I’ve been on holiday the past couple of weeks. But I returned to work today and first stop was the Law Courts Building for the Phoenix Sinclair trial.

First off, it’s terrific to be back at work.

As I'm writing this, the turkey is browning in the oven, the potatoes boiling and the yam and apple dish (a new recipe this year) cooking.

Today's topic is fear.Actually, it's more specific than that. I want to ask you if you're afraid of the consequences of our tumbling economy.In today's column (http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/columnists/top3/story/4236943p-4879922c.html) I talk about my belief that most of my generation (and the one that followed us) have spent so much time buying, buying, buying that they haven't stopped to think what will happen when the good times end.I'm a saver -- an obsessive saver -- with little interest in material things. My husband prides himself on wearing sweatshirts that cost less than 10 bucks. If I didn't love getting on airplanes so much I'd probably be retired now.We'll be OK although there's no guarantee our retirement will be as comfortable as I'd hoped.But my kids have no sense that the future may not be a non-stop party, filled with shiny objects they can have just because they want them. I keep trying to convince them to save more of what they earn but it's like talking to the wind.Are you worried about your financial security? Have you changed any of your practices as gas prices rise, the cost of food continues to go up and people are forced to default on their mortgages?

City councillors have handed a hot potato to civic officials, asking them to decide how to best handle roadside memorials.The rules on the book are very clear. The memorials are only allowed to reamin in place for six months. They must be well maintained. They shouldn't distract passing traffic. They can't be on the median.The problem is there is little enforcement.Things came to a head in Winnipeg recently when a memorial to two men killed on St. Mary's Road was removed a year after their deaths. Some think a city employee was responsible. Others think it was a neighbour who was tired of being reminded death had arrived near his house. Roadside memorials are banned in many cities and states.Their existence speak, I think, to changes in how we approach mourning. This used to be private and mostly confined to a religious environment. We're more secular now and people are looking for an outlet for their mourning. It's interesting that the objects chosen to mark the spots where tragedy occured often include a cross.Did all this begin in a post-Princess Diana frenzy, when hundreds of thousands of flowers were dropped on the street where she was killed? Have the lines between public and private grieving forever blurred?And what do you say to the folks who have the misfortune of living next to an accident site? Is their right to a quiet stretch of grass on their own street trumped by the sorrow of strangers?Check out tomorrow's column. Tell me what you think.

This isn't civics class and no one can see your hand go up. But I really want to know if you're planinng to vote October 14.If not, why not? If you are, have you already made up your mind? Is there anything that can sway you?Over the past few weeks, there have been gaffes (and apologies) galore. Would the forced resignation of Lesley Hughes sour you on the Liberal party? Does a stupid listeriosis comment render someone unfit to serve?In this age of Google, why would anyone take the risk of running at all?In tomorrow's column, you'll read about the sinking interest in voting in the 18-25 age group. I've got two kids in that cohort, including one who turned 18 yesterday. Is the youngest going to vote? Well, yeah, if I drive her there. Is she aware of any of the parties' positions? I doubt it. One person, one vote. I think it's your duty and your privilege to vote.What do you think?

First off, a story that reporter Gary Lawless posted to our website earlier today: Family Services and Housing minister Gord Mackintosh says his department won’t pay for spa days for an agency funded by his department. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation brought this issue to Mackintosh’s attention and his office quashed the possibility of payment for massage and manicures for staffers at the All Nations Coordinated Response Network, the federation said today in a news release. Back in May, the All Nations Coordinated Response Network held a wellness day for team building and staff morale,” said Mackintosh. “It’s an agency that is part of the network of agencies that work in child welfare. They’re accountable to the Southern Authority. They raised about $2,500 in sponsorships and corporate donations and there was about $2,300 left. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation brought this to our attention and we contacted the Southern Authority and they went back to the agency. We nipped it. It’s not an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money.”Tarot card reading, manicures, pedicures, make-up lessons and cooking lessons were some of the activities provided to employees during the spa day. The All Nations Coordinated Response Network is an agency that is funded by government grants.After the CTF filed information requests, the agency was told it could not use taxpayer dollars to pay the $2,292.81 bill for the inappropriate activities. Instead, the agency will have to fundraise in order to pay for the services provided to staff.Now, it's really hard to know where to go with this one. While the child welfare system in this province is in chaos, staff are off having their tarot cards read? Who is running this system? And how long can Gord Mackintosh continue to deflect questions to the Southern Authority's Elsie Flette?It's his department. The buck -- and the pedicures -- have to stop in his office.^^^Veteran journalist Lesley Hughes has been asked by Stephane Dion to step down as a Liberal candidate. The decision was reached after the blog world unearthed a troubling column Hughes had written post 9/11.Here's the link to the story:http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4231241p-4872441c.htmlTell me what you think? Should she have been forced to step down? Was she foolish to toss her hat in the ring in the first place?^^^Finally the six aboriginal foster children I've been writing about will not be returned to their non-native foster parents. They were seized in early September after allegations of inappropriate discipline. Turns out one of the nails in the coffin was a helpful neighbour who called CFS to say the kids were spending too much time doing yard work.In three weeks, these profoundly damaged kids (mom's a crack addict doing time for running a drug-ridden brothel in the family home) have been taken from the people who raised them for three years, moved to a hotel, separated, housed with a rotating series of caregivers in a St. Vital house and moved again. Word is they've been separated again.Why do I doubt the system, intent on having their futures told, are blind to the futures of these kids? Look for my column in tomorrow's paper.LATE BREAKING NEWS: I just got an e-mail from a Family Services communications person who  read this blog and claims the decision is not irrevocable. She says the investigation has yet to be completed. This flies in the face of what I was told by Anishinaabe honcho Dave Rundle Thursday and everyone else involved in the case Friday. I'll keep you posted. 7 p.m. Friday LR

