My stepfather passed away April 10th 2008, the day after my birthday. We were not close, but it does not make it any less a loss for the family as a whole, and for my mother in particular.

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.”

RIP Kenny.

I’ve read some depressing books in my time, but my god is this one hard to take sometimes.

For lack of a better (less depressing) summary, The Road is about a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where they are constantly in fear of roving gangs of cannibals.  Yep, cannibals.  It sounds so totally over the top, but it’s not really.  McCarthy doesn’t jump right into this idea, he leads you there slowly by letting you know there is a nameless danger.

I read one review somewhere where they found the boy too breathy and less sympathetic than his father.  I disagree, rather heavily.  The boy is just that, a boy, and I try to dig back into memories of childhood — memories of having childish thoughts and feelings — and try to imagine being a child in such a circumstance and I can’t.  I’m not sure if it’s because it’s too horrifying to contemplate or if it’s because I’m too old, but regardless I cannot help but feel strongly for the boy, especially in the latter half of the book.

The ending is a little too convenient, but it has to be.  If it hadn’t ended the way it had I would have had to send a strongly worded letter to Cormac McCarthy.   I can’t say I ”enjoyed” the book (anything this sad and dark in never something you enjoy but rather something else entirely), as The Road certainly gives A Fine Balance (by Rohinton Mistry) a run for its money as The Most Depressing Book Ever, but McCarthy does at least give us a wee tiny sliver of light in the darkness, and the story held me the entire time.

I’m a pretty patriotic person, I’ll admit it.  And I’ll admit that having a sense of pride in and loyalty to a hunk of randon geography is pretty nonsensical, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling it.

So attempts like this one feels like an attempt to obliterate parts of Canadian culture.  And it makes me angry.

Lower Flag on Nov. 11th only, Panel Urges

The report [argues] for an even stricter policy that would shrink the number of scheduled days the flag is lowered to one — Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.

The proposal would eliminate half-mast treatment for four other days: Vimy Ridge Day on April 9, the Police and Peace Officers National Memorial Day on the last Sunday in September, Workers Mourning Day on April 28 and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on Dec. 6.

I suspect the motion won’t pass, but it still annoys me beyond all words.