Climbing the ladder

On my third trip to the hardware store to get the right lightbulb, I had my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t come face to face with the same sales clerk again. They were patient the first two times as I scrutinized the confusingly long aisle of lightbulbs this morning,...

Funeral for a friend

After months of visiting her at Calgary’s big new cancer centre, it was time to travel to her funeral. I’m so fortunate to have had her as a friend for a very long time. What I have been most amazed at, when I reflect on her life, is how many times she adapted her...

While you were out

I was a receptionist in a Calgary office back in the late 70s when we smoked cigarettes at our desks and had drinks at lunch. We used little pink phone message pads back then, where you would record the name and number of the person who called and then put a little...

The Birthday Suit

It was all arranged. I was to spend my 65th birthday naked in front of a large group of people. No, I wasn’t going to streak through the downtown streets, I was going to be a nude model for a second-year drawing class at the college. I would summon every ounce of...