Wednesday was actually over a day and a half long as we flew over Iceland, Greenland, and most of Alberta into British Columbia before crossing into the U.S. over Spokane. Thursday was the day of the zombies. As I’m writing this Friday morning, I’ve not had time nor mind to write much for today’s Dispatch. But I’ve managed to cobble together a few things to keep the shirker in me at bay a bit.
1.
I saw this post while still in London and thought it of interest to Tucson folks. The Tucson Sentinel reported that candidates for Tucson City Council recently argued over whether a proposal for “15-minute cities” represented smart urban planning or a secret global plot to limit the movements of the local citizenry. I’m personally sure it’s a plot, because, you know, WOKE.
Ward 1 Republican challenger Victoria Lem brayed “I have plenty of concerns with the 15-minute city model. They want to make sure you get rid of your gas-powered vehicles. I’m absolutely against the infiltration of government to tell us where we should travel. I believe that the crime rate here is the most important issue that’s facing Tucsonans. Every day I leave my home and I see crime.” Really? Where in the hell do you live? I’ve been here 33 years and haven’t seen ‘CRIME’ unless you count jaywalking. (Oh, and once when I lived in the barrio I spied a guy in a car out my window on Kennedy Street shooting up. Not really crime but self abuse, methinks)
And Republican Ernie Shack jumped in by quoting from the movie ‘Braveheart”: “Freedom!” he said, adding that “15-minute cities will restrict your travel. This is the goal of non-Americans. Americans love their freedom. I love my freedom. I fought for my freedom. 15-minute-cites is to restrict travel. Under no conditions, do I want my travel to be restricted.” He added that he was concerned about 5G towers.
2.
In other Tucson news, Steve Farley, the CEO of the local Humane Society, has been fired and his second in command pushed out in the wake of more than 250 small animals going unaccounted for after being transferred from the San Diego Humane Society in August. Instead of being adopted out to Tucson-area families, more than 300 pets were sent to a group associated with a reptile farm in Maricopa County that raises turtles and snakes. Wowzer! Farley has declined to comment but did say in a press release that he "will not be available" for interviews and that "I had no involvement in the transportation or placement of these animals from HSSA to Maricopa County, and subsequent allegations have been very disturbing to me." More to follow, I’m sure.
3.
I could blather on and on about the trials of the orangeman, the chaos in the House, yada, yada, yada…but you’ve probably read the same news I have. Instead, I’ll shift back to our trip and say that overall, the people we encountered in England (and Wales briefly) were inordinately cheerful and good-natured humans. Maybe because they have National Health Care? Here are a couple examples of human interaction.
In Oxford, Connie wanted some sort of concoction to ward off any type of cold or congestion. We found a pharmacy (chemist) called Cowan’s whereas we had a witty and wise interaction with Adil Cowan himself. He recommended a product we had not heard of before where the main active ingredient was marshmallow root. It was a thick gel you ingest, not unlike Nyquil, but more effective. So we purchased it and carried on. A few days later we stopped back in to thank him—he was thrilled to be able to help us tourists. What a lovely man.
And then in our day trip on Friday in the Cotswolds, we ventured down the amazing A466 from Monmouth to Chepstow which followed the River Wye. We opted for lunch in Tintern, home of the infamous Tintern Abby.
We had a most delicious lunch at The Wild Hare. Michelle was our host and waitress, and we had such a good time with her that she sent us off with a couple of scones, jam, and nut bread for the remainder of our day trip. Now that’s congeniality.
And, most importantly, I should also mention that everywhere we went on this trip I didn’t get one bad cup of coffee.
And now…
I just wanted to add, I had a wonderful son born in Bristol England on the national health system. Other than the my hard “natural labor” no drugs/pills” my choice, but never again🤣the experience was absolutely amazingly good! Granted that was many years ago. I had many procedures done on the healthcare system, while living there many years,, including glasses, teeth (had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted)and so on. I’d say it might tend to make a county (and it’s people),knowing they won’t have to go bankrupt to pay medical bills, a tad more friendly,
What do you think? Cheerio