Tough but Good!

Mark Edward Grant in Court

This was a tough week! 

Ever since the trial ended in February of 2011 we knew this weird unknown thing called "the appeal" was going to happen sometime in the future. Yet, no one could tell us when. The defense had very quickly given notice that there were 18 items they wished to contest regarding problems with the trial. That seemed like a lot of stuff so we were all on edge, wondering what, when and how this would happen.

Well, this week it all came into being, beginning Tuesday at 9:30am and ending Wed. at noon. An additional concern, there was apparently going to be a motion for the acceptance of "new evidence". For that reason the appeal would be a two day affair, rather than the one day usually allocated for appeals. This of course brought in a new level of uncertainty  What exactly was this new evidence and what affect would it have on the results of the appeal? 

Needles to say, it was hard to concentrate, yet this was the very week my business took a turn where I had to really bear down, dealing with staff issues.  I had to introduce and train new staff to clean one of my accounts, replacing a staffer that had resigned for a full time job. The first day of cleaning would be Monday night. Then, just to make things a little more interesting, this account was having their bosses from Toronto in on Wed. morning and had made it clear to me that by that day the building had to shine! Nothing like placing pressure on new cleaning staff!

So, Monday night I toured them through the building. Then suggested a plan for how to tackle the task, and away we went. Well, they were very confused. It is a complicated building and they could not tell North from East and were confused where they were in the building all evening. I was concerned. There was only one more night of cleaning before Wed.

Tuesday, after sitting through the appeal, I had to eat supper early by myself, say goodbye to my family, (who were going to have a quiet evening at home) and go clean for the evening. I sat the new staff group down and placed the challenge before them. This was their cleaning test. Have a building they are not familiar with, sparkling clean by the end of the evening. I gave them their assignments and away we went. It was much better, they at least were not quite as lost as they had been on the first day. 

While they cleaned, I spot cleaned some carpets and did detail work. When they finished I released them and I stayed till midnight, doing more detailing, moving furniture and chairs, vacuuming behind them, just being alone with the building, giving it some TLC. 

I knew the boss was nervous so I made it a point to be back at the building early in the morning to meet him and explain what we'd done for him. 

Wed. night, we'd planned a special family supper with close friends as a closure. I had to be there. That meant the new staff would be dealing with the security system and cleaning on their own for the first time. They did very well. After everyone had left, I went out to check the building to see how they and done, it looked great! 

Due to the immediate pressure, these new staff and I have bonded very quickly! 

Above is a sketch I did of the accused, Mark Edward Grant, during the appeal proceedings. He looks much better than he did at the trial. He's lost weight. Obviously they make sure he gets and takes his meds. Looks like he's exercising too. Also, he did not leer at us like he used to do at the trial. I think he's in a better space. Good for him! 

What were the results of the appeal? They have reserved their decision till a later date. We were told by our crown, it could take up to a year before they would make a decision. Next year, it will be 30 years since it happened. What's another year!

Yes, it was tough, but now that it's done, it was very good too!

"Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person's wisdom brightens their face and changes it's hard appearance." Ecclesiastes 8:1

PS. Then on Thursday night, would you believe, we had scheduled a potluck with our Young Adults group. Wow! By the way, that turned out to be a great night too. Did a circle on the question; "What is justice.?" These kids are very smart!