You Can't Always Get What You Want.

Hi Carolyn,

It's changing climate time, and not just in meteorological or ecological terms - the political atmosphere is about to begin changing on both sides of the border as well.  You have election stuff ramping up  there and we do up here as well. Can't help but feel , though, that if theatrical value is the only yardstick being used, yours will probably measure up better.

Once upon a time,  I approached these political horseraces with no small amount of cynicism and maybe even a bit of outright disdain. Part of that may have come from what I grew up with and picked up at the dinner table. Part of it also may have been that standard youthful distrust of the powers that be and the status quo - you know... " The Man "! 



I  realize now that, luv'em or hate'em,  those folks we elect  will make decisions that affect us up close and personal. Clearly, it is in our best interests to see just what each of them have in mind - or, more correctly, what each of their political partys  place atop their to-do lists. 





 It's also worthwhile to go back and see just how the incumbents did in their last term at the helm.  We had a Provincial Election here in Ontario a few months back and while I have always been a fairly staunch supporter of the Provincial Liberal Party ( I'd be a Democrat, I guess, were I down your way ) this time I felt that they had, even as a minority government, become crusty, self-serving and hidebound. The scandals and fiscal fumbling's had begun to double-up on the positives. 





I couldn't fathom the idea of not voting, since that means not being heard. When I reached the polling station on election day I received my ballot and immediately asked the elections officer to record it as a " declined ballot". I don't know if you have that option but here in Ontario we can specifically have our ballot recorded as " declined". The rationale being that no party satisfies the elector's vote.  It caused some kerfuffle here at this rural station, simply because it hadn't happened before but it was duly recorded as such. My voice was heard.



  So, over the next months  both of us will be exposed to a stream that will grow into a torrent of political rhetoric, including  claims that will dwell on what has, or hasn't been done as well as what needs to be done. It will be a gauntlet for the ears, no doubt.




Times like these remind me of the words of those once dangerous English saboteurs of the moral fabric, who loomed large in my callow youth and who have now become the quintessential grand old men of rock, Mr. Jagger and Mr. Richards.

That song has clearly grown on me over time. It was pretty ambitious and even grandiose for The Rolling Stones in 1968, perhaps. French horns, The London Bach choir and elaborate orchestration - these certainly weren't the scruffy lippy Londoners who played the bad boys to The Beatles cheeky but squeaky clean lads during the  early to mid-sixties.   Oddly enough, the chorus qualifies as genuine words to live by.







  BTW, I  hope that anyone who might be reading this will not be surprised to find that " You Can't Always Get What You Want" did not originate on an episode of Glee.



   
 



So, to get back to the political events that precipitated all of this meandering, may we each, when all the politicking dust settles, get what we need.




If I recall, that chorus also became - the first line, anyhow, - a favorite phrase/mantra of one of my mostest favorite TV weekly drama characters, Dr. Gregory House.

  It's true that House M.D. did get a little close to jumping the shark in its last couple of seasons but I felt quite rewarded following it religiously for the 8 years that it ran. I was also blown away, to encounter Hugh Laurie, early on in an appearance on an awards show of some sort or another and hearing him speak with a British accent. I simply had no idea he was from the other side of the pond. Turns out that he's an accomplished musician, sculler and more.



Maybe it's because of the loss of two high profile comedians in the last while, or maybe it's because of the impending political extravaganzas, but originally, I had intended to take this post to begin looking at the whole idea of humour  in all of its facets, but I think I will save that for sometime in the near future. It may be one of those items like the Stanley Kubrick trilogy of awhile back, that takes more than a couple of installments to scratch the surface of in a way  that  effectively addresses the itch.



Also, I will leave the riddle out there to consider some more. No need to put up one in response immediately unless you want to, either. Had a minor epidemic of riddling recently and there are more where that came from, I'm happy to note.



See ya later,


Don




All images sourced from Google Images

Fig. 1 - inclusi.co

Fig. 2 - www.mnialive.com

Fig. 3 - ottawacitizen.com

Fig. 4 - covermyfd.com

Fig. 5 - www.fanpop.com

Fig. 6 - www.nkayesel.com