Canada Post celebrates the Chinese new year with the issue of a thematic stamp. This year it is the monkey’s turn and it all reflects on how important the Chinese community is in Canada, nation wide. Most cities have their ‘China towns’, while many small prairie towns and settlements had their Chinese laundry and restaurant, where gambling took place in the latter’s back rooms.

The lowly and almost slave labourers who came from China to build on the western leg of the national railway, were supposed to go back. However, many did not and remained, which cost some of them their lives being killed deliberately. That makes these stamps a belated and silent tribute of commemoration and remorse about brute acts from times past.

That makes these stamps a belated and silent tribute of commemoration and remorse about brute acts from times past.

The most unusual thing to happen this weekend for me was the departure of my chair, which left a big ‘hole’ in my living room. The chair is getting a make over and new upholstery, courtesy of John, Tammy and family. I choose a pattern with personality and I hope it will blend to some extend with what I have around. We did colour matching, but the pattern is quite dominant, as was the old one.

An other and far more tragic event made the news this weekend, as six adolescent teenagers went down the local bobsled track and hit a wall. Two boys were killed and four injured in this ill considered adventure. It reminds me of the teenagers killed in the 1990-ties when they choose to sky out-of-bounds.

Teenage judgement challenges the established order, but at times that tendency results in a tragedy, but teens are not the only ones to do so. Maturing is a slow and long process in which some good fortune is a welcome modifier, as I know from personal experience. Learn to listen to your intuition and act on it, is my practice based advice.
<8:55am and 9:09am.