Screw it, I'm setting the patio up
It feels more like late April than late March, and boy, do we all need this sense of liberation after a long winter.
I hope you all had a wonderful week, Code 47 readers. This will be a brief note as I am racing a deadline but I wanted to get this out.
It was a gorgeous last few days in Toronto — unseasonable temperatures and lots of sunshine. (I accidentally typed "unreasonable" temperatures at first, and I guess that also applies.) Today was rainy and then clear and then rainy again, and as a guy who gets headaches when the weather shifts like that, I have to say that I wasn't digging it. But it still feels a lot more like late April than late March. And that is highly diggable.
A friend of mine lives in Los Angeles, and I told her once, I don't know if someone who lives in a climate that's pleasant all the time can fully comprehend how amazing it feels when the seasons change. That was years ago, and I stand by it. One of my closest friends married a woman from the southern U.S., and though she had visited Toronto many times, this was her first year living here, actually seeing fall become winter and then become spring. She can understand now, a little, the feeling of liberation.
It's still early. We'll probably still get snow. The ice totally ruined my back lawn this year, and I'm not wild about having a puppy romping around what will be a mud pit for the next six weeks or so. (Especially because he has begun actively rolling in the mud, just because it's awesome, apparently.) But I did get the patio set out early (see above, and note the puppy lounging in the sun). It's like adding a whole living room to my house, and even if you have to wear a jacket, it's nice to have the space. Just yesterday, my daughter asked me why I was laying on the patio sofa before dinner, and didn't understand my answer: "Because I can."
Anyway, folks, I'm still battling this headache and I've got to finish up some work, so I'll wrap it up here. But if you can, get outside this weekend. Look around. Another winter in the books — probably the last winter where we have to worry much about COVID-19. Both the pandemic and winter will probably get a few more licks in. But the good times are almost here. You can smell them on the air.
Even when enjoying the fresh air and warm sun, I was able to get my usual work done. Over at the Post, I had a video commentary up on Friday morning examining the problem Conservative leader Erin O'Toole is going to face getting his party to a comfortable place on climate change.
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=tXOKQbVwAAs&list=PLUgqTrlOvAcqbOWvfhmLwV1Yt80fKjtww&index=3
Later in the week, I noted that, ahem, we still aren't exactly setting any speed records in terms of how rapidly we're able to respond to emerging developments during this pandemic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIWX1rBi2w8&list=PLUgqTrlOvAcqbOWvfhmLwV1Yt80fKjtww&t=4s
My column for the Post this week tracked the latest developments in the sexual misconduct scandal rocking the top of the Canadian Armed Forces. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan seems to have painted himself into a corner — he has sworn that he could not possibly have intervened when allegations were raised against Gen. (ret.) Jonathan Vance, up until recently Canada's top military officer. But he has also intervened, publicly, into an investigation into alleged misconduct among naval officers.
"Sajjan is right to insist on a proper investigation [into the navy matter]," I wrote, "and to let [acting military commander] Lt.-Gen. Eyre know that he’s watching. That doesn’t predetermine an outcome, but it ought to go a long way toward ensuring a thorough job. This is precisely what Sajjan could have done, and apparently didn’t do, with Vance. He should have. His failure to, while serving a self-styled feminist government, is both baffling and unforgivable. It’s no surprise that Sajjan changed his tune: the first one wasn’t sustainable. Alas, by acting on this newest Navy scandal, he’s showing that he was more than capable of doing the right thing with Vance, years ago. He didn’t. "
Check that column out here.
Over at TVO.org, I was writing about reports I'd heard about people being vaccinated outside of the approved age ranges. It looks like the reports are true, but will only be possible when there is vaccine that will be wasted if not used immediately. Check it out — it's an interesting read, and we’ll hear more and more reports like it. I imagine some controversies will ensue. That column is here.
Later in the week, after Ontario brought down a budget, I wrote about what the pandemic has meant for Doug Ford: the man who came into office almost entire to balance the books now has no hope of doing so. So … what’s Doug Ford, if not a deficit hawk?
The column also contains a lot of muses about time travel, which is why I slugged it, much to my editor’s alarm, “Time Travel” when I filed it. The time travel musings are on topic, I assure you. Check that column out here.
Well, it’s raining again. I can feel it in my head. Ugh. But in any case, have a great weekend. Sometime in the next few days, I’m going to try and get a very spoilery review of the 2020 The Stand miniseries online for you good folks here, so that’s something to look forward to, if it’s your jam. Until then, be well, and please sign up and share widely.
mgurney.responses@gmail.com
Twitter.com/MattGurney