It’s been a bit of a washout this week.

There’s a wonderful thing that happens in the face of adversity. People really do come together. In the last week in southern BC we’ve needed a bit of that.

If you’ve followed the news you may have heard we’ve had some extreme weather. It’s called an atmospheric river and it’s a direct result of global warming. So, in case you had the idea that global warming would only affect third world countries, it may be time to revise that idea.

This is just one of many landslides cutting the main highway to the interior.

No one has any idea what the total cost will be, as we’re still in the early stages of recovery – and praying it doesn’t freeze up too soon. The figure I am hearing, and I can’t back it up, is that there’s been over $30 billion worth of damage. At present we’re under gasoline rationing, as the oil pipelines have been severed by the landslides that resulted from the massive rainfall. We need to ration gasoline so that emergency services have sufficient fuel.

It is quite heartening to see Auntie Kittie, Rainbow, Sebastian and Katia Thornwood all arriving at my house on their bicycles. People have come together to prevent things getting any more difficult. Rainbow is naturally concerned that they may start rationing kombucha, but has resisted the urge to start panic buying the stuff. I suggested she start making kale smoothies to distribute if the situation deteriorates. She’s out buying kale even as we speak.

Dozens of volunteers at Surrey’s Dukh Nivaran Sahib Gurdwara cooked more than 3000 meals for those stranded in Hope. They’re paying for private helicopters to deliver meals (roti, cooked carrots, fruit) Wed AM – and will try for more trips in the coming days @CityNewsVAN

So, you can imagine life in Huckleberry Close has been just a little disrupted. Sylvester has been driving his truck up to the nearest affected areas to help in the cleanup, and Ali has been helping prepare meals which are then ferried by helicopter up to people stuck in areas between landslides. The Sikh Nation has been distributing food to many people who have been cut off. They’ve done some wonderful work, all are volunteers. While Ali is not Sikh, people have all been pitching in together.

One way or another we’re all going to be ok. I did notice that Sylvester has been driving up to the landslides and delivering tools and supplies, and returning with christmas trees. Yes, that’s what I said. Apparently the trucks bringing christmas trees to Vancouver for all the malls was caught in the slides and we have, of all things, a christmas tree shortage. So, he’s been shipping them back a couple of dozen at a time from a small grower who is on this side of the slides. He tells me he’s distributing them to the hospitals and schools. It sounds like one of his capers to me.

As you may know, Bernard is a keen sailor. He has great wet weather gear, and kitted Ali out with a stunning set of bright red storm clothes. As Ali has been getting up to the remote sites, where it’s still raining and snow is beginning to fall, he’s been seen trudging through the weather, his big white beard and red suit very distinctive in the mess. Apparently one family thought he was father Christmas. Well, it’s an easy mistake to make, after all. Magic flying christian saint – Syrian refugee in Canada…

Yesterday was the Trans day of Remembrance, in which we remember the injustices against trans people. There’s no shortage of them, for sure, however most of us in this space are so used to injustice that it just becomes part of being trans. I’ve tried to stay above the fray on the whole Kyle Rittenhouse situation, however when people who are so exposed to discrimination see how society can be so openly lacking in justice it seems to leave little room for hope. The video below was one I found quite on point.

I would, however, say that we all have an innate sense of justice. These things sit above the law. They are the values that make us people of integrity. I know so many of my members have faced injustices of their own. And things like the Rittenhouse farce will come and they will go. Life has a way of ultimately delivering justice. We do have to move forward with our own sense of what is right, even when it is challenged. Sometimes we have to hold our silence and live the change we want to see in the world. So, for those many people who feel disappointed in this farce of a situation, it’s worth staying focused on being true to ourselves and moving forward. However messed up that judge, the jury and the sad sack of $hit Kyle Rittenhouse may be, we still move forward. We can still live our truth and hold our own values. Gradually things will get better.

To move things on to a lighter note, if you’ve not read The Sweet Stench Of Revenge, perhaps now is a good time. You see, there is a such a thing as justice.

Have a great week.

Fiona

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