THINKING. THE B.I.A. WILL SAY ANYTHING TO TRY AND CONVINCE US THAT EVERYTHING IS PEACHES AND CREAM OUT THERE…….BUT SOME OF US KNOW DIFFERENTLY.
THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST NEEDS TO GET OFF ITS COLLECTIVE BEHIND, AND TAKE THIS HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL SERVICES OVERHAUL SERIOUSLY, BECAUSE IT IS GOING TO BE A BIG FIGHT TO KEEP WHAT WE HAVE TODAY. SEVERAL YEARS AGO I WARNED LOCAL POLITICIANS, AND THE MEDIA IN FACT, TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, ALONG WITH THE DECLINING ENROLLMENT OF LOCAL SCHOOLS, AND BEGIN SOME FORM OF COMMITTEE PROCESS TO ADDRESS EACH…..BECAUSE BOTH ISSUES HAVE A CATASTROPHIC POTENTIAL TO OUR TOWN'S WELL BEING. SITTING ON THE FENCE OR RELYING ON STATUS QUO ISN'T GOING TO WORK HERE, CONSIDERING IN THE HOSPITAL'S CASE, THE ISSUE WILL PROBABLY BE DEALT WITH IN THE COMING EIGHTEEN MONTHS. BY THEN THERE WILL MOST DEFINITELY HAVE BEEN A PROVINCIAL ELECTION, WITH HOPEFULLY THE LIBERALS GONE, AND A MUNICIPAL ELECTION READY TO GO. THIS MEANS THE PRESENT COUNCIL REALLY NEEDS TO GET INVOLVED, TO LET THE HOSPITAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS KNOW ITS POSITION…….AND CONSIDERING WE HAVE A VERY SUBSTANTIAL SENIORS POPULATION HERE, IT BETTER BE……"WE WANT OUR HOSPITAL TO REMAIN OPEN." CONSIDERING FOLKS, THAT OUR TOWN HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY TO BRING SENIORS TO THIS COMMUNITY, WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE PINE RIDGE, A HAVEN FOR SENIOR RESIDENTS…..ALONG WITH OTHER SENIORS HOUSING. IF IT WAS IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITY'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, THEN KEEPING THE HOSPITAL OPEN SHOULD THUSLY BE JOB ONE. IF PAST EXPERIENCE IS AN EXAMPLE, I HAVE A BAD FEELING HERE, THAT COUNCIL IS WAITING FOR GODOT, AND NOT JUMPING ALL OVER THIS……BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE A BAD 18 MONTHS IF IT GOES LIKE I THINK IT WILL.
BY THE WAY. SOUTH MUSKOKA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL IS A WAR MEMORIAL. I WAS ITS FORMER HISTORIAN, AND I'M GOING TO CITE SOME HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS WHEN THE FIGHT GETS DOWN AND DIRTY. WE'VE GOT TWO DAMN GOOD REASONS TO PUT OUR BIG COMMUNITY FOOT DOWN, SO THAT THE BOARD AND THE PROVINCE KNOWS, THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE A DEAL DONE WITHOUT PUBLIC INPUT AND A HOST OF LEGAL CHALLENGES. IT'S UP TO US ALL TO MAKE THIS SITUATION AN ELECTION ISSUE, WHEN THE OPPOSITION FINALLY DECIDES TO TOPPLE THE GOVERNING LIBERALS……WHO IN MY ESTIMATION IN MUSKOKA, HAVE CREATED THIS ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT MEDICAL SERVICES, AND WHICH OF TWO HOSPITALS SHOULD SURVIVE. A NEW HOSPITAL. THERE'S A GEM OF AN ISSUE. CAN YOU BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE? AS FOR EFFICIENCY, YEA, WE KNOW ALL ABOUT THAT PROCESS, AND THE NET RESULT, AND EVERY TIME AN AIR AMBULANCE GOES OVERHEAD, WE'RE REMINDED OF HOW MUCH MONEY IT TAKES TO RUN HEALTH SERVICES. WE SUFFER. IT'S THE WAY IT WORKS.
GRAVENHURST COUNCIL NEEDS A REMARKABLE FINISH TO THEIR LACKLUSTER TERM OF OFFICE SO FAR. WE NEED OUR "SHANE"…..OUR "JOHN WAYNE"…..OR "FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE." WE NEED A LOT FEWER FOLLOWERS, AND SOME GENUINELY PISSED-OFF AND MOTIVATED LEADERSHIP. IF THIS HOSPITAL ISSUE ISN'T CONSIDERED A BIG DEAL, BY OUR COUNCIL, AND WORTH FIGHTING FOR, THEN THEY SHOULDN'T BE IN OFFICE. THIS IS A PRETTY FAIR TEST OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY. I'D REALLY LIKE TO BE IMPRESSED, BUT I HAVE HAD MY HOPES DASHED IN THE PAST.
THE SAD CASES WE DEALERS SEE WEEKLY - THAT YOU DON'T
When we opened our main street antique business, in Bracebridge, back in the late 1980's, we did so with the full confidence in our business partners, and the well being of the local tourist-based economy. What morons we were to trust our business partners, who buggered off early in the relationship, and left us holding the bag so to speak. Then the housing bubble burst…..exploded better stated, and the country was thrust into recession. So here we were in one of the most frivolous industries in the world, that certainly wasn't necessary for the survival of mankind, and generally considered over-priced at the best of times. It was a "beyond fear" scenario, that we had no control over, due to a lease arrangement; and we simply decided that if we had to go down with the ship, we were going to do it respectfully and whimper-not about how the world had done us wrong. I am always happy to recall these days, a time when we triumphed over adversity, which stretched for years; because it created a business dynamic and resilience we have never forgotten…..and practice to this day. Which is, to trust our customers, trust ourselves, but be suspicious of all those who wish to make our lives more prosperous, by following their lead. In Gravenhurst we're told how to survive at business even when we don't ask…..so we've got very adept at ignoring false prophets.
