Of bad drivers, harmful union stances and too-rich pensions

This is yet another time when several things are popping around in my brain, none ready to materialize as 600 words.

So, without further ado:

Would all you drivers out there who aren’t sure what that handle is that sticks out on the left side of your steering wheel please go back for some remedial driver’s instruction?

It’s called a turn signal and, no, I can’t read your mind when you’re tooling down Columbia Street.

I don’t know that you’re about to turn left unless you actually reach over and move that handy lever to the appropriate position.

That would be down, for those of you who have never used it before.

You might also have someone check your rear lights because an awful lot of you are driving in the evening with those headlights illuminated — and you know that because, lucky you, you’re looking that way — but your rear lights must have burned out back when John Dormer was mayor.

I’m not even going to start on how you merge onto the highway, other than to give you some advice: If you’re terrified you will die just merging, go another way.

I’d like anyone in the Kamloops Thompson Teachers’ Association to send me the releases, pronouncements, letters, whatever your group sent out back when the School District 73 people were talking about creating an international baccalaureate program at NorKam secondary.

I’ve searched the archives for Kamloops This Week and can’t find a single word from any of you expressing your concern about how this new teaching program would be bad for students.

Now, I admit, the archives aren’t the most accurate sometimes, but I would have thought a headline on the KTTA challenging SD73 about this waste of money might be there.

Because, apparently, that’s how the KTTA now views this educational curriculum it is putting into jeopardy by refusing to allow some teachers to take much-needed training for it.

The IB program is simply going to drain away too many resources when these teachers start teaching students the courses, KTTA president Jason Karpuk has said as negotiations to allow for this training have accomplished nothing.

Probably in the same way the school of arts and the science and technology schools have had such a horrible impact on the provision of education in the Kamloops region.

You don’t think you’re hurting students, Karpuk?

Ask them what they think.

I’ve been thinking of taking on Cathy McLeod in the next federal election — just to get a decent pension.

The one I’m looking at, if my most recent statements are correct, doesn’t seem nearly as cool as hers does — and she will only have to work six years to get it.

I started in journalism 39 years ago and, hard as I worked the numbers, I couldn’t find any indexing to inflation.

Don’t even get me started on the total that might be there for me to live on every month.

Nope, gonna run for MP, put in my six years and get out all indexed up.

To all of you who wrote, called or emailed about our dog, many thanks.

I was overwhelmed by the response to that column, one that I wrote as much to help me move past Austin’s sudden illness and demise as it was to share another Street Level moment with readers.

I’ve kept the pictures, the videos, the notes, the sympathy cards — only kept one copy of Rainbow Bridge, however, although I received several.

Just a few weeks later, I still find little bits of dog hair or a toy he had hidden.

I’m still getting used to the fact I can actually leave meat on the counter for a few minutes and it won’t get scarfed down immediately.

Sean still misses his walks with Austin, but a dear friend has offered up her walk-loving dog to fill that void.