When someone else is you
“It always happens to someone else, until it doesn’t.” Maybe that’s a quote. I’m sure I didn’t make that line up all by myself. What I do know is that we all think this way. Oh yes, we do. It’s easy to get comfortable when we get away with making stupid choices. The longer we […]
Canoe love
Notable Canadian author Pierre Berton once wrote—although he later said the credit belongs to someone else—that a true Canadian can make love in a canoe without tipping the boat. The Canadian love affair with the canoe is reflected in Canadian artwork. The history of the settlement of Canada is strongly tied to the canoe as […]
Summer sangria
Sangria first gained popularity at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Exhibited in the Spanish Pavilion, this popular Spanish punch introduced a bright summer beverage to summer garden parties. A cool beverage to combat the heat of a hot summer day. Never considered a serious beverage, it was just a fun drink combining wine, fruit, […]
Heritage rears its ugly head
I’m big on heritage. I make my living by bringing County history to life, with all of its quirks and eccentricities. For some reason, talk of preserving heritage has become something of a controversial issue. I’d like to explore it and, God willing, perhaps add a little insight to the topic. First, let’s set the […]
The unsophisticated buyer
It has not been a good week for me. It all began when I examined a flier that tumbled out of my daily newspaper, advertising the SickKids Lottery. The chance to make a charitable donation at the same time as winning cash prizes appealed to both sides of my brain, so I looked at it […]
Trippin’
I’m back in the County. Like the song lyrics say, “Gee, but it’s great to be back home.” Vancouver is a wonderful place. CFB Shiloh is an interesting place. But home is where my pillow is. Home is where my coffee maker is. Home is where my laptop is. Home is where my kitchen is […]
Mr. Hockey
Among other things, Gordie Howe was perhaps the greatest ambassador for the game of hockey. On the ice, and off the ice, he was hockey personified. As is the case with so many other fans, I have had a couple of opportunities to chat with the late Mr. Howe. Always genial, always most affable, he […]
Open arms
All over Ontario, including here in the County, school boards are either considering or are already amalgamating schools, closing down buildings and selling those capital assets. It’s in response to a province-wide trend of declining enrollment. Fewer young people are around to fill seats in classrooms, making the operating costs for decreasing school populations difficult […]
Summer rosés
Beginning in 1916, the law of the land prohibited the manufacture and distribution of alcohol in Ontario. When prohibition was finally repealed, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) was formed. Since then, it’s been a long road to the more relaxed standards of today. Even though the great sobriety experience had failed, the newly […]
The oldest road
There is but a moment of stillness that holds here: a gap in the intervals when the traffic light stalls vehicle flow on Loyalist Parkway. The corner I am standing on is less than unvarnished. It’s an intersection of rough and tumble sans grace, perhaps more striking on a day like today, as I take […]