Noteworthy: Maybe the cold weather ain’t so bad after all

By BRUCE PENTON on October 2, 2024.

There are a number of great reasons why we live in one of the best places on earth, but perhaps the most important one is weather.

I know, I know, 40-below with a wind in the dead of winter is no treat, but it’s rarely a killer or a destructive force. Southern Albertans generally know four or five days in advance that a dangerous storm or killer cold spell is imminent, so there’s plenty of time for preparation. Weather warnings usually carry the reminder to ‘stay off the roads’ if blizzard conditions are involved but every winter, there are usually a handful of reports of Canadians dying of exposure because they got caught unprepared.

But we don’t have to deal with killer hurricanes, vicious tornadoes, destructive earthquakes or monsoons, which kill thousands of people around the world every year.

The recent Hurricane Helene that battered parts of Florida, Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas left more than 120 people dead. Dozens more are reportedly ‘missing’, which usually means dead.

Warnings for people living in the storm’s path to evacuate the expected area were issued well in advance of Helene’s arrival, but thousands chose to ride it out. Officials advised those who decided not to heed the evacuation advice were asked to write their names and date of birth on their arms or legs so that corpse identification would be made easier. If that’s not a dire enough warning to get the hell out of the way, I don’t know what is.

The Axios news site quotes a Greenville, S.C., meteorologist saying, ‘as meteorologists,Â we always want to get the forecast right. This is oneÂ we wanted to get wrong. This is the worst event in our office’s history.”

Meanwhile, we get hailstorms and bitter cold but weather posing life-and-death danger is rare. I’ll happily take the occasional bitter cold snap and leave the hurricanes to our southern neighbours.

Great commitment, but uh, wrong country: A British Columbia politician was on the campaign trail last week, door-knocking in Vancouver in advance of the Oct. 19 provincial election. The lady of the house said she wasn’t aware of the B.C. election, but told the politician that she was adamant in planning to vote for Kamala Harris.

Life goes on â€¦ and on â€¦ and onâ€¦

Unfortunately, too many young people are dying these days and by ‘young,’ I mean younger than me. It’s one of life’s great mysteries: How long will I live? But I was encouraged to hear of a friend’s grandfather who recently celebrated his 105th birthday, and then I read the other day about a pair of twins in Ohio who just had their 102nd birthdays and are still going strong. And CHAT-TV had a story about a Foremost fellow, Charles Luca, who’s 102 and remains a regular golfer.

There’s no secret to long life, other than try to live as healthy a lifestyle as your doctor wants you to, and add in a bit of luck as well. Oh, and eat your veggies.

It’s unfair that Pete Rose is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The 25-year MLB veteran finished his career with the most hits ever, but his off-field transgressions involving gambling led MLB to rule him ineligible for the baseball Hall. His 4,256 base hits are 67 more than the next best, Ty Cobb, but while there were no illegal drugs or other substances helping Rose pile up all those hits, baseball’s fathers said he brought shame to the game with his gambling activities and would therefore never see his bust mounted in the hallowed hall in Cooperstown.

Rose died on Monday at the age of 83, which leads me to list my favourite Roses: Justin, Pete, Red (hot tea), Axl and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the mother of JFK.

â€¢ Short snappers: The wasp problem in our neck of the woods was worse this year, according to one report I read, because of the northern Alberta wildfires, which drove the wasps south. â€¦ Least surprising statistical information of the week: That Hatters’ satisfaction of local government has fallen to 49 per cent from 81 two years ago. â€¦ It’s not the Medicine Hat Curling Club anymore. It’s now known as “RME Place, Home of the Medicine Hat Curling Centre,” after Rocky Mountain Equipment (RME) acquired naming rights to the facility. â€¦ Not sure why, but I haven’t seen a movie in a local theatre in ages. I intended to see Twisters, but dithering got in the way. It’s 2024, though, so there are a variety of options when a movie leaves town.