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#family

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New music! New vibes! This one tugs right at the heart! Family! My father, myself, and my son. Three generations. A legacy I am so proud to put to music! Tag your dad! Tag your son! This is for you too! My latest single “Three Generations” is out now! Go get it! #therealbostoncowboy #timothyjames #countrymusic #country #newmusic #music #threegenerations #love #family #father #son #legacy #heart #boston #nashville #guitar #spotify #youtube #apple #massachusetts #life

Unusual Patriotism

I have lived in Canada since 1975 and in all that time I have not witnessed much overt patriotism. Canadians love to win international hockey games, of course, and they express a lot of emotions on those occasions, but otherwise they are usually understated in their love of their country, even though they feel it very strongly.

Once, decades ago when my parents were visiting, my father was dismayed to see a lot of Canadian national flags outside a Petro Canada gas station. He asked what all the flags were for and I had to confess my ignorance. After he harrumphed he said, “Flags cause wars,” and I have never forgotten it. In fact, it is a story I have told many times and my eldest son reminded me of it this week.

We were having a brief text exchange about events in the United States, the US president, and protests against Tesla cars. Neither of us was up for an argument but when I was getting agitated, my son reminded me of my father’s wisdom long ago and the futility of raging at symbols. He was right, of course.

Even so, symbols matter. They matter because they trigger our emotions, and when we have no other means to express ourselves, we respond with our feelings and our symbols.

Today, quite by chance, Canadian patriotism made itself known to me twice. First, at my weekly exercise class the instructor had set his musical accompaniment to play only Canadian music. When he told us this, we applauded. It was a spontaneous heart-felt moment. We were just a small group, grunting to the oldies, but we were very glad to do it with Canadian songs to inspire us, and the significance of the choice was recognized with cheers.

Then, this afternoon I made a decision I had been contemplating for a while. Several months ago I had booked to take an Alaska cruise in 2026 with some family members from the UK, but it bothered me because the trip was with a US cruise ship company. I wanted to take the trip and spend time with my family but I didn’t want to do it with an American business. So, I wrote to the people I was to travel with and explained why I was planning to withdraw from the trip. I hoped they would understand. Sure enough, they did, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Photo by Social Soup Social Media on Pexels.com

The economic turmoil that has been created in Canada by the actions of the American president is beginning to be felt in the UK, too, and so my family members appreciated my dilemma and supported my choice. It lifted a weight from my shoulders to know this, and made it easier for me to cancel my booking.

Canadians are not often loud in their patriotism, but we are united in our opposition to the recent threats from the United States. Even though those threats are not coming from all Americans, the response is coming from the vast majority of Canadians, and that response is evident in some big national policies as well as many small individual actions.

My exercise class leader choosing Canadian music and my decision to cancel a trip to Alaska may not be big events, but they contribute to a nation-wide response that is beginning to be felt. I only hope that the person who needs to feel it the most actually, eventually, does.

Continued thread

Please take some time to send a strong message about how invading our home was WRONG.
After I repeatedly told them everyone coming in MUST mask up because Dad had zero immunity & me & Mom are immunological compromised. My Dad was dying & that fucker chose to use ego/power of authority to abuse & traumatize my entire family. My Dad died with cops as one of his last living memories. I won't EVER forgive anyone who let that happen. My Dad had police traumas stemming back to his young adult years as a political university student activist in Saigon. He faced many brutal & violent police inflicted tortures. He still refused to stop fighting for what is right.

Reference date: June 8, 2023.

I take after my Dad. I will continue to fight for him & our family, even if people stop supporting us.

What women want: earth.com/news/guinea-baboons- For decades we have studied single-male–multi-female groups of primates in which males used behavioral dominance and size and strength to keep females in line. However some of us always suspected that females did not like males who dominated them physically. Now a study shows that females are looking for males with skills, i.e. good providers! #ecology #sociality #family #primates #femalechoice

Earth.comGuinea baboons prefer mates with skillsFemale Guinea baboons prefer skilled males for immediate benefits, revealing insights into primate social behavior and evolution.

This is wildly surprising. And perhaps offers a tiny sliver of hope?

One of the bills opposed would have required “emergency” removal of transgender children from their parents.

On the floor, Representatives SJ Howell and Zooey Zephyr persuaded Republicans with their speeches. Bravo! 👏🏻

Thanks for the piece, @ErinInTheMorn.

erininthemorning.com/p/powerfu

Erin In The Morning · Powerful Speeches From Trans Dems Flip 29 Republicans, Anti-Trans Bills Die In MontanaBy Erin Reed

Jamie Chai Yun Liew writes while she waits — at the soccer field, the passport office, wherever
The author of Dandelion and Canada Reads finalist says her desk is not always a creative space. Increasingly, she works wherever she finds herself waiting, 'in between the places' her and her family need to be.
#writing #author #family #work #Arts
cbc.ca/arts/jamie-chai-yun-lie

The Assad regime detained these 6 Syrian kids with their parents in 2013. Where are they now?
Hassan Al-Abbasi, who lives in Ottawa, has been searching for his sister's six children in orphanages across Syria, after she was detained nearly 12 years ago by the ousted Assad regime alongside her husband, secretary and six children.
#family #politics #detention #war #Syria #Ottawa
cbc.ca/news/world/syria-assad-

Good morning tooters. When oh when is the weather going to cool. I had my hopes up, but it’s going to be in the 30’s for another week - 33c for today & it’s 20c already.
It’s a bit of a busy day for me today so I have to get moving. After I’m showered I will take the dogs for a walk stopping off to feed the animals at the other house. After which I’ll bring the dogs back to here & head into Wodonga to give my own garden a very good soaking to tide it over for the last couple of days in Chiltern. I will visit my sister for a while before I come back out here. She was expecting a visit from our younger sister & family who are making their way back from Sydney via a stop off at Mt Hotham where they are now held up for most of day with a road closure due to a bike race. So they won’t be stopping in at all, not even for a short while . My older sister is very disappointed & personally I have my own thoughts about it, but will keep them to myself. #Family
Have a great #Sunday people, keep cool out there & stay safe my pocket friends in #Queensland & northern #NSW