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 […]
Too soon old, too late smart
My dad adopted an expression, “Too soon old, too late smart”. As a teenager in the ’60s, I didn’t really give it much thought. When you’re sixteen years old, there’s a whole world of things to do and people to meet. I wasn’t conscious of learning. I was more into sponging. I lived at home. […]
Darn it!
It’s this time of the year that my primal genes kick in and prompt responses to the drop in the thermometer hanging outside my kitchen window. The brown bear sensible thing of pulling the den together and sleeping away the winter does humour my senses I admit, but knowing there is lesser access to the […]
A big wet kiss
They’ve finally concluded that enough is enough. Organized crime families are coming out of the shadows, fighting back and hiring lobbyists to protect their position in the production, distribution and sale of marijuana. “There’s been too much emphasis placed on the “crime” part of our client’s activities, and too little on the “organized” part,” says […]
HoHoHo and Bah Humbug
’Tis the season, or so it would seem. Like it or not, we’re holly and dreidel deep in the Holiday season. Some folks hate to see it happen in November, but that’s the way it is and, from my reckoning, it’s the way it always has been. I actually don’t care when it starts, but […]
I hereby resign?
Donald Trump saying “I hereby resign”? It could happen— even if Mr. Trump never speaks the words directly. That’s the promise (well, not the exact promise) that a Canadian company by the name of Lyrebird is holding out for its speech synthesis software. The company’s website invites you to speak into the computer for one […]