Canada wins gold, again!
It is never a boring sight to see young Canadian players waltzing around at centre ice, hugging each other and anyone else who gets in their way after winning the World Junior Championship. Last Friday night, the scene occurred for the 17th time. It still warmed the hearts of many Canadians. It was the fourth […]
Black like your heart
Explosive weather. Explosive times. Explosive head cold. It’s been two years since I was laid up with anything. This week it’s a head cold. My favourite morning brew tasted like a big mug of hot liquid nothingness. I can take a lot of crap—but don’t mess with my coffee taste buds. So now I’m grumpy […]
Consider the prune
Consider the humble prune: for decades the butt of jokes, now the darling behind such headlines as “Are Your Grandmother’s Prunes the New Superfood?” and “Channel 4 …Names Prunes as ‘the Food of the Future’.” Larry Curdle has, and he sees a big opportunity. Readers will remember Mr. Curdle as the moving force behind the […]
I resolve to be resolute
The Christmas tree is still occupying prime real estate in my dining room. Yep, it’s in the dining room. It’s been mocking me from the corner, near the side porch door, since parade weekend. The tree has been up for so long, we’re afraid we won’t be able to live without it cramping our style. […]
Word of the year
It is becoming customary for dictionaries, to pick a “word of the year.” Hey, we’re all entitled to have a little fun with our work, and fun must be rare in the dictionary world For 2017, dictionary.com picked “complicit,” the Oxford dictionaries picked “youthquake,” and Merriam-Webster picked “feminism.” That means that I should be entitled […]
An average of nine
I have never been keen on filling out customer satisfaction surveys. I think it might be because I’m egotistical enough to resent my finely developed opnions being reduced to a choice between “Satisfied” and “Very Satisfied.” But every now and then I relent. Case in point: the other week I went into my car dealership […]
A Christmas Letter
Dear readers: This is my last column of 2017, and you’re going to be treated to my version of a Christmas Letter. If you know me, and let’s face it some of you do, you know how I feel about Christmas Letters. I don’t send anything, to anyone, printed on festive paper hidden in the […]
Losing Gus
We lost my neighbour Gus Garland last month. You might have come across his death notice in The Times. Gus was a very private person. He stipulated there was to be no public funeral, memorial, visitation, celebration of life or other remembrance of him. He also threatened me with eternal damnation if I ever wrote […]
Book lovers
“They never even thought of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny of your very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny.” This is a quote from one of my favourite books, Little House on the Prairie. I don’t […]
Remember, this is Wellington
Would Santa Claus be grounded By a lack of volunteers? No parade this year in Wellington? Young and old were close to tears The future looked quite dismal The prospects seemed a mess But out of near catastrophe They pulled a great success It was a perfect day of sunshine To hear the sirens wail […]