Dear Calgary: (2009)

Well, it happened. One of those big, nasty snowstorms that we pretend never happen here - and that happen at least once every winter. You know the storms I'm talking about... The kind that aren't just really snowy (awesome!) but also offer gale-force winds (super awesome!) and plummeting temperature changes of twenty to thirty degrees. Uhm, overnight. (most awesome ever!)

Sadly, city council is fairly on top of the main roads, so I can not direct my displeasure in their direction. Instead, I'm calling out my fellow drivers and those irritating creatures we all see every now and then... the pedestrians.

First, fellow drivers, a few things to note. 4x4 is a magnificent invention, and I imagine it would have been amazing to have 4x4 on Friday and even early Saturday on the main roads. The snow then was powder and it was a decent depth, so yes, I understand the allure.

Something to keep in mind, though... 4x4 doesn't make you invincible, and it actually doesn't make you any better than the smaller, un4x4ed vehicles on the main roads today. Why? Because right now it's not so much a matter of getting over - or through - piles upon piles of powdery nasty snow. Right now, the issue is the ice on the roads. Ice requires traction, which requires good tires. Being able to climb a mountain in your gigundo diesel half-ton is awesome. But if you hit a patch of icy road, guess what?

Not gonna matter how many wheels you're driving with if all four of them are skidding around.

But the interesting thing is that you'll likely be going a heck of a lot faster than someone without 4x4, and thus you're more likely to crush a smaller vehicle like a bug and create a more spectacular crash. Good on ya. Dream big. Just remember that your vehicle is also big, and that a four-by doesn't guarantee you're able to handle winter roads in Calgary. You may be better equipped, but you still need to respect the nastiness.

Also, minivans and work vans, it would be greatly appreciated if you would LOOK before turning onto a new road. Okay, this goes for all drivers, but I dealt with this with minivans and work vans this weekend. On the side roads, which will not be cleared of this snowfall before Christmas, stopping on a dime is not bloody likely. So when I'm heading down my road and a big ole Servpro van goes to gun it around the corner onto the road in front of me, I'm not going to be impressed. Nor am I going to be able to stop in time to let it go ahead of me.

And on the roads that have been cleared, and are now icy, a minivan that pulls the same stunt is going to make me prematurely grey. Okay? Okay. You don't drive like that when the roads are stellar and it's nice out - why would you think it's okay when there's no traction?

Darling pedestrians - I am impressed that you're still walking (uhm, anywhere) in this weather. I really am. But I am somewhat less impressed by your need to dart out in front of vehicles, ten feet from a LIGHTED crosswalk, in order to catch your bus. I can't stop on a dime to miss a Servpro vehicle, what on earth makes you think that I can stop on a dime to miss you? You know that crunching, stuttering sound? That's me trying to stop. I can't even nicely, calmly pump the brakes because you have not left enough room between you and me for me to ease to a stop.

And if the vehicle following too closely behind me is unable to stop, it's still going to end badly for you.

So here's a thought... make use of the lights. Make sure the vehicles are aware you're there before you step out onto the road. Turn the dang iPod down so you can hear the squealing tires and honking horns as drivers are attempting to avoid you. LOOK UP, you know, at the traffic, rather than at your feet. Understand that even a body traveling at ten clicks an hour will smush you, if that body has forward momentum - implied by the "x clicks per hour" - and a mass greater than yours - like, I dunno, a Jeep.

Drivers don't want to hit pedestrians. Pedestrians, I believe, don't want to be hit. So I'll do what I can to ensure that I don't smush you - if you could make the effort as well, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Also, whomever the gorgeous black cat who frequents our patio belongs to... Please let your cat inside. It's too effing cold for it to be outside, and if we can catch it at some point when there's a cat carrier around, your cat will be going to the SPCA. It is far too pretty to wind up a popsicle on our patio. There's only so much we can do for it with a cardboard box and padding.

Dear Service Industry Workers:

Thank you.

