The rugged Selkirk Mountain Range, spanning Canada and the USA, is home to grizzly bears, cougars, and wolves. When my father was still able to go down into the mines, we lived at the foot of one of the mountains, in tenement housing … Read more

From the beginning of time, we have been created not to be alone. We are designed to be together. This last couple of years, the COVID-19 restrictions have significantly increased the situations where we have been forced to be apart. … Read more

I love living in Arizona, but there is one notable downside: dry skin, particularly on my feet. Many of us wear sandals year-round, so it is an ongoing problem. But I think that I've finally conquered it with daily applications of lotion, … Read more

How often have I been captivated by the masked man, the man of mystery, in stories and film? The Man in the Iron Mask was reputed to be the wrongly imprisoned heir to the throne of France, and was restored to his reign by the Three … Read more

"I was here first!" It starts so early! This exclamation often ended in some pushing and shoving. The effort to be first in line seems to go way back in my memory. It seemed that to be first in line was some kind of great achievement … Read more

When I worked at the hardware store, one of my jobs was to cut keys. People would arrive with a variety of keys and ask me to make duplicates for them. Duplicating a key required three steps: – Finding the right key blank to match the … Read more

As our little Shih Tzu puppy and I ventured out onto our patio one fateful morning, a female hawk dove directly towards Bailey. She was only a few inches away from me. I was terrified, so I furiously swung my iPad around (my only weapon), … Read more

At some point, it is likely that we have all heard this sentence: "My conscience is clear." We may have even said it ourselves. While we need to have a clear conscience, the sensitivity and integrity of individual consciences are very … Read more

During this Eastertide, we are living through a season of resurrection and hope. Some use that word hope as an acronym for Heal Our Planet Earth. Hope is what we cling to in these dark days of war and destruction, global warming and … Read more

Handling final affairs can be sobering but helpful. Before my father died, he arranged most of his final affairs. Although he never went to the funeral home and selected a casket, he did have his order of service mapped out, as well as a … Read more