Let Your Skeletons See The Light Of Day

My Pappy knew Al Capone. I didn't know this fact while he was alive. In fact it took almost 20 years after his death for this story to come out. And only because it suddenly became popular in his old home town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to say you had a family member who knew the notorious gangster.

My grandfather was just a lad in the late 1920's when he lived in Moose Jaw. It was during a time when prohibition still existed in the US but not in Canada. Illicit transportation of alcohol, rumrunning, to the US became big business. With a direct rail connection to Chicago, Moose Jaw became the hub for bootleggers. Moose Jaw became known as "Little Chicago" with  its speakeasies, prostitution and gambling houses.

Since he was only a lad, he wasn't involved in the big business aspect of organized crime that had invaded this small rural town in western Canada. Being small in stature got him the job of a message runner through the tunnels of the underground city that lay beneath Moose Jaw. As a tunnel runner he would relay message from the various mob controlled establishments that allowed them to always stay one step ahead of the local law enforcement.

My Pappy was not proud of his youthful ways and when questioned about his activities would only say, "I've seen and done things in my past that I'm not proud of." Then with a twinkle in his eyes, he'd give us a wink, but would never elaborate. We, as a family, found out more from my grandmother just before she passed away. It was when Moose Jaw rediscovered its colourful past and began offering tours of the tunnels that she realized it was now okay to let the skeleton out of the closet about her husbands checkered past. 

Now, once again, Moose Jaw is booming with gambling houses, only now they're called casinos and they're not run by the mob. I wonder what my Pappy would say now about all of this? He'd probably only smile and give us a wink.

My Ancestors Were Idiots Or Were They?

Don't get me wrong. I love my family. But really, what were they thinking?

All of my family ancestry is from the British Isles. A proud collection of countries that for hundreds of years ruled the seas and colonized most of the world. So why would my ancestors decide to come to Canada when they had they whole world at their disposal? Lies, it was all a pack of lies.

All those years ago, almost a hundred now, my grandparents and great grandparents decided to leave their native lands to escape famine or religious prejudice. For some reason they thought Canada was a safe place to immigrate to. And well, they were right, it is a country of political, social and religious tolerance.

They could have moved to South Africa, for at the time the Afrikaners were in control of things and they would have been fine. They could have moved to Australia except back then it was considered beneath most civilized people to go to a land of convicts. They could have even gone to the Caribbean countries, but their social conscience on slavery prevented them from doing so.

Of course all these countries have changed over the years. Apartheid has ended in South Africa; Oz has become a respectable nation within the Commonwealth no longer living under the cloud of its past; and the Caribbean countries are flourishing with tourism dollars. All these places have become very popular places to move to NOW.

But back then the big draw to Canada was the promise of vast tracks of land for these agrarian peoples to call their own.  An opportunity for them to make a new life for themselves and their families. Just one problem; someone forgot to tell them it was horribly cold here in the winter. If they had, the Canadian prairies would still be a very lonely desolate place. But the world would also be missing most of its wheat supply. 

I'll give my ancestors this much, they were a tough breed. Much tougher than we are today. We have much better living conditions than they ever had and yet we complain about the cold. In fact, thanks to global warming, our winters aren't nearly as cold  or as long as that of our forefathers. 

So, really I can't say my ancestors were idiots, they just didn't know any better. And once they got here, they did the best they could with what they had to make the best life they could for their families. And they did this quite well. Well enough that many have been able to leave and move to those more climatic compatible regions of the globe. But for those of us who have stayed in this God forsaken corner of the world; that have endured bitter cold winters and draught filled summers, we can hold our heads high. We can be proud of what they have built and left for us.  

So, in the dead of winter, when we meet a new arrival to our country in the line up at Tim Horton's, we can smile at them and ask, "Cold enough for ya?" because we are Canadians.

Celebrity Meltdowns and Why We Love Them

The saddest commentary about human nature I heard this week was the "Britney Spears: when will she die?" pool. Have human beings stooped to such a low that we are now actually betting on when celebrity's in personal crisis will off themselves? How incredibly insensitive we have become.

We as a society seem to revel in watching the mighty fall. I know there is some deep seeded psychological reason for why we do this. Can't we change? Can't we modify our behaviour so that we actual feel some compassion for these people. For that is what they are after all, just people, like you and me, except with millions of dollars in the bank.

But have you ever thought how you would feel if you were in their shoes. No privacy. Always having to be at your best whenever you go out into public. How many of you have ever gone to Wal-Mart on a Sunday morning with your hair standing on end looking more trollish than human. Imagine now having dozens of photographers taking our picture trying desperately to get that one shot of you blowing your nose, scratching your ass, or stuffing that doughnut into your mouth.

Living a life where you have to be constantly on your guard. Constantly looking your best, even if you're feeling your worst. Every single day of your life. Day in. Day out. Never ending scrutiny. How many of you think you could stand up to it and never break? Never have even a momentary lapse of good judgement and do something incredibly stupid, or embarrassing, or just plain human?

And yet here we are. All of us, with the exception of that "guy" in that youtube video begging us all to leave Britney alone, watching and waiting for the mighty to fall. As we sit back all smug like, saying things like, "I knew she was going to freak out." Or, "Her life is over at 25, what a waste." Or, "She's just trailer trash with money."

I'm not going to get all emotional, like our friend in the video, but perhaps we should cut these people a little slack. Perhaps if we took a moment to look at what their lives really must be like, rich and famous may not be all it's cracked up to be. Sure they have their perks, but the price they pay is very high. And I'm sure if we just treated them like the rest of us, from time to time, they may actually appreciate it.

But until society loses it fascination with seeing the mighty fall, I'll place my bet on March 24th for Britney's death. Come baby, just hang in there a little longer.