麻豆传媒

Remember Andy Rooney?

He was the cantankerous old guy who had a weekly feature on the long-running CBS news program 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� in which he gave his opinions and thoughts on any topic that happened to tickle his fancy that week.聽 It really could be anything; a major news item making the rounds, a trend in popular culture, and one time he even managed to do a piece on batteries.聽 I鈥檓 dead serious, he did a whole piece on different battery sizes and why they bothered him.

This week, I guess you could say I鈥檓 channeling my inner Andy Rooney, except I鈥檓 not going to bore you with complaints about battery sizes.

No, I鈥檓 simply going to sound off on a few things that are making the rounds, whether it鈥檚 here at home, across the country, or elsewhere.

You鈥檝e probably read one of these columns from me before, as I typically call it the 鈥渕ixed bag鈥� of my opinions and thoughts.

You don鈥檛 have to agree with them, though perhaps you may, and you may not even like them, or maybe you will, but they鈥檙e simply the things that I鈥檓 feeling right now鈥�

So with the carbon tax taking effect, it turns out I鈥檓 getting back about $306 more than usual on my federal tax refund.聽 Gee, thanks Mr. Prime Minister!聽 Thanks for giving me back more of my own money to begin with!聽 Of course, the few extra hundred bucks looks great on paper until Canadians realize that it鈥檒l be required when the price of gas and groceries skyrocket, thanks of course to鈥�..the carbon tax.聽 It鈥檚 like a very frustrating, very condescending Merry-Go-Round.聽 鈥淥ohh, isn鈥檛 it great that we鈥檙e giving you back more money?聽 But you better not spend it all, you鈥檙e going to need it when life itself starts to become even more expensive in the months ahead!鈥�

We鈥檙e in that weather period where it鈥檚 the end of winter, but it鈥檚 still not quite spring.聽 There鈥檚 mud everywhere, puddles give your vehicle a nice splash of dirty water, and we鈥檙e all just hoping that things dry up quick.聽 It鈥檚 gross, and I hate it.

鈥楥aptain Marvel鈥� is all the rage at the box office right now, and much of the hype around it is over the fact that it鈥檚 the first female-led Marvel movie.聽 At the risk of coming across like someone who doesn鈥檛 鈥済et it鈥�, who cares?聽 Remember when a movie could just be a movie, or a TV show could just be a TV show without all the societal commentary?聽 Or without telling us why a movie is supposedly such a 鈥渢rendsetter鈥�?聽 In other words, I miss the time when movies and television were supposed to be escapism from the everyday world.

I鈥檝e come to terms with the sad fact that the SkyTrail walking bridge is going to be something from Outlook鈥檚 past because I fail to see any kind of future for it.聽 We failed to maintain it when we knew something was wrong with it, and we let too much time go by.聽 Now, the dollar figures are just far too high and there are other priorities that鈥檒l take up at least the next 5-10 years.

I have a very real concern that the new swimming pool facility in Outlook is ultimately going to be a failure in the long run.聽 Now before you break out the pitchforks and come a-callin鈥� for my head, you have to know that I obviously want this pool to succeed, and I know that anyone with a vested interest in it certainly does too.聽 But in my view, there are simply too many obstacles in its way.聽 First off is the projected $200,000+ it鈥檒l cost to run the pool each year.聽 As sure as I am that there are a lot of swimmers anxiously awaiting the opening of the pool, you can鈥檛 tell me that it鈥檚 going to generate anywhere near that kind of dollar amount within the approximate three-month time period that it鈥檒l be open out of the year.聽 Outside of the finite dollar figures, there鈥檚 the argument of public appeal.聽 Exactly how many families book swimming lessons?聽 How many would commit to taking them in Outlook?聽 Or do they prefer swimming down at Lake Diefenbaker, or even on a sand bar down by the river, both of which are free?

Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I think the new pool looks absolutely incredible, and it鈥檚 something that鈥檒l go down in the history books as a milestone infrastructure project for Outlook, but it鈥檚 the future that worries me; the sheer sustainability of such an impressive facility in a community that will now be on the hook from a financial perspective.

Sometimes I wonder if the money that鈥檚 been raised so far should鈥檝e just been used to correct the whole 鈥榣and sliding towards the river鈥� problem and completely fix the old swimming pool in the Outlook Regional Park.聽 At least in that scenario, you鈥檙e lending a helping hand to a struggling park by vastly improving a once-cherished amenity, and you鈥檙e also satisfying the whims of the many people who continue to ask to this day, 鈥淲hy鈥檚 the new pool not in the park?鈥�

At the end of the day, when it comes to the new pool, I guess you can just consider me someone who really, really, REALLY wants to be proven wrong with my views on it. 聽And believe me, Outlook鈥檚 coffers really want me to be proven wrong too!

Okay, you can break out the pitchforks now鈥�

For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.