“The World’s favourite season is spring.
All things seem possible in May.”
Edwin Way Teale
Yesterday, when I was young, the world looked like a simple place. My tolerance level was near zero as I set about to change the world. Nonconformity came easily. Forced to leave Notre Dame high school in grade nine rather than give up a very important “duck tail” haircut, I ventured into the public school system. Things weren’t much different there.
Time marched on and then something happened that changed, if not my way of thinking, my entire life. Rosemary entered the picture and her attitude was decidedly different from mine. To me she seemed rather “naïve” as she overlooked the obvious to see the good in people. Judging was left to others while she convinced every ne’er do well she encountered that their life too was important.
It wasn’t so much that she didn’t notice their faults but overlooked them to see the potential within. Heck! Rosemary even saw great potential in the young man trying to change the world.
Must act soon
During the last thirty years we have worked together on everything, including this column trying to convey a message that it is time to act, because this society is quickly going down the tubes and if someone doesn’t care enough to stop it there will be nothing of value left to save.
Take for instance the demon drug cocaine. It is time to declare war, not on those who are hooked, but on the pushers who are literally getting away with murder. It has invaded our city streets, our schools and wreaked havoc on family life.
The addiction is so strong that it can take an otherwise decent human being and turn him into a monster. One particular pusher comes to mind. He’s nicknamed “Jiggles” because he juggles when he walks, calculating his next move. A recent graduate from Notre Dame High School, he stands like a godfather, gleaming gold crucifix dangling from his neck. He promises his customers the world, playing on every weakness and providing any service they desire including women.
A friend of mine, after a brief encounter with the demon drug, has managed to escape his clutches. But it’s not easy. In trying to find a solution to this problem, it was amazing to discover just how many people have been hooked at one time and fought to overcome their addiction.
It seems ironic that in B.C., the provincial government refuses to lower the price of cigarettes because of teenage smoking, and yet everyday more and more youngsters are hooked on drugs.
Innocent pro-lifer are jailed for protesting abortion and yet drug pushers walk free simply because there is not enough room in our jails to incarcerate them.
Offering the “good life”
These dealers have no conscience. They use the younger generation to do their dirty work. Offering the “good life,” they entice teenagers to deal in the schools. Often children, some as young as elementary school age, are used to deliver the “goods,” leaving the pusher free from getting nabbed.
The police face continued frustration with growing drug-related problems and a lack of manpower.
In the meantime gang wars, drive by shootings, and drug-related deaths continue to alarm citizens of what used to be a peaceful city.
Last week we encountered “Jiggles.” He informed me that really he is a good person, he was in the “pro-life” club at Notre Dame. At that point I could have slugged him, but what would have been the point. He is too corrupt to know why.
Is it really too late to change the world? Maybe not! That same old feeling has returned and it’s true all things seem possible in May.
