Sept 4 5

Summer is going out with one last blast of amazing weather. The summer of 2020 will be remembered in many ways. One way is that the weather was great and the fires were minimal. The other way of course is the pandemic that changed our world. I prefer the first reason. Unfortunately, the covid19 pandemic will leave a permanent mark on our world, for 2020 and beyond.

The saying is that we are all in the same storm, not the same boat. Strangely enough, that is not the right analogy either. For some there is no storm, it is sunny days and prosperity; others have lost everything and are trying to pick up the pieces.

In my job as a boat captain on Luxury Lake Tours, I have heard the stories from all sides. One gentleman had a cleaning company that transitioned into a business that provided a spray system to disinfect stuff from coronavirus. He‘s doing better than ever, with profits skyrocketing and his business thriving beyond his wildest dreams. Another owned a restaurant in a shopping mall in a big city, his business closed and he doesn’t think it will ever reopen. I have had the fortune to be busier than ever on the boat, a situation we could not have predicted five months ago when we were in the throes of a lockdown.

Most people I have met on the boat are in a good situation. Most people are optimistic that we will get through this. Almost everyone wonders how we will pay the enormous costs incurred in dealing with the pandemic. I know many people in the music industry that have lost everything to the lockdown. Some people who were riggers have resorted to odd jobs, some have gone into construction, and some rely on the CERB for support.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit ends at the end of this month. For those starving musicians that have relied on the benefit to survive, life may look different a month from now. For others that have collected the money, it may be time to go back to work, to find something to help make ends meet. While the CERB has been a good stop-gap measure to help those in need. It has become a crutch that enabled many to stay at home even while jobs were there to be done. The largest socialist experiment in the history of the world has been invoked. While I agree with many ideas behind socialism, this experiment has proven some of the negative aspects to be true. Some people are inherently lazy and if they are given a chance at free money, they can be inclined to take it. What many fail to realize is there is no such thing as free money; it will come with a cost at some point.

Is the cost to society worth the price?

Our government has done what it thought was best to help the people of our great nation. Yet this same government appears to have done what it can to help itself and its friends. Justin Trudeau and the liberal party were elected on promises of sunny ways, on no more scandals. They were elected to change the corruption and patronage of the past. Our government has failed on both accounts.

Now the Conservatives have a new leader and a new face. Another lawyer elected to lead a party to victory to make promised changes. It is a proverbial shell game, with another face installed to make us hope for the future. A future clouded in doubt.

I grew up wanting to get into politics; I was going to become the Prime Minister of Canada. The one drawback of that theory is I never learned French, the other is I don’t think I could be dishonest enough for the job.

In the last six months, I have opened my eyes to a new reality. A reality where time is the most precious item I have; I have decided to prioritize my time, to follow my heart and my dreams. A career in politics is no longer a part of my dream. Writing my book, raising my kid, and loving my wife now are the most important things in my life. As such, being the next president of a local volunteer organization has lost its appeal. This week I let that goal slip away; it’s time to concentrate on the things that matter most. Being the leader of an organization that is paralyzed by a viral infection is no longer a role I am interested in.

I would greatly love to lead an organization that wants to be involved, to lead us into the new normal of the coronaverse. Our local chamber by its very nature needs to take a cautious path into the future, one that is online, and one that is virtual; I do not want to live in a virtual world. I want to be in a world where we can get people together in person, to physically see each other and connect. Connections don’t have to be close physical ones, but virtual ones are not enough for me. I will leave that role for others more adept at the online world.

As another sunset glowed upon our valley, I sat with my friends, with my family. We connected on our deck in the simplicity of the moment. Appreciating what is important and letting go of things that are taking my energy in the wrong direction.

I hope for a future for my daughter that is free of the pandemic. I hope for a future for my daughter that she can afford. I am cognizant of the cloud of doubt hovering over us, the debt, and the virus. I will continue to hope… 2020 is a year for the ages; we can work hard to make 2021 a year for recovery.