Is it just staff here at the Outlook who feel we’ve somehow been caught up in some kind of an infinite loop here in valley?
It seems like, over and over, similar to Bill Murray’s situation in Groundhog Day, things just keep going round and round.
A few warm days, a few cools days, a few days of rain, a few warm days …
A few days without bear sightings or reports; then a rash of sightings and/or human/bear interaction.
There was seemingly an end to flood-related issues of DRP funding and angst among those who were deemed not to receive any funding. Now, yet another home on Grotto Road, which backs onto Cougar Creek, remains in the news as its owners fight for some remuneration and an end to their misery.
Cougar Creek has been largely rebuilt (might we suggest re-naming it Cougar Canal based on the fact there is almost no feel of creeky-ness to it any more?), but the DiPoce home stands in ongoing disrepair as a symbol that not everything flood-related has been dealt with in the Bow Valley.
There were a few days where nothing new happened in relation to the paid parking situation in Banff. Then there was a hubbub from conspiracy theorists that the Town of Banff was trying to pull a fast one by calling a Wednesday (Aug. 27) council meeting to deal with the petition against paid parking.
To put anti-paid parking minds at rest (page 33), the issue will be back before council on Sept. 15 … nothing of import happened on Wednesday. And, so as to not be accused on joining a Banff council conspiracy of silence, we managed to fit the story in despite the meeting taking place on our deadline day.
And, in keeping with the loop theory, we assume Banff council will be witness to a full house in council chambers as those against paid parking fill the room. We wonder if any statistics at all could be forthcoming as to the effectiveness of the trial paid parking project since its inception in August?
While all these items of local interest no doubt hold the attention of many, we would encourage our readers to have some kind thoughts for those caught up in situations that dwarf those here in our valley in magnitude.
The Middle East has exploded in lives lost once again in the Gaza Strip … a 26 year old woman in Calgary was killed as an innocent bystander when multiple shots were fired outside a bar … calls are out for an inquiry into the issue of murdered and missing aboriginal women (two related news items are on pages 14 and 24) … a U.S. journalist was beheaded by militants …
It goes on and on. Bad news, it seems, is in an infinite loop as well.
So, while our problems, issues and difficulties may seem large at this point in time, when we look outward we can see that really, life here in the Bow Valley is something to be embraced.
Let’s not take ourselves too seriously. Take a breath, relax and look at the mountains.
