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Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Running for office; creating positive vibes…..; and hewing to the line….

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I was on the Elections Ontario website over the weekend….believe it or not, I was checking to see what’s needed to be a candidate in a provincial election. That’s right, folks……yours truly is seriously considering running for office – something I swore I’d never do. The reason I’m doing this is because I finally can’t take it any more – and I have a strong feeling that most other folks in our society are feeling the same way. And I haven’t got any particular axe to grind locally – or even provincially – but just feel the provincial level may be the place to start my one-man political revolt. I’d rather be a delegate at the United Nations and tackle world issues, but you gotta start somewhere. Ordinary, average Ontarians, Canadians, North Americans, citizens of Planet Earth are extremely tired of how the power elite are currently running the planet. You can hear the anger and frustration in the voice of almost every ordinary person you talk to or hear on the media. To take Ontario as a specific example…..I feel we’re being overtaxed – or at least taxed sufficiently – and yet we’re still having trouble paying for fundamental things like health care and education. In the health care system, communities are fundraising to beat the band to buy basic hospital equipment that’s supposed to be paid for by the province. No, the people have little faith in government at any level. Leave the provincial stage and you can see a Canadian federal government rocked by one scandal after another, wantonly spending money and carrying on like a bunch of children playing some foolish game. Step up onto the world stage and see the chaos and know that something is seriously wrong with the way the planet is being governed. And most people I talk to are dazzled that there seems to be no way to stop it – no way to get the government to even listen to the people. So, we have to get involved and take back the system – it’s ours. And, so, I’m thinking of getting involved on a personal level and offering up my name in the next provincial election – to sort of put my money where my mouth is. My candidacy wouldn’t focus on specific issues, but in finding some way to hold government accountable – to make sure the people are somehow heard. We have watched as government in this country and province have made a series of major policy decisions over the last 45 years that have directly gone against the wishes of the people. And the result has been an electorate that feels powerless and impotent and who vote in fewer and fewer numbers because they don’t think it matters. Somehow, we’ve gotta change that. I’m thinking about trying to do that…..I’m giving it a little thought…..

I’ve had a really good run in life – especially over the last number of years. I have two healthy kids, a bunch of grandkids, I love my wife, I have a roof over my head and food on the table. I should be rolling along on cruise control. But these days, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole life experience. I’ve got a daughter and her family who are moving far, far away, my parents are currently selling the family home at 436 6th Avenue, my good wife is retiring, my niece is facing life-threatening surgery in a couple of weeks……and I am ‘way too emotional for all this stuff. So, I’m just sort of trying to deal with one thing at a time and keep things in perspective….remembering my own advice to other people who are feeling overwhelmed….Nothing is forever…when things are going good, it ain’t gonna last….and when things are going bad that’s not gonna last either. Usually, you can tough it out and get through pretty well anything in life….need to think positive thoughts and create positive vibes….that’s what I need now and that’s what the world needs also. So, do it, people…..think positive thoughts and make it happen…..

I hope life is treating you well as you make this great journey through the unknown. It’s an adventure either way…..take care in the week ahead…and remember, “Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may.”




John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.