When institutions fade.

My wife and I went to the annual meeting at the church today. As I am not a member of the church (being nominally a Catholic and the church being Lutheran) I could not really participate. The biggest issue was that of the diminishing congregation. On any given Sunday, there are only 15 to 20 members in the congregation. This has resulted in the parish not being able to sustain the church, either physically or financially.

A motion was put forward to consider discussions about merging with the other church in the parish, with the possibility of closing the smaller one.

This issue has been coming up for years now, and many in the congregation have felt that a merger and closing were all but inevitable. Emotions have been running very high over the issue, with many desiring to keep their church at all cost, letting it go eventually when the Synod says that it has to close. Meanwhile, the council has been dealing with the issue for quite some time. Many have been sitting for much longer than they are constitutionally mandated to. There just hasn't been anyone to replace them.

It is sad to see a beloved local institution fade away. Memories are tied to them. Weather it be baptisms or weddings at a church, or family meals at a favorite restaurant, these things are deep at our cores. When we see them start to vanish, is it any wonder that we react strongly? Many a voice was cracking with tears during this meeting. As well, tempers were flaring, and patience wearing thin on both sides.

It is going to be very difficult for the next couple of years as both sides of this problem come to grips with what is happening.

Fire and freezing temperatures don't mix.

There was a major fire in the area the other day. A small general store burned right down to the ground. It was in a remote community, something of a landmark.

By some strange coincidence, this fire occurred on what has to have been the coldest day of the year. This presented problems for the responders. After all, you fight fires with water. Water, when introduced to temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius, has this strange tendency to become a solid.

The fire fighters had to deal with everything from gloves and equipment frozen stiff and essentially useless, to extreme fatigue and possible frostbite.

I suppose this is something that these men and women are trained to expect and to deal with, but it still has to take a toll. I know from experience that frozen clothing gets very heavy. Add the weight of helmets, masks and breathing apparatus and the whole thing gets a little staggering. The average person would never be able to manage it.

It's just a shame to see a small business go like that. There is history in a place like that. The worst of it is that it was pretty much doomed from the first hint of smoke. It was far enough from the fire hall that it was going pretty good by the time anyone got there. The freezing cold temperatures just kind of put the final nail in the coffin.

Driving lessons.

I've been working at giving my niece driving lessons. She is taking some through a professional company, but they don't provide nearly enough wheel time. Her mom's boyfriend says he doesn't have the patience. (I give him all the credit in the world for being able to admit that.) My mom says that she is too nervous. That kind of leaves it to me or my dad, and Dad doesn't get out very much, by choice.

It's a little harder teaching to drive in the winter. Conditions change without warning. It's been interesting watching her adapt to compressed snow, slush and the occasional patch of ice. She has improved immensely. Her steering is much more confident, her braking smoother.

The hard part is reversing and parallel parking. Now, I'm not the best parallel parker in the world, but I really think she needs to practice at it. I've had to get creative in thinking of ways to help her out.

Fortunately, there is an empty parking lot handy here in town. The attractions is seasonal, but they keep the lot clear. I am using a curb to help my niece practice reversing to the right. She's not bad at reversing to the left. This same curb has given me an idea to help with parallel parking. What I'll do is get a plastic lawn chair to use as a pylon. I'll give her lots of space to start out with and slowly reduce the space.

It is interesting teaching somebody to drive. I'd rather have left it in the hands of professionals, but I guess this is the reality of learning to drive these days.

Pizza

You read that right, I want to discuss pizza.

Ever notice that everyone seems to know of "the" pizza place? It's that one place, the only place, for miles around that serves a decent pizza. I'm not sure just how that works, but I think it's one of the laws of human nature that we seek out "the place" at some point. Once we find it, there is no swaying us. With the exception of new ownership and a changed recipe.

My wife and I went out for supper last night. It had been ages since we'd had a pie from "the only place" for miles.

I used to work for the couple that owns the restaurant. When they took over, they made some changes. Most important was to change the way certain things were made. Gerry worked forever on the pizza sauce. One recipe was too spicy, another too bland. It had to have just the right consistency. It was several months in the development process. Advice was asked and a considerable amount of small scale trial and error done.

I think the key to deciding that somebody makes the best pizza is knowing that somebody has taken the time to care about the product. You just don't get that from one of those large franchise places.

Which leads to another rule of "the place". It seems to almost always be a smaller "mom and pop" outfit, a little restaurant from the neighborhood. There has to be a certain exclusivity, a uniqueness to the establishment. They may do other things, but you always know the pizza is going to be the best.

Back, sort of...

It's been ages since I've posted anything to my blog. Fortunately for me, the service doesn't delete accounts based on what your activity level is.

My life has just been kind of up in the air for a while. My relationships aren't exactly running smoothly, and, to be quite honest, I don't know where I am going with my life. Sure, that sounds like most of us, but it always seems more extreme when it's your own life you're talking about.

I don't really want to get into details in a public forum though. That sort of thing has brought nothing but trouble. In fact, it was a major catalyst in some events in my life. Things were said, and feelings were hurt.

The worst of it is that, a lot of the hurt can't seem to be left in the past. It keeps coming back to make the present so much harder. It's like, get it out in the open, and get over it. Either solve the problem or leave it in the past. I've never been good at dealing with history. I can recite it, but don't ask me to try and resolve it.

Conflict. That's my biggest problem. I have never been comfortable dealing with conflict. I go out of my way to avoid causing it myself, and do my best to avoid getting caught up in other peoples' disputes. The problem lies when people close to you are the ones that are having problems. Worse is when they are having problems that you just can't begin to understand.

Well, I guess I'll just have to worry about sorting things out in my own head, and just be supportive of everyone else without letting their issues become mine.