The Happy Brothers/ Les frères Šťastný Two seemingly disparate fragments of history, one with a decidedly personal edge… Fragment one Anton Šťastný and Peter Šťastný chose to defect from Czechoslovakia to Quebec City, Canada, in late August 1980. Older brother Marian defected a year later to join them on the NHL Nordiques. The professional hockey..
David Sedaris and little old me Most of us have been told at one time or another that we look just like “X” (i.e. my favorite cousin’s best friend’s elder brother/sister/wife/uncle). Well, what happens when someone tells us that we write a whole lot like “X”? Since my book My Time with You Has Been..
I had to bring my 10-month-old baby son to Short Story class at CEGEP Champlain St. Lawrence junior college in Quebec City in January 1982 A Classroom Visitor: January 1982 One’s life is an urn Smashed into shards Made up of memories Sparked, determined, and falsified by Songs, stories, and photographs. Photos create shards…
Skinned alive… surviving by the skin of my teeth For a great many years, I contemplated suicide on a near daily basis. That I didn’t actually follow through on these ideations had much less to do with principles or consideration for others than with an abiding terror of disappearing forever into the yawning abyss of..
The Pilsbury Doha Boy “Everything is funnier in retrospect, funnier and prettier and cooler. You can laugh at anything from far enough away.” — Chuck Palahniuk An individual sporting the trademark maroon uniform of Qatar Airways and holding a handwritten sign saying ”Paris” was vacillating wretchedly not far from the exit ramp as we “de-planed”..
‘Twas the night before Christmas…green-chinned version Whilst we were in Thailand during the festive season, I contracted a nasty tropical skin infection. Here I have written some silly doggerel about this ordeal based on an old familiar poem. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, I awoke with a clatter, And beetled to a mirror, To..
Mythic family figures La version française suit la version anglaise. Happy New Year to one and all! Bonne année à tous et à toutes ! When I was a little kid, New Years Eve and New Years Day always had a particular resonance for my family because January 1 marked my parents’ wedding anniversary; they..
Sad Lisa As a person suffering from acute anxiety, I’m haunted by this beautiful, poignant song. En tant que personne souffrant d’anxiété aiguë, je suis hantée par cette chanson magnifique et poignante. (1) Yusuf Cat Stevens, Sad Lisa, Festival de Viña 2015 HD 1080p – YouTube Sad Lisa She hangs her head and cries on..
My old friend Andy McClelland is a brilliant singer/songwriter, an Indie musician with an amazing portfolio. He has given me a wonderful Christmas gift by turning two of my poems into songs. Here is the second tune called… Anne Is The True Artist In Our Home You can give the tune a listen by..
La version française suit la version anglaise. An excerpt from “Christmas tears”, a story featured in my book My Time with You Has Been Short but Very Funny. I have always wept at Christmas, yes, and sometimes tears of joy. When we were children in Georgetown Ontario, our parents dragged us to church, St…