Catpaw – diary of an angry cat

Who knew bankers were such good catchers?

Sometimes life hands you a terrible burden.

Each of us deals with it in our own fashion, often alone or, if you are lucky, with the support of a close knit family. But every once in awhile, tragedy befalls a family in a horribly public fashion. Suddenly there is no private grief.

That happened last week here in Toronto.

Today looks bright and sunny – a perfect spring day. Good day for an outing, but I’m sure Quaiss and Hossy Shahghasy aren’t thinking today will be a good day for a double funeral.

You see, they are burying their parents today. Rahimullah and Nazifa came to Canada from Afghanistan 20 years ago and made a good life for themselves in this urban sprawl of a city. They worked hard to live the Canadian dream and give their two children a good life. By all accounts, after all these years, Rahimullah and Nazifa were still in love.

But it all ended on April 30 when a stranger came out of nowhere and began stabbing Nafiza with a 9 inch long knife. Rahimullah tried to come to his wife’s rescue but was in turn stabbed to death in the parking lot of a strip mall near their home. Neither knew their attacker. The only thing that mattered to Rahimullah was his wife’s safety, not the identity of their attacker.

They left behind 2 children, Quaiss, 21, and Hossy, 19, who must now shoulder this burden. It is hard to lose a parent, but to lose both in such an horrific fashion will leave nightmares for a long time to come.

How many of us are prepared for death? I’m sure Rahimullah and Nazifa weren’t when they went to run errands on that cold, rainy day. Now that they have died, their children are faced with huge problems. Turns out Rahimullah was recovering from a stroke, that had left him unable to work for most of the past year. They were surviving on Nafiza’s wages. Most of their savings were wiped out by the illness. And sadly, neither left a will or insurance – how many of us are guilty of that? Too many I’m afraid. So the children are stuck in a horrible limbo – no income, and now trying to settle an estate with no wills, while hanging onto the home.

It looks as though they may lose their home now, although the oldest Quaiss is working – one young man’s income will not be enough. Remember they are now saddled with debts from burying their parents – one funeral can be crippling, imagine how high the debt will be from 2. The daughter Hossy is in college and faces the prospect of dropping out and immediately getting a job. She may not be able to afford the luxury of an education now.

All too often, the only thing we can do is sit on the sidelines and shake our heads, or drop flowers off at the site of the tragedy. Maybe this once a few of us can make a small difference in this world. Members of the Shahghasy family have set up a small website asking for donations to help Rahimullah and Nazifa’s children out. Yes, I know they are now legally adults, therefore responsible for themselves. But they are not starting out their lives on an even playing field and sometimes it does the urban soul a lot of good to lend a hand, even if it’s a small one. Go to the website Shahghasy Fund and see if you can be a hero. They were good Canadians, good citizens. Now their children need a bit of help from more good citizens.

For more information on this terrible event check out these links:
Toronto Star
Globe and Mail
UPI

Oh the horrors! The Ontario Home Builders Association has worked themselves into a tizzy over an uber serious issue here in Ontario – the veto on banning clothes lines. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the OHBA thinks it’s a terrible thing for the Ontario government to do.

Today, the Ontario gov announced that no longer will subdivisions etc in the Province of Ontario be allowed to ban the use of clothes lines. We are allowed to … er, air our clean laundry in public, so to say. For a long time many areas have forbidden the use of this venerable method of drying clothes. Not sure why anyone would get into a lather over such a thing, but there you have it. It was such an issue with some knuckle dragging folks, they actually banned the use of them. “Can’t have that in our neigbourhood”.

In this day and age of trying to get people to decrease their energy consumption, the ban made even less sense. To help remedy this Ontario has now said it can no longer be enforced. To encourage people to use clothes lines, Ontario Hydro will be giving out clothes lines (for both indoor and outdoor use).

Let’s slide back to our nimby brigade for a moment and peak into their complaints. Here are some quotes from Victor Fiume, past-president of the Ontario Home Builders Association and general manager of Oshawa-based Durham Homes:

“It’s taking away a right from people who knew (a ban) was in place and purchased a home because of that”.

If you purchased a house based upon such a facile reason, then you need to give your head a shake. Mr. Fiume, people don’t base their housing decisions on this silly ban. It might come into it in a minor way, but I seriously doubt people were saying to themselves “Oh honey, they don’t allow clothes lines – let’s move in today!”

“Is this what government should be doing – overturning contracts signed by parties voluntarily?

