Year: 2004

Throughout my working life, my family and I lived in a number of different locations across Canada, and for a time lived in a west coast community which owed its existence to the fishing industry. Virtually everyone in the community … Read more

"Inheritance" is a word that has come to mind often over the past few days while my grandchildren have been visiting. One day I discovered that I was mentally cataloguing the children's physical attributes as well as the natural talents … Read more

It was Thanksgiving, but I was having a hard time finding something for which to be thankful. It hadn't been a good year, and, as a child of nine, I was struggling with the fact that we had to move … Read more

There is demolition going on just a few streets away from my view of the Cotswold countryside where I work. Workers are pulling down an office block. It is being ripped apart by a huge machine with an enormous set … Read more

Any who have driven north from Orillia, Ontario, Canada, on Highway 11 may remember that when the road was widened, there was a spectacular rock cut through which the new road wound. High on either side of the road, the … Read more

Looking out of the window onto the backyard, I observed the birds filling up on the seeds that were scattered on the late summer grasses. Their appointed season here in the north was just about up, and the time of … Read more

My mother was schizophrenic, and she suffered from that mental condition for 25 years. It was a torturous illness, and a terrifying experience for all of my family. I remember that most kids in our subdivision went off joyfully to … Read more

One of my favourite decorative items is a colourful basket of artificial fruit, now on a table on the sun porch. Through the years, it has been used in different areas. Many times, when preparing for a yard sale, I've … Read more

Our neighbours have a lovely log house on the river. Unfortunately, they are situated in a spot where the river curves, and, over the past few years, a lot of erosion has taken place in the spring when the river … Read more

I can remember years ago going to a restaurant with one of my Irish friends who had a touch of the blarney. When the waitress came to take our order, she asked him what he would like. He lyrically answered, … Read more