The not so scientific method
PURPOSE/QUESTION: Our isolated, pandemic life is about to become an experiment. Well, let me clarify. A small part of my isolated pandemic life, not LOML’s life, is going to be looked at more closely. I’ll begin by identifying the purpose of this experiment. Recently, I had this bright idea to see if there really is […]
The Manitoulin Letter
I was given a copy of an open letter the other day that was issued by the “physicians, nurse practitioners, traditional healers, midwives and physician-assistants” of Manitoulin Island. The bottom line: they want cottage owners to stay at home this summer. The rationale: a small, rural, elderly population more vulnerable to illness than the average, […]
The New Rock Stars
When people dream of becoming doctors, they traditionally think about becoming cancer researchers, transplant surgeons or paediatricians. Public health hasn’t been near the top of the list. But courtesy of the present pandemic, public health professionals like epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists are our new rock stars. Exhibit “A” for the new profile of public […]
Sometimes a diamond
Our new normal is hard to explain to anyone who asks, “What do you do to keep busy, these days? Do you two have some kind of routine? What about food? Are you eating more or less? What about exercise? How’s that going?” But I suppose everyone’s “new normal” is quirky, and, to say the […]
Humpty Dumpty and the coohuder
It’s week number three enrolled in Shopping Cart 101. I’ve pitched in to help fill gaps in a grocery supply chain that has been slammed with an explosion of demand that is five times normal volume and where food company office workers in the larger chains are being drafted to work on the floor of […]
A mediocre response
So according to our Prime Minister, physical distancing and social isolation will become the “new normal” for a while yet. If that’s the case, we have some thinking to do. It was only less than a year ago—June 14, 2019—that the Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship, beating the Golden State Warriors in six games. […]
Somedays I’m Ma, Somedays I’m Laura
All of a sudden I have an urge to head over to Oleson’s Mercantile to order a bolt of calico, a card of buttons, have the scissors sharpened and get a big spool of cotton thread. As I set another batch of sponge to rise for yet another loaf of homemade bread, I can’t help […]
Easter 2020, the cover version
I’ve never liked “covers”. LOML and I were enjoying a glass of wine this evening, Palm Sunday, and our discussion hovered around music covers. He’s always been open to an artist interpreting another’s music. He enjoys the variations. Maybe it’s the linguist in him, open to another take on things. However, for many years, I […]
Bringing Back the Lost Months
Do you get the feeling that March, April and May are going to be lost months, in which nothing positive happened except that we all got three months older? Would you like a do-over after the coronavirus crisis has passed its peak? I have a simple proposition for you. Since this is a leap year […]
Until we meet again
Earlier this month, The Times lost a dedicated member of its family. Roger Whittaker passed away at the age of 90. Roger was the true definition of a newspaperman. He studied journalism at Colorado State University, set in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. He found a job with the Kamloops Sentinel. Then across the […]