Citizen Bytes

That was beautifully written.

Mariellen – Well said. Reading your column made me feel like I was tranced in a yoga class. For a brief moment, I forgot about the mortgage, utility bills, credit card bills, and expensive groceries. Then at the end, you reminded us of reality.

The reality is, is that we are united during hardening times – and not just in Toronto – not just in Canada – but the entire world. We are united by a common tie of difficult times. The world has been slapped with a heavy recession. But what goes up, must come down; and what goes down must bounce back up. In the meantime, we can get through by, as you said, living in the moment. Living in the moment is subjective.

For me, it meant forgetting about reality when I cut back and relax with a good swim. I concentrate on my strokes by feeling each muscle pull and contract. With each handful of water, I imagine throwing it back to where I came from as to send myself streaming through the water like a shark. Living in the moment helps us through hard times.

As a recent graduate of Toronto, I felt the swift power of the recession as I conducted my job search. A local consulting company caught my eye for several reasons. The key point to joining was their desire to make the world a better place. Specifically, doing a high percentage of charity work. When we heard word of the strike in Toronto, we all put our heads together to figure out how we could help. We made some calls, and within a few days, GarbageHelp.com was up and running. The website uses geographical information to help residents work together to clean up the trash.

I think this is beautiful – how a big city can come together like a little city. When I go for my regular jog, I inhale the fresh morning breeze and give thanks that our biggest problem is a union who refuses to let their employees back to work… or a stubborn mayor who refuses to put more money on the table… whichever way you want to think about it. In other parts of the world, they are faced with war, famine, hate, and other living conditions which my imagination does not have the capacity to comprehend. In the past, our ancestors who occupied the vary air which we breathe now, were faced with wars which completely tore apart any sense of life. Compared to this, we are living in paradise.

Indeed, the universe is unfolding perfectly, and we should all continue working together for our greater economic good.

This sounds (reads) like the kind of editor I could work with when I am ready. I am working on a complex, but narrative, book about life in time. If she wants, I would send her a summary for her comments. My E-mail is geisel@interlynx.net
First name Ernie

Thank you - for putting this into words. Each I ride to work along the Gooodman trail, counting swans along the way. I see picketers with iPods, and Tim's on the left and that enormous lake on the right. I can't quite understand why human greed, arrogance and control has lead to this. This is not a finger pointing post toward any side - but this strike sure sounds like a school yard melee! I am grateful for that which is - hopefully they too will someday.

These Toronto civil workers have no idea of the real working world because they have the strong union behind them. As a self employed individual I wish I had the option of taking "sick days" and getting paid for them let alone a guaranteed income,vacation and pension and then complain about how hard done bye I am.
This situation is a definite health hazard and the city and provincial government should show some leadership on directing this situation to an end.
As usual this McGinty government shows lack of leadership, broken promises, and cow- towing to labour with lack of interest and concern for the general population.

I read to the end, then smiled out loud. Thank you, Mariellen, for this.

Keep jogging lady.
Stop boring me.

I'm also a practicing yogi of 22 years and have lived in Mumbai. While I value the positive and loving approach of this author towards the issue of the garbage strike, I find it sidesteps the political problem completely. This is a real political problem, and new age introspection is not going to address it.

Yes, there is always beauty in Toronto, but as someone who has been to Delhi and travelled India, you should know how garbage and lack of city hygeine takes a collective toll on everyone. Furthermore, as a Western nation where people have the right to strike and demand more pay, people here have abused it.

The city workers are already paid enough, but like the TTC, school administrators, and other civil service positions, people feel they are entitled to be paid more for doing less at the expense of everyone. The greed of union leaders is, in the long term, going to actually damage the beautiful parks in our city.

I too enjoy our city's parks, however I am tired of the bureaucracy and ungratefulness of our city's unions. It's time that the government legislated them back to work for the safety of all. Their demands are unreasonable and even as someone with a spiritual background, I recognize the political need to put one's foot down.

Going for a walk in the park is not my idea of solving the problem. I would rather join a protest against the city workers.

Dear Mariellen,

I wish you had a good editor who might have suggested you leave out your slap-down of the strikers. It distracts (or provokes) and either way takes the reader away from your showing us where to look among the garbage and the flowers.

You left in the comment so lets ask Why?– not of you for the comment but "Why would any workers strike for such 'out of touch with reality' demands such as bankable sickdays?"

Neither you as a freelance writer/editor nor I as a photographer have such security.

One of my supplier's staff was as upset as you by "bankable sickdays". She is allowed five sick days a year and finds it difficult to accept that these workers should get eighteen and then be able to bank them on top of it all.

We briefly discussed what 5 sick days will cover for her. A cold takes about seven days to get over so her employer will support her through a cold. Swine flu, if it doesn't hospitalize us this fall, will hopefully take from 10 to 14 days for us to recover. Her employer's 5 days won't help much with influenza.

