Get out there and Play!

Unless you have lived in a war torn country you don’t know what it is like to live your life in fear and uncertainty. You will never know how you will feel when you are confronted by disconcerting situations. You will never know what it feels to be unsure when a bomb will go off or armed police will start shooting in the streets. But in our post 9/11 world North Americans have felt a very small level of what hostile country citizens must live in on a daily basis. And in Canada we are even further removed and less affected as those in obviously New York City for example.

Ok where am I going with this? Simply put I felt a terrifying feeling yesterday with the uncertainty of needing to be concerned or not. Day in and day out I see protesters continuing on their vigil while opposing the existence of an abortion clinic in downtown Ottawa. Personally while I applaud their tenacity to continue their silent protest and believe in freedom of protest, I also disagree in their prolife argument.

But these are not the people that gave me the odd felling. The sinking feeling came on as I left the gym on lunch. My gym is located in a adjacent building to the abortion clinic but exits on a perpendicular street. As I came out I could see flashing lights from fire trucks, police cruisers and police on motorbikes cruising down an empty street that is usually consumed by downtown rush hour traffic. I was told immediately to walk the opposite way I was going.

Once I made my way around I was told what the there had been a suspicious suitcase that was tossed from a vehicle on the sidewalk directly in front of the abortion clinic. The clinic is situated only two blocks from our parliament buildings and a few hundred meters from the Bank of Canada, a great spot to make a statement.

In the end it turned out to be nothing but someone’s garbage they believe. Was it also an attempt to send a message to the staff at the clinic as; ‘you never know’? Who knows as that is merely an assumption. But the idea that there was possibly a massive bomb a few hundred meters from my desk not only made me feel uneasy but also made me think about those who deal with this as a daily norm.

The weirdest thing this week was the feeling of somewhat respect for John McCain. Not McCain now but over 30 years ago when his plane was shot down in Vietnam. I read an article over the weekend about his service and thought there was something more to this man. He fought for his country and what he believed was right and didn’t try to weasel his way out of it.

Of course this quickly turns as the article was about his alleged ‘torture’ from his captures. Supposedly there is disbelief in McCain’s accounts. Add to that; this was a long time ago and he is not the same man now and the idea of respecting him would be in the same column as respecting a baseball player that has a contract substantially higher then that of the budget of some third world nations.

Finally; speaking of that, the confusing and somewhat pathetic comment of the week pertains to baseball. How I never really thought of this as stupid before I have no idea. First thing baseball is never on in my home, and for good reason. But this morning watching the highlights I heard that the "World" series was postponed during a 2 all tie! What could have been the reason to stop such an important game?

Was there a brawl leaving only pitchers able to swing a bat? (Although I have been told that one of the pitchers actually hit a home run! Well done, can’t believe it is so hard for them (pitchers) to hit that ball, you’d think by this point in their lives they would have figured out what 10 year old kids do every single day).

Did a craved fan run out on the field and shoot some players? Did the umpires walk off the field stating that they would not work until their contracts were negotiated? Did someone steal all the plates? Or was it locusts falling from the sky and Moses himself parting the urinal troth in the men’s bathroom?

Nope it rained. Yup that’s right baseball players don’t play in the rain not really sure why that is actually. I mean really these are the guys that would make fun of soccer but at least these guys can take a little dampness. I mean if it was really that important of a game would you not have played in the rain?

And you can not make the argument that the ball would be slippery and ruin the game. You ask any receiver, kicker, quarterback…that has ever played at Lambeau Field in -20 weather what is like throwing or catching a ball in those conditions. Or soccer players that play 90 minutes on a cold wet pitch in Northern England.

Come on play in the rain you bunch of Nancy’s.