Nobody really needs a definition for courage, but Noah Webster wrote something especially lively in his classic 1828 dictionary. He called courage “that quality of mind which enables people to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression
Synagogue attack is a wake-up call Read More »
In our soaking socks, just two of us were left high jumping. That’s what I remember about that track and field day at Maple Crest School. Pouring rain and drenched socks. We’d taken our shoes off to be lighter. Paul won, almost an afterthought to the memory.
Some of our best lessons aren’t from any textbook Read More »
In the category of “Why is life so interesting?” let’s start outside a café in Port Stanley where I recently sat in the morning sunshine with my coffee. There I spoke to a stranger. She was from Chatham, she said, about an hour away, but meets her children and grandchildren in a rented cottage during summer.
Why is life so interesting? Read More »
We drove from all over on a Saturday to meet in Niagara. I doubt anyone expected to hear anything about dreams. I arrived to sit beside a youth, a leader in training younger than Dawson. He told me he knew Dawson from camp. Hundreds sat to our right and hundreds to our left. I’d never met Dawson, but had volunteered at
Reflecting on life’s fragility Read More »
Before the hockey photo there was this other one. There’s an attractive young lady on a boat. She’s a worthwhile catch, according to my friend who’s showing me. “That’s Jean,” he said. I was intrigued. She’s leaning against a wall on this houseboat, looking into the camera with a
From a photograph to a 25-year bond Read More »
Yesterday, July 17, was Nils Bohlin’s birthday. More on Mr. Bohlin shortly. His claim to fame involves seatbelts. Seatbelts weren’t always in fashion. Consider the ‘70s. There’s my father and his mutton chops with my buddy Paul and myself, all in our blue van during a snowy
Strap in and thank your lucky stars for Nils Bohlin Read More »
One day a few summers ago I saw a pair of feet in old sneakers pass a row of small Canada flags placed along a walkway. It was in Charlottetown, PEI, on Canada Day. Fitting, considering Charlottetown is Canada’s birthplace. The feet, of course, could be from anywhere.
Nationalism, at its best, is nothing to fear Read More »
The thing about even the most humdrum of moments is that something of life’s larger mystery can come through them. Take this moment in Congo, a father holding his child in their home’s doorway. Neither seemed to mind me stopping. My sense is that both would be okay, even pleased, knowing their photo finally found
The doorways of fatherhood Read More »
