First job and first paycheque: Kmart next to McDonald’s, London Ontario, Spring 1969 In April 1969, the brand-new McDonald’s on Oxford Street, in my hometown of London, Ontario, went on a hiring spree. This august establishment, a source of civic pride for many Londoners since it was the first of its kind in the entire..
Tag: humour
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..
Winter and Early Spring in Georgetown, Ontario: Weathering the Storm of Childhood, 1955-1964…and onward to the present day “One thing about cold weather: it brings out the statistician in everyone.” Paul Theroux, The Old Patagonian Express March 30, 2025 Forecast: Freezing Rain Warning: Prolonged period of freezing rain. Ice accretion of 5 to 10 mm…
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..
Constable Ted Scott: Crossing the tracks, Georgetown, Ontario, circa 1960 Growing up in the Swanick subdivision of Georgetown, Ontario, in the late 1950s and early 1960s was rich in experiences of all sorts, including numerous rituals that are indelibly branded in my depleting bank of memories. One such ritual entailed “crossing the tracks.” I went..
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..
Is there a doctor in the house? Dr. Macintosh, Georgetown, Ontario, 1955-1964, and beyond “Nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return.” – Milan Kundera “Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.” – Doug Larson When our family moved to Georgetown from Toronto in 1955,..
Butting in and butting out: Childhood, adulthood, and cigarette smoke (Georgetown, Ontario and beyond) (38) smoke smoke smoke that cigarette Tex Williams with Lyrics – YouTube From earliest childhood, I was constantly engulfed in a toxic cloud of cigarette smoke, and growing up in Georgetown, Ontario in the 1950s, I was mad keen to butt..
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..
She’s dreaming of a Weetabix Christmas My wife Anne cannot live without Weetabix. This is a serious addiction. On Christmas morning, she will devour a delicious bowl of Weetabix as always. She has wolfed down Weetabix in many countries and on several continents and can provide a detailed, granular analysis of Weetabix variants world wide…