There are no happy dog stories. I learned this lesson in a monologue study acting class. The instructor would take aim at some unsuspecting soul and make a simple request for him to share with the rest of the group a story about his favourite pet. Fair warning – this was actually a covert attempt …
“If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run– Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,” Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). If. 1910. My cousin Sherri and I were the best of friends growing up. We lived almost 300 km apart so we didn’t see each other very often, but …
“I too am not a bit tamed—I too am untranslatable; I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass. 1900. I sounded my barbaric yawp with grievous indignation. “Did you just throw your racquet at me?” What? “Your racquet. I got whacked on the back of my …
Today I successfully poured myself a tall glass of ginger ale. The emotional trauma from my last attempted effort has apparently subsided enough for me to muster up enough gumption to not only have an ice cold glass of pop, but to pour myself a second one as well. I am well on the road …
Today I walked past our now defunct neighbourhood Blockbuster at Oak and 16th. It’s been closed for just over a month now, but I was surprised and somewhat disheartened by the building’s transformation from community hub into tag canvas for our territorial youth. It is an ironic visual commentary to see how quickly we are …
I grew up spending summers in the Okanagan. Being a fair skinned ginger, my sun tan strategy was to get a good burn early, peel it off, then get to work on the fresh canvas of yet another blistering summer. It was a strategy that took many years and layers of skin to perfect, but …
They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon. Plot summary: evil, hungry thirsty vampires envelope the unsuspecting City of Los Angeles with a singular quest to rid the earth of all humanity. Can anything – or anyone – stop them? So, it’s a vampire story. Considered by many to be among the best of its kind, check …
Today I drove out to Steveston in an effort to meet up with an old friend of mine from Calgary who I’ve haven’t seen in years. I hit the road a couple hours earlier than planned so I could meander around the Steveston Historic Village and have myself a photo adventure along the way. I …
“There are only two types of motorcycle drivers on the road today: those who have laid their bikes down and those who are going to.” You couldn’t put it any simpler. I didn’t need a police officer hovering in front of the class presenting graphic slideshows and first hand testimonials of emotionally and physically scarred …
Louisa Jane grew up on the farm in Saskatchewan. She studied nursing with her sister. She was her father’s favourite child. She loved white kittens, sweet deserts, and in her youth she had an unnatural craving for potatoes. Her fashion sense was completely lost on me. It wasn’t until we starting digging through old shoe …