Run, run, run!

OK, it's becoming much clearer why they call it running for office.
Whole days flash by with no chance to blog about them. The grass gets cut (occasionally), but life is focused on immediate matters, and they come one after another with very little break.
There was a meet 'n' greet at the Aurora Library on Monday evening: stand at the NDP table and talk with voters for half and hour or so, then make a three minute speech, then resume talking with people individually. That was fairly good, and I learned a couple of things about presenting myself and the issues. I also met the Green candidate for the first time.
The next day brought a session with a coalition of organizations dedicated to the needs of children and youth, then a studio debate at the local cable channel. Only three of us: me, the Liberal and the Conservative. What an odd experience it is to shake hands with people then argue passionately with them for an hour while cameras record every twitch. I learned some more.
Yesterday afternoon the local chapter of the high school teachers' federation hosted an info session for their members. The PCs stayed away (as they have all over the province). Last night was a "live" all candidates session back in Aurora, at the Town Hall, proceeded by another meet 'n' greet. Not a debate, exactly, because we only ever answered questions individually in the allotted one or two minutes. The preparation is intense, with team members brainstorming about how things might go, and trying to anticipate the questions. 
The first question from a local expert on business property tax. Not a strong point for me. As luck would have it, I was  the first one designated to answer. Not a memorable response, I think, but it picked up from there. 
Then there is media: I'm now on TenTV, which is an Iranian-Canadian specialty channel. That involved a fascinating comparison of clergy involvement in Iran and Canada. Kind of famous and oppressive in the one place, kind of little-known and liberating in the other. (By liberating, I mean the creation of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in response to a global economic meltdown eighty years ago, the party that led to the formation of the New Democratic Party in 1961. The CCF and the NDP have been working relentlessly ever since for workers' rights, fair wages and a just distribution of wealth in our society.)
And so it goes. 
Off I go to canvass door to door, then a session with the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I am a "Healthy Candidate," and there is a little recognition ceremony.
More later.