Brian Sinclair began his medical odyssey Friday at a government-run health clinic. They packed him in a cab and had delivered him to HSC. Presumably, someone at the clinic thought he was sick enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.COLUMN: Patient's demise raises troubling questionsFor some reason, Sinclair arrived but was never checked in at the triage desk.Sinclair, 45, was an aboriginal man in a wheelchair. He was known to the emergency room staff, one of the homeless who take shelter at the hospital when they need a safe, warm place to sleep. Is that part of why he spent 34 hours in the ER without once being seen or spoken to by a nurse or doctor?We may never know.What we do know is that Sinclair died hours before a member of the public realized something was wrong and notified hospital staff.Hours.The hospital is scrambling to investigate this case. There's no question the ER staff are devastated. The key questions to be answered are: Why isn't there a system in place to make sure everyone in the waiting room has been triaged? Why does an inner-city hospital have to serve as a shelter for the homeless? Did racism play a part in this tragedy because other members of the public assumed Sinclair was just sleeping it off?Finally, are our waiting times for medical help so long that a man can sit in an ER for a day and a half and no one notices something is wrong?I don't have any answers. I only hope the HSC and the province hasten to provide them.In the meantime, here's a CNN link to a similar situation in the US, sent to my by colleague James Turner.

http://www.cnn.com/2008US/0701waiting.room.death/index.html

I thought I was done with Sarah Palin (other than obsessively reading about her, First Dude, the popularity of her eyeglasses and the old wrinkly guy campaigning with her) but I was wrong. Toronto journalist Heather Mallick, who used to write a puffball shopping column for The Globe and Mail, penned an opinion piece about the would-be American VP for the CBC (www.cbc.ca). Gently, we'll say she doesn't love the Alaskan. Gently, we'll say there are some Republicans reaching for the red phone and the nuke button in response. I've got a couple of links for you (and, yes, if I were smarter these would all be embedded but I'm not so click on them and figure it out): http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080920/world/us_cda_palin and here's a great one:http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=9796193&ch=222562And, just for fun, here's Matt Damon:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6urw_PWHYkNow, I'm admittedly one of those left-leaning liberal blah blah blahs, but does that blondie really represent Canada as it is? I thought she did everything but declare war. And did they really need to find some guy with a British accent to represent us? What, was Jean Chretien busy? I'm sitting here tonight and wondering how many different ways to be offended.

OK: The very best election moment (on either side of the border) had to be SNL Tina Fey alum doing a bang-on impersonation of Sarah Palin. Here it is:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/20080913/tina-fey-as-sarah-palin-o_n_126249.html

Could it have been any eerie? I don't care what you think of the Republicans or the Dems. This was just really good.^^^And on our side of the border ... yawn, stretch, sigh. There is so little excitement in this race I'd rather me out in Killarney for the turtle races. Is anyone feeling excitement? Is there any sense of anticipation out there?^^^Talk to me, folks. CFS, Sarah Palin, sweater vests, banning barking dogs ... what's on your mind?  Can the city actually get a leash (sorry!) on dog owners who let their animals bark uncontrollably for hours? What do you think would work?  

