Working with a broader canvas

Right now its snowing so hard that I can't even see the mailbox at the end of my hundred meter lane, let alone the neighbours on the hill across the way. But if something went wrong, even though I can't see them, I know that I could still pick up the phone and call on them for help.
It is like a breath of fresh air to see all the good changes that have taken place at Metro. Its easy to see why the head of the Metro Shelter Management Team is "so very proud of the staff and the work they have done in such a short time." That type of "extreme makeover" took a lot of faith and energy and trust on everyone's part.
Even people who don't pay much attention to the news know that there have been over a thousand jobs lost in NS during the last couple of months. Cape Breton has taken well over half of that hit .... and the CBRM is now facing an unprecedented debt if it is to meet the new environmental standards for waste water ( Before the keyboards catch on fire, now is not the time to be snide about how that issue should have been handled long ago )
Somehow I suspect that expansion of the CBRM branch shelter or additional funding for their AC contract isn't going to be in the cards anytime soon. Although in all honesty, if the infamous gas chamber was located in the middle of the Mayflower Mall, perhaps people might just get indignant enough to effect meaningful change at the branch. But here in the real world, that's not likely to happen either.
Successful solution of any problem always starts with playing the cards that actually lay on the table. One third of the population of the province ( as well as many of the remaining jobs) lie within the boundaries of HRM. And of course there are also a multitude of families who have opted to reside just outside the boundaries of HRM.
As Metro gets back on its fundraising feet, these numbers represent both potential adopters and donors. People already like the changes they are seeing .... and its one of those delightful truths that the better Metro does, the better they will be able to do.
If there are no meaningful and lifesaving solutions to be found at the CB Branch, it is the great hope of this middle aged granny that Metro's successes will enable it to "rescue' adoptable pets from CB. I am fifty four not fourteen and realize there is still work to be done before this is an achievable objective.
But from where I sit ... its much more plausible now than it was this time last year. We may not be anywhere near happily ever after with this, but at least its a possibility and not just a pipe dream