If the National Leaders Were Muppets.

Based on the leadership debate, I got wondering what each leader would be like as a muppet.  I’m sorry, but that’s just how my mind works.  Okay.  Here we go.

    

Stephen Harper.  He is the leader of the band of misfits.  All of the band members have their own bizarre personalities and agendas, but somehow, Harper gets them all to play together to with a fairly consistent quality result. 

Parliament is the gig man… Hit it!!... Yeah dudes ....you sound so melodiously righteous when you actually vote for something that’s good for Canadians. Wait...Hold it...someone missed their cue.  From the top guys!
        

What can I say about Gilles Duceppe?  He is Sam the eagle.  If you don’t get this, you never watched the muppets.  Sam is the quintessential patriot with absolutely no desire to listen to anyone else’s point of view.  He is Quebecois and is as outrageous as the French Knights in Monty Python's Holy Grail.  "You don't frighten us, English pig-dog! Go and boil your bottoms, son of a silly person. I blow my nose on you, so-called Harper-king, you and your silly English K...kaniggservatives."  If it’s his way or the highway; how are we going to fit Quebec City on a truck?

Jack Layton was a hard one to choose.  I did this one based on personality rather than looks.  Everyone likes Jack Layton, but when he speaks it is beyond comprehension.  He is the one leader who everyone would like to vote for if he was in a different party.  He is like the brother in law who everybody loves, but wouldn't trust to go to the 7-11 for milk.  Reporter: “Jack, explain how the NDP would tackle the macroeconomic impact of the financial meltdown on the auto sector?”  Jack: “Dun't vurry iff yuoo boorn zee tup, joost toorn it upseede-doon und blame-a zee Gonzervative und Liveral Bork Bork Bork!”

Michael Ignatieff.  Ahh…Iggy.  There are so many muppets with great eyebrows that it was hard to choose.  In the end however, it was the count that was the match.  “One tax increase….Two tax increase……Fifty three tax increase Ah ah ah ah….” I am not saying that Iggy is the epitome of evil or the devil incarnate...well okay, maybe I am.  But trying to find him in the House of Commons is like trying to find the Count at high noon on a sunny summer day.  Just saying.

All this being said, Canadian politics brings out the best of us.  It is typically Canadian.  Funny, engaging, outrageous and rarely takes it self seriously.  Nobody gets shot by a rifle, registered or not and no one ends up on Oprah or with their own reality show....Actually, I could see it.  Duceppe's Quebec where a zany Francophone politician tries to separate by digging a ditch around the province and re-routing the St. Lawrence.
I digress.  Here is the Reasonable Prophet signing off.

         

Making a Difference

For anyone who has known me for a while will attest, my job has defined who I am.  Because of recent events, I have been forced to make a change.  Day to day we all strive to do well at our jobs without burning out, but keeping with the metaphor, how many of us actually achieve something above putting out the fires?

I have been lucky in accepting a position which allows me to make a positive difference in people's lives.  I help them towards a new career by providing them with an opportunity to train towards a career in the trades.  If I had it to do all over again, I would choose a trade.  I have been an amateur cabinet maker who has actually done some custom commissions and enjoy the fulfillment that both my client and I enjoy as a result.

I have spent the majority of my career concerning myself with sales figures and where I placed on a company spreadsheet in terms of results.  While measurable achievement is a method of performance ability, it is in essence transitory at best.  In fact, my resume reflects over 15 years of effort for companies which no longer exist.

One memory in particular represents what my commitment to my employer resulted in.  I interrupted a week long vacation with my young family in order to attend a sales meeting in Toronto.  My wonderful wife never complained and took my children to the zoo in Toronto.  I spent all day Wednesday in a stuffy board room (or should I say bored room)  while my family was out making memories.

I no longer remember what the product was that I was that I was learning about, and the company I worked for no longer exists.  What a waste.  My company not only ruined my vacation, but this "mandatory meeting" simply was not as important as my rest and time with my family.  People talk about selling out, but in this case I feel as if I was held up and robbed.

We have such a short time in this life to make a difference in people's lives, and up until this point, I have not been able in my professional life to commit to that obligation.  Now I am in a position to do so.  The monetary compensation is not immediately as great as in my former position, but I feel much more satisfied and happy.  Is that not really what it is all about?