Latest Posts

  • Pebble Beach: A Place of Return

    There are places in the world that become part of us so deeply that we no longer think of them as “places” at all. They are woven into our breathing, our remembering, our way of understanding ourselves. For me, that… Continue reading

  • The Heartbeat of Marathon

    In my early years in Marathon, our family lived in a trailer park at the far southern edge of town. There were four of us in a space just thirty-three feet long and eight feet wide. It was not large,… Continue reading

    The Heartbeat of Marathon

  • Highways as Lifelines—And What Comes Next

    I was struck by Mayor Rick Dumas’ recent comments to delegates at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference, reported in The Marathon Mercury, where he described Highways 11 and 17 as “essential lifelines for northern communities.” I agree with him… Continue reading

  • When Banks Leave Town, Communities Pay the Price

    Over the past few years, many rural Canadians have watched local bank branches quietly disappear. At first, these closures may seem like simple business decisions, part of a shift toward online services and centralized operations. But for communities along the… Continue reading

  • Sailing Home

    I’ve been awake since 5 am this morning. Here I am at age 75 feeling like a kid at Christmas waiting for Santa to arrive as I pace and sip a coffee awaiting Don’s arrival. We are heading to Thunder… Continue reading

  • The Sound of Learning

    This afternoon I spent several hours in the church with a friend. At least, that’s how I think of him now. A lifetime ago he was my student. Don had agreed to help me experiment with the church sound system.… Continue reading

  • A Health Card and a Measure of Trust

    no doubt that the stories we hear about the ‘failings’ of our system are true, yet I hasten to add that I believe they are in the minority Continue reading

  • Tears Tonight for a Great Canadian Humourist

    In late 1980 through the mid 1990s, I worked as an Education Officer for the Ministry of Education of Ontario out of Thunder Bay. My territory covered a large portion of that part of Ontario-about the same size as all… Continue reading

  • The Sixties Scoop…

    My wife and I are the parents of an adopted First Nations child. Her adoption took place during what is now known as the Sixties Scoop. At the time, we did not understand what that meant. Over the years, we… Continue reading

  • I am coming to HATE computing and Windows 10…

    I cannot find sufficient words to express how much I dislike Windows 10. I am weary from attempting to customise this operating system so that it does not track my movements or feed me ads. I am tired of algorithms… Continue reading