So, what would you call this item?

Looking it up, I find several choices: singlet, tank top, sleeveless undershirt. And sadly, I also still find the unacceptable 'wife-beater'. 

The term apparently came about as the result of a case of domestic violence that dates back to 1947, which means it has been around far too long. Last I heard (though I don't patronize them) Amazon was still using this ugly terminology to describe sleeveless undershirts. 

Especially today, the first day of an extended observance that seeks the Elimination of Violence Against Women seems like a day to call a singlet a singlet (or one of the other terms that don't seem to extol violence).  

We here in Canada will also be observing this theme on December 6th, the date we remember the mass murder of 14 brilliant women at the Ecole Polytechnique. 

It's not even four o'clock and it's just about dark here. Dark times indeed when women are harmed -- or even killed -- pretty much simply because they're women. 

Towards agreement??

Canada Post workers have been without a reasonable settlement to their contract for over a year now. Last December their strategy was meant to make their point by disrupting the delivery of Christmas cards and parcels. But the trouble was, that ploy didn't work. 

It caused plenty of inconvenience to people outside of Canada who wanted to send gifts and greetings to friends here, but Canadians mostly took to using alternate delivery services, like UPS or Purolator. Besides, it gave us a good excuse to quit or at least cut back on the number of cards we sent. 

Finally, it's beginning to look like some sort of arrangement, satisfactory to both sides of the bargaining table, might be in the works. It all sounds pretty tentative, but I like to think that both sides are reaching out, seeking a meaningful and lasting resolution--sort of like the way the flag in front of our local post office seems to be reaching to grab hold of the little tree out front. 

Now, if only some kind of agreement could be reached that would see the end of the terrible war in Ukraine. And not a list of demands assembled by the Russians, a plan that would see Ukrainians worse than before Russia invaded there, nearly four years ago. 

Reaching for an agreement, I'm hoping, one that will mean a lasting peace. 

Reflecting

So. What to say. Hard to know. 

Did it end with a bang or a whimper.

Still feels like heartbreak. It certainly felt like more than 'just a game', especially the way the whole country seemed so united behind our team. 

Maybe the 'extra hour' of sleep will help. 

Back to bed.