It wasn’t voluntary – if you didn’t agree, you didn’t get the house. Simple as that. A small matter of corporate heavy handedness at work here. Face it, the prospective home owner wasn’t offered a choice of clothes line/no clothes line. It was a done deal, there was NO negotiation on this matter.

“It’s a slippery slope to arbitrarily remove a covenant between builders and buyers.”

I love this line. If I had a nickel for every time someone trotted out this hoary old line, I’d be rich. No it is not the slippery slope. No one is suggesting we open up every single contract and negate the contents. Society has redressed a silly ban, one that is good for the environment. It also sends out a message that there is nothing wrong with a clothes line – it was all perception on the part of a small group of busy bodies who were more concerned with how things MAY look to them rather than how society will benefit as a whole. Clothes lines are not going to drag down the property values.

“With today’s lifestyle, no one has the time or inclination to hang their clothes outside to dry.”

If this is the case then why the ban? And Mr Fiume, you are wrong. Many people use clothes lines. Many people want to use clothes lines. Busy life style is no hindrance to this. It takes very little time to hang the clothes up, and little time to pull them down – but oh what a reward! This is a wonderful example of circular logic in action. Allow people the choice and let’s see who uses them. Just because you don’t like them, doesn’t mean they aren’t being used. There was a public demand for this ban. Dryers use 5 to 6 per cent of Ontario’s household electricity. That’s a lot of power. If only a few loads of laundry are dried on the line, think of the potential saving, think of the benefits.

Yes, I agree, sometimes we get so busy, we don’t have time, but when we do, then shouldn’t we have the option of using this old-fashioned, terribly efficient, terribly enviromentally friendly way of drying clothing? The blanket ban on the use of clothes lines had nothing to do with time and convenience. It had everything to do with a small group of people, with nothing better to do with their time than to take offense at sheets and shorts drying in the wind. Sorry, get over it. Pull your flippng blinds if you are that offended, or better yet, get councilling.

Two Canadian soldiers and their interpretor were killed in the early hours of the morning today. While we slept soundly here in Canada, Corp. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier and Pte. Michel Levesque of the Royal 22nd were killed when their light armoured vehicle hit an IED. Three other soldiers were wounded, but thankfully they will recover.

We have lost 73 soldiers in the past five years. Yes, it has been that long. Hard to believe that while we sit in our homes, with hardly a thought to what is going on a world away, the fight is continuing unabated. I have my own opinions about the wars and conflicts going on around the globe – and not all of these thoughts are polite or politically correct or will endure me to my readers. Today is not the time to debate the rights or wrongs of Iraq and other battles. But when it comes to the battle with the Taliban, I’m not torn at all. This vile group of misogynistic knuckle draggers have caused too much pain and devastation. They want to pull the world – and women in particular – into the dark ages of repression, violence and abject poverty, all in the misguided name of god. I think it is at times like this that god must weep at the hatred spewn in his name.

The soldiers in Afghanistan have said over and over, they believe they are doing the right thing – they believe they are helping the Afghan people fight a reprehensible enemy. Many of the soldiers have fallen in love with the people and country they are trying to help. Last week for Remembrance Day family members of a couple of the fallen soldiers were flown to Afghanistan to be with the serving troops during the services. One parent said it was special being so close to the soil her son died on, gave his life for. I’m sure more than one parent took home some sand from the parched landscape.

Remembrance Day is the day Canada stops to remember those fallen in all wars and peace keeping actions. On the 11 minute of the 11 day of the 11 month – 1918 signalled the end of the Great War, or the War to End All Wars. We simply refer to it as the First World War. Ironic isn’t it, the War to End All Wars is now the starting point for a century + of unrelenting carnage. Since 1919, this day has been kept as our national day of Remembrance. For years, while I was growing up, the crowds at the cenotaphs grew smaller, but in the last 2 years there has been a reversal. The Canadian public has woken up to the dangers and heartbreak of war. Years and decades went by when our Peacekeepers died without much more than a small article in the newspapers – 186 died. Now, Canadians are remembering.

It saddens me to think of the new generation Silver Cross mothers being created. Silver cross mothers are women who have been given a silver cross when their child dies in battle. This year’s mother, chosen to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa was Mrs. Wilhelmina Beerenfenger-Koehler of Embrun, Ontario. Her son, Corporal Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, was killed near Kabul by a land mind in 2003. Robbie left behind his wife Tina and three children, Matthew, Kristopher and Madison. One Silver Cross is poor compensation.

