We Have No Place To Hide; Every Reason To Join The Fight Against Terrorism Even In Small Town Ontario

THE NEW NORMAL FOR ALL CANADIANS - WE ARE TARGETS - HONESTLY, WE SHOULDN'T BE TOO SURPRISED THAT SOME FOLKS DON'T LIKE US!

THERE IS A NEED FOR VIGILANCE EVERYWHERE IN THIS COUNTRY, LET'S BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES - BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

    TODAY'S BLOG IS QUILTED FROM DIFFERENT BLOCKS OF TIME, AND VARIED AMOUNTS OF EXPOSURE, TO CITIZENS TODAY, I MET, IN AND OUT OF OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP, WHO HAD QUITE A LOT TO SAY, AND OPINE ABOUT, REGARDING WHAT OCCURRED THIS MORNING IN OTTAWA. IT'S ABOUT AS SILKEN AND GENTLE AS SLIDING DOWN SANDPAPER, BECAUSE I WAS GETTING VOLUNTEERED PERSPECTIVE RIGHT UP TO CLOSING TIME. IT WAS WHAT INTERESTED ME THE MOST; NOT A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE BUT A LOCAL PROFILE ONTO A NATIONAL ISSUE, THAT DESPITE ITS BROAD SHOULDERS AS A NEWS EVENT, WAS INCREDIBLY CLOSE AT HAND. THAT'S HOW TERRORISM BECOMES SO DANGEROUS. IT IS NOT THE MARCH OF AN ARMY LIKE THE HISTORIAN HAS DOCUMENTED ABOUT THE WAR OF 1812, AND THE CIVIL WAR WRITER HAS PORTRAYED, REGARDING THE MARCH ON GETTYSBURG IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. THIS NEW WAR MARCH IS AN INFILTRATION AMONGST CITIZENS, AND DEFENCE AGAINST IT, REQUIRES EVERY ASSISTANCE OF THE CANADIAN CITIZENS, TO REPORT WHAT THEY BELIEVE ARE PREAMBLE ACTIVITIES, TO A LARGER ASSAULT. I'M WORDING NOW, IF THE ANXIOUS, ANGRY CITIZENS I TALKED WITH TODAY, WOULD REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY TO POLICE, TO POTENTIALLY STOP A TERRORIST THREAT? I'M NOT SURE IT'S GONE TO THAT DEPTH, JUST YET, BUT IT'S ONE OF OUR GREATEST REALITIES OF DETECTION, AND ADVANCE WARNING. COMMUNITY POLICING AT ITS MOST ELEVATED LEVEL. TODAY'S BLOG IS LOCAL. IT'S NOT THE PERSPECTIVE OF ONE PERSON, BUT MANY TODAY, WHO WANTED TO TALK ABOUT A TURN OF THE EVENTS, WITH DIRE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE POORLY PREPARED. I LEARNED SOMETHING TODAY, ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY, I HAD NEVER KNOWN BECAUSE FRANKLY THE ISSUE NEVER CAME UP. WE ARE FAR MORE TUNED-IN THAN TUNED-OUT. THE NEW GRAVENHURST COUNCIL NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION TO ITS CITIZENRY, WHO I FIND VERY ASTUTE AND SENSITIVE TO THE NEWS OF THE DAY.
    THE INHERENT MISADVENTURE, HISTORIANS AND LOVERS OF BOOKS, CAN ENGAGE TOO DEEPLY, IS WHEN ACTUALITY NARROWS ONLY TO THE TURNING OF A PAGE, AND THE MEANING GARNERED FROM THE PRINTED WORD. EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THE POIGNANT WAY HISTORY IMPRINTS, IN THAT SAME DEFINITION OF ACTUALITY, IN MY OWN CASE, TODAY, I WAS SO ENCUMBERED BY THE 1852 TEXT, OF THE OPENING OF THE FIRST RAIL LINE BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND CANADA, THAT I FOUND MYSELF STRANGELY CONFOUNDED, WHEN INFORMED A SHOOTING HAD JUST OCCURRED ON PARLIAMENT HILL. OUR PARLIAMENT HILL. I SAT IN A KIND OF DAZE, WHICH BOTHERS ME, BECAUSE I'M NOT AS REACTIONARY AS I HAVE ALWAYS ASSUMED, AND IT TOOK TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE I CLIMBED FREE OF THE CATACOMB OF HISTORY. THEN ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT, WAS OUR FAMILY MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES IN OTTAWA. IT WAS WHEN I HEARD NEWS ABOUT THE DEATH OF A MILITARY HONOR GUARD, STANDING SENTRY AT THE NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL, THAT I ASKED SUZANNE TO SIT DOWN WITH ME FOR A MINUTE, TO HELP ME PULL ALL THE FACTS TOGETHER; I KNEW THAT AS A CAREER COLUMNIST AND BLOGGER, TO REMAIN FAITHFUL TO EXPRESSION, I HAD TO DROP WHAT I WAS WORKING ON PREVIOUSLY, AND OFFER A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE OF SINCERE REGRET. IT WAS SOMETHING, HONESTLY, THAT I FUMBLED WITH ALL DAY LONG. IT DIDN'T MATTER IF I WAS IN THE SHOP STUDIO, OUT ON THE MAINSTREET, SITTING IN THE VAN, OR STANDING OUT ON THE SHOULDER OF SEGWUN BOULEVARD, IN A VERY BRIEF RESPITE, LOOKING