Musing

this was one of your best yet, SH, Calgary

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Due to the fires and their impact on me personally (my mother, sister and their nine pets were in a fire's path) and professionally (we have had many employees evacuated), I'm just catching up on this week's Musings. LR's (Irvine, CA) comments are strongly resonating with me. The "resulting" ash in our air, on our cars... the gray-brown haze and red-pink sun areconstant reminders of the tremendous losses to our wild places and their innocent inhabitants, the people who don't have homes to return to or lost loved ones or priceless keepsakes... and the bizarreness of arson. As the week has progressed, and the fire situation expanded from one or two on Sunday night to more than 25 separate fires (many of which have beenattributed to arson or are under investigation), I've wondered how someone gets to this point of decision... what personal pain or need for acknowledgement (even if only to one's self) engaging in arson assuages...childhood abuse? anger over the death of a loved one or physicaldisfigurement from an accident? revenge in the wake of devastating financial ruin? the wild card of mental illness? However, the taking of appropriate legal action aside, whether we personally choose to blame or forgive doesn't really matter at this point. The damage is done, and we Californians move on like we always do. We rebuild after fires and earthquakes and we plant new trees (FYI, Tree People is a good LA-based group: http://www.treepeople.org/?gclid=CKCN2dCzrY8CFQ6kHgodlAinLA). Earthquakes will happen, droughts will return. The strong, hot "Santa Ana" winds are as much a part of our fall season as the shorter days. There's a lot we can't control, and all the soul searching I've done about this and similar tragedies has led me to the same place -- how important small acts of kindness are. I've heard countless stories about the kindness of a stranger preventing someone from committing suicide or how a teacher's patience and attention helped balance a child's poor home environment and led to the kid growing up strong and healthy. Can we prevent arson or a school shooting? I don't know, but it seems worth a try. Minimally, I think a little more patience, a little more love, a few more smiles and hellos to those on the street, and a little extra tender guidance for those who are confused or lost can make the world a better place. -- JH, Los Angeles

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It would be nice to be able to predict how the Royalty tax will affect our economy, but as you say...we all could be wrong. For myself, it doesn't affect me directly, but could in the ripples of the local economy and job market. I won't spend my days worrying about it...life moves forward no matter how much we worry. I will just savour the positive things in my life! SL, Calgary

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Mark – I noticed you didn't answer KN's question from yesterday... I am, as I am sure all of your friends are, very happy about your new relationship. I continue to look forward with much anticipation to each day’s Musings. Simply put, always food for thought - they never get old or boring to me. Take care? CFT, Houston, TX

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Yup, you’re wrong. Aside from your anecdotal comments the world has changed today in Alberta. No matter how you slice it, the costs for oil and gas exploration just went up. The end result will be less investment in Alberta which will have an immediate impact on all of us. I can’t say much about the oil sands economics since I’m not an expert in that field. However, the natural gas business is on the verge of collapse. The industry has gone into one of its typical slowdown cycles to try and control costs and wait until the gas price improves. The significant increase in natural gas royalties will make this a prolonged downturn which in all likely can tilt the province into a full blown recession. Remember, natural gas royalties account for over half of the provincial take. If I were to make an off the cuff remark I would say the average Calgarian just lost $100,000 in house value and the average Albertan likely lost $50,000. I wonder if your letters will be able to consol people when they start to lose their jobs and their homes, SK, Calgary

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