Tag: facing death

Elegy for a personal paradise lost: music in Georgetown, Ontario, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with Mr. Ken Harrison

Elegy for a personal paradise lost: music in Georgetown, Ontario, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with Mr. Ken Harrison “The past is a candle at great distance: too close to let you quit, too far to comfort you. It is strange how we hold on to the pieces of the past while we..

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A hair-raising elegy: Growing up in Georgetown at Wright Smith’s Barbershop, 1960-1964, and beyond

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..

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Tellwell triplets: Giving birth to the same book three times

Tellwell triplets: Giving birth to the same book three times My publishing experience with Tellwell Talent has been unique: I’ve witnessed three radically different versions of the “same” book emerge squalling and wailing into the literary universe and collaborated with three different “midwives.” Home | Tellwell Publishing My book is available in English, in French,..

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Audiobook Valentines Day Launch

Valentines Day Audiobook Book Launch: Attach your antlers and have a listen La description française suit la description anglaise. I’m excited to announce that the English version of my audiobook is available on Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books, meaning listeners can purchase it outright, use an Audible credit, or get a discount if they own..

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Anne and Angelina

Anne and Angelina It was around 9 a.m. on the morning of May 15, 2013, in Quebec City, with spring barely having sprung, as is typical in that chilly Nordic provincial capital. Our phone jangled, and a familiar, mellifluous voice purred at the other end of the line. The caller was Jacquie Czernin, the host..

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Being alone with Dad (Georgetown Ontario, 1955-1964, and beyond)

*Being alone with Dad (Georgetown Ontario, 1955-1964, and beyond) The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated… – a popular misquote of Mark Twain A family is a tyranny ruled over by its sickest member… – a paraphrase of George Bernard Shaw **In the photo, my father is third from the left. This is..

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Excremental vision

La version française de ce texte suit la version anglaise. Excremental vision By her own admission, my mom began toilet training my sister and me when we reached about six months of age. Her fervent desire to get us out of diapers was a rather extreme reflection of the prevailing zeitgeist of the 1950s where..

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ET C’EST L’HIVER/ AND IT’S WINTER: Beautiful and timeless music from Quebec circa 1975

ET C’EST L’HIVER F. Hamelin – Marie-Claire Séguin Une belle chanson poétique pour l’hiver *English translation below the French   Nous marchons si près de la terre Sous le vent de minuit Sous la blancheur du givre Et comme au temps du très vieux temps Le long d’un grand pays de neige Les arbres se..

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We never got to mourn our friend: A tribute to Dr. Robbie Mahood on the third anniversary of his death on December 26, 2021

We never got to mourn our friend: A tribute to Dr. Robbie Mahood on the third anniversary of his death on December 26, 2021 We were living far away from Canada when we learned of the death of our good friend Robbie Mahood on December 26, 2021. We never had the opportunity to mourn his..

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Indians by Arthur Kopit: A controversial play in 1980

Indians: A controversial play in 1980 As my exit from the theatre of life is imminent, I remember so fondly the many student actors with whom I had the privilege to work over a 35-year teaching career at Champlain St. Lawrence College in Quebec City. The first play that I directed at St. Lawrence took..

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