The art of the deal
Why doesn’t Donald Trump just quit? The president who didn’t want the job and didn’t expect to get it is busy making a shambles of the presidency (while cementing his own reputation). Reportedly, and understandably, he isn’t a very happy camper. Most people would settle for a wafer-thin pretext for quitting. “My wife is threatening […]
Aging is better than the alternative
Getting old really is a mixed bag. Getting old isn’t for the faint of heart. When I was much younger, I never gave much thought to aging. I suppose I thought I had oodles of time to get around to being old. I’m a baby boomer. Boomers, it seems, are taking the process of aging […]
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 […]