My flock size was reduced this week as I dropped off three lambs at the abattoir. I felt quite sad, but they had reached market weight and Rainy River Meats was in need of lamb (they have a difficult time keeping lamb on their shelf). A friend of mine lost […]
Columnists
This week presents another opportunity to share some of the hard work of the New Democrat caucus research team, which always is busy discovering new and interesting things about our federal government and our party. The parliamentary session resumes in a couple of short weeks and we’ll kick things off […]
For the past decade, high gasoline prices have been a source of frustration for people regardless of their age, location, or income. Here in the north, the impact of high gas prices hits us especially hard given our vast geography and the need to travel for many primary services, such […]
It was the Labour Day weekend. The moon, almost still full, lit the lake Sunday evening. A fire burned across the lake at Gasparinis’ cabin. A small light shone from the Tibbs’ cabin. A bright light lit the cabin across the water on Nowhere Island. Phil Bangert had arrived at […]
Have you flown a kite recently? I haven’t, not since I was 14 or 15. It was a kite I made myself, at that age when one starts to resist assistance and strike out on one’s own—outwardly certain and slightly over-confident. My father gave me some hints as to aerodynamic […]
Over the past 30 years, one piece of boating equipment has become a staple for serious anglers: trolling motors. Mounted on either the bow or the stern of the boat, trolling motors provide anglers with a silent motor that allows them to sneak up on fish and have much better […]
Tonight marks the return of the 800-pound sporting gorilla that is the NFL as the Dallas Cowboys go up against the defending Super Bowl champion N.Y. Giants. To be honest with you, I would like to get up on my soapbox and rant away in this column about how the […]
Maybe my pets can read and thus know that I write about them. Maybe when I’m gone to work, they make themselves at home in the living room (where the “Dog Rule” manual states they are not allowed) and read my column in the newspaper—or perhaps they surf my online […]
Queen’s Park resumed this week after its summer break. While much of the upcoming agenda will hinge on the outcome of two Sept. 6 byelections, which will determine if Dalton McGuinty has been successful in obtaining his much sought-after third majority government, I expect much of the attention will be […]
Nothing brings work to a standstill faster than a mom bringing in her newborn baby. Even from the back pressroom, the pressman can hear the cooing the front office staff make. And quickly they reach the front office to compete for time to hold those newborns. And as they grow […]
This past week, I joined New Democrats and Canadians in pausing to remember Jack Layton on the anniversary of his passing just one short year ago. It seems like yesterday. I was shocked to learn of Jack’s second cancer diagnosis in the weeks following the May 2 election, but even […]
Have you heard of Sophia Scholl? Or Traudl Junge? Films have been released, separately, on each of them—a creative depiction of the choices they made and the startling differences in their legacies. They were two young German women at the beginning of World War II, born in 1921 and 1920, […]
