Air India Bombing and Vijaya Thampi

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2010

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."

— Oscar Wilde (The Critic as Artist)

That's one for all you dreamers on a summer day in June. I believe it's a good thing to be a dreamer - as long as one doesn't become too obsessed and nreasonable. I alo believe there is a correlation between dreaming and creativity. So, yes, I am proud to count myself among the dreamers of this world. I am definitely with Oscar Wilde on that one. After all, the witty Mr. Wilde was one of the world's most creative playwrights.


THE AIR INDIA BOMBING AND VIJAYA THAMPI

Today is a sober anniversary for Canadians. This is the 25th anniversary of the Air India bombing, the worst terrorist attack in Canadian history and the deadliest case of aviation terrorism until the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001. On June 23, 1985, an airplane operating on the Montréal-London-Delhi-Bombay route. — a Boeing 747 - was blown up by a bomb while in Irish airspace and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The attack was orchestrated by Sikh extremists and all 329 people aboard Air India Flight 182 were killed, 280 of whom were Canadian. A quarter of a century later, their family and friends still mourn them and feel the pain of loss.

It always hits home when you can put a face to the victims of a disaster. One of the victims of Air India Flight 182 worked at my place of employment. Her name was Vijaya Thampi and she was a Toronto Star employee. She worked in the Human Resources Dept. and I worked in the library, but I recall speaking to her briefly.  I remember her as a very pleasant woman.and I will not forget her.   I'll be thinking about her today and all the other innocent victims of that doomed Air India flight.


SPORTS

I attended the Blue Jays game at the dome last night. The Jays began their series with the St. Louis Cardinals. They lost by a score of 9-4 even though Jose Bautista hit 2 home runs. Bautista now leads the major leagues in home runs with 20. Brett Cecil was the starting pitcher for the Jays and it was not one of his better performances. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind continue to strggle. This is very worrisome since they are the number 2 and 3 hitters in the batting order. Jarrett Hoffpauir, the new third basman for the Jays, made his debut last night and chalked up his first hit in a Blue Jays uniform.

The area around Union Station, the harbourfront and the dome resembles an armed camp due to that infernal G20 Summit. There are police and fences everywhere.

- Joanne