History in the Making

Just got done watching the Obama love fest that was his inauguration. God I hope all the hype is worth it.

All those poeple. Is it just because he's the first African-American president, or is it for the man? If he were a Beatle he would think he's bigger than Jesus.

I know he isn't the leader of my country. That's Steven Harper. This guy.

America gets a rock star. We get an accountant.

But nearly everything that happens down there has ramifications up here. A few years ago I worked for a vehicle transfer service. We spent most of our summers delivering school bus after school bus from a plant in Quebec to parts all over the eastern seaboard states as well as across Canada. Business was good and the money was just pouring in as fast as you could spend it.

I remember late August or early in September one year we delivered a bunch to Amityville on Long Island. The crew chief decided to play tour guide on the way out of town. The route he choose took us through southern Manhatten and past the World Trade Center.

Unfortunately, I was stuck on the opposite side of the van and saw nothing more than the gound floor as we passed. I wasn't too concerned, though. I was sure we would be back again and I would have another chance to see it.

The year? 2001. We all know what happened about a week or two later.

In the storm of national unity that followed September 11, the desire for buses made in Canada all but dried up. I'm not saying that love for your country is a bad thing. My whole point in this is to say that whatever happens in the US will have an effect on us and, indeed, the rest of the world. That factory we used to pick the buses up at? Empty. Where there were rows of cab and chassis waiting for conversion there is now only snow and weeds.

Today's economic climate has even broader ramifications. We've recently lost two food production plants in this town. A larger employer in nearby Belleville that made parts for the auto industry is gone. Other factories are on extended shut down. While I worry for friends fighting in Afghanistan, its the war that brings the only bright light. Growth at CFB Trenton is currently the one thing this town has to look forward to.

I wouldn't want to be Prime Minister in this country. We have the geographic size of Russia and the tax base of California. Finding the money to do everything is next to impossible without taxing the poor serfs to death.

So here's to Barack Obama. I sincerely hope he is everything the Unites States of America needs at this time.