Winning and Losing in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada

Walter, wow, wow, wow!   I love your reflections.  Please keep them coming.  I also concur with your analysis in the email below 100%.  Pollster John Zogby in 2008 detected a trend in the U.S.  He called it "authentic."  You state this here.  People, he estimates it at 48% then, are moving toward the value of "authenticity."  They are tired of fakes, phonies, and frauds lying to them, exploiting them, and destroying them.  Zogby argues Americans have two traditions.  One is commercial; the other is conscience.  New England has its roots in Puritan conscience, not commerce, which came later.  Walden Pond is a symbol of this authenticity, and Zogby says Americans, and Canadians too, as North Americans, are moving more and more toward their versions of Walden Pond.  They are willing to work for less if they can have time for themselves and those whom they love, their neighbors, communities.  You document this superbly in your description of the musical event in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.  There is hope in this.  One of the best experiences of my life were the four years in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada.  I did not know it at the time, but my time there was one of the few in my lifetime where I felt a sense of community, which is absolutely basic to mental, social health.  At the time, I thought it was exile; as the Chinese say, who is winning and losing depends on when you ask the question.  Now, maturity has framed those years as one of the greatest learning, living experiences of my life.  Dear friend, we see the world the same way.  It is comforting to know that you value what I do, see what I do, and hope for what I do.  Please consider collecting your poetry, essays into some book format.  It could be paperback.  It could be self-published.  Make it your heritage to those seeking authentic.  God bless, Paul