"CAR !!!"

Okay - there is simply nothing I can say about this beyond - SERIOUSLY ???

On CBC today The Current had a discussion about the story out of Quebec about a father fighting a seventy five dollar fine that he and his kids received for playing STREET HOCKEY!!!

(click here to read the story: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/03/23/montreal-street-hockey-fine.html)

There are bylaws against kids playing in the street in our country!

This is one of those moments when you really have to wonder what the heck our politicians and bureaucrats are thinking ... no scratch that, they clearly ARE NOT THINKING. In a time when we hear over and over the concern about obesity among our youth, and the levels of inactivity amongst our young people is reaching epidemic proportions, this is unbelievable ... we want our kids to exercise and be active, but then we have by-laws that prohibit the most Canadian of ALL outdoors activities - STREET HOCKEY !!!

I can remember as a kid when we used Burritt street in Stratford as our Hockey rink ... Rick, Bruce, Dave, Paul, Steve, Karen and any others who came along were part of the ever changing circle of players ... there were days we hit the icy pavement not long after dawn, and played long into the night ... when it got dark we moved our nets closer to the street lights and played in their glowing cone !!

We would head home for lunch only when called repeatedly by our parents, and we would take snack and refreshment breaks by heading over to Joe's Pinto ... keeping score wasn't as important as keeping the game going ... and the cry of "CAR !!!" and the necessary relocating of the nets to let the intruding vehicle pass was simply part of the game ...

Like the commentators on The Current said - "every street has it's grouch" ... unfortunately, we seem to live in a world where the desire to appease these grouches has prevailed, and our legislative decisions have disempowered those who chose to have spontaneous, low cost and healthy fun ...

Man ... this is unbelievable ... makes me want to start a campaign of civil disobedience ... organize a National Street Hockey Day that fills our streets with kids, nets, sticks and frozen tennis balls - all in the name of Nationalist Pride !!

Hmmm ... might be an idea ...