I know, at this time of year especially, people can - and will - treat you like garbage. I know that those of you who work in retail will be verbally abused from now until about the middle of January, and I know most of you will take it in stride. Some of you may snap, go into the back room, break something, and then try to go on with your day.

I know that healthcare workers are dealing with a heck of a lot right now - partially due to the whole H1N1 thing, partially due to the time of year, partially due to the fact that you're always dealing with one stupid thing or another.

I know that mechanics and everyone else in automotive are gearing up for what looks to be a snowy winter. I know that people do not call their mechanic until something is urgent, and it seems that everyone has something urgent at the exact same time. I know that you will be yelled at for what people believe to be exorbitant quotations - and people may beg "since it's Christmas" to get a better price.

I know that, for the most part, there is nothing you can do.

I know that telemarketers are in one of their busiest seasons, and I know that this means people are almost terrified to answer the phone. You will also be yelled at. (however, if you are snotty to me and hang up on me when I am trying to politely decline, I do not have any sympathy for you)

I know that everyone is struggling to come in under budget and ahead of schedule, and I know that most people are looking forward to at least a few days off in the coming months. I know that most of us have holiday shopping to get done, and this means that the malls are going to be clogged and traffic is going to be horrendous.

I know that, even if we work in the service industry ourselves, we can easily become angry with those who give us poor service - or slow service - in another situation.

I know that tensions run high right now.

I also know that it would be a good idea for every single person on the planet who plans to go to the malls during the holidays - or go to a restaurant during holiday party season - ought to be required to work retail (or food service) for at least one Christmas season. Alas, this is not likely to happen.

I hate to tell you to grin and bear it, but unfortunately that's all there is to be done. Rather than snap at the idiot customer who doesn't give a hoot that you have been working for ten hours straight, on your feet, running around for hundreds of other idiot customers or patients, smile politely and think of when you're done your shift. It may not make a difference to your idiot customer.

But it may make another customer (again, or patient) take note of how you are being treated, and how you are reacting. It may make another customer come in at a different time and treat you with respect and possibly even deference because you kept your cool.

It may make that other customer comment to your manager, about the work you have done. It may make someone sit up and take notice of the hard work that you do. Respect and recognition are things that you deserve, for the work that you do. But, unfortunately, these are often contingent on how you carry yourself in a stressful situation - such as working in a toy store the last few months before Christmas.

I, for one, thank you. And I apologize because I know there'll be times when I come across as not quite your favourite customer, but I will always try to treat you with respect. I've been there. I know what it's like.

Breathe deep, punch a garbage bin on your break if you have to (but if you do, wrap your hand in fabric first or you're going to scrape your knuckles - take my word for this) and you'll get through it. If you start reciprocating your customers' snottiness, nothing good will come of the situation - I can promise you that.

It's only another two months.

Thanks again. Good luck!

~Me

To Write Love on Her Arms Day 2009

I have received many e-mails asking me about today - some in response to an e-mail I sent out to nigh on everyone in my contact list, and some in response to what I've posted on Facebook. I am glad to explain what today is all about, and why I have written "Love" on my arms.

To Write Love on Her Arms Day is simply a loosely-organized, word-of-mouth event that requires people to donate no money, no travel time, no time standing around at potentially heated and violent gatherings. There is, unfortunately, a general air of apathy within the general populace with regards to this particular cause, which is part of the reason To Write Love on Her Arms Day is so great.

For many causes, getting people "het up" or "in a state" over something is the best way to see results. If people are loud - whether they care or not - they might get better results.

This approach doesn't work well with depression, self-harm, addiction, or stuggles with suicide. A softer hand, a shoulder to cry on, an arm to hold onto, a show of support works better - and creates a longer-lasting effect - than screaming at the higher-ups to have something done.

