Dear Editor,
I’m beginning to think the main reason people die is so they can find out at their funerals just what great people they were. It is unfortunate that a lot of what their eulogizers and others have to say about them upon their demise, was never told to them while they were alive. It is not inconceivable that a lot of them would still be around today had they been made aware of their status. If you have something nice to say about a person, say it before they die. Eulogies and flowers are a poor substitute to the dead. What makes this so apparent is the recent funeral for Jack Layton and even I, who follow these things diligently, was caught unaware of his great contribution to our state of wellness until I heard the great orator Stephen Lewis lay it all out for us during Jack’s funeral. Nothing I can say will add or detract from that homily for Jack. I believe most of us will be inclined to accept it as a incontrovertible statement of fact and undeniable for it’s humility. I’ve never voted for the NDP, mainly because they backed unionized labour, which in itself is good, but it leaves about thirty-three percent (a computer figure) of the labour force without a voice and very little chance of gaining one until such time as all employees attain a minimum thirty-seven and a half hourly work - weeks and not these two and three hour shifts that require many of them to hold two or three jobs in the service industries just to make ends meet. Labour members pay large union dues and have competent spokesmen on two levels, the Big Union Boss, who makes a better salary than the prime minister and additionally they have elected members in parliament advocating their cause. How can they lose? And if the big companies fall on hard times, as they did recently, they have government bailouts to fall back on. Jack Layton was a very pragmatic man, and I believe his life and funeral did more to advance the NDP cause more than any support they are apt to get from any other source in the foreseeable future. I believe Canada gained a great deal from the man, Jack Layton, both in life and in death. I also believe that our country is on a roll and the only way to go is forward. Let’s watch carefully and see what transpires. There has always been voices crying in the wilderness. I suspect Jack’s was one of them. If I was a betting man, I’d wager that Canadian politics will never be quite the same again.
Carl A. Huff
