Rants and Raves

“Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

- William Blake

The salient details of Tiger Woods' dalliances have filled the news these past two weeks. Once again the Toronto Star ran a front page feature today. Merv and I went to a party last night and the Tiger saga was the talk of the night. I can't figure out why this story still has legs, two weeks after it first broke. NBC ran a special investigation story on Friday night. CNN has dealt with every aspect of the story (or sometimes non-story) as breaking news. The unveiling of each new tryst has been headline news. Why? Tiger Woods is a professional athlete. He is not a politician. He is not a priest. I don't ever recall him standing in front of a microphone and saying that he is a paragon of virtue or a role model for our children. I've never heard him sling mud at another man who has violated his wedding vows in the same way. He's a golfer - arguably the best golfer in the world, but a golfer just the same. Christmas is on our doorstep. People are starving in Africa. The war rages on in Iraq and our soldiers continue to die in Afghanistan. Our unemployment rate is high and many of our neighbours are struggling to get through tough times. Instead of spending time focusing on Tiger's broken marriage, perhaps we could better spend our time and energy on figuring out how to heal our very broken world. Tiger turned out to be a cad. Who cares?

Merv and I went to the theater on Friday night to see "Stuff Happens". Frankly, it was a bit tedious, feeling more like a docu-drama than like a night of entertainment. Merv slept through most of it and I didn't poke him to wake him up until he snored. We have a Mirvish subscription so each month we see a production at one of the Mirvish theaters. Friday night we were at the Royal Alex. I remember the days when a night at the theater brought out people in their finery. Now, the dress of choice for the vast majority seems to be jeans. Friday night, even jeans seemed above the standard of many in the crowd. There were a lot of sweat pants and apparel so sloppy, I wouldn't dress that way to go to the grocery store. Other things at the theater have changed too. It used to be that patrons were required to enjoy their intermission drinks and snacks in the lobbies and reception rooms. Food and drink were not allowed in the seating areas. Now, consumables are welcomed in the theater. Small tumblers of soft drinks have been replaced with McDonald's style lidded cups filled with ice and drinks slurped noisily through straws. Though candy is sold in lidded containers, patrons bring in treats in cellophane bags which they crunch and crumble even in the quietest of moments. People talk and shuffle. The man next to me on Friday was clearly struggling with gas - burping and tooting throughout the night. I miss the days of civility at the theater.

Last evening's dinner at our neighbours' home was an absolute delight. Their eclectic group of eleven guests meshed as if we were long-time friends. Susan and Mike, as always were warm and gracious and they served an outstanding Indian meal. By the end of dinner, I was so stuffed I didn't know how I would summon up the skills to waddle home. I can hardly recall a night spent in better company. We were a rainbow of people who shared the commonalities of passionate parenthood, interest in world events and joy in the camaraderie of friends. The evening felt like a blessing and a celebration of our good fortune in living in a city of diversity and for Merv and I, in an neighbourhood of community and wonderful people.