It’s a new year, a clean slate and for better or worse we will soon be making history.
As I look forward there are a lot of things in the world to get worked up about. Trumps next move, Brexit chaos, riots in France and the Saudi’s running amuck abroad.
Here at home we have an energy problem, oil or new technology? There are serious issues with China, and Canada/U.S. relations are shaky. There’s a federal election this year that may effect the carbon tax and the push towards universal pharmacare.
There’s a housing crisis in B.C. and we can’t decide if we are saving whales or building pipelines. Our car insurance rates are going up, there’s not enough workers to fill jobs and our transportation system is at gridlock most of the time.
In South Delta we have problems too, we need a new Fraser River crossing, more housing for our changing demographic and an agriculture shift towards pot may make us all high.
Like a lot of people this Christmas season I had a few packages delivered to my door. A brief, but potent encounter with a very chatty UPS deliver man provided me with a few rules to live by in 2019.
Dressed neatly in his brown shorts and UPS jacket Roy stood on my front porch with package in hand. I casually asked him how his day was.
“I’ve been doing this job for 32 years and I’ve seen it all, but the year has been bad, so many packages being stolen from peoples’ front doors, it’s discouraging.”
I could relate, I was also feeling disappointed in my fellow man. My local social media feed has been littered with stories of stolen Christmas light displays, wrapped cases of beer left out for the garbage men stolen before dawn and iPads lifted from front yards.
“What can do we do about it,” I asked Roy.
“Get to know your neighbour, that’s very important,” he said.
That comes in handy for Roy because if you’re not home he can leave your package with your trusted neighbour.
Roy’s delivered to some seriously bad neighbourhoods.
“Appreciate where you live, Ladner and Tsawwassen are the best places to deliver,” he said. “Don’t shoot the messenger. There’s always more to a story than you know. Take pride in your job and put in a good days work, if more people loved their job we would all be better off.”
As I watched him jump into his UPS truck I knew Roy and I couldn’t solve the worlds’ problems, but in that moment we agreed on a few fundamental truths.
Meeting quality people like Roy who are quietly trying to figure out how to navigate this crazy world is comforting as a new year begins. It’s true, we are not alone in our fears and our insecurities. We are all in this together.
Happy new year and bring on 2019.
Ingrid Abbott is a freelance broadcaster and writer who is an insufferable optimist who only sees blue skies and clear sailings for 2019, until she can’t find her car keys.
