Tom Young

I was travelling to my home the other night after saying goodbye to a long time friend and I wished at the time I had had a bunch of kids with me, kids who don’t wear helmets while skateboarding. 

This is the scenario…

I was on the main road that runs through the town in which I live.  Traffic was heavy and was moving very slowly.  I was approaching a stoplight, which had just turned red, and out the of the corner of my eye, I saw five or six young guys.  Maybe they were thirteen and maybe fourteen year olds, perhaps even a little younger.  All of them had skateboards, none of them had helmets.

I’m always amazed when I see skateboarders with “bare heads.”  These kids were standing by the side of the road and looked to me like they wanted to cross the road.  Four of them had their skateboards under their arms, two of them were already standing on their boards.  Just as I passed, one of the boys on his skateboard lost his balance and in doing so as he was falling he bumped into the other kid.  He also tumbled off his skateboard and crashed to the cement sidewalk.

Boy number two, the one who was bumped into, was unable to regain his balance and as he was going down I could see he was going to hit his head.  It took a split second and the only thing that “broke” his fall was the side of his head crashing into the cement. 

All the while my car was moving.  So now I’m looking in my rear view mirror.

Five young men, standing on the sidewalk, waiting for this kid to get up.  As other cars interfered with my line of site, I couldn’t see the incident anymore, but what I remember about it is, the kid on the sidewalk wasn’t moving. 

I have to admit — I have no idea of the eventual outcome of this incident, but what I can remember is it painted for me a very graphic example of how foolish it is for young men and women who choose to go skateboarding and at the same time choose not to wear their helmets.

“It’s a no-brainer.”

I can only hope that if any injuries did occur as the result of this incident, five or six young men who previously thought their heads were harder than cement are now convinced that skateboards and helmets go together like soap and water.

I’m Tom Young.

I do this blog at a distinct disadvantage, never having worked as a longshoreman or is it, “longshoreperson?”

I’m sure that working on the docks is a very physically demanding task and when one puts in a day’s work, one might  more than happy to return home and put up his/her feet.

But listen folks, it’s time to get into the twenty-first century.  In all the years I’ve lived in Saint John, I can’t remember one time when there were so many ships tied up at the docks, that they were backed up in the harbour waiting to get loaded or unloaded.  I don’t remember a day when they didn’t have enough members of the International Longshoreman’s Association or, (ILA) to provide the number of bodies needed either.

It’s no longer the age of sale.  In fact, doesn’t most of what we get delivered to our docks come in containers?  Why all this brou-ha-ha about taking a piece of mostly surplus property and beginning to rebuild an almost long forgotten port?  Five or ten years from now, ships will be unloaded and unloaded in a very different way and maybe even at a different location than is done in 2008.  I can’t possibly think one ILA member will lose even one hour’s work when the right thing is done and the Irving Oil world headquarters is located on the parcel of land as proposed.

Let’s just wonder for a minute if perhaps the company that is partnering with Irving to build the new refinery is looking for a similar piece of land to maybe put in a larger building than the Irving proposal and employ one-thousand people or more?  If representatives are or have been in the city and are aware of all this protesting, what’s that going to do to the city’s chances of having them locate here?

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard of a better proposal for land use than the Irving deal.  Is it right for Saint John?  You bet it is.  It would be right for any other city in the country and they would be falling all over themselves to have it there.  As for Saint John councillor Patti Higgins, who thinks better use could be made of the land, we are all sitting with baited breath waiting for your proposal.  And how about councillor Bill Farren?  When it came time to stand up and be counted — he sat down.  Bad form Bill.  Your lame excuse washes with no one.

My only hope is that I’m still here and am invited to the official opening of the Irving Oil world headquarters on the harbour in Saint John, New Brunswick.

It’s a great proposal and congratulations to Mayor Ivan Court and the members of his council, who recognize it for what it is.

I’m Tom Young.