Plumbing the depths during palliative care: the Irish Plumber to the rescue in our adapted home Yesterday our toilet blocked. This was not surprising given that we are actually using two different amenities during this palliative homecare period: our regular toilet and a commode, a sort of porta potty throne, which Anne uses in..
Anne as an indomitable decorator: A feisty artist whom brain cancer can impede but never defeat Everybody who knows Anne knows that she’s a decorator; she calls herself the “Decorating Turkey.” Our sons have dubbed her “couth”; even the house in which we raised our rowdy boys in suburban Quebec City was “couth” and..
Relapses and Awakenings: Anne returns to the hospital unable to walk, talk, or eat Yesterday morning, Anne was unable to get out of bed. She could not walk, talk, or eat. She was also radically incontinent. After about 30 minutes of my lugging and cajoling, we finally reached the bathroom of our tiny..
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..
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..
Thailand: Kitsch at Christmas…Revisited Last year, we spent the Christmas season in Thailand, mainly in Bangkok. Our younger son lives in Thailand, a world chock full of all things tacky, of corniness, of kitsch. Tongue -in-cheek, he suggests that I move to Thailand where my broken foot would never impede shopping, since little red cars..
Rascal scooter to the rescue: an alternative to Ottawa public transit (part one) When I was a child my mom always called me “little rascal,” normally in Ukrainian, the language that her Polish family adopted when they came to Canada just before World War One. “Malenʹkyy dyyavol” she would yelp when I misbehaved…literally “little devil.”..
Speech to the Ottawa Transit Commission at City Hall November 25,2024 Here are a few excerpts from my speech to the Ottawa Transit Commission at City Hall yesterday. Anne and I were protesting the proposed 120% hike for a monthly seniors’ bus pass slated for 2025. The entire five-minute speech is on YouTube at 3:09:25..
Terminal tartar When I was about five years old, growing up in Georgetown, Ontario, a first visit to the dentist yielded the most perplexing diagnosis: I was afflicted with terminal tartar. Now in our home, in honour of my mom’s vestigial Catholicism, combined with her ardent desire to be a contemporary 1950s housewife, we always..
Tarpon Springs, Florida 1959…and 65 years later When I was seven years old, our family made a trip from Georgetown, Ontario to Tarpon Springs, Florida, on the train. (My father worked for the CN railway, so we had a family pass.) Tarpon Springs, Florida – Wikipedia We made this odyssey to visit our mom’s favorite..