Thursday Tidbits

Posted on October 17, 2019 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

I want to talk about the upcoming Federal election in Canada.

Actually, this is the last thing in the world I want to be talking about. My disdain and despair for the discourse and conduct in this particular election is well known to regular readers of my column. Our country is starting to resemble our neighbors to the south and in other countries where respecting other point of views has gone the way of the dodo bird. Politics is becoming more and more tribal in our country. Respectful debate among politicians and ordinary citizens is hard to find these days. Everyone seems so entrenched in their own point of view.

I have had the privilege of driving across Canada from coast to coast on many occasions and I have lived, at times, in three different provinces. I understand why it is a difficult country to govern. There are so many competing interests and regional differences. But this doesn’t mean that we must be nasty to those who don’t share our politics or values.

Maybe I’m just getting old and cranky but it seems that we have lost the gift of civility when it comes to politics. I am not naïve. Politics has been a bare knuckle sport since Confederation. It may be because of social media, where news and fake news gets bandied about every second of the day, that the playing field has changed.

The only thing possibly more disturbing than the venomous rhetoric that we have become accustomed to might be apathy. When the stakes are so high, why do so many people sit on their hands and refuse to take the time to go and vote?

I voted in one of the advance polls. To me, this is one of the great privileges of living in a democracy. Please get out and vote next Monday.

In case you missed this yesterday on Facebook, I am alerting readers that my Camino books are going fast so if you’re planning to buy one or more (for Christmas presents!) you might want to do so sooner than later.

When I first started publishing books, I was forced to buy large quantities of books to keep the unit cost down. This only works if you have walk in closets in your home to store them or a separate baby barn… or an industrial sized dumpster! Storing books is a pain in the butt. Over time, I have been able to source smaller runs of books so I basically order what I think I can sell. For some reason, my Camino book is selling very well and I am not likely to do a second run. I have learned from experience not to get too overzealous and order a second run.

Of course, this does NOT apply to my books on sale through Amazon. They can be purchased at any time as they are printed on demand, one copy at a time.

So if you’re living near my hometown and want to get a copy of my book you can either contact me directly as some of you have already done (lenpdmacdonald@gmail.com) and I can arrange to meet you. Alternatively, you can go to the Antigonish 5 to $1.00 and pick one up there. They will charge you tax. I won’t. If you live outside the area (anywhere in North America) and want an autographed copy, just fire me off an e-mail with your address. I’ll sign the book, package it up and ship it to you. You can send me an e-transfer.

If you have any thoughts of ever doing the Camino (I know a few people who are going next year!), this book would be quite helpful as each chapter has a “Camino tip”. I learned a lot about doing a long walk. If you want to know what to pack (and what not to pack), how much cash you need to keep on hand and the merits of carrying toilet paper, then this book is a must.

P.S. I’m hoping to drive around the Cabot Trail next week and can personally deliver books to any of my friends that I met during my recent walk.

Sorry for all this shameful self-promotion but unfortunately this is what a self-published author ends up doing to survive and pay fixed costs.

I know enough about the book business now to do a seminar if any of you are thinking of writing a book. Or, you can try your luck at the slots in Vegas. The odds of success are about the same!

Have a great weekend.

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