Yesterday was my brother’s birthday. I call him my baby brother because he’s 20 months younger than me, but about a foot-and-a-half taller. It amuses me to call him that, while looking straight up to make eye contact with him. …
Throwback Thursday – Baby Brother’s Big AdventureRead More »
Throwback Thursday – Baby Brother’s Big Adventure Read More »
People are often surprised to learn how far back Derek and I go. We worked together at CKSL in London in the early 1980s. After that, we also worked at CKNX in Wingham, although our decisions to go there were separate and although we were pals, we weren’t “together” at the time. Our history is very When-Harry-Met-Sally. But this is about CKNX, which turned 90 on the weekend with an open house, a big birthday bash and the event we attended, an alumni BBQ. …
Our Favourite 90-year-old Read More »
We didn’t spend actual Father’s Day with my Dad this year. Yesterday was the 90th anniversary of CKNX Radio in Wingham – more about that tomorrow. But we did do an early Father’s Day get together. Despite enduring Parkinson’s for years, he has somehow kept his wit and sense of humour. And so today, I want to share with you my favourite picture of him, that shows his wonderful smile. …
Dad’s Day, The Day After Read More »
When someone notices my sixteen-pounds-and-counting weight loss, they always want to know how I’m doing it. After they find out, they often have a suggestion of something I should take to help the mission along, or replenish a missing mineral/vitamin/acid, which they can apparently tell I need despite no medical training or test results. …
Supplementary Expenses Read More »
A colleague died suddenly at work a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t know him well, but he was a friendly, cheery guy who always made a point of saying good morning. People who worked closely with him were devastated and he was clearly well liked around the building. …
There Must Be Some Misunderstanding Read More »
I should have known when I walked into the home and it smelled of stale smoke. I should have guessed that the rug I was buying from a Kijiji ad would smell that way too. But I had no idea that it would become the thing that stunk up the joint, and waste fifty perfectly good dollars. …
The Rug from HELL Read More »
It took me some time to formulate my own thoughts about the revelation that Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip has terminal brain cancer. Obviously, I had thoughts I could share on the air, but I had to hold back on my instinctual reaction, which was to suggest that people give to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada if they want to do something useful in Gord’s name. …
Throwback Thursday – BTFC Awareness Read More »
Friends are seated in a restaurant, looking over the menu. …
Dinner Conversation Read More »
You know those times you lost your mind with laughter and had a difficult time stopping? That happened on the Main Street in Bayfield six years ago with my friend Laurie. Passersby must have thought we were drunk in the middle of the day, bent over laughing with tears running down our faces for no apparent reason. …
Throwback Thursday – Wilma and Betty Do Bayfield Read More »
It’s not really fair to compare our Las Vegas wedding to a wedding with invitations and guests and centrepieces, except that we were ahead of the trend on something important: customization. These days, brides and grooms are realizing that they can have a service that’s as long or as short as they want, and have it contain what they want, instead of taking a cookie-cutter ceremony from someone who simply inserts their name into the wording. Our friend Laurie is now an ordained Minister and that’s her niche: officiating customized, non-denominational weddings. …
Your Wedding, Your Way Read More »
When it comes to recyclables! People have told me I’m a fool for sorting my plastics/cans apart from my paper/cardboard because the pick-up guys merely throw it all into the same truck. Not content to just assume, we invited the city’s head of environmental programs to explain on CJBK. …
Separation is a Good Thing Read More »
We spent a little time out in the sticks last weekend in West Lincoln, toward the Niagara Region. We were warned that there were ticks in the fields but when in Rome, one roams. …
There are so many people doing so much good for others, and it’s one of the biggest advantages of my life and career that I get to meet so many of them. …
Hello fine folk, even you, nutty Mason Jar Lady across the road, whose collection of odd front lawn decor grows every year. We have a full crop of dandelions and this year, we’re keeping them. …
Open Letter to Our Neighbours Read More »
Whether you count the day after Mother’s Day, or May 11th as the anniversary, it’s been one year since Lauren Davis Shirakawa didn’t wake up from her sleep.
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(No Title Will Suffice) Read More »
Two younger broadcasters I work with recently made decisions that made me want to stand up and cheer for them. …
Smart Young Women Read More »
When you live in the country, you watch out for your neighbours. You get to know each other’s routines and you keep an eye out for anything strange. Growing up outside of Smithville, Ontario, we saw it all. Teenagers dropping cases of beer in the reeds near our front pond for safe keeping. A neighbour’s kid, ploughing his car through our flock of ducks as they attempted to cross the road. Trespassing hunters from the city, wandering through our fields and woods, guns loaded, looking for deer. …
Throwback Thursday – Mom P.I. Read More »
If I asked you to identify Henry Heimlich, you might say he’s the guy who invented a life-saving technique called the Heimlich Manouver. And you’d be right. But did you also know that he’s not popular in the science world? For one thing, who puts their own name on something that saves lives? If that was common, a defibrillator would be known as Johnson’s Chest Paddles. …
The Heimlich Validation Read More »