Come
next week I’ll be at this running blog for eight years.
It began
as an idea. That someone who started running every other day during the
aftermath of a serious health ailment may just inspire a single person to do
the same. What was it that former prime minister of Canada, Wilfrid Laurier, “tweeted”
in an earlier blog post of mine:
“When the hour for final rest shall strike, and when my eyes
shall close forever, I shall consider my life has not been wasted if I shall
have contributed to heal one patriotic wound in the heart even of a single one
of my fellow countrymen and to have thus promoted, even to the smallest extent,
the cause of concord and harmony between the citizens of the Dominion.”
We Canadians can be like that. Stubborn when it comes to something
we believe in. Look at Canadians at war, the vast number of Canadian women in
real positions of political, social, judicial and religious authority.
If it’s birthright, so be it.
Meanwhile, here we go with an eight-year fix, and a pledge to
keep this up for the next eight years. That would be 2026, for those counting,
and damn, I’ll be seventy years old …
A pledge is an honest statement of intention. S—t can happen,
for sure. But when it comes to a certain kind of Canadian, you’d be wise to bet
against what seems like more of a sure thing, like the current US president finding
the courage to act in a moral, selfless and full of grace way.
Next: Running for Your Life: Never Find Yourself
