Well, the summer travelling has come to an end - and in part I’m sad because I’ve left my parents behind, but also glad because my own family is reunited.

There are so many things to say about my recent trip to Winnipeg.  I’ve been away from the city for three years now, and the last time I visited was October of last year (before I got too pregnant to travel!). It’s interesting how nothing changes for years and all of a sudden, it seems as though everything does.  This however is the subject of a different post.

The most important thing I want to say today, is that I’m proud of my city.  And not in some patriotic way, but in how a large city like Winnipeg can pull together and be actually humane in a time of great sorrow.  Winnipeg stood at the ready to help a family in need, and I can’t say enough how relieved I am to see that humanity and compassion are still a possibility in our world today.  I’m sure many of my readers will have heard about the tragedy which occurred, where a young man was killed on a Greyhound bus.  Out of respect for the family that’s enough detail, and I’m disgusted with the media for publishing what it did while that family was mourning the loss of their loved one.  Absolutely disgusting.  Details were released that did not enhance our knowledge of the incident, but only provided gore and sated any that were curious.  I hope that enough people will show their disgust and demand more of the media than providing sensationalistic, ratings-driven media coverage.  Again, that’s another story.

What I am proud of though, is how Winnipeg came together to protect the family from zealous extremists who threatened to protest Canada and its stance on gay marriage at this poor man’s funeral.  Winnipegers, out of respect for the family, stood quietly outside the church ready to shield the family from those horrific people who would advance their own agenda while a family grieves.

Winnipeg over the years has become a rough city - more murders per capita than anywhere else in Canada, rampant gang violence and random attacks.  In reading the news in Winnipeg, one might think all is lost.  On the other hand, here are people standing together and collectively saying “No”.  Even in this day and age, and amidst violence and often seeming chaos, there is a sense of community and good can prevail.  It happened in Winnipeg, and it can happen anywhere.