Here’s a fun fact. “The Sound of Silence,” the hit song by Simon and Garfunkel, has turned 60. Its birthday slipped by somewhat silently (naturally) several weeks ago. It’s a reminder about the importance of silence, how we need it like we need food. Or air.
Something to get quiet about Read More »
One day on a mountain pass in Yemen I took a wild photo from behind two beater pickup trucks, two shaky vehicles with too few safety features moving way too many people and household items. It was at a curve on this two-way road when one of the overloaded pickups, incredibly, passed
The important guardrails of life Read More »
I woke up this morning and realized that it’s time to run for American president again. I get this urge, like a recurring rash, every four years or so. I’d been at a New York wedding, then kept driving and ended up in Massachusetts. The wedding joined a Canadian and American, like a
And now, the Neighbourhood Party Read More »
I’ll never eat Grace, my dog, for Thanksgiving. And while this seems too wild to even think about, sometimes you can’t state things too clearly in what is the crazy parade of life. In 2024 it was the cats and so-called single cat-ladies getting attention because of kooky
A time for giving thanks with Grace Read More »
My own view is that misbehaving books are like misbehaving kids. You can banish them to some corner away from others, but that might create a larger distraction. It’s on the radar because today finishes Banned Books Week in the U.S., that neighbour with cultural sway over us. Two
Creative freedom has its place Read More »
Today let’s talk about motorcycles. And the children in the nearby schoolyard. The ones who run and jump and scream and laugh and do what children do. I hear them when I open the front door. School is back. I wish they all had motorcycles, or at least a long ride on the back
Give up your phone. Get a motorcycle Read More »
Lately I’ve been thinking about being a billionaire. Billionaires sometimes jump off tall buildings after cutting their kids from the will. Read John Grisham’s novel “The Testament” for more on this. No, the billionaire life isn’t for everyone. When it comes to money and work and these
On work, money and what’s golden Read More »
One day early this summer my teenage son asked to host a party. Friends from camp lived far away, so they’d stay overnight, he explained. How many for the party? “Not many,” he told me. “About 30.” “Uhuh,” I said. “And the overnight? “Not many,” my dear boy repeated. “About 15.”
Of summer camps and Olympic ceremonies Read More »