AT THE BEAUTIFUL BED OF NEWLY FALLEN LEAVES AND THE LONELY, EMPTY PARK BENCH, AT THE INTERSECTION; LOOKING SO POETIC, AS IF A LEFTOVER FROM THE DAYS WHEN VERSES OF POETRY COULD BE RECALLED FROM MEMORY, AND THERE WAS SOMETHING OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE WITHIN THE ILLUMINATION OF A FRIENDLY VENERABLE SUN. IT WAS JUST AN UNHAPPY DAY, DESPITE THE FACT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL OUTDOORS, AND PLEASANTLY WARM AND BRIGHT. OUR HISTORY CHANGED TODAY. IT WAS WHAT WILL BE WRITTEN AND RE-WRITTEN IN THE HISTORY BOOKS, THAT MY GRANDCHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN WILL READ ABOUT IN DECADES TO COME. I SHOULDN'T HAVE FUMBLED AND EVER BEEN AT A LOSS FOR WORDS. I'VE BEEN IN THE NEWS BUSINESS A LONG TIME, AND MET A LOT OF DEADLINES, AT THE LAST MINUTE, CHASING A BREAKING STORY. I DON'T HAVE A NEWS ROOM, OR A PUBLISHER BREATHING DOWN MY NECK, BUT I FELT AS IF I WAS BACK IN THAT OLD NEWS ROOM, AND THE HEAT WAS RISING. THIS WAS A RARE NATIONAL STORY WITH INTERNATIONAL CONSEQUENCES, AND THIS WAS SMALL TOWN ONTARIO, WHICH FOR THIS PERIOD OF TIME, BECAME A MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT PLACE IN THE GRAND SCHEME. THE WORLD BECAME A LITTLE SMALLER TODAY, ESPECIALLY FOR CANADIANS, WHO FOUND THE ENEMY WASN'T AS FAR AWAY AS WE ARE USED TO, AND EQUIPPED TO HANDLE. THIS WAS A TRAGIC EVENT, THAT WAS DESIGNED TO HERALD A NEW ERA OF IMBEDDED FEAR AND LOATHING, AND SEND US COWERING. FOR A MOMENT, WE FELT THIS WAY.
  
    I WASN'T IN A COMPROMISED SITUATION. NOT ONCE ALL DAY. I COULDN'T SMELL THE BURN OF SPENT GUNPOWDER. I DIDN'T SEE THE FLASHES OF GUNFIRE, AND I DIDN'T HEAR THE ECHO FROM THE GUN BATTLE ON PARLIAMENT HILL. I WASN'T SENT SCRAMBLING FOR COVER, AS A TERRORIST GUNMEN OPENED FIRE ON PARLIAMENT HILL. I WAS SAFE. INSULATED BY DISTANCE FROM THE TARGET ZONE. SPARED BECAUSE OF OUR GEOGRAPHIC PLACE IN THE VAST LANDSCAPE THAT IS CANADA. A SAFE HAVEN, THIS BURG, OR WHAT I CAN ONLY ASSUME, WAS A LESS DESIRABLE TARGET, FOR THE RADICAL ELEMENT, TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT BEING DISCONTENT WITH GOVERNMENT POLICY. LIFE IN A SMALL TOWN PROVED BENEFICIAL TODAY, SO I CAN ANSWER AFFIRMATIVE, THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE ASKS ME IF I REALLY LIKE LIVING OUT IN THE STICKS. MY LIFE WASN'T AT RISK, WHEN A TERRORIST ASSAULT WAS UNLEASHED ON THE CAPITAL OF OUR COUNTRY, EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. I DIDN'T SEE ANYONE SHOT, OR WITNESS ANY OF THE AFTERMATH, OF WHAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED, AS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS AND DEVASTATING VIOLATIONS OF CANADIAN SECURITY, SINCE THE WAR OF 1812. HISTORIANS MIGHT ARGUE TO THE CONTRARY, THAT THE SINKING OF THE PASSENGER SHIP, THE S.S. CARIBOO, IN THE ST. LAWRENCE, WITH MANY LIVES LOST, THE RESULT OF A TORPEDO FROM A GERMAN U-BOAT, DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, WAS THE LARGEST BREECH OF SECURITY; OR THE FLQ CRISIS, OF THE EARLY 1970'S, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WAR MEASURES ACT, BEING THE PRECISE NOTCH IN HISTORY, WE HAD EVERY RIGHT TO FEEL VULNERABLE. TODAY BROUGHT ABOUT THE KIND OF UNSETTLED FEELING, AND UNEASE, THE CANADIAN POPULATION, AT LARGE, HAS BEEN INSULATED FROM, FOR LONG AND LONG. TWO WORLD WARS, THE WAR IN KOREA, AND CANADIANS SERVING WITH THE AMERICAN FORCES IN VIETNAM, GAVE US PROLONGED PERIODS OF CONCERN, AND UNSPECIFIED TREPIDATION, ABOUT AN ESCALATION THROUGHOUT ASIA, BUT NOT QUITE IN THE VEIN OF TERRORISM, IMMEDIATE AND SHOCKING, AIMED AT OUR COUNTRY'S GOVERNING BODY. THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS SCARED OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, BUT MOST OF US DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE PRECISE CONSEQUENCE OF OVER-REACTION ON THE PART OF OTHER THE UNITED STATES OR RUSSIA. BUT THEY WERE DEFINABLE SIDES. WHAT HAPPENED TODAY, WAS AS OUT OF THE BLUE, AS WAS THE ATTACKS ON NEW YORK CITY, NOW KNOWN BY THE DATE, "9-11."
