Curling fling fizzles with awkward silence

25 years of remembering

There are days and events in one’s life that simply cannot be erased, nor should they. Such was that day, 25 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001.

The world remembered in silence at 9:46 AM (CST) in homage to the victims of that tragic event. Sadly many thousands would lose their lives in the wars that followed as a result of 9/11, including no less than 165 Canadians in Afghanistan. We shall remember them.

Following that solemn silence, attention in Canada and the United States will be drawn to Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, and understandably so.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I met a hot-looking guy at curling recently and he really annoyed me at first. Then I realized he was just trying to get my attention, one way or another.

I finally phoned him up and asked him out for drinks, and shocked him. We have been wild for each other’s bodies ever since.

The only trouble is he has a girlfriend working on a project in another province who will be back in May. We only meant this fling to be a joke, kind of like getting curling revenge on each other after our games, but now I’ve developed real feelings for him, not just sexual ones. Ugh.

I asked him if that was happening to him, and he went silent. Double ugh. What do you think?

There is a severe shortage of public and non-profit rent-geared-to-income/services-geared-to-income assisted-living housing for older adults in Manitoba. Seniors assisted living is a form of housing that includes rent, food, laundry and cleaning services.

Presently, the provincial government almost exclusively relies on the private market to provide assisted-living housing for seniors. Monthly private-market assisted-living housing rent for seniors ranges from $3,000 to $6,000 per month. The total income for an individual older adult receiving old age security (OAS) and guaranteed income supplement (GIS) pensions is less than $2,000 per month.

It is clear that low- and fixed-income seniors are not able to afford private-market assisted-living housing, resulting in the premature entry of these older adults into long-term care homes because seniors assisted-living housing is not publicly subsidized, whereas long-term care facilities do provide income-based subsidies.

Low- and fixed-income seniors are also experiencing a food affordability crisis which is negatively impacting their health and well-being. An enhanced assisted-living housing program that includes congregate meals would play an important role in addressing this growing affordability problem, along with reducing social isolation and loneliness.

Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal has apologized for an “inexcusable” breach of COVID-19 protocols by two of his players and a coach that led to the Indian club being told to leave the Maldives before a scheduled AFC Cup playoff game against a local team.

The players and a member of the coaching staff were reported by local media to have left their hotel in the capital Male on Saturday, sparking criticism from the Maldives sports minister.

Jindal told the Associated Press on Monday that against a backdrop of a surging COVID-19 cases in India and rising local opposition to the game going ahead, he understood the reaction on the island.

“The optics and timing of the breach has led to the reaction and what the players did was inexcusable," Jindal said. "They were well aware of the protocols and they knew they couldn’t step out, however briefly”