Dreaming: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

Before you head off looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you had better make sure there is gold.

It is not unlike when we were kids and as we ran across the playing field we almost felt we could fly, we were dreaming.

Regretfully, over the past few years we have hitched ourselves to a bunch of dreamers at City Hall.

Think about it, a few years ago, with just a couple of weeks notice, we headed off to Taiwan.  We were told that the $20,000 dollars we were spending would come back hands over. There would be business opportunities, trade opportunities.  There were no business people buying into the trip.  So when the Taiwan team came home, we were told, hang onto your hats because its students we are about to get.

Well that was just short of four years and still no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

Then came that trip to China, "inroads"  was the buzz word, we had just mined gold, in addition to trade and business coming from that Asian country, well we will see some more students, that might have been driven in part by the fact that no businessman would take a leap at destiny to take the trip.

Then came Turin, send your best business rep. this is a home run, the gold is just there waiting for the pick up.

Well again, no businessman took the offer up although a hand full sent brochures. But now we were going to train athletes, just look at the commerce it will bring the city. We even set up a website talking about an ice oval that would be constructed in 2006. (still by the way on the web site) More dreams and still no reality.

Then, this past week a comment from Gerry Offet, well it may be harder to attract world class hockey players because of the size of the CN center ice surface. Right!. Then there is the comment from Don Basserman that perhaps we (the city) should ask for some beetle clean up money which could go to the Ice oval as a means of financing the project. More dreams less common sense, considering that in order to pay for the project we will need forestry jobs.

So what are we left with?  Dreams, and while the taxpayer weaves his or her way through the pot hole infested city they have reason to wonder aloud  as to why they are financing those dreams.

I’m Meisner and that is one man’s opinion.
    

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