     I HAVE BEEN UNABLE, ALL THIS DAY, TO GATHER MY THOUGHTS FOR ANY SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF TIME, TO COMPOSE A RELEVANT BLOG, BEFORE ENTERING INTO YET ANOTHER WEIGHTY CONVERSATION, WITH SOMEONE DROPPING INTO OUR MAINSTREET GRAVENHURST SHOP, OUTRAGED BY THIS ATTACK ON HOME SOIL. NOT THAT MY OPINION HAS CHANGED MUCH SINCE I FIRST HEARD THE NEWS, BUT THAT EACH TIME, A WORRIED CITIZENS POPS IN FOR A VISIT, THERE IS AN UNSPOKEN OBLIGATION, TO HEAR THEIR TAKE ON THE EVENTS UNFOLDING. JUST AS NEWS OF WORLD CALAMITIES, LIKE THE ASSASSINATION OF AMERICAN PRESIDENT, JOHN F. KENNEDY, MADE THE WORLD STAND STILL, SO TO SPEAK; THAT MOST OF US, AROUND BACK THEN, CAN CLEARLY RECALL, EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE, AND WHAT WE WERE DOING, THE MOMENT NEWS WAS RECEIVED, "THE PRESIDENT IS DEAD!" THE SAME AS 9-11, WHEN WE WERE INTRODUCED TO A NEW STYLE OF WAR-CRAFT, AND IT INVOLVED OUR OWN PLANES USED AGAINST US. NINETY PERCENT OF OUR VISITORS TODAY, HAD SOMETHING PROFOUND TO SAY ABOUT THE ATTACKS IN OTTAWA. AND THERE WAS EVIDENT FEAR PREVAILING, AS SHAKEN FOLKS, WONDERED OUT LOUD, WHAT MIGHT BE COMING NEXT. EVEN SMALL TOWN ONTARIO WAS ACTIVATING, IN ANGER, AND QUITE WILLING TO SHARE FEELINGS WITH US; INTERESTED SHOPKEEPS, IN THE COUNTRY, THAT WAS JUST ASSAULTED, WITH CASUALTIES, IN WHAT CAN ONLY BE SEEN AS A CLEAR ACT OF WAR. SO YES, I WILL REMEMBER THIS DAY FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, GOD WILLING. I FELT SORRY FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH LOVED ONES LIVING AND WORKING IN OTTAWA, A FEW WORKING ON PARLIAMENT HILL. WHAT ABSOLUTELY FRIGHTENING MOMENTS THESE WERE, AND IN OUR OWN SMALL WAY, WE PARTICIPATED IN THIS VENTING PROCESS, OF ANGER, FEAR, AND ANTICIPATION, OUR COUNTRY WAS BEING ATTACKED FROM ALL SIDES. AS IT WAS UNFOLDING, IT WAS CERTAINLY LOOKING AS IF IT WAS A CO-ORDINATED ATTACK, AND IT WAS NATURAL TO BE SUSPICIOUS JUST WALKING DOWN THE STREET. ARE WE SAFER LIVING AND WORKING IN THE RURAL REGIONS OF THE PROVINCE, VERSUS BEING IN A LARGE CENTRE? ALL THOSE QUESTIONS AND VULNERABILITIES SURFACED THROUGHOUT THE DAY, THAT WAS FAR MORE CONVERSATIONAL THAN THE TYPICAL MATTER OF COMMERCE AND TRANSACTION. IT WAS THE KIND OF DAY WHEN TALKING WAS NECESSARILY MORE THERAPEUTIC, THAN JUST SOCIAL INTERCOURSE. WHILE WE WEREN'T IN ANY DANGER IN OUR HINTERLAND CLIME, WE FELT WITH ALL THE NEWS AND PERSONAL CONTACT, AS IF WE TOO WERE CLOSE TO THE CENTRE OF CRISIS, DEALING WITH IT AS A GROUP, HUDDLED TOGETHER AS IF ON LOCK-DOWN, BESTOWING OUR CRITIQUES AND PREDICTIONS, LIKE LETTING THE STEAM OUT OF THE KETTLE SPOUT BEFORE AN OVERFLOW OF EMOTIONS. HOW ELSE DO YOU INTERPRET AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY? BEING PASSIVE WASN'T AN OPTION AMONGST THOSE WE TALKED WITH TODAY, WHO WERE ALL ACUTELY AWARE, THAT THE WAR ON TERRORISM WAS NO LONGER SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY, SOUTH OF THE BORDER. THIS TIME, THE AMERICANS WERE EXTENDING CONDOLENCES TO THE CITIZENS OF OUR COUNTRY.