I can't really duplicate the scenarios for you, that we experienced numerous times each week back then. There's no way I can describe accurately, how crappy I felt, having to go out to see a few sticks of old furniture, and chipped china, in the trunk of some poor soul's car. We didn't have much money ourselves back then, and to see these destitute individuals, often with kids in the car, and look down at the broken worthless items of trade, made us feel as if we were shirking our responsibilities as good citizens. Honestly, we purchased a lot of poor quality items, sometimes to help feed the kids, cover the month's rent, and provide some gas money. I went to see items in car trunks, and couldn't help but notice that the vehicle was also being used as a residence. And yes, there were kids involved. I had many situations, when I felt it was necessary to call Children's Aid, but not once was it a case of physical abuse. I worried about those babies and toddlers being hungry, and I can still remember the fathers and mothers I dealt with breaking into tears, when I had to decline making a purchase. I could only beg their forgiveness, telling them that I only had a few dollars in my till anyway, and I needed that to buy bread and milk for my own youngsters. I was living like I was a character in "The Grapes of Wrath," and "Tobacco Road," and it was what most politicians missed. If you ask them what they were doing during that particular recession, and if they thought it was hard on our district, they're likely to have foggy recollections, as if it had been no big deal or inconvenience. Well as an historian, I won't forget. Our hardship was largely the result of buying a house on the brink of a bubble burst……so I can't blame anyone else. But a lot of folks I met, when our antique business was being used as a pawn shop, were the victims of the excesses of everyone else. Many of these hard-hit citizens were poor to begin with but at least had jobs. When they lost employment, they lost the ability to pay for their residences, and sometimes even their cars, which wound up being towed away the result of arrears. Sad doesn't even come close to describing some of the things and events I witnessed. Suzanne used to get so mad at me for buying things we couldn't even use, because I couldn't say "no!" It's true of me, that I returned home many nights from our store, with an apology for my family, that I had loaned someone money who was in dire straights…..and it left me a little short. I wasn't a hero as much as a soft touch. I thought about those people, and those little faces looking out the window, mixed with a few scrawny family pets, and understood, in my own family legacy, why my grandmother Blanche Jackson, kept her Toronto house, and warm kitchen open all hours of the day and night during the Depression years, to help those who couldn't help themselves. There are a lot of people today who don't see the poverty around them, and frankly don't care to inconvenience themselves looking too hard to find it. There's better things to do!
I was sitting at my sales desk, one morning, at our Bracebridge shop, when a distressed woman arrived in front, asking if I would be interested in buying some jewelry from her, as she needed money to buy gas for her car. I had left that morning fearing this kind of circumstance, which had been happening with alarming frequency. I had forty dollars in the tin box I used for cash, and before I had a chance to say anything, there were rings and a neckless in front of me…….in front of a guy who hasn't got a clue about vintage jewelry or even new jewelry. I tried to explain this to her, but she kept digging in her purse for more pieces to sweeten the pot so to speak. I tried to get her to go over to the Salvation Army Thrift Shop for some immediate assistance, (it was just across the road), but apparently, she had been turned away from two shops already. While I still tried to get myself out of this situation, I couldn't deal with the flood of tears that were hitting my counter. She wasn't marginally distraught. This was the whole nine yards of upset. She had been living in her car, after being abandoned by her boyfriend, and hadn't eaten for days. She was trying to get enough gas money to drive back to Toronto where she had family. I used to have some charlatans try to pull the same act, but this one was genuine. I was in an emotional pickle. What to do?
Finally, she put both hands down on the counter, and looked me straight in my beady little eyes and said, "Sir, I am in desperate need to get back to the city. Please can you just give me twenty dollars for gas, and there are some valuable rings here you can sell to get the money back." I put down twenty dollars on the counter, ready to put down another on top of it, when she yanked it up, and ran for the door with nothing more than a fleeting "thank you." I ran after her, because l wanted to give the jewelry back. I was just going to give her the forty bucks I had in the tin, because I believed her story. She shouldn't have had to give up these jewelry pieces in this fashion. I was so embarrassed to be me that day, and she was long gone before I got out from behind the counter and up the stairs. When I came home like the moral of "Jack and the Beanstalk," Suzanne was not only understanding, and agreeable, admitting she would have done the same thing, but she made some shocking discoveries about the pieces the woman had left behind. She offered a rough estimate of rings and a neckless worth well over four hundred dollars in return for twenty. Now how do you feel good about being in the antique business when something like this happens? You know, I kept those jewelry pieces at the desk until the day we closed the shop for good. It was a benefit of being in the business that I wish I hadn't experienced. We have since given most of the pieces away to friends, except one ring that Suzanne wears daily……as a sort of reminder of how slippery the slope of personal economy can be……under the most adverse conditions one can imagine. I love being an antique dealer but back then, I didn't like what the business entailed each week……and the interaction with so many people in need. It doesn't matter what the statistics record of that period in history, or the vague recollections of political types about that aspect of provincial history, because I have a enough "refute" in me, to remind myself, my family and anyone else who wishes to listen…..just how bad it was on the front lines…..in one of the most frivolous businesses ever.
Thanks for joining me today, rants and all. It's been a reminiscent day for me, with a lot of bad memories attached. Sorry for the negative aura. But it's part of the antique trade, to see this kind of collateral damage when times are tough.
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