Everyone makes mistakes. Who hasn’t?  It amounts to a platitude. Just bad timing or too much to drink or a moment of misadventure. Some mistakes are however inexplicably egregious – which usually means we haven’t heard the full story. But what to say? Questioning the detail is perhaps too intimate an enquiry, an unwelcome curiosity in what is otherwise intended to be blowing off steam. But it helps in the overall assessment to recall the quip, “What was your first clue?” We have to trust our instincts.

Continue reading →

Among what I imagine to be a number of curious foibles of mine – or should I say, habits – is my notable affection for refreshment. I say this as a general even universal application; that is, it extends to the intellectual as well as the visceral usage. It is the obsession driven by the necessity to purify by clarifying the slate and starting anew. On the domestic level it is no more punishing than the preference for showers.  This not uncommon proclivity however can be speedily elevated to a more intense atmosphere through the influence of saunas or steam baths (accompanied by vast amounts of cold drinking water for ideal internal cleansing). At the other extreme (for example, in matters of society) the psychosis may entail a sudden (though seldom prolonged) exit from an alliance. The disorder was more tolerable – even preferable – in the exercise of my erstwhile professional obligations because I was always reviewing things from start to finish to ensure I hadn’t overlooked or forgotten something pertinent to fulfillment of the contract. I was aware of the repetition but more often than not I was rewarded with discovery or at the very least self-approbation.

Continue reading →

The first recorded use of the phrase to represent Canada was by George Monro Grant, who was Sandford Fleming’s secretary and a Presbyterian minister who used the phrase in his sermons. His great-grandson Michael Ignatieff suggests that Grant used the phrase in a nation-building effort during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The use of the word “dominion” in the verse reflected the common use of the name “Dominion of Canada” for the new country.

Continue reading →

It is not every occasion I have to say anything at all penetrating. The closest I get to that is saying something legal or factual. Not exactly ripping.  It is the casual “asides” which capture a far less prosaic conversation, the detached whisper, remark or confidentiality,

Continue reading →

There has forever been debate concerning the precise time to reap the bounty of an endeavour. In the agricultural context I expect the timing is fairly easily assessed. Beyond that however the timing is less apparent, less obvious and less compelling. Whenever it is reaped, I prefer to think of bounty less as a handout or prize and more as a dividend. The object isn’t reward or payback but fruition – ripeness, fulfillment and realization.

Continue reading →

We have all heard that we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Letting oneself get stressed out over the little things in life is one of the biggest ways to bring unnecessary grief into life’s path. We can avoid a lot of negative feelings, and even health problems, simply by learning not to let the little things get to us.

Continue reading →

It will not be the first time we’ve been to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We were last there for the winter in 2016. At that time – following a succession of prior trips to Hilton Head Island – we were being prompted by our vagabond friends to consider a more temperate zone for hibernation. Spirited by adventurous ambition – and perhaps by the snootiness of our friends – we began slowly to descend the Atlantic Ocean coast along the justifiably popular Route A1A overlooking the frothing sea while glinting through what at times resembled local fishing villages. It proved to be an uncomfortable and unwelcome transition most notably from the concierge-style property management of the agency on Hilton Head Island to the strictly commission-based application of the real estate agency on Daytona Beach Shores.  And while we certainly valued the overall comfort of the modern three-bedrosom apartment on the Atlantic Ocean, it wasn’t with much hesitation that we subsequently canceled a further booking at another place nearby for the next year and chose instead to check out Longboat Key. We had a small acquaintance with Longboat Key through the resort on Longboat Club Road where coincidentally we ended staying during our first winter there.

Continue reading →

We’re all familiar with the transcendental adage that happiness comes from within. When I contemplate for a moment my current status and recall the retail abuses in which I so gleefully luxuriated over the past fifty years, I have to confess that I have not by any measure overcome the enquiry into or pursuit of happiness. I am however convinced of the cogency of the thesis. It has to be one of the unscripted transports of old age that one needn’t buy anything (other than food naturally).  We have for example all the real estate we need (which is to say, none); we have all the furnishings we shall ever hereafter require; I shall never commission another painting; nor have I any intention of visiting antique dealers or Persian rug stores; and over the years I have succeeded to purchase 2-complete wardrobes in fat and thin sizes. And don’t get me started on sterling silver utensils, Crown Derby, gold jewellery or crystal anything. I am now in the exclusive business of disposition not acquisition.

Continue reading →

Early this afternoon I went for a drive in my Lincoln Aviator. In playful construct I have fashioned that the characterizing name “Aviator” is by entire serendipity reflective of my late father’s history as a pilot; and, that the “Lincoln” feature similarly reflects my late paternal grandfather’s passion for fine automobiles (as my grandmother advised, they needed a Packard limousine for their seven children). As for my contribution to this fabrication it ironically reflects its own “tangible” singularity; namely, not only the bloodline between us but also a motoring passion that was elemental to each of us (all of whom by further coincidence have “George” in their names). This sufficiently buoys the underlying theme; namely, that the Lincoln Aviator is an automobile of distinct and quality dimension. And with this too I would agree.

Continue reading →

We lingered immobile in our leather reclining chairs watching television until well after midnight before succumbing to mounting fatigue and going to bed. We strangely both arose in the middle of the night and began the new day’s agenda. I won’t say we were sprightly. Yet we significantly accomplished the creation on-line of the Province of Ontario COVD-19 Vaccination Passport for each of us. This is but one of many trifling matters we’ve recently addressed with uncommon zeal. Having now surpassed the middle of October, the time is rapidly approaching our departure on November 30th to Hilton Head Island for the remainder of the winter.

Continue reading →