The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial - October 31, 2006
FAR MORE TRICKS THAN TREATS
Maybe it was the costume. It's not often we see a 7-year old dressed up in a business suit carrying a briefcase at our front door. But, it was Halloween, so anything is possible.
"Trick or treat!" He yelled at us.
"And what are you dressed up as young man?" We asked.
"Oh, I'm dressed up as someone from Compliance Energy and I'm here to sell you on the economic benefits of our coal-fired power plant that we're building just upstream from here."
We were starting to think there was a trick in here somewhere when someone dressed up as a giant three-eyed fish appeared on our doorstep and pushed the little business suit out of the way.
"I'm from the Similkameen River about five years after the Compliance project started pumping power into the BC Hydro grid," said a voice buried deep within the fish costume.
Then a little girl dressed up as a little baby approached our door. She looked so very sad.
"Are you okay?" We asked.
"I'm worried," she said.
"Worried?"
She nodded to the kid in the business suit and started to cry.
"I am so fearful of what may happen to me with all the mercury in the air and who knows what other invisible particles have found their way into my young and venerable system thanks to HIM!"
The business suit shoved his way back in front, "Hey, we told you we'd meet the standards set by the Province and we did." "What about me?" The three-eyed fish inquired.
The kid in the business suit opened his briefcase and started pulling out papers, "Our studies showS"
"I don't care about your studies," the little girl said. "Look what you've done to our Valley."
"We created jobsS"
"Ha!" sputtered the three-eyed fish.
It was at about this time we were hoping to see a Cinderella or a ghost or a Captain Jack Sparrow or Batman or something other than the three kids on our doorstep.
Then suddenly from the darkness of the street appeared two bigger kids, one in a Spiderman outfit and the other dressed as the Incredible Hulk.
They chased away the little guy in the business suit and starting playing around with the three-eyed fish and the little mercury-poisoned girl as if they were all friends.
"Trick or treat!" Spiderman and Hulk chimed together.
"Give us a trick and we'll give you a treat," we said.
"Hey, Dude, didn't you see what we just did?" Spiderman says.
Then Hulk puts his arm around him and points to the business suit kid running away from the house and says, "We just saved the Valley. That's got to be worth something."
