Edmonton Retired Teachers’ Association

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

March 2013
President’s Message
As we approach the wonder of a new spring, we are reminded that new life and new hope prevail. After a long winter, we yearn for the sun to warm the earth, the soft, refreshing rain to encourage new life to spring forth and to feel the caress of a light, gentle breeze.
A green bud, the beauty of a spring flower, the singing of the birds and the blueness of the sky are all signs of life renewed.
As we approach the season of renewal, we look forward with anticipation and, perhaps, even some reservation.
Dark clouds are gathering. It could be a stormy spring with the imposition of a wage freeze on the medical profession, the province’s financial woes, the looming budget realities and the economic uncertainty in Washington. What will be the ramification of the implementation of $85 billion in automatic cuts in discretionary spending as sequestration takes effect over the next seven months?
What will be the ripple effect on Canadians and Albertans as the largest democracy on the planet lurches from one crisis to the next? Will there be another eleventh-hour deal to avoid the latest fiscal cliff?
Heavenly bodies created quite a stir a couple of weeks ago when an errant asteroid passed, without incident, inside the ring of satellites that circle the Earth only to be upstaged by a much smaller meteor. The little upstart blazed across the western Siberian sky producing a dramatic fireball before it shattered into pieces, startling residents in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, causing considerable damage and resulting in numerous injuries.
Back down on Earth, the Vatican is rocked by scandal just as cardinals from around the world are gathering in Rome to elect a new pope following the resignation, for health reasons, of Pope Benedict XVI—an event unheard of in recent church history. Speculation about from where the next pope will hail abounds. In the next few weeks puffs of white smoke will alert the world that a new pope has been chosen.
What new wonders will this spring bring?
Vi Oko
President
 Email: vi.oko@edmontonrta.org