A teacher escorting American teenagers on a “cultural immersion” trip to Rome once told me the hardest part of the job was ensuring the school’s “zero tolerance” policy was enforced. The smallest sip of wine at a meal…a quintessential element of Italian culture…could cost the teacher her job. I find it a bit difficult to square that with a teenager’s“right to bear arms” at a public protest.… Read the rest
Homo sapiens began migrating from Africa to Europe somewhere between seventy and 100,00 years ago. In relatively short order they overwhelmed the humanoid species already there. The European Union seems to see the migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border as the modern incarnation, which begs the question: Why are they handling it so badly?… Read the rest
The man from the “Ministry of Silly Walks” just stepped on cancel culture, and in a rare turn up, the increasingly pernicious culture rather than the stepper, ended up with the moral equivalent of dog droppings on its shoe.… Read the rest
Having delivered lines of brave words, glowing promises and sweeping commitments to curtail climate change, the principal actors have left the stage of COP 26, the ‘last, best chance’ to save the world. Their resumés don’t bode well for the play’s climax, however. We the audience can only hope Shakespeare got it wrong when he wrote: “An overflow of good converts to bad.”… Read the rest
The lone maple among the white pine and spruce outside the window of my “writing nook” transformed into autumn colours so subtly I only registered differences every few days. As the days grew shorter and colder, the leaves became more vivid, and suddenly, they’re gone. The barely perceptible pace of change gave me pause to reflect that rather than saving time, the nano-second fast technology at our fingertips speeds its passage.… Read the rest
The loons have been talking more frequently of late, the haunting call known as the “wail”. One of four sounds loons use to communicate, ornithologists believe its few notes speak volumes. Human communication, by comparison increasingly brings to mind the first lines of Harry Nilsson’s signature song: “Everybody’s talking at me/I don’t hear a word they’re saying/Only the echoes of my mind”.… Read the rest
Paddling a kayak across a pristine lake provides not only solace for the soul, but often as not, unexpected lessons. Early one morning this week, I came upon a cluster of male merganser ducks frolicking, fishing and preening. It occurred to me that the lake I love is populated with migrants.… Read the rest
The “new normal” of protecting everyone from anything and everything has reached the level of social media inanities like the ‘TikTok’ challenge. The National Football League is imposing penalties for “baiting or taunting acts or words that may engender ill-will between teams”. Experience makes me doubt 350-pound linemen are in imminent danger from gestures or name-calling.… Read the rest
While on an early morning paddle this week I watched a pair of young white-tailed deer lock antlers and shove each other, practising for the upcoming struggle to find a mate. It made me glad I’m not a deer. In the random way that thoughts progress, it also brought to mind the question of whether “boomers” (like me) have had it better than subsequent generations.… Read the rest
It never ceases to bemuse me that would-be leaders of countries where peace and personal security are pretty much the expected norm, reflexively vow to fight on behalf of voters, as opposed to work, which is what we actually pay them to do. The upcoming Canadian election is a case in point.… Read the rest