Troubled Teens

Being a teenager is difficult.  We've all been there.  You're not a child any more, but you're not quite an adult either.  Gradually you're taking on more responsibilities that you're not sure that you want.  You have trouble relating to a world where wonder and security has been replaced with strife and danger and you don't know how to navigate it, much less understand it.  You're constantly pushed to do the "in" thing.

In these days of rapacious media where the smallest detail can be beamed around the world in moments, young people are endangered more than ever before.  They can be lured by online "friends" who are not who they say they are.  They can be mercilessly bullied from behind the anonymity of a computer screen.  Careless or private moments are photographed and later used for physical and emotional blackmail.

An increasing number of young people are buckling under the pressure.  A couple whom I've known for 25 years lost their 14 year old son to suicide in January.  Another friend's 13 year old daughter has been cutting herself, to the point where she has ended up in the hospital three times in the past month.  Countless teens across the continent have been bullied into killing themselves.  Some have become so disillusioned by the world's state of affairs that they've gone to the Middle East to fight for extremist groups in order to be "part of something".

As the caregivers and teachers of the next generation we need to be more engaged, and focus more on education and prevention.  Otherwise our young folks don't stand much of a chance.

Retail Collapse

The announcement just came down that the Montreal-based clothing retailer Parasuco has declared bankruptcy and has shut down all its stores.  This is another in a long line of Canadian retail failures in the last six months: Boutique Jacob, Smart Set, Sony, Mexx, and of course Target.

The reasons are varied.  Bigger players moving in on territory.  Competition from multi-national retailers. Competition from online retailers.  Income was not matching corporate projections.  Expansion was too rapid and not within budgets.  All well and good.  But I believe that one of the reasons that nobody talks about is that the middle class is continually being squeezed by the government and the economy, and people aren't willing or able to pay premium prices for brand names.

If people can't get steady work with a liveable salary, local businesses fail.  If huge malls are built on the edge of an urban area to attract a larger (and richer) clientele, local businesses fail.  If corrupt and/or short sighted governments promise the moon and then can't deliver, local businesses fail.  For example: in Cornwall Ontario, the lower section of Pitt Street, once part of the downtown area's major retail hub, has lost many of its small boutiques since the WalMart was built uptown.

It doesn't help that over the last three decades, many corporations have sent production overseas, thus eliminating jobs that could otherwise have been filled by Canadians.  Students go through university with the expectations of being able to get a job in their field when they finish their education, only to discover the jobs aren't there when they graduate, rendering their diploma useless.

And in the meantime, politicians, bankers, brokers, and CEOs all crow about the money they're making in a "let them eat cake" fashion.

Something has to give, and soon.

Meet the Builders

This morning I went to the Montreal Expo Habitation that is being held this weekend at the Olympic Stadium.  For anyone who's in the building industry, who owns a house, or plans to buy a house, this is the place to go to get ideas and professional advice.  The place is huge; it took me two hours to walk through it but I could easily have stayed all day.

I certainly wasn't disappointed in the variety of exhibitors.  The names of some were familiar to me: Fenplast, CertainTeed, Bain Magique, BASF, and others.  I used to work for a manufacturing plant that built machinery used in the plastics industry and they had many clients.  It was nice to see their actual finished products as opposed to just seeing names on a shipping schedule.

This light display caught my eye.  The maker is a small local company called Lampes Lotus.   The shades are made from interlocking pieces of recycled plastic and they look very cool.  Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Lampes.Lotus

I also talked with a gentleman from the furniture company Meubles Dancause, which specializes in creating cabinetry from reclaimed wood. www.meublesdancause.com  I have a fondness for this sort of thing because my late aunt lived for many years in a renovated wood farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere, and had a few pieces in her home that had been made from boards salvaged from old barns on her property.

On the floor of the stadium were several miniature model homes that featured many products that were being exhibited elsewhere in the building.  The public was invited to walk through.

Of course the real reason that I was there was to meet the Canadian master builder himself, Mike Holmes. I've been a fan of his shows for many years, and I made it one of my goals for 2015 to see him and have him autograph my copy of his Holmes Inspection book.  I couldn't help but be awestruck when I shook his hand, and to my embarrassment had to ask him to repeat his initial question to me: "Do you build stuff?"
(The stuff I build generally involves Lego.)

But I quickly recovered and I had a brief chat with him, after which he signed my book and stood with me for a picture.  He's a kind, down-to-earth man who puts his heart into everything.  I look forward to seeing his new project in which he's working with his son Mike Jr.

All in all, definitely worth the trip.

Testing Testing

Yesterday a friend on Facebook cross-posted an image that contained almost 70 brand names, from Acuvue to Woolite, claiming that their parent companies tested the products on animals. Sensationalism aside, supposedly this was an advert for an app with which you can scan products and find out if said product was tested on animals or was "green".

Personally I think this kind of thing goes too far. It's fear-mongering and might not even be accurate. Besides, protests against animal testing rarely get any results. The only way to get a corporation's attention is to hit them in the wallet by not buying their products. Would it even be worth it to the average consumer to stop using these products altogether? Many cleaning and hygiene products are so ingrained into our lifestyle now that the thought of giving them up and going "old-fashioned" is abhorrent. People want convenience, not more work.

I try to do my part. I wash dishes by hand, buy local when I can, and I don't drive a vehicle. But I have little choice but to use a soap made by one of those "evil" companies that do testing on animals, because it's the only one that my daughter's sensitive skin can tolerate. One has to compromise somewhere.

Thoughtfulness

February is here.  From Imbolc to Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras, there are times to celebrate to keep the winter blahs away.  However some people don't have much to be happy about, such as those who find themselves jobless or a those who've had family member has pass away.  All it takes to make someone's day better is to be thoughtful, and here's an excellent message from good friends of mine.

"So many people have stepped up to offer us, a family in crisis, tokens of kindness to ease our pain.  I truly appreciate these offers, and accept them as they fit the need.  There are dozens of people in my local life and in my online life who offer 'whatever' and 'anything', and to those who are not placed in such a way to help my family directly, I ask...

Do these things for someone near you, crisis or not.  Shovel a neighbour's driveway. Pick up a bag of milk (deal with it, Americans!) for someone because you're going to the grocery store anyway. Take the garbage bins up to the front step, especially if you see them buffeted down the street by the wind. Your neighbour's mail was misplaced in your slot at the community drop-off at the end of your street; take it to their door, don't just drop it back into the delivery slot.  Say hi to someone else's kids on the street, not just to the parent.  If the parent isn't in sight, tell the kid to pass along your regards, to make it less creepy, and so the kid eventually remembers your name, too. Join your smoker neighbour on their front porch, upwind if you must, to shoot the breeze and sip a caffeinated drink. Get aggressive with surplus homegrown zucchini and tomatoes.

Anonymously, you can:

Switch off your phone AND your ego when you get behind the wheel. Open up a gap between you and the car in front of you, so some guy can exit the parking lot with grace and courtesy.  Don't block a driveway or side street when you're lined up at the red light or the activated rail crossing.  It doesn't matter if anyone actually turns on or off - it will change how you think, how you feel, how you behave.  It will open you up to leaving enough room for others to move freely. It's not "take your turn," it's "WAIT your turn."  Don't creep up on the pedestrian's heels when you're turning.  Winter's cold and his boots are likely wet, and chances are good he's only halfway to where he needs to go.  You're sitting in a climate-controlled bubble.

You don't have to wait for the crisis to be thoughtful."