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..
School field trips, 1958-1969, Chapel Street Public School, Georgetown, Ontario, Oakridge High School, London, Ontario When I was a child and an adolescent attending Ontario elementary and secondary institutions of higher learning, school trips were a primary source of pleasure and intellectual stimulation, starting as early as first grade. When students see the real-world..
Becoming Jean Chrétien 1982-2025/ Devenir Jean Chrétien 1982-2025 La version française de ce récit suit immédiatement la version anglaise. One very early morning of November 1982 in Quebec City, I was awakened by the screams of our eight-month old baby, who called for his parents’ attention every couple of hours with the howls of a..
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..
Le temps passé avec vous fut bref mais tordant L’Antenne, le bulletin mensuel de l’Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec (OTTIAQ), a publié un article sur mon dernier livre. L’antenne – 16 janvier 2024 (mailchi.mp) L’Ordre se donne pour mission d’assurer et de promouvoir la compétence et le professionnalisme de ses membres..
Moses de Boswell…learning to curse and swear the Québécois way for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day – Quebec’s national holiday Having been raised in a repressive Protestant community, I have always loved to curse and swear. (As small child, I was led to believe that I would roast in hell for eternity as punishment for this proclivity.) ..
The real reason that we returned to Canada: My wife Anne missed Simons too much to remain in France. Here is an excerpt from the story “Excuse My French” from the book entitled My Time with You Has Been Short but Very Funny. Simons, a clothing and department store, is a Quebec and even..
Seen but not heard My father’s attitude toward children was simple: They were to be seen but not heard; Or preferably not seen… nor heard. That was the simplest solution of all for Jim McBryde. Dad had a particularly hard spot For rambunctious boys, Especially from my mother’s side of the family; Cousins Johnny..
The Trial of Duddy Kravitz This is Academy Award week and one the films in line for best picture is a brilliant courtroom drama titled Anatomy of a Fall ((Anatomie d’une chute). My family has always loved courtroom dramas. So I created trials with and for my students. Here is a piece about Duddy..
Recyclage du livre My Time with You Has Been Short but Very Funny en français! Lancement du livre Book launch Aujourd’hui, je suis ravi d’annoncer le lancement de la version française de mon livre. Today I’m thrilled to announce the launching of the French version of my book. Recyclage du livre My Time with You..