Mayoral candidates answer life’s big questions

Administrator | Oct 08, 2010 | Comments 0

Countylive.ca teamed up with the County’s Alan Gratias, creator of the game ‘Gravitas’ to pose some of “life’s big questions” to the Prince Edward County candidates for mayor.
The origin of Gravitas was at a millennium party hosted by Alan Gratias where guests were asked to bring three personal items to be buried in a time capsule. As each was questioned about the meaning of the mementos, there flowed wonderful conversations, unexpected revelations and profound insights.
Gravitas is a game of discovery – of who we are and how we have lived. There is no right or wrong answer. Although the questions call for reflection, they can be dealt with in a thoughtful manner or a more light-hearted one.
Gratias says a certain savoir-faire is accumulated in life that reflects our individual stories and experiences. Everyone can offer some Gravitas on life’s big questions. Visit www.gravitasthegame.com
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, ask the questions of friends and family to get everybody thinking and talking!

Here are the PEC mayoral candidates’ responses (published in order of when they were received).

MONICA ALYEA:

1. What do you wish your mother understood about you?
My Ma passed away 6 years ago. I now know she understood everything about me.

2. What is the most important lesson you have learned from your parents?
Never lie.

3. When do you know you have something worthwhile to say?
When I can actually wait to say it.

4. What gets you really bored?
Having to try and understand technology when it does not work. Somebody just fix it now!

5. What is your bliss?
When I can feel I am truly playing.

6. When is it important to rethink who we are?
When I have hurt someone with my comments.

7. What has shaped the choices you have made?
My two girls, my grandchild, those who have loved me enough to challenge my use of sarcasm as a form of humour, lack of confidence, being passionate.

8. Who do you wish would call you?
My late Ma to tell me what she’s doing out there.

9. What has life taught you so far?
That there are a lot of things I don’t know and I need to keep being open to learning.

10. How can you tell someone is lying?
Unless it is fact based and I know the facts – I can’t.

11. What are you most daring about?
Trying to do things I was too scared or hesitant to do in my youth. And some of these things are way harder as an older person!

12. What question would you most like to have answered?
What do we get to do in the “after life”?

PAUL BOYD:

1. What do you wish your mother understood about you?
Why I never liked any of the girls she tried to get me to be interested in and marry

2. What is the most important lesson you have learned from your parents?
Truth

3. When do you know you have something worthwhile to say?
After everyone has stopped talking

4. What gets you really bored?
Uninteresting conversation

5. What is your bliss?
To be with my daughter

6. When is it important to rethink who we are?
Probably when we are in trouble

7. What has shaped the choices you have made?
Me…….. I like to take chances

8. Who do you wish would call you?
Candy Metcalfe

9. What has life taught you so far?
It really is not fair but we can get over it

10. How can you tell someone is lying?
They repeat themselves

11. What are you most daring about?
Work

12. What question would you most like to have answered?
Why is it important for you to get involved in an election?

SANDY LATCHFORD:

1. What do you wish your mother understood about you?
That I am just like her and sitting still is NOT an option.

2. What is the most important lesson you have learned from your parents?
To be a critical thinker who is not afraid to challenge the status quo

3. When do you know you have something worthwhile to say?
I think things through and if I believe that it will add to the discussion then I speak.

4. What gets you really bored?
I rarely if ever get bored because I look at every situation as an opportunity to learn something new.

5. What is your bliss?
It is always a pleasure to have time to enjoy nature; the woods and wetlands, flower gardens, the night sky, sunrises and sunsets.

6. When is it important to rethink who we are?
This should be done frequently because we can get in a rut and flow with the group that we work and/or associate with and that may not reflect who we are or want to be.

7. What has shaped the choices you have made?
My strong sense of social justice and the opportunity to work with others who believe in advocating for the right of people to be treated with respect and dignity have both shaped the choices that I have made.

8. Who do you wish would call you?
I am inspired by modest people who do extraordinary things for other people: run food banks, build shelters for homeless, fund raise for victims of disasters. These people both young and old who give their money and their time to benefit others without fanfare and the expectation of reward should be an inspiration for everyone.

9. What has life taught you so far?
That if you see the “glass as half full” you can enjoy life and make the most of everything you have. With this attitude, you look for solutions and strategies for dealing with a problem rather than seeing the problem as a barrier.

10. How can you tell someone is lying?
Poor liars won’t look you in the eye however an experienced liar will so you have to evaluate what they are saying as well as their body language

11. What are you most daring about?
I probably am most daring when I am speaking up for people.

12. What question would you most like to have answered?
You didn’t ask about a sense of humour. I think that humour and the ability to not take ourselves too seriously are very important to our overall well being.

LORI SLIK:

1. What do you wish your mother understood about you?
I wish she understood that I loved her when I was a teenager even though I did not show it like I should have.

2. What is the most important lesson you have learned from your parents?
Give respect to others and they will in return respect to you – pay it forward.

3. When do you know you have something worthwhile to say?
When I am busting at the seams.

4. What gets you really bored?
Hearing the same thing over and over with no conclusion in sight.

5. What is your bliss?
My family and my home town of Prince Edward County.

6. When is it important to rethink who we are?
When we are trying to teach the younger generation the ways of life?

7. What has shaped the choices you have made?
My family, my life experience and my willingness to take risks.

8. Who do you wish would call you?
My grandparents.

9. What has life taught you so far?
The present moment is the only point of access to the future

10. How can you tell someone is lying?
When they appear to be thinking around corners.

11. What are you most daring about?
Getting to the bottom of it.

12. What question would you most like to have answered?
Exactly how many more generations can we continue to live on earth before it becomes uninhabitable. I’d like to help my kids and grandchildren plan for this and to demonstrate to them that we need to make changes now to change the future.

GORD FOX: Declined to participate.