To Write Love on Her Arms Day is a day to, literally, write the word "Love" on your arm, to show that you care and support those who are struggling with depression, self-harm, addiction, or thoughts of suicide. Even if you think you don't know anyone who battles these day in and day out, you can't know for certain. And a complete stranger, feeling low and unneeded, may see the writing on your arms and know - even for a day - that someone, somewhere, cares.

Sometimes that's all it takes.

You may be the most supportive person on the planet, but to a stranger with these struggles, walking behind you in the mall, or sitting beside you on transit, or delivering your mail, you seem to have it all together. That stranger will not approach you for support, wouldn't dare dream of asking for a helping hand.

And how can you offer a hand if you don't know that it's needed?

Simple. Today, November 13, 2009 (and every November 13), write the word "Love" on your arms. Let the world know that you care about the mental and physical health of those around you.

Last year, according to the Facebook group dedicated to this cause, there were 500,000 "Attendees." This year, so far, there are well over 1,000,000. Next year, let's shoot for 5,000,000.

After all, all you have to do is be proud of the fact that you are a supportive and caring person. Own it. Write it on your arms, so that some other person doesn't have to drag a blade across theirs.

The Pirate Song

See, now, the problem with being ill and at work is that I don't feel like working. And on occasion, drinking themed coffee (Pirate's Grog from the coffee place in Old Town San Diego - good stuff) whilst feeling ill at work leads to ridiculosity.

Avast ye, matey
we've come to the last
bottle of rum, bucket of chum
there be no more gold
no more treasures untold
no more lasses to hold
no more maps to unfold

Avast ye, scarvy
we've taken our last
dip in the drink, stab at the fink
there be no more ways
no more wait-hold-and-stays
no more wasted parlays
no more travelin' days

And the grog's all run dry
Roger hangs 'gainst the sky
Put the patch o'er yer eye
And get ready to die

Avast ye, matey
we're part of the past
parrots too shrill, ink, quill, and kill
there be no more fights
no more cannonball lights
no more X-mark'ed sites
no more noose-hangin nights

And the dubloons all dank
Every file, form, and rank
Quivered and stank
As they all walked the plank
Avast ye, matey
Prepare for the worst
Ye blackguards be cursed
Land ho

(and of course:) YARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I do not believe in gay marriage...

... now that I have your attention, I would like to ask that you hold off on lauding or hating me, throwing sticks or throwing bouquets, until you read to the end.

I do not believe in gay marriage.

What I believe in is this: the abiding, unconditional love two people must have for one another to want to share a commitment - a legal commitment - that will last for the whole of their lives. A man and a woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman - we're all just humans. We all just want to love and be loved in return.

I do not believe that marriage should be labelled gay or straight.

Just because I would select a different mate doesn't mean I'm any better - or worse - than you. If we limit the right of those around us to share their lives with the person they most love, based solely on gender... where does it end? Will we next be determining the legality of a marriage based on the level of attractiveness of the partners? What about intelligence?

If I see a bride and groom and deem that the groom is far too handsome to be burdened by his homely bride, do I have the right to protest their wedding? If I see a woman with an IQ off the charts wishing to marry a man with an average or below-average IQ, is it within my right to ridicule both parties?

After all, we've already done the "marriage selection by skin colour" thing. That worked so well.

Marriage is sacred and should not be entered into lightly. When two people are ready, willing, and eager to make a commitment to one another, why on earth would we stand in their way?

Don't we have enough - real - problems to contend with? Do we really need to make a big, disgusting, demoralizing deal out of what should be viewed with awe and wonder?

There is so much hatred and vitriol already in the world. There's so much ugliness and pain, greed and dishonesty, we don't need any more. We don't need to sit and decide for someone whether or not the partner they have chosen is right for them. Rather than encourage judgement and discord, take comfort in the fact that there is still hope for the future. Hope that we, as human beings - as we all are - can still act selflessly enough to make someone happy for the rest of our lives, while being enriched by the happiness of another.

If your partner makes you happy, and if the vice is versa, then I say Congratulations. I may look on enviously, but don't mind me... I've been single for far too long. *wink*

The beauty of love is love itself.