     AFTER THE TRAGIC EVENTS OF 9-11, MOST OF US CITIZENS OF THE WORLD, UNDERSTOOD, QUITE CLEARLY, THAT A NEW ERA HAD VIOLENTLY EMERGED FROM ALL THE SMALLER ACTS, OF TERRORISM, INFLICTED ON THE UNITED STATES AND ITS INTERNATIONAL ASSETS. WITH CONSIDERABLE JUSTIFICATION, MANY FOLKS, OUR FAMILY INCLUDED, WANTED, AS A KNEE-JERK REACTION TO TERRIBLE NEWS, TO HEAD FOR THE WILD BUT MUCH SAFER WOODS. THERE WAS A LOT OF EVIDENCE WE WERE ALL FAR MORE VULNERABLE THAN THE DAY BEFORE. WAS THERE A WAR UNFOLDING? WHAT ABOUT OTHER PLANES ABOUT TO BE CRASHED INTO GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS? WAS THE FREE WORLD UNDER SIEGE? GLUED TO OUR RADIOS AND TELEVISIONS, WE WATCHED AS NEW YORK CITY WAS DEALING WITH A HORROR, BEYOND ANYTHING WE HAD EVER KNOWN IN HISTORY, ON NORTH AMERICAN SOIL. WHILE MANY ACTS OF TERRORISM HAD BEEN INFLICTED, THIS WAS A BLOW AIMED AT THE HEARTLAND; AND WE WERE THE CLOSEST NEIGHBOR TO THE UNFOLDING DISASTER.
     I WONDER IF ANYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY THOUGHT IT ODD, THAT THE ANTIQUE-GUY, FROM CURRIE'S MUSIC, WAS SITTING IN A VEHICLE THIS MORNING, LOOKING OVER THE DOMINION OF UPTOWN GRAVENHURST. WE GET TERRIBLE RADIO RECEPTION IN THE BUILDING. AS A RESULT OF EVENTS THIS MORNING, I DEPARTED THE STUDIO, AND MY BLOGGING, AND TURNED-TO 680 NEWS ON THE AM DIAL. SO, I'VE SPENT SEVERAL HOURS TODAY, SITTING IN MY VAN, LOOKING OUT OVER THE GRAVENHURST MAINSTREET, LISTENING TO THE RADIO NEWS, OF THE CONTINUING CRISIS OCCURRING IN OTTAWA, SPECIFICALLY ON PARLIAMENT HILL. THIS IS THE WEEK, OUR BOYS ROBERT AND ANDREW USUALLY TAKE A BUSINESS TRIP TO OTTAWA, TO MAKE PURCHASES FOR THEIR MUSIC SHOP. THIS YEAR THEY CHANGED THEIR SCHEDULE, AND I'M THANKFUL THEY DID, AFTER HEARING ABOUT THE HORROR STILL BEING DISSECTED ON PARLIAMENT HILL, A PLACE THEY LOVE TO VISIT; INCLUDING THE WAR MUSEUM AND WAR MEMORIAL, WHERE THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN STANDING THIS MORNING IF THE TRIP HADN'T BEEN POSTPONED. BUT WE HAVE FRIENDS WORKING IN THE AREA, AND OF COURSE, WE'RE ALL HANGING OFF THE RADIO NEWS, AND SCANNING TWITTER, TO FIND OUT HOW THEY'RE FARING. AT NOON HOUR THERE WERE STILL SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, ESPECIALLY, IF THIS ATTACK ON PARLIAMENT HILL WAS THE BEGINNING OF A GREATER, WIDER ATTACK ON THE NATION'S CAPITAL, AND THE NATION GENERALLY. BUT IT DOES MAKE IT VERY CLEAR, ALONG WITH THE INCIDENT IN QUEBEC, EARLIER IN THE WEEK, WHEN TWO SOLDIERS WERE RUN OVER DURING A TERRORIST ACT, THAT CANADIANS NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE ABOUT SECURITY, IN ALL WAYS AND BY ALL MEANS.
