Took my mom to market and then the Toronto Zoo on Saturday- a little cabbal of me, mom, Linda, and Linda's sister and boyfriend, Val & Scott. It was a really nice day! Linda coordinated, so we managed to schedule our walkabout to see the polar bears and giraffes fed, which was verra cool- we watched the seals play, saw one smart hippo open his maw repeatedly for zoo watchers to throw grass in, we saw the cheetah, siberian tiger, zebras, wallabes, lions, a restless octopus, fun-loving otters, monkeys, gorrillas, and orangutans... what a day. We had dinner (which I will not pass public judgment on...), and got mom off to her friend's place, and finally got home for about 10pm. A l-o-n-g day. But a good one.
Sunday morning, we hauled our butts our of bed for the Bike & Hike for heart. We ended up doing the 5k walk, and we brought Dallas along, who loved it. Everyone thought she looked (and acted) like a puppy, which is what I hope they're still saying about me when I'm her age... (9x9=81 in dog years...). Sadly, Linda spent the rest of the day down with allergies from all the fresh grass and pollen in the air.
Later we watched The Walmart Story- a compilation of news reports on Walmart's predatory pricing, dishonest marketing, negative influence on both downtown areas and the local economies they descend on, as well as the prevalence of offshore production and use of child labour in textile productions. It was pretty ugly, and not unexpected, but still- it's an eye-opener to see how bad it is, and yet they still enjoy a high level of acceptance, despite the scandal around them. I have to shake my head, at how easily we tend to ignore broad social ills when we see a bargain on shampoo or toilet paper. Ugh.
On a related (sort of) note, just ordered David Gilbert's No Surrender- his collection of writings from prison, and retrospective on his time with the Weather Underground and various civil rights and anti-Vietnam movements. Should be good! Try www.akpress.org - search by title for more info...