And the awesome wonder of marriage is that two people are willing and wanting to make a lifelong commitment - gay, straight, or otherwise.

Dear Fellow Travellers and Our Airlines:

Please note that this is, and all <> flights are non-smoking. Federal regulations prohibit tampering with, disabling, or destroying any smoke detectors in airplane lavatories. We are pleased to offer a variety of meals on this flight, and if you have a special dietary need, please let your flight attendant know. We have kosher, vegetarian, vegan, low-sodium, and low-sugar meals.

Hm. No "nut-free" meals on offer.

Can we please all make a pact not to bring any sort of nut products onto a plane for munching? Can we also promise not to select nut products as our "free snack" when offered? I do not smoke on the plane, which is a matter of your health and safety, as well as the comfort of all those on board. Well, you sitting there munching on your yummy salted peanuts or - even better - pistachios and hazelnuts is a health hazard for me.

Sure, I can pop reactine and drink a lot of high-caffeine beverages in an attempt to stave off what could possibly be a full-scale reaction, but this is not particularly comfortable for me. Nor is it, I imagine, particularly comfortable for those around me. And one thing that people may not be aware of is this: an allergy such as one to nuts gets worse with each and every contact.

So every flight I am on, where my fellow passengers are happily popping nuts, is one step closer to a full blown, red face, swollen membranes, anaphylactic-shock reaction. Yes, I carry an epi-pen, and yes I carry reactine. Reactine is effective - sometimes - against minor reactions. An epi-pen is effective for about fifteen minutes depending on the severity of the reaction.

I ask you, when we are 35,000 feet in the air, are you going to be able to get me to a hospital within 15 minutes, so that I can be put on an epinephrine and benadryl drip, and possibly a ventilator as well?

Unfortunately, I think a fair number of those who do not have nut allergies - similarly, shellfish and bee sting allergies - don't quite grasp the severity of the situation. Allow me to make it plain for you:

I will die.

I won't have several months or years of hanging on in the hospital, hooked up to a respirator. My kidneys will not slowly start to shut down. Within seconds, my tongue and throat will start to swell shut. My lungs will swell to the point where I can not draw a breath. Within minutes, I will be in a great deal of pain. Reason and rational thought will be gone within about five minutes.

Depending on the type of nut - ground, legume, tree, etc - I may or may not be vomiting. See, because I am one of the lucky folks who are allergic to em all. It's not just legumes (peanuts) for me, and there are a few different reactions that I am lucky enough to experience!

And though those who are allergic to bee stings actually need to be STUNG for the reaction to take place, those of us who are allergic to nuts and/or shellfish don't actually have to eat the offending food. For many of us, the smell is enough to provoke a mild-to-severe reaction. Couple that with the possibility of a random passenger cross-contaminating any of the public areas (ie - washroom door handles, arm rests, seats, etc) that we may actually have physical contact with and you have, essentially, a flying death-mobile.

It would be devastating for the airlines to require an in-flight death by anaphylaxis to consider banning all open nut products on their flights. There will be lawsuits, and enough ill-will and finger-pointing to go around. It's bad enough that - on a trans-Atlantic flight - we get to eat fruit platters, and that's it. And sometimes, depending on the airline, we get a nice big, open bowl of mixed nuts as a dessert.

There are no "nut-free" meals offered.

Rather than letting it get to the point where lawsuits are flung around, be proactive. Recognize that a vegan will not die at 35,000 feet if there is cheese offered in their meal. I respect the vegan lifestyle, but it is, in fact, a lifestyle. No less important than my particular allergy, but considerably less life-threatening.

At a restaurant, I can let the server know of my allergy and the kitchen will accomodate as much as possible. There is no attention like this on an airplane. My life is, quite literally, in the hands of the crew and the hands of my fellow passengers.

Though you might disagree, I kind of think my life is precious. If you could treat it with a little care, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you,

~Me

Dear Bronco:

Hey, how's it going, Mr. Mayor?

