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Be prepared
In my early teens I was a boy scout. In deference to the modern era, I think the ‘boy’ has been deleted and they are now just scouts. Read More Read More
A weighty topic
The best-selling books, year after year, are diet books. Dr. Atkins’ diet, the Scarsdale, the Ornish, grapefruit diets, banana diets. Read More Read More
Life as a call-boy
By Ralph Pohlman Whenever I drive under a railroad overpass and see that CN logo I am reminded of my old summer jobs in high school. Melville was a small town of about 3,000, which was pretty big for southern Saskatchewan, but more than that, it was a divisional point on the CNR, where the train crews changed. Read More Read More
The real Rudolph
In 1949 there occurred the first new addition to the folklore of Santa Claus in this century. That was when Johnny Marks wrote, and Gene Autry sang, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. That version has sold about 10 million copies. Read More Read More
Memory clips
Folks have a tendency to divide their lives into different periods as a way of remembering the past. Some divide them into decades, like the ‘60s or the ‘80s. Some guys I know organize their memories according to cars. “Oh, yeah,” they’ll say, “that was when I had the black Mustang.” Read More Read More
Sophie’s Gone
My goal in life is to be the kind of man my dog thinks I am. Anybody who knows me knows that I favour dogs. Cats too, but mostly dogs. Up at our cottage north of Ottawa, when the family is all there, the place is full of adults, kids and dogs. If I ever made a list of ‘Things To Do Today’ it would read, “Let a dog in, Let a dog out, Let a dog in, Let a dog out …Repeat endlessly.”... Read More
Life and Death
As you read this column, you should be aware that it was actually written on Aug. 23, the day after Jack Layton died. I had written another column, but I set it aside at the last minute because of Layton’s death. Read More Read More
Jobs for the boys
Do you remember the after-school and summer jobs you had as a kid? The bottom-of-the-food-chain, minimum wage, mind-numbing jobs that are supposed to build character? That are long on effect and short on pay? I had lots of them, and so did my kids. Like delivering newspapers or flyers, serving behind the counter at local shops, waiting tables at Ontario Place, cleaning floors at... Read More
