When I first arrived here a couple of years ago, one of the very first columns I wrote was about the continuing debate over whether there should be a Northern Ontario rink competing at the Tim Hortons Brier. At that time, there was a lot of noise about having the […]
Columnists
As I sat down to write my Moos column on Monday, it was 2 p.m. and I still hadn’t tackled all my morning duties. That’s right, Maddie and Marlee are here! They are busy draggin’, playing, wrestling, and having a few fights every now and then. My phone and e-mail […]
When asked, I rarely tell people my age. Not that I mind people knowing how many birthdays I’ve had, but it seems to me that my chronological age doesn’t say much about me as a person. My assessment is that my hair is the colour of a 70-year-old, I laugh […]
Van Morrison is singing “School of Hard Knocks” as I stare at my laptop screen dumbfounded at the blank page that is idea-deprived. I do have material to call upon for inspiration, including “Better than Sex–Chocolate Principles to Live By,” followed by the tried and true Mark Nepo and Melody […]
This past week, MPPs debated a Progressive Conservative bill that would impose an across-the-board wage freeze on all public-sector workers. I am not opposed to the concept of wage freezes, in the right situation. But they need to be fair, make financial sense, apply equally to all, and be done […]
I went to a fiction-writing workshop this past week. I sometimes wonder why I go. It’s not as though I think the workshop leader will say something profound, and I’ll leap out of my chair with my arms thrown over my head and shout, “Oh, if only I had known.” […]
Inside retail businesses, the inventory is changing. There’s still snow on the ground but swimsuits and colorful skirts, tops, and shorts are finding their way into store windows. In hardware stores, barbecues are popping up right in front of you as you walk through the doors, as are seed stands. […]
March has arrived; the days are longer and the sun is warmer. We slowly are putting winter behind us. Still, I was on the phone Monday with many from the west and it sounded like March’s lion was hitting them quite hard. I’m crossing my fingers that we miss it. […]
My thought heading south to Alabama this past weekend was that the weather and temperatures would be a lot nicer than in Sunset Country. Well, there isn’t any snow on the ground down here but the temperatures are not much warmer than they are back home. It’s been about minus-four […]
The Great Spirit spoke again to the Kiowa: “I have told you about the Buffalo and how he will sustain you. But I must warn you. If the Buffalo disappears, then the Kiowa will fade into the sunset. “Never again will the Kiowa be a great nation.” And the buffalo […]
As hard as it is to believe, especially given the amount of snow that remains on the ground here probably will melt away by mid-July, we are entering the latter stages of the 2012/13 hockey season. With both Muskie high school squads capping off their seasons over the weekend with […]
A healthy, advanced, and safe public infrastructure is essential for economic development and to raising the quality of life for individuals and families. That’s why I tabled a motion last week that would see the federal government assist small rural communities throughout Canada with developing, repairing, and upgrading their core […]
