Saying Goodbye to Farewells
Farewells are hard. Goodbyes are even harder. No matter how we experience them, there is always a tinge of sorrow, or regret, or hope, or ambivalence, or some squishy unnamed emotion that lies just...
View ArticleI’m Not Superstitious, But …
I’m not superstitious, or in touch with the beyond in any way, but something weird has been happening. I am repeatedly seeing the number 357. Sometimes it is 3:57 on a clock. No matter where I see it I...
View ArticleReflections on a Counter-Protest
On Wednesday this week in Canada, protests were planned on behalf of parents and others who object to students in public schools being given instruction and counselling related to sexual orientation...
View ArticleSeeing Red
Outside my window are lots of lovely autumn leaves. Many of them are red, or red-adjacent. They are a delight. Also in my range of vision are online comments. They may be in response to articles,...
View ArticleMulticultural Remembrance
Reblogged from 10 November 2016 The day after the US election I had a terrible hangover and I hadn’t even been drinking. I had waited and waited for something, anything, to happen for a different...
View ArticleConversation, Chit-chat, and Communications
You would think that a person with two degrees in a particular area of study would be good at it, wouldn’t you? In my case, though, you might be wrong. I studied Communication Studies because the...
View ArticleWhat is Normal?
A couple of months ago I let my children know that they might notice some changes in my demeanour in the coming weeks. I explained that my tele-health doctor had recommended that I cease to take an...
View ArticleUpdate and a Hummingbird
A little while ago I wrote a post entitled What Is Normal? about my problems with anxiety since I tapered off the use of an anti-depressant At the time I promised an update, and here it is. I am also...
View ArticleThe Moral Dilemma in Self-Gifting
Today I bought myself flowers. A big bunch of yellow flowers, and I can’t remember the last time I bought a bunch of flowers just for me. Now I’m wondering why I haven’t done this before. I have bought...
View ArticleWhat Is In A Name?
One of my children and their partner have changed their names in the last few years. On the face of it, this does not present me with any problems, and I am happy that they are re-defining themselves...
View ArticleFitting In, Sometimes
I’ve been in Nanaimo for two-and-a-half years now, and I love it here. This is where I am going to live out the rest of my days. It has everything I want and need in my retirement years, including...
View ArticleAdding To The Rainbow
I am in the process of adding to the Pride rainbow. This is not out of arrogance, or intellectual presumption, or a spiritual epiphany. I was simply out of the appropriate colours of yarn. Let me...
View ArticleNoisy Neighbours
Recently, Canada’s quiet existence has been disturbed by a new noisy neighbour. We have always been friendly and cooperative with the people next door, but now there are new people on the block and...
View ArticleWhy I Understand Hoarders
To be clear, I am not a hoarder. I have downsized more often than I can count and I regularly donate items to the thrift store. At the same time, I have some things that are very hard to dispose of....
View ArticleLanding Gear
A recent plane crash in Toronto seems to be related to landing gear. It is possible that the landing gear failed on impact which lead to the plane tipping and one wing breaking up. That lead to the...
View ArticleUnusual Patriotism
I have lived in Canada since 1975 and in all that time I have not witnessed much overt patriotism. Canadians love to win international hockey games, of course, and they express a lot of emotions on...
View ArticleGoing Out With A Bang
Looking back on fifty years as a foreign affairs commentator for Britain’s The Guardian, Simon Tisdall has written an article to knock your socks off. His outrage has been triggered by some comments...
View ArticleGrumbling. The Last Refuge of the Powerless
You all know the people I’m talking about. They are your family, neighbours, and friends. They are bloggers and YouTubers and TikTokers. They are anyone and everyone who feels disenfranchised. The...
View ArticleThere Has To Be An Us
“There has to be an us because now there is a them.” Margaret Atwood. On my patio are two bird feeders. One is a hummingbird feeder and although it occasionally has visits from other birds it really...
View ArticleThe Scold’s Bridle
The Scold’s Bridle, sometimes called the Gossip’s Bridle, or the Brank’s Bridle, was a form of punishment and public humiliation in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. It was a device placed over the...
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