Canadians have reacted in a typically Canadian fashion to the deaths. While our politicians twiddle their thumbs and ho hum about the tragedy of the deaths, we have created our own impromptu memorial or road of honour. When the soldiers are sent home, they arrive at Trenton Air Base and make the journey to Toronto’s Centre for Forensic Sciences and then returned to their families. They travel along Highway 401 – the main traffic artery that spans the country – which has been unofficially renamed Highway of Heroes. When a soldier makes this last journey, Canadians line the road and overpasses and silently stand as guards for their final trip home. For 172 kilometers from Trenton to Toronto, since 2002, people stand and salute these fallen Canadians.

Its not a glorification of war – its a brief second when the public feels a connection to the families that are now suffering such a horrible lose. It is the one point in the war, that regardless of your political beliefs, you stand with the families and soldiers and say “I’m sorry.”

No rhetoric, no speeches, no politicians, just citizens lining a long stretch of road saying goodbye and we’ll remember.

I often write about corporate greed and irresponsible behaviour. Today I am happy to bring you a tale of a good corporate citizen. One single person who, using his power as a corporate leader, will make a difference in the lives of 1000′s of lives here in Toronto.

For those of you not familiar with the current fiscal battles taking place in Toronto this year, the politicians here, in a snit of financial irresponsibility were set to close all the outdoor skating rinks in the city. This may not seem important to people in warmer areas, but here in Toronto, outdoor rinks are part of the city’s fabric. Outdoor rinks are popular centres in over 40 spots in Toronto – the home of many impromptu shinny games and family skating outings. Shinny – for the uninitiated – is the great Canadian sport of outdoor hockey. The best hockey games in the country are not played in arenas, nor are the best figure skaters to be found there. Look to the local rink, lips chattering with cold, feet turning to stumps of ice – it doesn’t matter, they skate on, tripping and falling, showing off incredible skills and more often than not no skills. Oh to be outdoors on a crisp winter night, listening to the shush of skates on ice, looking forward to a warm cup of chocolate or tea when you get in. Whether you are a skater or not, the sites and sounds of the outdoor rink are comforting. They are the sounds of a strong community at play.

City Hall was set to close the rinks – all of them – to cut costs. Not once did the greed hounds of public office look to their own perks and budgets to cut costs. Heaven forbid they should tighten their belts – give up their free Street and Rail passes? give up their chauffeured cars? Give up their free membership to the golf courses? Pay cut? Not after voting themselves a hefty pay increase of slightly less than 9% last year! Why should they attempt fiscal responsibility when it’s easier to slash city services. Average pay of city councillors in this city now sits around $94,000 – and we get arguing, bickering, childish behaviour for this. The increase came to about $6,100 per council member. Add this to their office expense budget of $53,000 per year plus numerous perks and you get the picture of growing citizen wrath.

How dare they close public rinks and more when they will not even look to their own budgets and bloated salaries?

If you are a Toronto councilor, I guess it’s easy. You come out with statements that imply you work hard and deserve the perks/money. This means the rest of us do nothing and don’t deserve to enjoy outdoor rinks or anything else. Shame on us for wanting a responsible government. Shame on us for wanting to enjoy our communities more.

For the sake of $160,000, Toronto was going to close the rinks. That’s what it costs to keep them open. Less than last years pay raise for the 44 councilors. Last years pay hike cost Toronto approx. $264,000.

In the midst of this shinning example of selfishness, a corporate knight in shining armour walked in. And from the most unexpected of places – MasterCard Canada.

Yesterday, Kevin Stanton, president of MasterCard Canada had his company donate the entire amount needed to keep the rinks open. No strings! No signs on the rinks, no ads, nothing. Just “Here’s the money, keep the shiny going”. In a letter, Mr. Stanton explained that he and his family have strong memories of their first days in Toronto. He is a transplant from the United States who seems to care very deeply for the community he works in. He said:

One of our earliest and fondest memories of this city was watching neighbourhood kids playing shinny at the outdoor rink in a local park…Those rinks are emblematic of the city during the winter, and we thought, you know what, we can step in here and help…

Just like that, we have our skating rinks back. One good corporate citizen. In this day of excess, this example stands out. Of course it’s good publicity. But it goes beyond that – much like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, this stands apart from the work-a-day corporate greed. Its the measure of a company that puts the community ahead for a change.

One person, one community in need, one gesture.

Yes it was MasterCard who supplied the funds, but it was Mr. Stanton who made it happen.

So thank you Mr. Stanton. Your children should be proud of you. You have set a high standard for them and for us.

It’s time our councilors stepped up and behaved like good citizens.

… but I won’t hold my breath