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 […]
Internal dialogue
Months ago, in The Times I mentioned I felt as if opinions were being stifled. No one ever came right out and told me to “shut up”, although once in my past someone told me to apologize for expressing my opinion or lose my job. In that particular instance I cleaned my desk out and […]
November song
I have three windows in my writing room that invite a sense of quiet every morning. They are windows that I have gathered through my penchant for collecting architectural salvage. For me, having an old house retrofitted with period structural bits offers a dwelling that has stories attached to every corner. Stories of where pieces […]
As simple as that
So Mayor Robert Quaiff has secured the nomination as the Liberal candidate for the Bay of Quinte riding in the Ontario provincial election to be held next June. Congratulations to him. Mr. Quaiff intends to hold on to the mayor’s job until the provincial campaign officially begins in May. At that point, he will take […]
HoHoHo not just a postal code
Parade Weekend. It came. It dazzled. It went. How the H E double candy canes did November sneak by as quickly as it did? As one of our little girls said after the Bloomfield parade, “Time to start thinking about the real Santa Claus.” She’s pretty excited about the holiday season, but she and her […]
The heartbreak of orphan sock
After having devoted an entire column to my unfortunate experiences in the world of underwear, it seems only fitting to turn to what bedevils almost every man: what to do about orphan socks. Socks have never been more important. With the decline in use of the tie in the business environment, socks have become a […]