“It’s a wild world.” My precious wife Anne who is dying of brain cancer has lost almost her entire capacity to speak, but every so often verbal gems emerge unbidden, like buried treasure from the depths of an unfathomable sea. Recently, as we explored the palliative care ward in her wheelchair, out came the chorus..
Anne chooses a song for her celebration of life AND IT’S WINTER/ ET C’EST L’HIVER F. Hamelin – Marie-Claire Séguin A beautiful, poetic song for an interminable winter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhKIlLhWHxg When Anne and I were first together in 1979-1980, she loved this hauntingly beautiful poetic song, which she would sing continuously..
Ramblings on January 25 to celebrate Robbie Burns’ Birthday Every year, on January 25th, the Scottish people, including the Scottish diaspora, celebrate Burns’ Night. This is the night where Scots highlight the life and works of Robert Burns, a poet and lyricist, and arguably one of Scotland’s most notable figures. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/robert-burns In my..
Echoes of Yesterday: A Poignant Reunion with an Old Friend* We sat in the silver hush of late morning, old friend’s hands circling ours with steady warmth. His words were gentle—knitting silence to sorrow, eyes meeting Anne’s with the hush of knowing. We spoke of small kindnesses, old laughter, winter’s return. He held hope..
A Little Help from our Friends In the fall of 1979, as the new school year was about to begin, I found myself in exile, shunted to a crowded, windowless office space in a remote corner of our tiny college, Champlain St. Lawrence CEGEP in Quebec City. As a young, part-time English instructor, I didn’t..
Lights out in 1979 “This level of exhaustion deserves its own genre of music.” Looking back on my 46-year relationship with my wife Anne, I can’t help but express certain profound regrets and proffer belated apologies. I’m so sorry that my nocturnal proclivities cost Anne so much sleep back in 1979… a situation..
Checking Out? Leaving? A Tale of Hospital Discharge and the Hotel California “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”—at least, that’s how it feels on discharge day at the hospital. Getting Anne released proved to require a labyrinthine dance worthy of the Eagles’ greatest hit. Various staff..
A tale of three cafeterias revisited: London, Ontario; Burnaby, British Columbia; Quebec City, 1965-2000 While reading Orwell’s seminal novel 1984 in university, I was struck by the grungy canteen scene, which prompted recollections of the cafeteria of my high school, Oakridge, in 1960s London, Ontario. George Orwell – 1984 – Part 1, Chapter 5 Now..
A hair-raising elegy: Growing up in Georgetown at Wright Smith’s Barbershop, 1960-1964, and beyond I don’t remember my first haircuts as a child growing up in small town Ontario. My memories of hair- raising adventures date back to about 1960, when I was around eight years old. A new barber arrived in town, Mr. Wright..
Haunted by Al Pacino: The Ottawa Healthcare Wilderness Life seems to me a random series of disconnected events, experienced as a sort of punctuated equilibrium. Al Pacino has frequently insinuated himself into my mental landscape like a hirsute wraith, erupting suddenly into my consciousness or ken of vision as if out of an AL-in-a-Box. We..