Anne: her quirkiness was next to godliness Anne was indeed a character! She practically memorized all the novels of Jane Austen, having devoured them, like she came to gobble hospital meatloaf, dozens of times per year. In fact, Anne also memorized huge chunks of poetry and prose in the course of her lifetime, including “The..
Dealing with the bureaucracy of death: A special kind of hell There is a special kind of hell in losing someone you love and then, before grief has even had room to breathe, being forced to become fluent in the cold machinery of death administration: forms, affidavits, certificates, tax rules, court language, bank demands, and..
Mourn on the 4th of July: An elegy for my American cousins and friends For my dear, recently departed wife, Anne, travelling to Vermont, which we did quite frequently whilst in Canada, was like returning to her native region in the Carpathian foothills of Slovakia: the same green uplands folding one behind another, the..
New Canadian class: Canada Day 2026 On August 21,1968, my late wife Anne’s country was invaded by the Soviet Union. The invasion of Czechoslovakia took place the day before Anne’s 10th birthday. The Soviet Union was intent on putting an end to what is known as the Prague Spring, a period of reform in Czechoslovakia..
A worthy goal: Brendan Gallagher and family fundraising for brain cancer research A mini controversy has been brewing in Montreal concerning – what else? – hockey, more specifically the recent elimination of Les Canadiens. A fan favourite, the 14-year veteran Brendan Gallagher, was a “healthy scratch” (which sounds like an oxymoron from the..
Anne, Patron Saint of Dandelions You loved the small gold uprisings in the grass, those bright, stubborn lanterns everyone else called weeds. You saw a kingdom where others saw invasion, a thousand yellow crowns lifting through the ordinary. And you were like them, Anne – radiant, doughty, unafraid to bloom in hard places, to..
Celebration in Honour of the Life of Anne Schlenker McBryde (May 16, 2026) “I love you all the time/ And I’ll love you forever.” On April 30 of last year, when Anne and I celebrated our 46th anniversary of conjugal life by feasting on Ottawa’s finest Chinese food, Anne was herself: healthy, feisty, full of..
Obituary for Anne Schlenker (McBryde) 1958-2026 “I love you all the time and I’ll love you forever.” Anne’s last words to her family before her emergency brain surgery, May 12, 2025. It is with profound sadness that we wish to announce the death of Anne Schlenker (McBryde). Anne passed away in the early morning hours..
Anne’s Aphasia: At a Total Loss for Words Anne, whose tongue once danced in six bright streams, German, Slovak, Czech, English, French, and Spanish, Each language a doorway, each word alive, Now, cancer’s shadow closes her mouth, yet leaves her mind awake. Inside her, thought still sings, quiet as dawn mist, Ideas unfurl, unseen,..
Anne’s Song A Free Verse Poem You have always kept your songs close, Quiet as sunrise tucked behind evening curtains, Shy – embarrassed, you say – Afraid the melody might stumble, That your voice might stray from the path, That the world would hear you sing And think the tune misplaced. But I have listened,..