It’s ‘ot – and might be getting hotter

For a while now, I’ve been obsessed with Michael Palin’s travelogues, and recently this was rekindled by an appalling documentary on his travel. Indeed, Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime is so bad, I could only watch half of one episode. What it did, however, was send me to the basement to dig out my DVDs of Palin’s travelogues to I could start rewatching. And it was in the middle of Sahara, that I was reminded of Palin’s conversation with a Bedouin, who spoke no English, but was a perfect mimic. And what he could mimic was Palin’s ongoing comments about the heat. “It’s ‘ot,” he would say, bursting into laughter, “It’s ‘ot.”
 
I was thinking about this when I heard Donald Trump had been shot. I can’t say I am surprised. When you go around stoking fires and dividing people, and then subdividing the people you have already divided, you are bound to piss some people off. Having said that, it’s shocking to my Canadian sensibilities that someone would go ahead and try to kill him (assuming that is what happened, of course). Already the conspiracy theorists are out in force, saying it was X or pointing the finger at Y. The States strike me as being increasingly ungovernable. Ungovernable and excitable, which make for a dangerous combination.
 
The problem here is that when the US sneezes, Canada catches a cold. The anti-Trudeau loons were already walking around with pictures of his head in the crosswires and a noose – and then getting upset when they weren’t allowed to demonstrate. This is what happens, though. When stupidity gets a critical mass, democracy suffers. Things might get a bit hotter over here.
 
Meanwhile, in Ottawa, it was also ‘ot. We went out and did a few errands in the p.m., much to Ottawacker Jr.’s disgust. These included Ikea and Home Depot, where we were looking for bookshelves for my office (and as an extension, Ottawacker Jr.’s room, as he will get the shelves I currently have). We basically parked as close to the doors as we could and ran in – it was only 31º - but it felt much, much hotter. Once back home, we had dinner and then watched the Canada vs. Uruguay Copa America game (3rd/4th place play off). Canada was the better team – but has the same old problem: no strikers. They should have been three or four goals to the good, but failed to either hit the target or beat the keeper. Leading 2-1 in the 92nd minute, Luis Suarez scored a cracker to equalize. I let Ottawacker Jr. stay up way past his bedtime to watch the penalty shoot-out, which Canada lost 5-4. Oh well. Quite an impressive run in the tournament, and hopefully something to build on. Have to get rid of those commentators though.