One of my favourite things about childhood was day-long fishing trips to north country lakes. Lakes that were cool and clear. And very deep. It took an enormously long fishing line to reach the bottom, where the best bullheads and the largest perch waited. But my favourite way of fishing […]
Columnists
A great philosophical truth was uttered in Fat Frantic the other day. “It’s a good thing we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for,” hollered Hollerin’ Harold, commenting on the latest local traffic control regulations. The whole trucking fraternity–this is a men’s only club–was gathered around the tables at […]
A baby-sitter or an older brother or sister is often responsible for the care and safety of young children. Knowing what to do in the event of a poisoning, and following proper poisoning prevention behaviours, are an important part of that responsibility. Caregivers should know children who are poisoned by […]
The moose is the largest member of the deer family in the world. It is found in Europe and Asia, as well as North America. There are several races, the largest of which is found in Alaska, where a bull can go up to the size of a horse–about seven […]
After the excitement, the phone rang and my neighbour gasped, “Well, I guess there’s nothing the matter with my heart but my wife, Sugar, thinks she may have a slight concussion!” It had all started a year earlier when Puddin’ Pye’s cousin and my neighbour, Milk Toast, experienced a severe […]
It was way too early. But never mind, spring still came to the prairie last week. The sun was bright and the sky blue. The breezes were light and the temperature soothing. The Carolina Wren that stayed with us all winter trilled and twittered in delight. Dozens of bright sunny […]
It was bound to happen. Finally, my bathroom scale has had a nervous breakdown. In the post-holiday season, as I started my annual lament on how my clothes were continuing to shrink, my good wife, the Pearl of the Orient, put things in focus for me. “It’s not your clothes, […]
One of our great northern resources is the forest. But controversy about it continues: Who should get how much of it? What can we do to both use and keep it? Resource use fluctuates with perceived value. The value usually depends on competition for it, and on what substitutes are […]
The year was 1933. The deep, dark Depression still hadn’t abated. And a young man, who had dreamed of being a mathematics teacher since childhood, graduated from the City University of New York with a master’s degree in his field. But sadly, there was no work. Schools couldn’t afford to […]
“Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.” Remember the old spiritual? Well, bones aren’t dry at all. Rather, they are really quite complex–and remember they are living tissue. Just because they seem sturdy and firm doesn’t mean that they don’t need nutrients and oxygen, just like all the rest of […]
Through history, different preoccupations have shaped human life. It was agriculture for a thousand years, industrial development for several hundred. The information age dominated for about 70, and now we are entering the bio-economy. Each kind of activity remains with us. But the dominant forces change. What will be next, […]
So far, I’ve never been to England. But when I do go, I know exactly what my first stop will be–Hewstead Abbey. And once at the abbey, I will head straight for an ancient marker and stoop to read the words etched in stone nearly two centuries ago. The occasion […]
