Watching the Olympic games on TV, I feel this pull, this weight on my shoulders, this nagging feeling.

I think it, whatever it is, it won't allow me to sit there with a bag of potato chips and just enjoy the spectacle that plays out on almost all Canadian television stations around the clock.

Maybe it's because I don't really believe we are pulling out of the recession or maybe I don't really see British Columbia being able to pay the massive bill that is awaiting us come the day of the closing ceremonies of the games.

Like a big party at the local tavern, everybody would rather forget about the inevitable 2 a.m. last call and the bartender's calling in of tabs.

I guess we would rather pretend it isn't going to happen or perhaps we have been mislead to think the games will pay for themselves. We tell ourselves to just enjoy the moment.

If and when the games do pay for themselves, we could be 10 or 20 years down the road. What do we do in the meantime?

What I am looking forward to, other than Canada dominating the podium, is getting back to business. Things have been delayed long enough.

From essential services being shut in Whistler and Vancouver, to Prime Minister Stephen Harper abandoning Parliament, Canadians and especially British Columbians have a lot of work to do.

In B.C. we have a major healthcare and education crisis that needs to be straightened out, we have yet another new tax, the HST, that is just around the corner waiting to further increase goods and services costs, and our forestry and ranching industries are on the verge of collapse if they haven't already.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's announcement this week of new mortgage regulations certainly is not encouraging to hear either. It could mean that Canadians are burying themselves in more debt and the housing/credit bubble could be growing.

On the home front, Merritt has got to find a way to recuperate the losses incurred by the cancellation of MountainFest. It needs to be done immediately.

The new pellet plant and Indian rodeo are two glimmers of hope on the horizon for Merritt and it looks as though pine beetle killed wood will have some use after all.

It's also good to see that, although there are quite a few vacated downtown buildings, new businesses seem to be springing up every now and then.

Alternatively, if Merritt is becoming a retirement community, then perhaps we should just accept it and run with it.
People can still thrive here, just as long as we protect our schools and hospitals from being shut down.

There are plans for at least a few more apartment building complexes and that is another good sign here in Merritt.

I will continue to watch Canada during the games, but I am certainly looking forward to the end of the hype and our elected officials getting back in their offices and fixing this town, this province, this country.

— John O'Connor