I got an angry e-mail from an acquaintance late last week. She was gobsmacked that the Manitoba Museum had sent out a casting call to local actors who wanted to appear in the museum's annual Halloween party.The problem?The theme was inspired by Jack the Ripper and the museum wanted two women with the ability to scream to play prostitutes.Jack the Ripper, of course, was an English serial killer who targeted prostitutes.Jennifer Berry, who works for TERF (a program helping women and youth transition off the streets) cried foul. There's nothing entertaining about the torture and death of women, she wrote.The great part? The museum's CEO agreed. Within minutes of receiving Berry's e-mail, Claudette Leclerc sent a note of apology to Berry (and to everyone copied on the original e-mail). Then she notified her staff that they'd be spending the weekend rewriting the script.Read my column in tomorrow's Free Press and let me know what you think.

The funeral of 86-year-old Philip Weiss took place at Shaarey Zedek this afternoon. It was a remarkable service celebrating an astonishing man.He and his family survived the Holocaust. Weiss was separated from his beloved younger brother Leo, who had always considered himself Philip's protector. Leo wept yesterday afternoon as he revealed he still feels a profound guilt for not being able to spare his brother the atrocities of the Nazis.Weiss was liberated from the second of his concentration camps on May 5, 1945. He eventually made his way to Winnipeg and became a business success. But his resonance as a great Manitoban came when he chose to relive the horrors of the war, insisting on giving life to the memories of those who perished.He educated thousands of young Manitobans, visiting their schools and universities and imploring them never to forget.And so, as elections are fought on both sides of the border, let's step away from partisan politics and remember a man who came through hell determined to prevent another Holocaust.

It's hard to know where to begin with the saga of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. She's a gun-toting, skidoo riding former beauty queen who was plucked from relative obscurity and chosen to be John McCain's running mate.Other than a lack of experience (not a small niggle given McCain is 72 and Palin might well end up running America) she seemed ideally suited to the Republican mantle. She opposes gay marriage. She opposes abortion. She's got a passle of kids including her youngest, a baby she said she and her husband knew had Down Syndrome before he was born.That Palin has already used her infant as a sword to wieild againsit those nasty Democrats and other ne'r-do-wells is revolting. Mommy could have had an abortion, she has said, but chose to bring little Trig into the world.Palin made the same choice hundreds of thousands of couples have made. No one else, to my knowledge, has then chosen to use their baby for political points.Then came word that Palin's 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant. That's a tragedy by any family's measure. Palin rushed to assure voters that young Bristol is marrying the father of the baby and the couple has the full support of the family.(The announcement was made to counteract Internet rumours that Bristol was actually Trig's mother and that Palin had faked her pregnancy to cover things up. Nope, said the erstwhile VP, that kid's mine. It's the one to be born in three months that belongs to my teenager).Try to imagine being a pregnant 17-year-old and having the world know the details. Try to imagine you and your fetus being used to score more points. Palin is against abortion, every family has bumps along the way and this baby will be surrounded by love.As one blogger quipped yesterday, are the young couple getting married because Palin is a card-carrying member of the NRA?A number of us were already queasy that a mother of five (including a special needs child) would accept the nomination. Women have earned their way into every position in this society. That's accepted.But Sarah Palin is a hypocrite if she waves the crown of motherhood while spend months on the campaign trail.You can't have it both ways.As for young Bristol, poor kid. Shame on her mother for sacrificing her child's privacy in order to further her own political ambitions.Look for my column in tomorrow's Free Press.

My column returns to the Free Press September 1.(WELL. ACTUALLY, THE SPIRIT IS WILLING BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK. MY DOCTOR TOLD ME TO TAKE A FEW MORE DAYS. SORRY ABOUT THAT. LR August 31) I'm coming back to work slowly and just part-time. I'm healing but I still need a lot of naps, my handy cane and a lot of understanding. I work in a newsroom so .... It's been a long and humbling summer. The accident was sudden and the results devastating. My doctor told me it would take six months to fully recover. I went from being unable to sit and moved to a hospital bed; left the Grace and came home to a hospital bed in my living room. From there, I went into a wheelchair so I could be taken out for "walks". This city is absurdly inaccesible for walkers and wheelchairs (but more on that in a future story).It took a few weeks but I transitioned to a walker and, finally, a cane. The day I was finally able to get back to Reh-Fit and start working out again seemed like a miracle. I'm trying to get there everyday because healing is my full-time job. It's really hard work but I'm determined to prove my doctors wrong.It'll be nice to be back. Hope you all enjoyed your summers.

This is the last posting for the summer, folks. The reaction to the Segway post made me realize there's a lot of free-floating anger and hostility out there that will do nothing to further my healing. So tomorrow I celebrate my birthday by tying balloons to my walker, watching my friends drinking champagne and hoping for the patience to enjoy the healing process.Enjoy the warm weather. We'll talk again in the fall.