These two books about migrations within America and to America have given me a lot to think about. They go beneath the surface and find both heartwarming and unsettling consequences. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson Between 1915 and 1970 six million Black Americans fled the South for cities in the North and […]
I’ve been making hats. It’s a pastime I began a couple of years ago and I picked it up again this winter. When you arrive at the confluence of time, isolation, terrible weather, and a supply of random leftover yarn, that’s what you do. I’m not a great knitter or crocheter, but I can handle […]
Yesterday someone with my garage remote was accused of stealing packages from the mailroom in my condo building in San Jose. To say I was shocked and horrified is to understate my feelings when I got the email from the property management company. The email was quite terse and, I thought, unnecessarily accusatory. Here is […]
Is there such a thing as empathy burnout? If so, that is what I am feeling. All my get-up-and-go got up and went. For the last couple of months, I have received one piece of bad news after another. People I know and love have died, are dying, cannot get the surgery they need, or […]
“There’s no crying in Alberta. P.S. Get a job & give back. Thank you. Merci. Hyi Hyi. Gratious & such. Be blessed & a blessing. Much love & respect. Strawberry. Amen.” Discuss.
Recently, my local community centre invited seniors to a drop-in. They wanted to find out what services this group of local people would like to see offered at the centre. The drop-in was to be between 1:00 and 4:00 PM on the Tuesday, so I made a note of it on my calendar. They said […]
Last week, I was idly looking for useful things to do when I opened the cupboard doors in my TV stand to see what I could clear out. (I’m experiencing a combination of Covid isolation and a late-life decluttering urge.) Inside the TV stand were some DVD’s that had been out of sight and out […]
These three books are all very different and each is set in a different country, but all three have an understanding of women’s lives and women’s sorrows. Sweetness In The Belly by Camilla Gibb This story begins in Morocco, travels to Ethiopia during Emperor Heile Selassie’s reign, and continues to the London of Margaret Thatcher’s […]
6 June 2021 Trigger Warning: This essay includes information about the deaths of indigenous students in residential schools in Canada. Canadians are shocked and horrified to learn of the extent of the genocide of indigenous children which took place at residential schools. It is a story that must be retold if there is to be […]
How do you plan for the next decade or two of your life when you are 72? I want to make the best use of my time, energy, health, and money with the awareness that all of those things will decline. The two people in my life whose advice I value the most, my sons, […]
As I was walking in Strathearn, Edmonton yesterday, I discovered an interesting protest. Outside of a small strip mall there were wheelchairs, walkers, canes, strollers, children’s tricycles, and crutches on display. There was also a tent on which I was invited to put my signature in support of the protest. In order to understand how […]
It is easy to dismiss murals as graffiti or even as vandalism but over the years, and the last ten years in particular, they have flourished and have become widely accepted. What was once sometimes rude and crude is now often artful and valued. Wherever I go, I enjoy seeing mural art. Most cities encourage […]
It all began about six weeks ago. Well, no. Actually it started several years ago when I first experienced osteoarthritis in my fingers and, coincidentally, insomnia. But, for the sake of this tale, the story began six weeks ago when I saw an ad on Facebook for CBD gummies. In case you have never been […]
This month I have read two books, each of which disturbed me for different reasons. I also re-read a book that I have previously enjoyed. The Widow by Fiona Barton Fiona Barton was a journalist before she became a novelist, and this book brings to the fore the complicated relationship that the press has with […]
On Saturday morning I lined up with a lot of other people to get a Covid-19 test. I had flu-like symptoms and the online health check advised me to get tested, so I went. Ahead of me in line was a father pushing a wheelchair designed for children with disabilities. In it was a boy […]
I am Isolating, more or less. When I picked up my on-line grocery order, I told the man who brought the goods to my car that “I am supposed to be isolating so I didn’t want to go into the store,” but he was too busy apologizing for keeping me waiting fifteen minutes. This all […]
My eldest son recently met an older woman who shocked him by saying “Our Prime Minister should be hit by a car and run over.” She was deadly serious. Her information sources had led her to believe that Justin Trudeau was such a threat that he needed to be eliminated. My response was first shock, […]
Tonight, I learned that smoke suppresses rainfall. How ironic is that? (Scientific American) All day I have been living under a smoke-filled sky. I first noticed it this morning when I saw that the rising sun was orange. I knew from past experience that this meant the smoke from western wildfires was now over my […]
All three of the books here deal with historical narratives. The statement that resonated most for me, and which applies in some ways to all three books, is from Josephine Tey: “Truth isn’t in accounts but in account-books.” It is another way of saying “trust but verify” when someone tells you what they remember. The […]
What is your opinion worth? If it is in the comments section of an online news article, it is not worth much at all. No one cares what you think unless you insult someone’s entrenched point of view. In your Direct Messages or email or apps, though, you might think your opinion can actually help […]
Snowbird of Paradise 