Let's try

I have had a number of thought racing around lately. How to put them down concisely? I'll give it a whirl.....
Last week was a sad one for Canadians. Jack Layton -Leader of the Opposition passed away. The timing is what really gets me. He had just taken his New Democrat Party to a record number of seats in the House. More than 100 in fact. Most of that can be attributed to the stunning collapse of the Liberals ( the Natural Governing Party of Canada) but Jack's no small part of it either. He had a way of connecting with people. He fought for the working class man. But enough of that.
After some thought, I wonder what becomes of the NDP now that they have become a legitimate player in Canadian politics? Well, I will just rail down some of my crazy thoughts on the matter. No particular reason, maybe a little hope, as I have to admit that I am a casual observer, not an expert. I guess it would be time for the left to unite in some way. Much like they did on the right of the political spectrum years ago. The Liberals are in disarray, and might be open to the idea. The NDP are without an obvious successor. Makes sense. The Libs also have some more star power.
So we have young Trudeau..... hmmmmmm. There's Bob Rae but he's hated in Ontario. I really don't know. I can't present any names from the NDP. So in some war room somewhere out East I bet Jean Cretien (a real Canadian hero) is pulling the strings and trying to orchestrate this. Hahaha
But the right-leaning Libs will jump ship to the Conservatives and further strengthen Harper's grip. I don't see them wanting to join with the Socialist NDP. But there has got to be a way to challenge Harper and the Conservatives....... I think somewhere they are talking more and more about joining forces on the so-called left.
Let's just hope they do it in time to save my job at the Post Office.

Another visit to Calling Lake

We had another chance to head up to Athabasca country and do some fishing over the August Long weekend. This time we were lucky enough to bring Alvin along. The fishing was much slower than last time we were up in mid-June. We kept enough to have a nice fish-fry on Saturday night, and the weather was perfect. We decided to get our lines wet on a blustery Sunday morning and this is what I hauled in before we were rained out. This Walleye was 66 cms long, and weighed about 4.5 lbs. Can't say I've caught many Wally's that nice.... and of course he went back in for next year.

And on a totally unrelated note, the Edmonton Folk Fest is over for another year. Four days packed with incredible music and great company. Uncle Wal, and his buddy Hal came from Seattle on the motorbikes, and my mom and Devyn made up the troops for this year. I don't think anyone went home disappointed. Highlights for me included Sean Rowe, Lyle Lovitt, Tim Robbins (yes that Tim Robbins), Chris Smither, Noah and the Whale, among others. Pictures should arrive shortly.