It was not a nice day. It took forever to warm up the car. The tires scrunched as they bumped across tiny moguls of snow. It was so cold outside, cold enough that it actually hurt. And, we thought last winter was brutal. This one downright belongs in the hands of the Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Humans. You know?

 

          We haven't had a decent winter, a spring, a summer, or even a fall, that I can remember.

 

          But we are into a New Year and a new decade, and, so we have to get renewed. That will take a lot for me to pull off.

 

          There is still plenty of good news going on in our city and province. What a lot of this year is going to be all about will touch down here in Regina the January 9^th weekend. The Olympic Torch will visit Regina on its way around the country, starting out in B.C. and going across the north, down to the Maritimes, across Canada, and into Vancouver in time to start the billion dollar Winter Olympics. You get the feeling that every available cop in Canada will be at the Olympics. Because the world continues to be held up by that bunch of terrorists, who did not even live here, and hide in the mountains somewhere, plotting to blow up airplanes with innocent and harmless people on them.

 

          There will be a lot of people going out in the January chill to catch a glimpse of the Olympic Torch as the people chosen to carry it here trudge through the winter wonderland that is Regina. You should see the people who have volunteered to be a part of the Torch run from Exit Realty Fusion. As usual, if there's a community event, chances are they will be at it.

 

          The provincial government will no doubt be there too in some role that will set up for the TV cameras. The government of Brad Wall has steered the province in the right direction, and even the collapse of the world potash industry has not kept Saskatchewan from being expected to be one of the economic leaders in Canada. Mostly, Wall's government has made the right moves, which is not all that tough when they found themselves as the custodians of a suddenly booming economy when elected.

 

          But, they might have rushed things, or got caught up in a North American movement, when they started to toy with the law regarding the use of cellular phones and Blackberries. More and more people were using these things while driving, and it was distracting, and when texting took over, the danger increased. And, so, governments banned the use of them while you are driving a car.

 

          If caught here, it will cost you a $280 fine and you will get four points against you on your license.

 

          The trouble is, they might have not given this new law and its ramifications enough thought before they made it law. The biggest problem with driving while using these contraptions is texting. You have to be looking at your little magic machine in order to read a text or send a text. Your eyes can't be on the road, and that is why there is danger. I have long contended that the invention of text messaging is the greatest threat to the human race there has been in decades. Because it is teaching people not to have conversations in person. It is teaching them to not get to know the people they are texting. It also is teaching them that spelling and grammar no longer are important. That is my two cents worth.

 

          The government should have been put in a sweeping ban on the use of these things while driving. They should only have been banned text messaging while driving. What difference does it make if you are holding a phone and talking, or are talking through a gadget stuck on your ear or on the visor of you vehicle?

 

          It makes no difference. Either way, part of your concentration will be on the phone conversation while you are driving. And, how many accidents will be caused by drivers receiving a call and trying to pull off to the side of the road to answer it?

 

          It is obvious that nobody in government gave this the kind of serious thought it should have received. Why was that? Because it seemed a politically popular move.

 

          And, no, I do not text. My wife gave me a Blackberry. Three days later, I took it back. It was driving me crazy. That's what I mean. I'm too old to take on any renewal stuff.