Musings
About retirement… and random other things!
These blogs first appear as weekly columns in the Red Deer Advocate
Our 45 year relationship with Terry Fox
I have an old fortune cookie slip taped inside the cover of one of my many writing journals that reads: Let the opportunities come to you. Now, when I think of Terry Fox, opportunity isn’t the first word that comes to mind. Resilience, heroism, kindness seem more fitting. But stories of opportunities that opened up for other people because of...
A Hero’s Legacy – ARTA’s Terry Fox feature
Like many, I feel deep admiration for Terry Fox and consider him a national treasure. Through the years, people have shared that he is an unmatched inspiration to them, like the Innisfail couples I featured in Golden Nuggets in November 2023. Bill Hoppins and Patrick Gleason and their spouses, all retired Chinook's Edge teachers, have fond...
Challenge to self: hunt down a covid shot
I want the latest dose of the covid vaccine. I know, the top of my head is exploding just anticipating all the yelling and finger pointing and general mayhem that statement will ignite. But here’s what I know: we are nearly six years into this situation and neither I, nor the young lady I am caregiver to, have either had covid. Good luck? Good...
Discovering skills you already have!
Have you ever looked down at your dashboard to find that your air conditioner and your heater are both going full blast? I got that feeling of competing priorities when I attended When Words College conference for writers and readers in Calgary last month. Adamant that I could make better sense of the conference’s busy schedule if I only signed...
What is our role in over-tourism?
A funny thing happened on the way to the Anne Frank House Museum. My sister was preparing for her European cruise that was scheduled to launch from Amsterdam and was determined to see the legendary museum while she was there. With only three days in that majestic city, she studied the most likely chance for success in obtaining tickets for her...
Everything you wanted to know about bidets, but were afraid to ask
Is the plural of bidet even supposed to be bidets or is it bideti? The zany topic of this highly personal contraption became a bit of a distracting public spectacle at a Red Deer restaurant recently – sorry to anyone who was sitting nearby! The three of us were so excited for our summer luncheon, it felt like we had planned a playdate! We used to...
Be your own superhero against cyber crime
Did you hear the one about the lady whose phone started ringing while she was having lunch out? The voice on the other end exclaimed that it was someone calling on behalf of her granddaughter, who had been in a serious accident and credit card details were required before the ambulance would take her to hospital. Funny, the lady replied, I’m...
Be informed when visiting someone in hospital
I had written recently about getting lost after visiting my dear friend at the cancer centre in Calgary, but the part I left out was how lost I felt preparing to go in the first place. As can happen, her situation moved startlingly fast from a fun lunch together to full intensive cancer treatment in less than three weeks. No one is prepared for...
Remember what you learned in yoga class
I watched with some confusion as the G7 group meandered here and there in southern Alberta recently. At first I was hopeful there might be a chance those meetings of the world’s powerful people might shine a light on where we’re all going. But I watched as they stood together and then apart, smiling and scowling, agreeing and ignoring, and...