    THIS OF COURSE, MAY READ AS AN OVER-REACTION, BUT HONESTLY, THE FIGHT TODAY IS MUCH DIFFERENT, THAN WHEN, IN WORLD WAR, WE HAD A MUCH CLEARER CONCEPT OF WHAT THE ENEMY LOOKED LIKE. TODAY, IT IS FAR MORE DIFFICULT TO PICK OUT THOSE WHO WISH US HARM, AND IT DOES CONFOUND US, AS TO WHAT MEASURES IN TOTAL, WE DO REQUIRE TO ENSURE OUR COMMUNITY SAFETY. TODAY I WAS WORKING ON PART TWO OF MY SERIES REGARDING THE 1852 PUBLICATION, DOCUMENTING THE 1851 JUBILEE EVENT, HOSTED BY THE CITY OF BOSTON; IN PART, TO CELEBRATE THE COMPLETION OF THE RAIL LINE LINKAGE TO MONTREAL. WHEN SUZANNE CAME INTO THE STUDIO TO TELL ME THE NEWS, THAT SHE HAD HEARD THROUGH THE STATIC OF THE ONLY RADIO STATION WE GET, ABOUT THE PARLIAMENT HILL CRISIS, THE 1852 BOOK JUST DIDN'T SEEM AS IMPORTANT TODAY. OF COURSE MY OPINION IS, THAT THIS IS ONE OF MY BEST BOOK FINDS IN MANY YEARS; BUT AS WE ARE STILL WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OUR FRIENDS, IN OTTAWA, THIS REVIEW CAN WAIT A FEW DAYS FOR COMPLETION.

     I WAS LOOKING OUT OVER THE MAIN STREET, THIS MORNING, THINKING AND REKINDLING IN MY OWN MIND, SOMETHING I HAVE BEEN HARPING AT FOR YEARS NOW, AND IT INVOLVES OUR OWN COMMUNITY VIGILANCE, AS WELL AS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. KEEPING UP WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF NATIONAL SECURITY, FOR EXAMPLE. A PRETTY SENSITIVE BUT REAL ISSUE AT THIS MOMENT. IT'S NOT ALWAYS "SOMEWHERE ELSE," THAT BAD THINGS HAPPEN. I REMEMBER A RECENT, AND VERY CASUAL CONVERSATION, I HAD, WITH A GRAVENHURST COUNCILLOR, DISCUSSING VERY GENERALLY, ASPECTS OF EMERGENCY PLANNING, AND THE REALITY, TOWN COUNCIL, OUR IMMEDIATE GOVERNANCE, HAS TO BE PREPARED FOR SUCH A WIDE SCOPE OF POTENTIAL, COMMUNITY-WIDE EMERGENCIES. AND SEEING AS CRISIS SITUATIONS DON'T HAPPEN ON A SCHEDULE, THERE IS A HUGE NECESSITY, BY TERMS IMPLIED BY THE OATH OF OFFICE, TO BE EVER-READY TO JUMP IN, TO ASSIST FIRST RESPONDERS IN EMERGENCIES. FIRST OF ALL, BY FACILITATING A SOLID, SENSIBLE, PROACTIVE GOVERNMENT PROTOCOL; THUS THE UNROLLING OF THE OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY, ASSOCIATED WITH THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN. I'M NOT CONFIDENT, ALL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES, PRESENT AND INCOMING, ARE AWARE, WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THEM, IN SUCH A DIRE SITUATION, WHERE UNCONTROLLED CHAOS PREVAILS.
