Maxed Out

Once again, I have failed halfway through my latest 12-step program. Clearly, the largest part of the problem is, well, 12 steps. Let's get real. Five, six steps and a guy has a fighting chance. But 12? That's asking a lot.

Oh dear. What shall we do? In the annals of growing pains, Tiny Town has hit yet another milestone. Not the first; certainly not the last. Back in the day — that would be the day when we walked 20 kilometres to school... in six feet of snow...

What's in it for me? What difference does it make? They're all the same. Two questions; one statement. They cut across ages, social strata, ideology. They're at the core — they even define — self interest, apathy and disengagement.

Once again, I failed the Pique's Canada Day quiz. Miserably.

They say travel broadens a person. Other than travelling on an all-you-can-eat cruise ship — something I'm still not old enough to do — I have no idea why they say that.

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day." - George Carlin As hobbies or pastimes go, I guess fishing is no stranger than any other.

So, have I got this straight? Three impaired convictions, suspended licence, drunk — allegedly, which is a legal nicety meaning it still has to be proven in court notwithstanding that it looks, drives, smells and quacks like the drunken duck re

"I am a pilgrim, And a stranger, Traveling through, This ole barren land.

Well, it's been a week. We've had a chance to cool down, steam up, become distracted with some new outrage, or segue into summer and move on to more pressing matters. Another May long weekend, another not-so-random act, er, acts of violence.

I am confused, dispirited, disappointed and generally fed up with politics, at least at the senior levels of government.