Hardship

“Rich people are different”
“Yes, they have more money"
- The Great Gatsby

An article in today’s paper, begins:

A number of charity and awareness walks may cause some serious traffic congestion in the city today.

Um, ok, factual and practical – but it kind of shows what priorities people have these days, or perhaps, have always had. It must be hell for a hung-over rock star puking in his limo to be held up by people out walking to raise money for children with autism.

After my “80” in grade 13 economics, my knowledge of the subject has been on a downward bust cycle, no booms. But I once heard that when the employment rate goes up, stocks go down. Isn’t that awful? Mr. and Ms. Suburbia have to wait another month to re-model the breakfast nook because some low-life jerk gets herself a minimum wage job serving coffee.

It must have been a strange world to live in – czarist Russia, where 97% of the people were serfs living at bare subsistence level, and 3% of the people owned everything. At least in our world I think that 1% own 90% of things at least there is 10% left for the rest of us to fight over.

Intersting Observation

I was waiting for a subway train at union and I had some gum I wanted to get rid of. Then I remembered hearing that I would not find a garbage can (and I DIDN'T) as they are really neat places to hide bombs and IED's. I forget if that was a post 9/11 change or a 7/7 one. I do recall some Jewish fellows all named "IRA" placing bombs in garbage cans in the 70s in London. So I spat the gum on the tracks which i assumed would not result in a derailment.

TF

Eight Belles

A horse finishing second then breaking both ankles and having to be euthanized right on the track is a nasty thing. Barbaro died of injuries sustained in 2006. I first remember this happening in 1975. Another Filly, in fact the most successful Filly of all time, Ruffian, broke a leg and later had to be put down. I had followed this horse’s career for some time. I never really followed racing again because this broke my heart. I had to be taken aside and told she had been put down like an aunt had died. I am actually unofficially named after an ancestor who was a harness racer.

Garth Woolsey in today’s Toronto Star asked the same question I had asked myself: Is this a cruel sport that should be banned? Well, certainly as in any sport, such as getting rid of rug turf in football that injuries (which with horses usually means fatalities) must lead to changes in safety.

Joe Theisman broke his leg on national TV, but he ended up in the broadcast booth, not in the ground.

Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch in a 1920 game between Cleveland and New York. This lead to major changes in baseball.

An outcry has likened racing to cock or dog fighting. We find these "sports" to be repugnant. We don’t mind it when people fight. But then again, people choose to do it.

No, it is not the same as dog fighting, as horses naturally run.

As sad as I am at another beautiful animal dying for money and entertainment I am going to go with the theory that what happened Saturday is rare. We don’t hear about the thousands of daily races where nothing happens. We don’t hear about planes that don’t crash, bridges that don’t collapse or people who did not get murdered.

Being a race horse is much, much safer than being president of The United States. There have only been 43 of those and 3 of them were murdered. Reagan came close, and shots have been taken at many more. But we don’t ban this job.

Tragedy yes and, I hope very much, rare.

Tom.

A Stan Rogers Line

On a Stan Rogers Live album, as he is introducing a song he says "Ontario is now a 'have-not' Province". 35 years later that phrase was used all over the place. I am not going to get into the actual condition a province has to be in to officially be one, nor am I going to actually learn what it means. The spirit does fine for me.

There was an editorial in The Toronto Star recently. I think it was abour how EI differs between provinces. The Star pointed out that these decisions are made as if there are still tons of jobs in Ontario. There aren't.

There aren't

TF