I understand there was a back-breaking amount of shoveling you had to deal with recently. Sucks, don't it? Me, I live in a condo complex - I don't have to do any shoveling except to clear the patio. I don't even do that, to be honest, my sister handles it. But I understand your pain.

You know what's worse than spending half an hour to an hour shoveling? Dealing with Calgary roads. Now, I'm not going to lie, I've been a supporter since you first ran for mayor. The fact that you've done - or started - most of your "campaign promises" has cemented my support. But, sweetpea, it might not be bright to piss and moan about the amount of shoveling you have to do when half of the city is shut down due to inadequate sanding and plowing and the resultant accidents.

Sure, in a perfect world, people wouldn't drive like arseholes when the roads are bad. In an amazingly perfect world, people wouldn't drive like arseholes, full stop. Alas, we don't live in a perfect world. We live in Calgary. And Calgary drivers are, in a word, arseholes. We are arrogant and impatient drivers.

Couple that arrogance and impatience with roads that haven't been cleared after the second day of snow, and what do you get? A lot of anger and a lot of accidents. I go over (*counts*) eight bridges - counting the ramp onto Glenmore - in each direction, to and from work. Three of these are over open bodies of water.

I mention this because these bridges - most specifically the ramp onto Glenmore and Graves Bridge - are woefully undermaintained during the winter. And the bridges over open bodies of water become considerably more icy than the rest of the roads. When the roads - and thus, the bridges - are not cleared, drivers are dealing with two to three inches - minimum - of hard-packed snow just waiting for one more set of tires to compact it into ice.

Bad news, Bronco. Bad news.

So here's a thought. Why don't we consider paying the drivers of the sanders and the plows enough to entice them to keep their jobs? It is, right now, an employer's market. Utilize that, and bend when the wind changes. If not, scrap the program altogether and offer the opportunity to bid on handling the city's contract, to private companies. Might be pricier upfront than maintaining the status quo...

... But when you factor in the lost productivity - CITY-WIDE - when half of the major arteries are shut down, is it really more expensive?

I don't pretend to know what the council has to deal with on a daily basis, and I won't pretend to particularly empathize. The ugly truth of the matter is this: Y'all work for the citizens of Calgary. If the citizens of Calgary keep losing time and money due to the inability to travel in this city in the winter months - you know, all nine of them - you're going to be out a job.

Winter comes at about the same time every year - earlier than we want it to. Though most of us don't put much stock in the weather forecasts, perhaps the city council ought to. Perhaps being PROactive about providing a safe living, working, driving space to Calgarians, rather than REactive, would reflect well on you.

No, you're not going to be able to please everyone, all the time. But everyone in this city relies on the roads. Drivers, city transit-users, even those who never leave their houses.

I'm just asking you to consider all of us out there before you start commenting about shoveling.

I'm just sayin...

Sincerely,

~Me

Dear City I Heart:

Good morning!

I hope you had a nice, restful sleep and that you're gearing up for one last day before the long weekend. A few things to keep in mind, and I'll break these down by the parties they are directed at. Makes life so much easier, doesn't it?

Calgary Transit:

To the bus who was on Crowchild southbound this morning at about twenty after six, and turned off onto 50th... Turn on your bloody lights. I do not particularly care that you are off-duty, it was still dark out and my fellow morning drivers and I would appreciate knowing before being on your ass that you are not stopped at the side of the road. This, of course, would be helped even more by you traveling at a rate of more than forty kilometres an hour. Speed limit along there is eighty. Speed it up, turn on your lights. Okay? Okay.

