Missed Opportunity?

June 18, 2025.Reading time 1 minute.

“Are the children being taught Canadian curriculum or Ukrainian?” Did I detect a tone of disapproval? I was speaking at a Women’s Institute regarding the Ukrainian School we have set up in town. I explained that the children all attend Canadian school during the week, and this is an extra-curricular program which occurs on Sunday […]

Patterns and Progress

September 4, 2024.Reading time 2 minutes.

I chose not to drink having grown up in a family of alcoholics. I wanted my children to have the experience of a parent who was present and predictable. It was an ideal, and certainly not perfect. My children, a generation removed from the trauma, choose to socialize with a drink. I’ve never seen any […]

Stop War

February 28, 2024.Reading time 2 minutes.

You can’t tell from the photograph, but one woman’s cousin has been missing for 20 days. He is in the military, and all they know is 22 from his regiment are dead. Another’s brother just turned 16. She wants to bring him to Canada before the war makes a statistic out of him, but their […]

Fences In Black & White (with poem)

March 16, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Look at us building fencespretending we have differences do we not hunger the samehunt in the same places do we not strive with equal intentbuild our nests with the same ferocity forgo passion to survive?Let us stop pretending let down these walladmit to our vulnerabilities align our purposesfight a more fearsome foe. (Cee’s black and […]

I Can Only Hope

November 9, 2016.Reading time 1 minute.

I understand the need for political change – here in Canada it represented a landslide win for a young, politically inspired, English teacher with “great hair” as all the election attack ads reminded us in hopes of discrediting him. I get that Hilary has a less than spectacular track record tainted by rumours of corruption. At […]