To say that I was blown away by your responses to my last editorial . . . is an understatement, because I never expected the reaction or feedback that I got.
LET ME CLEAR THE AIR:
1 – Our (Anne and myself) decision to DIVEST ourselves from a CONVENTIONAL lifestyle is not a punishment or step-down in lifestyle.
TO THE CONTRARY . . . This decision is liberating.
2 – NO TAG DAY FOR THE GALGANOV’S:
Our decision NOT to take Anne’s savings and assets to pay a $300,000 Court Judgment that should NEVER have been . . . was LEGAL, MORAL and the RIGHT THING TO DO.
3 – Fighting for the ESSENCE of FREEDOM of Expression against ACTIVIST Judges is NOT ONLY the RIGHT thing to do, but it is the PATRIOTIC thing to do. And if the cost to me came down to Personal Bankruptcy and the loss of my credit standing for a year or more, especially at my age, in order to fight for this FREEDOM amongst others, it was a price well worth the COST.
4 – NEVER ONCE have I backed away from a RIGHTEOUS Fight, because of the chance of losing – and the consequences thereof. And I NEVER will.
AN INTERESTING EXCHANGE LAST WEEK BETWEEN MYSELF AND TRUSTEE:
Once you declare Bankruptcy in Ontario (Canada), you are compelled to have two meetings with the Trustee to go over how to budget your money and control your spending and indebtedness.
So . . . In the first meeting with the Trustee more than a month ago, the Trustee who was assigned this case had never heard of me. All he knew from the records is that I went bankrupt for $300,000.
So, here he was to teach me about handling money and expenses. And when he looked at the file for what I believe was the first time, he was somewhat confused.
So we spoke: We spoke about Civil RIGHTS, about FREEDOM of Expression, an interpretive Constitution, which is only as valuable at protecting the FREEDOMS of the people as the Courts will interpret it.
I’m guessing that the Trustee is a man in his late 40’s to early 50’s. He lives in Ottawa (Canada’s Capital). He is very bright. He has children. And he can’t speak French. But, he wants his children to be fully bilingual, which I understand they are.
HE SIMPLY COULDN’T UNDERSTAND:
By his own admission, he doesn’t become engaged in politics, and keeps his opinions to himself. And was INCREDULOUS as to why I would get involved in battles such as I have over the years.
So we spoke not about budgeting, since what could he say about a $300,000 Court Order for a Judgment that violated the part of our Canadian Charter of Rights and FREEDOMS, which dealt with FREEDOM of Expression?
It’s not as if I had run up a tab living beyond my means.
After about 30-minutes, we parted company; setting the date for the last meeting we were compelled to have by law, which was this past week.
This time, the Trustee had GOOGLED my name and looked into my history, and was far better prepared for our discussion. One of the things that he found on GOOGLE and other SITES was the number of people who REALLY didn’t like me, to which I said GOOD.
The more I am disliked by the people I attack . . . the BETTER I like it, since nothing is a better indicator for success than the ACRIMONY of the people I oppose. I think he understood this.
He asked me . . . Why get involved, since the politicians and the bureaucrats will do whatever they want to do anyway . . . AND THE PEOPLE DON’T CARE?
MY RESPONSE TO HIM WAS SUCCINCT:
I have no children. YOU DO. Why aren’t you doing it? And then I recited a 2000-year statement crafted by Rabbi Hillel, who lived in Jerusalem just prior to the Birth of Christ, which I’ve quoted before in this BLOG:
“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am ONLY for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?”
In essence . . . If he was not for his children, and the RIGHTS and FREEDOMS his children should enjoy, then who should be for the FREEDOMS for his children?
IF NOT HIM, AND IF NOT ME, THEN WHO? . . . NOTHING ELSE NEEDED TO BE SAID.
We shook hands and parted company.
My next official meeting will be with a Bankruptcy Judge sometime in late spring of 2015. The Judge will review my file, ask me questions, which I assume will be somewhat akin to what the Trustee asked me, and then he or she will determine when I can be released from Bankruptcy.
HERE’S THE FINAL ANALYSIS:
1 – If you’re wondering whether the whole process from beginning to end; from the Court Case to the final decision to see a Bankruptcy Trustee was very stressful?
The answer is YES. But, since I’ve been fighting these battles in one way or another for most of my life, it wasn’t a surprise.
2 – Do I regret getting involved at the outset and wish I never did?
The answer is NO regrets.
3 – Would I do it again?
The answer is YES.
4 – Has this experience left me BROKE and HUMBLED?
The answer is NO, because I had no money or assets to lose, since I sold everything I had to Anne about 18 years ago, realizing that this brand of Activism is as rough and tough as it gets. So in effect, nothing in my life changed, other than my ability to borrow money and create debt.
5 – Was the specter of this Court Order and the possibility of me being held responsible for $300,000 in Costs the reason why Anne sold the Farm, and why we divested ourselves of the lifestyle we had until recently?
The answer is NO.
We had decided several years ago that the farm was becoming too hard for us to manage. When Hydro One, which is Ontario’s electricity provider more than doubled our energy costs in only a couple of years to about $800 per month, and saw all forms of taxes rise, and employer RIGHTS dwindle, with food and gas going through the roof . . . we said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
The Court Order and my visit to the Trustee had NOTHING whatsoever to do with the lifestyle change we have now embraced. The farm was going to be sold, and we were going to be making wholesale changes one way or another.
THE “ALMOST” CONCLUSION:
Anne and I are better off today in terms of less stress, a fraction of the costs of living, and more security than we have been in years.
We are also going to continue doing all the same things we’ve done in the past, vis a vis Anne running her Advertising Agency, while I dedicate more time and effort to Writing and Advocating.
So . . . For any of you who are feeling sad for Anne and myself – DON’T.
In my NEXT editorial, I will tell you what we are doing. Where we are going. And how our lives will be so much better than what we could have ever expected even less than a year ago.
What I will tell you now however . . . because so many of you are concerned over what we intend to do with the horses. They will be moved in a few days to a friend’s Equestrian Center, not far from where we currently live, where they will still (ALWAYS) be an integral part of our inseparable family. And if anything, they will have a much better and more fulfilling life.
ONCE AGAIN . . . Thank you for your Concern, your COMMENTS, and many Emails.
Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov
2 Comments
Howard,
You are doing the right thing as always. This song reminds me of you. G-D bless you your wife. You have fought the good fight, and not paying their blood money is the icing on the cake. I love it.
Dom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_RjndG0IX8
First impression: Reading the opening: Nobody Remembers FENCE-SITTERS my first thought was if only the fence sitters were positioned on a Pickett fence, what a delightful picture that would be. Up and out of the way, can’t get off, can’t move, stuck for ever more, no mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam, just fence-sitters impaled by their own words. Now that’s an image I really appreciate.
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