To the buses who were on Crowchild NORTHbound yesterday afternoon at about twenty after four... Really? Bus number 7245 (it was route 181 for anyone who's curious) and the bus that was in front (route 20, couldn't catch the bus number) - that exit for Bow Trail does not come up out of nowhere. You noticed all those vehicles in front of and behind you changing lanes in preparation for the bridge over Bow... Did it not occur that perhaps you ought to change lanes as well? Neither of you stopped at the stop before 17th. Transit vehicles, and in fact all vehicles, should not use the shoulder as a merge lane. Especially when you're heading on to a bridge and the vehicles you are cutting off don't have a whole heck of a lot of space to move over. And it's not like you're driving a Smart car that only takes up two feet in the lane.

Figure it out.

Drivers in Big Trucks:

Slow it down. The roads aren't icy yet, but visibility the last two afternoons has been somewhat shite. Sure, okay, you're driving an F-250 with a lift kit, cattleguard, and spotlights - you're pretty much indestructible (not to mention THUPERCOOL). The vehicles you're stomping all over, though? Not so much.

Yep, I drive a Jeep, and I occasionally get impatient with the smaller vehicles moving at a crawl. (haha, but if you've seen my Jeep you know it's a little one and generally my eyeline is below the lip of the truck beds around me) But hey, guess what? That's rush hour for you. Riding bumpers when people are a wee bit jumpy - and made jumpier by the fact that all they can see in their rearview is your TIRES - is bad news. You'll survive an accident, most likely, but hey - vehicular manslaughter and/or negligence causing death carries a worse punishment than being ten minutes late for dinner.

I'm just sayin.

Long weekend coming up, and that means higher rate of accidents on the highways and city streets. Give yourself extra time to get where you're going. If you're running late, accept the fact that you are running late - and if you're like me, I know that's no easy task - and keep your driving unasshole-ish. Everyone's got places to go, and everyone's got people to see. You're not special in that regard.

I'm pretty sure that - potential of aggravating family members notwithstanding - everyone wants to reach their destination in one piece.

In the immortal words of Ms. Julia Stiles:

"Remove head from sphincter, then drive."

*giggles*

Heroes vs. Villains - 1989 vs. 2009

So Batman (1989) with Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, and Jack Nicholson was just on the telly.

Of course, being a child of the 80s, I watched it! Michael Keaton is the best Batman, hands down. But that's off topic.Kim Basinger, as our heroine / requisite damsel in distress is playing a role that now, twenty years later, she would be crucified for. She faints constantly, screams like a little girl at every turn, and is entirely useless.

Nowadays, of course, she'd be proficient in muay thai and a wise-cracking bitch who allowed herself to be rescued. In Batman, not so much. She tweaks men around by their noses, but is not sexually "liberated" in the sense of our heroines today. Nicholson's Joker is, I think we can all agree, epic. It's indicative of the time period as well as of Nicholson's personal "style" and works well within Burton's vision of the topic.

But this Batman character... he's a cock-up. Nowadays, we expect our heroes to be nigh on infallible. They can be bested, physically, because we all know they will come out on top in the end. But they can't make stupid little mistakes. Batman flies directly towards a Joker who is standing there, with his arms out, waiting. Of course, we all know what that means - Joker's got a trick up his sleeve. How does Batman not see this? So he winds up with a shot-up chassis and a spectacular crash on the steps.

Today, that wouldn't work with audiences. Batman making such a monumental - yet inanely stupid - mistake? Pfft! Test audiences would be leaving the theatre and claiming it was just not realistic for a hero. Why? Because we don't want our heroes to have any sense of human failing. A sense of humanity, yes. A tortured sense of morality, yes. But an everyday, human inability to thwart his nemesis at every turn? BAH! Unrealistic.In the same vein, the best villain ever created - by anyone, anywhere - is Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Why? She has no humanity, and no reason for being a villain - she simply is. She eats, sleeps, and lives the evil nature we all want in a villain. But it's not because she was thrown in a vat of acid. It's not because she was an unfortunate looking child who was raised by penguins. (Right, Batman Returns is on now) It's simply because she is evil. Her raison d'etre is raising hell. And yet, in 1959, this was an acceptable villain for a children's movie.

