Pop 89: The Twinkle Zone
Some of us are old enough to remember the tv series The Twilight Zone. I can still hear Rod Serling give his clenched-jawed introduction…
Check It Out: The best gifts aren’t under the tree
The man’s wife said she’d be happy with any gift with lots of diamonds in it, so he wrapped up a pack of playing cards.
Growing Through Grief: Presence and Moments
The more I walk this path the more I realize this life is really about surrendering control, letting go and just spreading love.
Pop 89: Surrender to Wonder
Mid-struggle to stay cheery, I look up from my computer, and lo and behold, the snow is glittering. The cause of this glimmering grace is both moon and sun.
Check It Out: Contradictions in Canada
Two kids were arguing. The girl accused the boy of throwing something at her. “I didn’t do it! I never threw that! You can’t prove I threw it,” the boy yelled back.
Pop 89: It Starts In the Language
My friend Page emailed me the other day to point out the misuse of a word in a recent column. I just wish you’d let me edit it before it went to print, he said.
Check It Out: Does the truth set you free?
Although many people are looking for truth, it’s been said a mother who is concerned about her child does better research than the FBI.
Pop 89: The Bard in Your Back Yard
In 2010 the Grammys decided to do away with the Polka category. “They can’t do that!” I complained to Carole, my producer, “Canadians clean up in that category!”
Check It Out: When Bill C-7 becomes personal
A teacher asked her students to use the word “beans” in a sentence. One girl said, “My father grows beans.” A boy said, “My mother cooks beans.
Growing Through Grief: Love, Loss and the Holidays
Christmas has always been important to me. I love the magical feeling of the Christmas season and the way Christmas music sings to my soul.
Pop 89: Just Blew In
Everyone has a history. Everything has a history. Even “history has a history” - as Marilynne Robinson writes in one of her essays.
Check It Out: Canary in a coal mine
The cartoon pictured two caged canaries in a coal mine. One canary said to the other, “If you really want to mess them up, lay down and have a nap.”
No prudence when Freeland spends $20 billion over budget
The federal government is already on track to blow its budget by $20 billion. That’s astonishing when we’re only about halfway through the budget year.
Pop 89: What makes us rich?
I don’t mind waiting on tables. I just don’t like being undervalued for it. We brag that we are a classless culture, but we often behave as if being a “paying customers” means we pay…
Check It Out: Canadians are speaking up
A gift tag read: “I got you a new washer and dryer for Christmas.” The gift contained a clothespin and a flat, round washer used in plumbing projects.
Pop 89: Genius Mother
How does a genius become a genius, and what do people say about them? How do they do that genius-thing they do? I invite you to close your eyes and imagine what a genius looks like.
Check It Out: Veterans keep looking forward
It was asked why military men often marry partners from the foreign countries in which they were deployed? The answer: when they finally come home…
Letter: Failed Grade for latest column
I am writing regarding the column Check It Out in the October 25th issue titled “Life after professional hockey”.
Pop 89: I Wouldn’t Do That if I Were You
I’ve said it, and I’ve had it said to me: “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Take welding while stoned, for instance: not a good idea. Ok, I was actually torch-cutting.
Check It Out: Obstacles or opportunities?
The story I heard was about Ned and Jed, who were seeking their fortune hunting wolves. There was a $5,000 bounty for wolves captured alive.