Passion Power

I felt annoyed when I could no longer receive cash back at Mac’s Convenience and was pointed to the back of the store. I find it no coincidence this happened right after the new Manulife ATM bank machine was installed and confirmed with Mac’s head office this was a corporate decision. Banks profit from fees charged for merchant debit machine rentals, for each credit card and debit transactions and ATM customer usage fees. I’ve heard of double dipping before but this is triple dipping. Banks really don’t care about you or your money and customer service is laughable. They are becoming experts at cash grab. (There’s an expression) Non-interest income amounts to 44% of bank revenue’s. Now it appears they’re dictating to merchants to drop value added service such as cash back. Cash back is quick and convenient. I can go anywhere to buy milk, bread, or gas. Banks are a sales organization. It seems you only here from them when they want to sell you insurance, credit card or loans. ...

Legal or not is pot good or bad? Arguably there’s nothing wrong with a bit of recreational pot here and there but what defines recreational? Using every day, every other day, on weekends or just special occasions? Is moderation even possible? Does it reduce anxiety or increase anxiety? It's pretty clear that the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada is upon yes so now what? Not only are there a host of medicinal benefits to using pot, there’s a seemingly chill population claiming it calms them down and helps them relax. It’s natural and necessary that our bodies want to alleviate stress hence a glass of wine after work. It’s quite possible we’ll now have a choice to buy pot. Pot is a popular alternative to prescription pain medication. Pot reduces nausea. It also increases your appetite and promotes sleep, two important elements for healing. Tweed in Smiths Falls continues to “grow” and from a job creation standpoint that is fantastic news. Meanwhile, some...

I was waiting in the emergency room in Smiths Falls for a procedure and there was a young adult, probably 19 years old, waiting to be seen. He looked very agitated so I went over and tried to console him. This was his second visit to the hospital in 4 days. He could barely swallow from this throat infection. The first time the physician told him to go home and that if he would quit smoking it would get better. No throat swab or antibiotics were given even though he was in really bad shape and could barely talk. What gives this Physician the right to discriminate and refuse to further investigate due to this young man being a smoker?  This physician is the reason more addicts don’t reach out. They’re met with judgment, lack of empathy and told to ‘just quit?’ Smokers are made to feel like second class citizens. The smoker is in the trenches. They would like to quit but don’t know how or don’t believe it’s possible. They light up a cigarette first thing in the morning if they’ve...

Am I the Only One? I received an email from my daughter’s Math Teacher. She was using her cell phone in class and struggling in Math. It had been going on for weeks. I appreciated the heads up. I replied, “Did you ask her to leave her phone in her locker?” I thought to myself, isn’t that what lockers are for? Why don’t we tear them all out if you can’t leave valuables in them? I question the effectiveness of a Teacher that can’t take away a cell phone from a student in class. She replied, “I don’t mind if they use their phones while doing their work.” Although I’m sure sticking ear buds in, texting and doing math problems works okay for the really bright kids, my daughter needs to pay attention in Math. Most teachers and administration have agreed that cell phones are a huge distraction. It sounds like a slippery slope and shouldn’t surprise anyone when engagement goes out the window. What I’ve learned from raising three kids is give them an inch and they’ll take ...

Judging by the caravan of vehicles pulling in and out of the high school at 8:00 am every morning I’m guessing I’m not the only one driving kids to school every day. “They could walk, it’s not that far” I tell myself as I wait for them in the driveway. I pass the other kids who are walking and question, “Am I doing the right thing? Their parents are smarter making their kids walk to school. Their kids will be my kid’s bosses one day.” For parents who are driving kids our excuses are so varied: They slept in, missed the bus, or like mine, too lazy to walk. Perhaps their books are too heavy or they need extra time in the morning. Maybe we fool ourselves into thinking it’s “quality” time. My Father said to me, “no offence honey, but I’m glad I’m not raising kids in this day and age the way your generation caters to their children.” Does he have a point? Are we going overboard? Time will tell. We will all measure our parenting based on whether our children are living happy s...

Am I the Only One that finds it exhausting to stay local, loyal, organic and healthy? I’m adding one more, affordable. Groceries are the biggest expense for families and many are struggling to put meals on the table, let alone healthy ones. When I pay $3.49 for romaine lettuce, I still need dressing and a cucumber. An $8 bag of apples is pretty expensive but I want my kids to eat healthy so I buy it. All the sugary and high sodium products are affordable but no parent really wants to feed junk to their kids, do they? The excuse use to be because fuel was so high but oil has been going down for months and groceries are going up so that’s not it. Maple Leaf Foods just laid off 400 employees. Their Canadian workforce isn’t the only thing shrinking. Look what they did to their packaging? This is corporate greed at its finest. Kellogg’s has been in London Ontario for 100 years. The CBC headlines were “plant closing as cereal consumption declines,” what kind of a right wing...

Inspiring Authors to Stay Connected J.K. Rowling’s was one of us. She didn’t have any special circumstances. She was a single mom who was broke and living on social assistance. She had a vision and an inner knowing and the courage to hang on to it. 12 Publishers rejected her book. A small house called Bloomsbury Press eventually agreed to publish it. But even then J.K. Rowling was told, “You’ll never make any money on children’s books.” 400,000,000 books later, she is one of the richest women in the world and all because she had the courage, despite obstacles, rejection and financial barriers to do the only work that ever matter to her which was to write. There was no light at the end of the tunnel but she did it anyway. That is taking fear by the arm and saying, “come on we’re doing this.” The world would not know Harry Potter had she listened to the voice of her critics. She puts it eloquently in this quote. “If you’re holding out for universal popularity I’m afraid yo...