And now? Not only do we expect our heroes to be infallible, but we expect our villains to be at least recognizably human. We want to know the backstory for our villains, we want to know why and how they tick.

Strange. That we identify more with our villains than our heroes, and expect more of the heroes than the villains.

Or perhaps not so strange - perhaps we're only hoping to better understand the darkness in humanity while providing ourselves with a reason for not raising to the level of our heroes - we can be excused for not measuring up with a superhero in all that we do, simply because of their superness. Villains are, in a word, human.

So we can be forgiven for acting like one.

But then again... we're talking about movies.

Not real life.

Dear City of Calgary:

While I don't, personally, pay property taxes, I do expect to be treated in a manner similar to someone who does. I keep most of my hard-earned money within the city, as I do quite love it here. I am constantly attempting to get people to visit. I take photographs in and around the city which I share with those people who are unable to come here.

True, on occasion, I rant about the stupid things going on in Calgary. Stampede, construction, public transport, holiday traffic, etc. Most of my anger and annoyance come more from the people of Calgary - or, in the case of Stampede, the people visiting what they think is "the real Calgary" - but today, all my vehemence is aimed at the City of Calgary.

Our city council.

The people who run the show, as it were.

It would be nice if someone could please explain to me why, with all of the additional construction going on (ie - twinning Graves Bridge, the insane amount of construction along Deerfoot, Memorial, Crowchild, Bow, etc), why it is so difficult to keep on top of the upkeep. I understand that it is vitally important to twin some of the major routes, and ensure that traffic on the main thoroughfares moves along at a decent clip. I get that, I really do.

But why the half-assedness when it comes to the remainder of the roads in our fair city? For example, there's a pothole on Crowchild. Okay, there are many, but there's one in particular that I'm thinking of. It is in the left hand lane just south of the old barracks, on the northbound side. This pothole has, in the past three months, been filled at least twice. How do I know this?

Because I drive in the left hand lane, northbound on Crowchild, from Glenmore to 32nd. I know where this pothole is, and I have hit it often enough to now know when I need to inch towards the abutment to avoid it. The fact is this: the pothole has been filled TWICE in three months. What, exactly, is it being filled with that it needs to be fixed every few weeks?

I'm fairly certain we can all agree that the rubber pellets from recycled tires - that are used in playgrounds - are not an acceptable means of asphalt repair. And, as the pothole has not grown larger, merely continuously falling in on itself, I do not believe that we have an issue in that regard.

On westbound Glenmore, just east of the Blackfoot exit, there are not one, not two, but THREE huge potholes. If you hit one, you'll either hit all three or swerve into other lanes and risk hitting another vehicle. So, while you're in the process of making the ramp onto southbound Deerfoot pretty, and twinning the Graves Bridge and making it all pretty, I am dealing with a windshield-wide crack on my brand new vehicle.

I greatly appreciate Bronco, don't get me wrong. The man has done everything he said he would - or at least, is making progress on these projects - when he was elected. But Deerfoot feels like you're driving for kilometres over rumble strips, the surface of Glenmore looks like a pox-scarred face, and Crowchild - oh, Crowchild... And don't even get me started on Memorial or Bow Trail.

So, Calgary, I humbly request that you take a long hard look at how traffic items are prioritized. It is nice to have beautiful overpasses and fancy schmancy new lanes on Deerfoot when Stampede comes around - I realize this is a big money-maker for the city, and I am alright with that. I understand needing to ensure that those bringing their tourist dollars to our city are comfortable and feel impressed with our progress.

But we, the citizens, the people who work here day in and day out, the people who spend not just ten but three hundred and some days here, deserve a little bit of respect as well. We deserve to make the rush hour drive home without damage to our vehicles. We deserve to be treated as though our dollars matter, too.

Stampede crowds are the dessert.

Calgarians are the meal. We are the ones who buy the groceries, set the table, do the cooking, do the dishes, and wash the floor.

Please, at least pretend as though you recognize that.

Thank you,

Me