Dear ole dad
Sunday, was Father’s Day. My own father passed away in 2009. During the last year of his life, he was lonely and missed his “girlfriend”, my mother. Mom died the year before and for just over a year, we stood by watching as Dad slowly sank into a heartbroken and heartbreaking kind of depression. Patrick […]
Finding the silver linings
It’s been a tough week, what with celebrity suicides, an unpredictable neophyte cost-cutter elected as premier, and Donald Trump turning nasty towards our Justin. It calls for some silver linings to be found. I nominate three of them. The first silver lining came last week at the County’s information session on the way ahead for […]
Goodbyes and the perfect meal
So many witty, wise and thought-provoking things have been written about suicide. Some say suicide is the ultimate act of selfishness. Others believe it is our ultimate right to decide when we’ve had enough. Anthony Bourdain ended his own life. He’d had enough, I suppose. And we’ll never know what his tipping point was, and […]
Hey bidder now
“I’m at 50 n I wan 75 75, bid on 75, I’m at 50 somebody give me 75, I’m here, I’m there wanna wanna 75, where else you gunna find one, hey bidder now would ya give me 75 how ‘bout 100”: that’s ‘Hoss’ the auctioneer and it’s a Saturday morning down at Carrying Place […]
Choosing your insult
Roseanne Barr got herself and her top ranked television show axed this past week because she described a former member of Barack Obama’s staff as the product of the “muslim brotherhood and planet of the apes.” While her grammar left a little to be desired, the comparison left so much to be desired that the […]
Smells like camping
For the first time in about three years, LOML and I have decided to go camping. I’m talking about sleeping on the ground, in a tent, in sleeping bags. We’ll be cooking on a 52 year old Coleman Stove and keeping our food coldish in a cooler. I wouldn’t say we’re harkening back to the […]
Nothing set in concrete
It’s just one of the things you know; an everyday object carries you down some not so everyday path. It was over Sophiasburgh way that it happened, where a white swan’s neck called for attention above the straggle of a last year’s late summer yard sale. The neck didn’t belong to a real life bird […]
Royalty for a day
I’ll fess up right away and admit I watched the royal wedding – and enjoyed it. I did it as a gesture of respect for Prince Charles, whom I encountered fleetingly last summer as our vehicles sped in opposite directions along the Loyalist Parkway. We extended mutual waves, and silently promised one another we’d meet […]
Ditchin’ and hoping
In the olden days, when it came to picking a restaurant, our dialogue often went something like this. “What do you feel like eating?” “I don’t care. You pick.” “How about burgers?” “No, I don’t want burgers.” “What do you want?” “I don’t care. You pick?” Eventually, we’d just go for whatever the first choice […]
The golden period
I planned to read the 2017 authorized biography of Gordon Lightfoot just as soon as I could lay my hands on a copy. So when I stumbled across Lightfoot, by Nicholas Jennings, on the library shelf the other day, I grabbed it and devoured it in one sitting. Lightfoot, as non-fans are no doubt tired […]