Thailand: Where tackiness is next to godliness Our younger son spends much of his time in Thailand, a world chock full of all things tacky, of corniness, of kitsch. Tongue -in-cheek, he suggests that I move to Thailand where my broken foot would never impede shopping, not with such vehicles as you see in this..
Red bell peppers…a vast field of dreams My wife awoke at 2:25 a.m. this morning With a preternatural shiver, Having dreamt of a vast field of red bell peppers, Unfurling as far as the eye could see, A million vermilion vegetables, So soothing in their still pepperiness, Absurd denizens of eternal pepperdom, Going nowhere, rooted..
Reaching 100 years old…Still here but yet so far away! My sister and I call her Aunty Bud, for reasons unknown. She “celebrated” her 100th birthday yesterday. My father’s sister, Doris “Bud” Branson, was born on August 11, 1924, at a time when William Lyon Mackenzie King was Prime Minister of Canada, and Babe Ruth..
Pet sitting and babysitting…we all have our stories… and our crosses to bear! For the next two weeks, I have been tasked with cat sitting while my son and daughter-in-law enjoy a vacation cruise. The cats’ names are Sassy and Mimi. Sassy is a furling dervish in a cat tuxedo, while Mimi is a purring..
Pet Influencers…Belatedly Learning How to Pet I am hopeless at marketing: technologically illiterate, too embarrassed to crank up the B.S. bazooka to fine mist, and too pressed for time to learn how to become a literary marketeer. I just learned that there is a marketing concept called Pet Influencers. https://afluencer.com/how-become-pet-influencer/ https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/6/18066056/dog-instagram-famous-pet-influencers https://afluencer.com/how-make-dog-influencer/ https://swaygroup.com/pet-influencer-marketing/..
Strip Mall Medicine in Ottawa, Ontario, Part Two: The Plot Thickens Based on a John Grisham novel of the same name, Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic courtroom drama The Rainmaker recounts the trials and tribulations of fledgling lawyer Rudy Baker, played by Matt Damon, who is forced to take work as an ambulance chaser with..
Boy in a shiny grey suit * Eighth grade graduation, June 1964, Riverside Public School , London Ontario There was hormonal misfiring, Storm clouds of anguish were gathering, And cluelessness to boot. Suffering and torture, Searching and pure horror, In the world of the shiny grey suit. Popularity was dominant; Party invitations, so..
What’s in a name? Grade 3 identity crisis “Sticks and stones will break my bones/ But names will never hurt me.” (An old adage which is a bare-faced lie) When I was barely eight years old and living in Georgetown, Ontario, an earth-shattering upheaval shook my identity to the core: I lost the name my..
Valentines Day and a Box Social Grade 2 Miss Betty Jean Anderson (teacher) Georgetown, Ontario, Canada Around February 14, 1960 Chapel Street School Valentine’s Day coming up…frenetic activity. Who would get the most cards? Popularity depended on volume. Messages: Be mine….You’re so sweet. Corny puns: Some Bunny Loves You (accompanied by..
The JFK assassination: A Child’s Eye View… Friday, November 22, 1963, Georgetown, Ontario I was 11 years old, in grade 7. It was a typical late fall school day, chilly and gray, in my hometown of Georgetown, Ontario. Our teacher, Mrs. Evans, read to us from the Bible, lengthy segments as she did every..