Winter is Here... Almost...

Another dreary rainy day in River City…

Winter is definitely on the way. One can feel it. The sky is filled with dull grey clouds, puffy and darker in parts. Leaves have turned yellow but not yet fallen; the flowerbeds and garden are dead and dying. It feels cold enough to snow, cold enough certainly to make your breath visible and to frost car windows at night. Autumn came and went quickly, winter arrives before it is due.

Winter is my favourite season. I enjoy the cold air, the snow on the ground (Prince George looks much better when covered under several feet of snow!). One can always layer clothing and keep warm. Indeed, from years of experimenting, the trick is not to keep too warm. This year I finally discarded the duffel coat that has been my primary winter jacket for years. Frankly, it has seen better days and has been a Trojan in all sorts of weather. The new jacket is more fashionable, most certainly. In reserve is the –40 or so parka complete with snow waist and furry hood. When I wear that, only my eyes are visible. Being a long time fan of capes, I have several for the cold weather. My favourite is a loden cape with a military collar and in a distinct yellow shade. For colder days, there is a long almost floor-length maroon wool cape and for special occasions, two wool mohair capes one in green and blue squares and the other in maroon. These are for driving without the arm restrictions and a sweater under the cape keeps one very warm.

My normal winter outfit, for the pasts several years, has been leggings topped with a floppy sweater. Some time ago, I saw leggings on sale in many different colours, so I bought a dozen or so. Every time I see a nice sweater in a thrift, often had done, I buy it to go with one colour or another or leggings. Since buying the leggings, I keep looking for more, but it seems that local stores only stock black. Ah well, at least the sweaters provide considerable variety. With such sweaters often selling for as little as $3.99, I overdid things and recently cleared out my closet paring down the sweaters by giving many away to a friend.

Now, up here we have to turn off the outside water taps. If one does not, the pipes can freeze and burst. So yesterday I tended to that little chore, crawling under the house to turn off the copper pipes that feed the outside taps. The next chore when the rains stops for a bit is to move all the outside “stuff” – the swing, chairs, tables, hoses and reels and more into the gazebo and to then cover the gazebo with a tarp and tie that down. We shall be putting up winter drapes in some rooms – a bit heavier and better able to save heat. I have an oil heater in my room, just for those very cold nights, and the winter comforter is ready to keep me toasty warm. The rest of our “winterizing” is already done – windows and door seals checked, furnace filter changed, candles and flashlights in their proper place.

An electric cord has been strung out to where the van is parked, ready to plug in the block heater (for those in the south, a heating coil that goes into the oil pan that heats the oil in the car during very cold nights). The greenhouse is closed up and ready with a single light – one light bulb keeps the temperature just a little higher, enabling plants to survive. This is the same as carrying candles in our car, to light and provide just enough heat if you happen to end up in a snowdrift. The van has all the emergency supplies, from a “jumper” battery to cables, candles and chains in addition to the summer load of spare light bulbs, oil and other fluids, and emergency first-aid.

I suppose preparing for winter is a little like preparing for a hurricane. One of my friends moved to the Yucatan area of Mexico a few years ago, right in the path of Katrina. She spent several days in her home with all windows covered with plywood listening to the howling wind. Emergency supplies are kept at the ready in hurricane season. Well, at least we don’t have to go that far!

Aside from getting ready to confront winter’s blast, things have been quiet here. Well, a few dental appointments and such, but nothing really to get the blood pounding.

I have become one of the frequent contributors to the local “Letters to the Editor”. Prince George has a daily paper (not on Sundays) and a bi-weekly. Both have published my letters. Writing on topics ranging from local planning (or the lack of the same), roads, prostitution and decision by council, I am often amazed at how many people read these missives. From our favourite autobody shop (winter brings icy roads and gravel on highways – great for windshields!) to my credit union, I have emerged as a very local celebrity, it seems. “Oh, you’re the one that writes those letters!” tends to greet me frequently around town. The last letter was regarding the war in Iraq, as might be expected from other entries in this blog.

Remiss I would be for not mentioning the recent events at Columbia College in New York. Sorry, but if you invite someone to your place to speak, even if you do not like what they might say, you are polite – and the President of Columbia College was anything but to the Iranian president. I was particularly struck by the ignorance contained in the Columbia president’s remarks. He denounced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad “Let's, then, be clear at the beginning, Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator.” (The complete text is :http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature /2007/09/24/bollinger/). His remarks concluded with, “I am only a professor, who is also a university president, and today I feel all the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you stand for. I only wish I could do better.” Sorry, that is not the way to do things. While the Columbia president pandered to the US press and administration, the Iranian president played to his audience in Iran and the Third World, keeping cool under pressure. I suppose the most obvious remark is that under the Iranian system, the president has about as much power as the vice president of the USA, before Cheney. That is to say, not very much. So the remarks were off target, given the limited power his “guest” actually has. (see http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/09/25/ahmadinejad/

Obviously, this is part of the American demonization of Iran, a necessary step before war. The enemy must be made to look “evil”, and Columbia’s president certainly tried. The mullahs rule Iran. Now, I am not saying that I would like to have Ahmadinejad over for supper, any more that Saddam Hussien. Reports also suggest that he be in trouble, politically, at home. Remarks like those made yesterday will only enhance his reputation at home in Iran. Ahmadinejad is not even “commander-in-chief” of the armed forces. Yes, no doubt there are abuses, but Idi Amin would have been better treated. Further, since the 79 revolution, literacy in Iran has gown substantially, from less than half the population to 80%+. The rural nature of the population has shifted to cities. Simply, there have been gains after the Iranian Revolution, periods of calm and growth. Few know that after the Americans took Baghdad, Iran sent a letter to the Americans via the Swiss ambassador offering to meet and settle all outstanding issues, including the nuclear one. The USA, under Bush, not only did not reply, they blasted the Swiss ambassador from relaying the message.

Nor does the American media focus on the real reason, if any, why Iran might want a nuclear bomb. Look at a map. Israel shares no borders with Iran. But to the south lies Pakistan, a Sunni Muslim country with a president who has survived several assassination attempts and a population that is very militant. One shot is all it takes to change Pakistan from a benevolent American ally to a fanatical Islamic state, a Sunni state on Iran’s Shiite border. Pakistan, of course, has a nuclear bomb. Not the nicest neighbour to have, really. But no, to the American media, the only reason Iran wants the bomb is to “kill all the Jews”, something Ahmadinejad has never said (see earlier blogs).

The American media seems to play on ignorance. I recall a recent “test” that found most students surveyed could not locate Washington DC on a map and the silly comments, some of which might be real, when one TV host does interviews on the street. A public must be an informed public, not susceptible to overt lies that the rest of the world (as in the case of Iraq) knows to be lies. If you don’t even know how to find Iraq on the map, you cannot be expected to have a valid informed opinion on war against Iran.