Tuesday, March 19, 2024

A Review and a Reckoning Part 2

While planning my daughters’ homeschool history lessons I stumbled across Wheatlands Plantation about an hour away from where we’ve been living in Tennessee. Not much remained of the original property and only the 1825...

Breakdown

Circa 1984, our family was in possession of the world’s greatest car, a 1970 mustard yellow, two door Toyota Corolla that we christened “Chug-a-Boom.” My father purchased this pinnacle of automotive excellence for $800...

Dense

Ah, the colors of fall. Orange, red, gold, russet, and … pink. Yep. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and, if you have breasts, chances are your social media timeline is full of...

Utopia

On a recent Sunday afternoon trip, Kristen and I visited the village of Rugby, Tennessee, a 19th century experiment in egalitarian society founded by the writer-politician Thomas Hughes, best known as the author of...

In My Right Mind

I was wearing so many bulky layers to onlookers I was either about to exit the airlock of the International Space Station to begin my space walk or I was geared up to walk...

Not In My Front Yard

Like many Americans I am struggling to come to terms with the recent insurrection at the Capitol building. US political coverage is always more difficult to come by in Canada, so I’ve been spending...

Nostalgia and the New Thing

Starship may have built this city on Rock and Roll, but the Via Ex Machina website was built squarely on the alternative music of REM. Stuck in Toronto’s strict COVID lockdown I banished myself...

Dolly and W.C.

As our minivan wound its way through the Smokey Mountains to Sevier County, Tennessee, home of Dollywood Splash Country, I paused the latest Percy Jackson audiobook, to narrate a story of my own for...

Rejoice Always

If you're one of the cool kids on TikTok, then you already know about Nathan Apodaca's video of himself skateboarding while drinking Cran-raspberry juice and listening to Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams." If you're the parent...

Eulogy for My Dad

Today marks the anniversary of my father’s death. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought of him. It’s been tough at times, especially not being able to share with him the...

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