     IN THE CASE OF THE TRAIN DERAILMENT, EXPLOSION AND FIRE, IN QUEBEC, MOST RECENTLY, THE MAYOR AND TOWN REPRESENTATIVES SOON CAME TO APPRECIATE, JUST HOW MUCH WAS EXPECTED OF THEM, TO KEEP AN EVEN KEEL OF GOVERNANCE, DURING SUCH A TIME OF DISASTER WITH GREAT LOSS OF LIFE. I WAS MOST DEFINITELY LEADING THE CONVERSATION, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN A MUNICIPAL WATCHER FOR THIRTY YEARS IN THIS REGION OF SOUTH MUSKOKA. I HAVE SOME PRETTY SHARP OPINIONS ABOUT THIS ASPECT OF HISTORY UNFOLDING. I HAVE COVERED INCIDENTS, AND EMERGENCY SITUATIONS, THAT COULD HAVE MORPHED INTO SOMETHING FAR MORE TRAGIC AND DISASTROUS, IF NOT FOR THE QUICK, PROFICIENT RESPONSE, OF LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND THE ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE. I SUPPOSE IT WAS THE CASE, I WAS TRYING TO IMPRESS UPON THIS TOWN COUNCILLOR, THAT THE TASK OF GOVERNING OUR COMMUNITY IS A 24-7 COMMITMENT. AND THAT A DISASTER TRUMPS ALL ELSE, WHEN THE HOME REGION OF WHICH YOU ARE ULTIMATELY CHARGED, IS THREATENED, AND IN IMMINENT DANGER. I'M NOT SURE MY CONTEMPORARY IN CONVERSATION, FELT THE SAME, BECAUSE IT HAD NEVER BEEN TESTED DURING THE ENTIRE TERM OF OFFICE. WE HAVEN'T HAD A MASSIVE DISASTER TO CONTEND WITH, SO IT'S NATURAL THAT OUR GUARD MAY NOT BE AS WELL PLACED AND SECURE, AS IT SHOULD BE, ALL OF THE TIME. THIS IS UNDERSTANDABLE. YET WITH WHAT HAS JUST HAPPENED IN OUR NATION'S CAPITAL, ON THIS DAY, DOES IT NOT BEG THAT WE ALL, IN EVERY COMMUNITY IN CANADA, BIG OR SMALL, COMMENCE A NEW STUDY OF THE OLD WAYS WE'VE BECOME COMPLACENT WITH; AND POSSIBLY, AS A MISTAKENLY NAIVE WAY OF LIVING, THAT PUTS US IN A BUBBLE, WHEN IN FACT WE ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO ALL THE IMPLICATIONS, OF BEING PROUD CANADIANS ON THE WORLD STAGE. WHERE WE HAVE MOST RECENTLY PUT OURSELVES IN HARM'S WAY, BY STANDING FIRM AGAINST TERRORISM.    
     WE CAN'T AND SHOULDN'T RUN OUR COMMUNITIES, REACTIONARY OR IN A STATE OF FEAR, BUT IN THIS CASE, A SENSE OF FEAR, THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN OTTAWA, CAN ALSO HAPPEN IN A SMALL TOWN, SHOULD MAKE US THINK MORE ASTUTELY ABOUT THE WHOLE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROTOCOL. THE ACTUALITY THAT THE TERRORIST FIGHT HAS MADE CANADA AND CANADIANS THEIR TARGET. THAT MEANS WE ARE ALL MORE VULNERABLE THAN WE HAVE BEEN, AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAS MANIFESTED THIS WEEK. I HAVEN'T HAD A SECOND CONVERSATION WITH MY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE FRIEND, BUT I THINK I WOULD BE TWICE AS EMPHATIC ABOUT THE ROLE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS MUST PLAY ON THE REGIONAL LEVEL, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE UP TO SPEED ON ALL EVENTUALITIES; BECAUSE WE'RE NOT THAT FAR FROM OTTAWA AND TORONTO, AND TERRORISTS LOOK AT VULNERABILITIES AS ADVANTAGES. WHEN ALL HANDS ARE NEEDED ON DECK, MATIE, WE EXPECT, IN OUR SMALL TOWN, THAT ALL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES ARE GOING TO LEAD US, WHO NEED LEADING DURING A CRISIS NATURAL OR MANMADE. ISN'T THIS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE? BUT I'M NOT AT ALL SURE THEIR ROLE IS AS CLEARLY DEFINED, IN THEIR MINDS, BEYOND WHAT MAY BE IN THE ACTUAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DOCUMENT ITSELF. OUR TOWN COUNCIL HAS NOT BEEN TESTED IN THIS REGARD, AND THIS WEEK, WE HAVE NOW BEEN MADE ABUNDANTLY AWARE, JUST HOW VULNERABLE WE ARE IN CANADA. A NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGE GAME IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL, BETWEEN OTTAWA AND TORONTO, WAS CANCELLED THIS EVENING (WEDNESDAY), BECAUSE OF THE DAY'S TRAGEDY. AS BRAVE AND RESILIENT AS WE ARE, IN THIS COUNTRY, THE TRUTH IS, WE HAD TO CANCEL A HOCKEY GAME; WHICH TO ME IS A BIG DEAL, WHEN REFERRING TO OUR REFUSAL TO GIVEN IN TO TERRORISTS, AND THEIR MISSION TO DESTROY OUR SENSE OF SECURITY AND WELL BEING. CANCELING THE GAME WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, FOR THE WELFARE OF ONE AND ALL. BUT IT STILL WAS A NEGATIVE REACTION TO OUR NEW AND MORE PRECARIOUS SITUATION, IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERROR.