But, this isn't about the annual sick days to cover us throughout the year. Its those offensive "bankable sickdays" that are the wedge issue dividing us along the lines of those who have and those who don't. As a traveller to India you will have seen the reality of extreme economic disparity between rich and poor. (I've only lived in Toronto - but I'm seeing it here.)

A hypothetical scenario to consider bankable sickdays-

A single mom, good arts education – did some summer workshops in theatre and performance art before her kids came.

She had always been able to take care of herself but after the break-up she was scared and looking for some security.

She starts with seasonal work for the parks department. Loves the outdoors and the physical work – but it's seasonal.

She shores up her admin profile and gets inside work. Three years later and somehow she's in. Full time. Unionized.

She appreciates the job and the people she works with.
She does a good job.
She does everything she can for her kids.
She has a dental plan through work so the kids' teeth are fine.

She is now fourty-four years old.
She herself is rarely sick and has missed only a handful of days over fifteen years.
She does her annual check-ups with her doctor – the usual tests.
She goes back for more tests...something came up.

Her treatment will turn her body inside out.
She is down for months. The house is secure.

Unlike you or me she has the time and support beat this thing.

The universe will unfold perfectly – until you get sick.

Paul

(I too wish I had a good editor.)

Perhaps it depends on where in the city you live. Here by the Distillery District, the stench of putrifaction completely fills our apartment. There is no escape. We are sick to our stomachs, our heads hurt, our minds are foggy, we have chest pain, cannot work out or study (and I am a personal trainer and rather poor political science student), and outside it is even worse. I doubt you would have written this article if you'd been to my place.

Are you people going to tell me you would not take 18 sick days if your employer offered it!! It is not the workers fault the city gave this to them some 30 years ago.They are only asking for is theirs under previous contracts.They have "earned" these days under contract.Alot of workers have saved these days for years knowing they would get paid for them if they didn't use them.

It is an incentive to show up to work if your not really sick.These contracts are no different then those of professional athletes. If the athlete asks for x amount,and the team agrees to pay it, whose to blame? The city,just like professional sports franchises are to blame.They agree to these contracts,then bitch about it after.The councillors just got a 2.5% raise,and "now" the world is changing and we are in tough economic times.Don't see the councillors or Miller giving back their 2.5%.

The 2.5% Miller gave himself and the councillors is "cost of living only" that's a quote from Miller.Then he turns around and offers a three year deal at 0%,0% & 1%.Does the cost of living not go up for city workers the same amount as councillors? Then the next deal is 1%,1%,2% & 3%.So if cost of living goes up 2.5% a year that would be 10% in 4 years.This deal gives the workers 7%.You think Miller won't give himself & the councillors atleast that 2.5% raise again when the time comes?All the other unions in the city that recently settled got 3%,3%,3% & you guessed it 3%.

What is wrong with grandfathering in a new sick days program.Let those who have had this for up to 30 years have it and scale it down from there.Don't automatically blame the workers for this with"your lucky to have a job" and all those other comments until you know the whole story.They only want what was promised to them "under contract."

I just read the headline. Oh, by the way, I have bankable sick days at work!!
I work for the federal government.

Thank you, we need more writers like you in our world.

Thank you, we need more writers like you in our world.

Why do Canadians continually begrudge others more than they have themselves? The fact that this city and province eradicated my changes to make a living here and our self deflating attitude is why I am happy the USA provides me with a income.

Oh yes and Congrats to all of you that can ignore the increasingly ill run city including the latest city worker strike.

To the one who calls himsel "me"

"These contracts are no different then those of professional athletes."

Being, are you serious? You somehow think that because you are a city worker, who clearly doesn't do an 8th of the physical (and clearly mental) effort a profesionnal athlete does deserves the same amount of sick days they do? Keep watchin TSN while drinking your 50 pal. The author is right you're way out of touch with the real WORKING world.

2. As the saying goes: "Don't pee on my leg and tell me its raining, "Me"." We all know that those so called "sick" days will be used for convenient vacations or worse yet, added on to the "vacation days" you are already banking and getting more of than the rest of us. Don't expect me a taxpayer who pays your salary to content myself of 5 days so you can lay on your porch drinking beer because your, ahem "sick" for 18 days. There mere fact that these people are DEMANDING 18 bankable sick days when they don't work nearly as hard as people who get 18 days and know that most of only get 5 sick is proof that they are dishonest who clearly plan on ABUSING the privileges supposedly promised under their contract. Again, as a tax payer I don't intend to support peoplewho plan to "screw" me over.

3. Blocking the dump sites the city has designed while "you people" sit at home "striking" - because clearly if you're writing here its because you're not busy picketing. Shall we pay you for that too? - The last thing you are getting from putting the city under siege is sympathy.

4. Finally, I doubt any contract in the world offers what these so called "working people" claim is part of their contract. Seems tome like its a convenient "interpretation" of the contract strongly backed by a union. This isn't the 70s anymore, too many laws are in place protecting employees from lousy work conditions. They had a purpose in the 70s when employers were really crooked but there are so many laws now to make sure there no "near slavery" work conditions, unions are obsolete.

5. Get back to work.