The Crosby Show
Even if you have only read a few of the columns in this space, you realize that I encourage you to attend sporting events. Above all, if they happen to be hockey. You may be lucky enough to watch a grandson or granddaughter playing in their first years. It may be a junior game, with […]
Portuguese exploration
The Portuguese, an immensely proud and fiercely nationalistic people, have a great deal to boast about. This nation has consistently punched way above its weight—countless attempts at assimilation by various invaders have failed. Numerous fortress cities (constructed to strategically guard trade routes with Spain) still exist as mute testimony to Portuguese resolve. A Romance language— […]
Keeping the estate
When I write this column, I occasionally imagine the reader lying in bed, at the breakfast table, sitting in an armchair by a fire, or on a couch at one of the County’s coffee shops, enjoying the paper. It’s a pleasant image, but one that’s slowly dying away. Community papers have not suffered the decline […]
A bridge too far?
It’s public infrastructure spending time again. Wellington did pretty well last time around. I don’t think we’ll be quite as lucky this time. The major urban mayors are already twisting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s arm; Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto have all but been handed their cheques. What we may be looking for, then, is a […]
Who’s my ginger peach?
In a recent column (or two) I wrote about clearing out the old stuff and donating locally. I’m still at it. Of course, my front and upper hallways look a bit like an episode of Hoarders or one of those garages on Backroad Bounty. I might be weakening, because I truly hope the Clothesline folks […]
The thing about ice
Seems like all it takes is the sound of a shovel or skates scraping an ice surface out-of-doors and I time-travel: winters of youth when you dared to hitch a ride behind the bumper of a car; took bets from friends while in your head, you heard your mother’s voice telling you not to put […]
Rich history
Not until you visit a country can you truly appreciate its uniqueness. Portugal, for example, is a country rich in history—with some suggesting that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens might have long ago co-existed in its north. Grapes have been cultivated on the Iberian Peninsula since at least 2,000 BC. When the Phoenicians arrived, they not […]
The Wideman hit
For any of you who have ever worn stripes or called balls and strikes, the behaviour of Dennis Wideman of the Calgary Flames likely upset you. Wideman is a professional hockey player with several years in the NHL, and a reasonably good reputation as a clean player. After being checked in the corner, during the […]
The monumental charm offensive
Did you see that photograph of the big gold statue of Chairman Mao erected in rural China? Here one minute; but gone the next, after the public reaction to it was less than fulsome. And then there’s the news that the proposed Mother Canada monument planned for Cape Breton Highlands National Park is being reevaluated. […]
Purge
In the 1990s, when I decided to go back to school, the Internet was available to the public but it hadn’t gained a reputation as a place to do research for an essay or a thesis. At that time, most family homes and public libraries still had hard copies of encyclopedias on their bookshelves. The […]