     AS I BEGAN THIS ADMITTEDLY HAPPENSTANCE, STARTED AND RE-STARTED BLOG, EARLIER THIS MORNING, I HAVE SAT OUT IN THE VEHICLE ON SEVEN OR EIGHT OCCASIONS, THROUGHOUT THE DAY, LISTENING TO THE RADIO NEWS, AND PONDERING IF THIS COMMUNITY WOULD SHOW, IN SOME WAY, ITS CONCERN ABOUT EVENTS IN OTTAWA. HOW WOULD IT DO SO, EVEN IF COUNCIL FELT SO INCLINED, TO EMPLOY SECURITY GUARDS AT TOWN HALL, OR AT THE RECREATION CENTRE, OR OPERA HOUSE. WHAT IS AN OVER-REACTION, WHEN THE EVENTS OF TODAY ARE FULLY UNDERSTOOD AS ACTS OF TERRORISM. WHAT ABOUT OUR OWN REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONIES, AT LOCAL CENOTAPHS IN MUSKOKA? AND SEEING AS TERRORISTS DON'T ALWAYS LOOK THE PART, OR EVEN PARTICULARLY SUSPICIOUS, OR APPEAR WITH VISIBLE EXPLOSIVES STRAPPED TO THEIR STOMACHS, SHOULD WE INSIST ON GREAT SECURITY MEASURES FOR DIGNITARIES AND SOLDIERS DURING THESE WREATH-LAYING EVENTS. TWO SOLDIERS HAVE DIED THIS WEEK, BECAUSE OF TERRORIST ATTACKS, AND ONE OTHER WAS INJURED. OUR PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS WERE ATTACKED AND INNOCENTS SHOT. WHAT IS AN OVER-REACTION THESE DAYS ANYWAY? THERE IS ALREADY AN OUTCRY ABOUT SECURITY PROTOCOLS, THAT ALLOWED THESE CRIMINAL ACTS TO OCCUR; GUNMEN ABLE TO WALK UP THE STEPS OF PARLIAMENT HILL, WITH A VISIBLE WEAPON; AND APPROACH A GUARDED WAR MEMORIAL, AND FIRE ON A SENTRY. WHEN LOOKING OUT AT SMALL TOWN ONTARIO, AFTER TODAY, WE HAVE TO RE-EVALUATE OUR SECURITY PROCEDURES BECAUSE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING BECAME OUTDATED IN THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS OF TERRORISM ON OUR SOIL. THIS HAS BECOME OUR NEW NORMAL. THE REALITY WE HAVE TO CONTEND WITH, WHEREVER WE HAPPEN TO LIVE. WE MUST APPRECIATE OUR VULNERABILITIES, AND REACT TO ESTABLISH MORE AGGRESSIVE PROTOCOLS, BECAUSE IT CAN BE SAID WITH SOME ACCURACY, THAT WE ARE MORE VULNERABLE IN THE RURAL AREA, THAN THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE URBAN REGIONS, WHO HAVE A LARGER POLICE PRESENCE.
     THE REACTION MUST BE EVEN AND OF SENSIBLE PROPORTION. WE LIKE OUR FREEDOM TOO MUCH, TO SURRENDER IT OUT OF FEAR, SOMETHING, ONE DAY, MIGHT HAPPEN, THE RESULT OF MISGUIDED ILL WILL. THE EVENTS OF NINE ELEVEN, JUST AS MANY EXPERTS PREDICTED, WOULD STAY IN OUR MINDS, AS A POIGNANT RECOLLECTION, FOR A FEW YEARS. THEN IT WOULD BEGIN TO FADE AND CEASE TO BE RELEVANT IN DAY TO DAY LIVING. FOR CANADIANS, THIS SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN THE CASE. THERE ARE THOSE, WHO KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER, THAT A TERRORIST, BECAUSE OF OUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, WOULD FIND A WAY OF HURTING US AT HOME. OUR HOME IS SEA TO SEA. AN AWFULLY BIG TERRITORY TO DEFEND, COMMUNITY BY COMMUNITY, WHEN WE HAVEN'T GOT THE MEANS TO DO MUCH MORE THAN REPORT ON SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR. SECURITY DOESN'T COME CHEAPLY. POTENTIAL TERRORISTS KNOW THIS, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE ACCORDINGLY. IT PUTS US IN A SITUATION MANY OTHERS IN THIS WORLD HAVE FACED AS A MATTER OF DAILY ROUTINE, AS OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS KNOW AS THE ONGOING REVERBERATION FROM 9-11. WHILE WE MAY, IN OUR HOMETOWN, FEEL WE ARE THE LEAST LIKELY TARGET AREA, AND A LOW LEVEL IMPACT PLACE TO ATTACK, DO WE REALLY HAVE THE LUXURY OF PUTTING OF PREPAREDNESS BASED ON OUR FEELINGS OF COMPLACENCY; AS IF THE EVENT HAD NEVER OCCURRED?
