Panic now, avoid the rush

(With respect to the Calgary Flames management finally succumbing to trading Jarome Iginla to the Pittsburgh Penguins....)

This being Calgary, it's lovely and warm today, unlike when I took the picture below last week.



All that lovely happy stuff I mentioned at the end of the last blog post came to an screeching halt with my most recent panic attack last night: I've sort of lost track how many I've had in the last two years, given the first two months were basically a very extended one. They are, at least, coming less and less frequently however, as that was the first bad one since October.

Truth be told, this one was also much less physical: no hysterical sobbing for hours while curled up in the fetal position, for example, although there was a fair bit of yelling at my computer, and at the person who received the email that got sent in the middle of it. But all that means is that my brain hyperventilated, panicked, and was highjacked by a weird and crazy person.



If I could just be able to conjure up a vision like this and quiet down the noise before the feedback loop sets up....

Oh well.

As mental therapy, I decided to sit and spin some of my ongoing project for awhile, but that became derailed when, as I was listening to the radio as I spun, the word came that Ralph Klein died this morning. Whether you loved him or hated him, you couldn't live in Calgary for the last 35 or so years and not noticed the impact he made in this city. Ralph was no intellectual, but he had a common touch, and, so long as he wasn't drunk, was always fun to be around.

The last time I saw him was June 2011, at the opening of Ralph Klein Park, when he made a surprise appearance. He walked into the room I was in, came over with the biggest smile on his face, held my hands, and I told him that it was so good to see him again. I'm glad I had a chance to say good-bye. Here's to you, Ralph, from some other good old boys.