No visits, yet
According to the calendar, we have federal elections in two weeks time. Just after I score my flu shot. And to my surprise, the noise from the campaigning, locally, has been less than a whisper. No visits to the door. No flyers in my mailbox. No anonymous phone calls. It’s as if “they” want me to find out who is running in my riding by using Google. I hope that when the post-ballot bills are presented, they will be just as minimalist. Imagine, a change of government with nothing to pay! There are still a few days left, but my hope is clear.
Meanwhile, my rush to get home for a meeting this evening was handed a reality check in this morning’s emails. The onset of flu in some local homes means that our need to fraternize will have to wait. Maybe I can get my vaccine before facing anyone else with a troubling cough.
In Quebec, the government has decided not to legislate a ban on the greeting “Bonjour-Hi”. Think about it; how would you ever enforce such a thing? When the language police swept through a neighbourhood, the word (words?) would go out: no double-speak. Thousands of restaurant greeters would resort to waving you to your seat, in monoglot fashion. Only when the menu was presented would the parlee begin. Confusing? Perhaps. I’m sure everyone would get fed, eventually. And once the status quo returned… “Bonjour-Hi” would sound out, again. The ability of a bilingual population to achieve compromise: tested and found strong. And tourists could return home, bragging of their ability to function with the high school French taught by Madame Jackson.