     FROM THE FIRST REPORTS OF GUNFIRE IN OTTAWA, AT AROUND TEN WEDNESDAY MORNING, CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN COMING INTO OUR SHOP TO SHARE THE NEWS, AND TO LISTEN TO THE FAINT, STATIC INTERUPTED NEWS CASTS ON THE STORE RADIO; AND THEY HAVEN'T MINDED EXTENDING THE CONVERSATIONS, TO CAST DOWN THEIR OWN OPINIONS OF WORLD POLITICS, AND HOW TERRIBLE IT IS, THAT CANADIANS ARE NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE. THIS ISN'T THE DAY TO ARGUE, OR TO CORRECT A STATEMENT, OR ASSERTION, INSPIRED BY THIS NEW FEAR OF HOMEGROWN RADICALISM. IT'S JUST OUR NEW FEELINGS OF VULNERABILITY AND SCRUTINY, THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD TO DEAL WITH MUCH IN THE PAST, SINCE THE FLQ CRISIS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WAR MEASURES ACT. WE'VE JUST LET OUR CUSTOMERS AIR THEIR FRUSTRATIONS AND CONCERNS, AND NODDED ACCORDINGLY, REALIZING JUST HOW PROFOUND AND HISTORY-CHANGING TODAY'S SHOOTINGS WILL BE RECALLED AND RE-PLAYED (AS IF WE COULD CHANGE OUR DEFENCES), IN THE YEARS TO COME. THERE IS THE GENUINE FEAR, THIS ROUND OF ATTACKS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. IF THIS ASSERTION IS CORRECT, I DO THINK, THEN, THAT IT IS TIME TO RE-VISIT THE WHOLE DOCUMENT OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, TO DEAL WITH DISASTER, AND HOW OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WILL ASSUME CONTROL OF THE SITUATION, AND CO-ORDINATE OUR COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND SERVICES WITH FIRST RESPONDERS, THE PROVINCE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. TODAY WE HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE JUST HOW FAST THE TIDE CAN TURN, AND AT WHAT CONSEQUENCE TO HUMAN LIFE. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR BEING POORLY PREPARED. TODAY'S EVENTS MUST REMIND US, WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN MERE SECONDS, TO SHUT DOWN GOOD INTENTIONS, AND WHAT WE MISTAKENLY ASSUMED, WERE ADEQUATE SAFEGUARDS AGAINST SUCH INTERVENTIONS.
     THE UNEXPECTED JUST HAPPENED, AND IT WAS DEADLY. BEING PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES, IS THE SENSIBLE PROPORTION I'M WRITING ABOUT. ANTICIPATING A TERRORIST ACT FROM THE RADICAL ELEMENT? IT CAN BE AS SIMPLY UNDERTAKEN AS SHOWN THIS WEEK, IN QUEBEC AND ONTARIO. NO PLANES WERE REQUIRED. IN ONE CASE, A CAR WAS THE WEAPON. THINK ABOUT HOW AMAZINGLY DANGEROUS THIS REALITY IS, THE NEXT TIME YOU FIND YOURSELF SURROUNDED BY VEHICLES. ONE DRIVER, FOR WHATEVER REASON, MAY HAVE AN AGENDA, OTHER THAN GETTING HOME AFTER WORK. TERRORISM FORCES US TO LOOK DEEPER, AND BE MORE SUSPICIOUS OF OUR SURROUNDINGS AND THE PEOPLE WHO WE ENCOUNTER ALONG THE WAY. A SEEMINGLY PARANOID WAY TO LIVE, MAY BECOME THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE. THIS IS THE INTENT. TO NEVER KNOW WHEN DISASTER WILL STRIKE.
     PARLIAMENT HILL WAS SHUT DOWN TODAY, AND OUR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WERE IN IMMINENT DANGER. A HOCKEY GAME WAS CANCELLED. THIS IS A SERIOUS SITUATION, WITH NO CLEAR PARAMETERS, AND NO EASY WAY TO DEFEND AGAINST. OF COURSE OUR LIFESTYLE WILL BE IMPACTED. EVERYTHING IN CANADA WAS IMPACTED NEGATIVELY TODAY, BY THE FACT A GUNMAN WAS ABLE TO GET INSIDE WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OUR MOST GUARDED BUILDING. YET THE TRUTH HURTS. SHOULD OUR TOWN COUNCILS TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION, IN THE PROTOCOL OF COUNTER-TERRORISM. IN MY OPINION, IT'S AN OBVIOUS "YES."
     I TALKED WITH A LOT OF FOLKS TODAY, MOST OF THEM CITIZENS OF THIS FAIR TOWN, WHO WERE SHAKEN BY THE NEWS. THEY WEREN'T FEELING THE WORSE WAS OVER. THEY WERE ANTICIPATING THE BEGINNING OF A LONG HAUL, AND AGGRESSIVE FIGHT BACK, AGAINST WHAT CAN ONLY BE IDENTIFIED AS CRAVEN COWARDICE, AND UNTOLD EVIL.