Aretha Franklin found a way to be relevant in every era since she first emerged with her now-classic hits in the 1960s. She sang gospel in the 70s, recorded hit songs with the likes of Annie Lennox, George Michael and the Rolling Stones in the 80s. Back to gospel and love songs in the 90s. In the 2000s, she released Christmas music and more gospel. And in the last few years, toured and continued to record. …
Not only did I love The Brady Bunch TV show, sometimes I fantasized about being a Brady. Maybe a cousin, who visited often and hung out with Marcia and Jan as they did groovy things and had groovy sister fights. But being a Brady cousin was too close. How could I marry Greg if I was his cousin? Ewwwwww! …
I’ve been taking a harder look at how much garbage we create. I won’t go into my embarrassment about London’s lack of a green bin program again. They say it might be coming. But beyond recycling everything we can (can! see what I did there?) it’s also about reducing the demand for single-use stuff. …
There’s a diner in St. Thomas that we like to go to once in a while. The food is fresh and fast, and they serve a huge selection of all-day-breakfast items. There’s only one aspect of the experience that bothers me. …
I’m taking off my water wings now. Last week was so busy, I didn’t have time to wave my own arms to stay afloat. Busy is good. …
After looking at the Facebook page of a mutual friend, my friend asked: What did she do to get such a great life? I replied, She knows how to edit. …
For a few years, alternating them with my then-husband, I went to Country Music Fan Fair in Nashville as a working journalist. It was always held during the hottest week of the summer, roughly 105F in the shade. I got to interview country’s up-and-coming stars while freelancing for the now defunct Country Wave Magazine. …
Anecdotal evidence used as fact only causes trouble. I like dark roast coffee. My husband likes dark roast coffee, as do a couple of our friends. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that most people like dark roast coffee. However, that’s the kind of weak country-club polling that some people draw their steadfast conclusions from. …
We had one expectation for this long weekend: free time. It included some friend time, some “we” time, and some time to do a few little things around the house. I had hoped to put wood protector on the deck but it was too hot out. (Yay!) Derek finished a project that – let’s face it – was more important to me than it was to him. …
Societal outrage has finally reached the tipping point for me. …
Our maternal Grandma was always a bit of a mystery to us. She was deeply religious, we never saw her wear pants, and I don’t think she had a lot of fun in her life. …
How have we, as a species, not yet come to a consensus about what to eat? …
This letter arrived in the mail last week. It was a wonderful surprise. …
I’ve long wanted to get together with my morning men and their spouses, and we did so at our place on Saturday night.
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Your target-shooting brother here. Tell me this. If you were to be convinced to give up your beloved paint brushes, the ones you’ve used and coveted all your long, long (long) life, the ones you sorted through using trial and error to eventually collect your favourites at no small expense, the ones that gave you enjoyment and peace, interaction with like-minded people and camaraderie, the ones you used for decades with zero harm to anyone and then found out the arguments used to convince you were based on biased information that was totally wrong but once you found out it was too late and you could never own paint brushes again, would that be cool with you? It’s ok, I know the honest, unemotional answer. Of course it’s ‘no’. That’s the proposition legal gun owners are looking at right now.
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Until now, I haven’t written about the mass shooting on the Danforth, an area of Toronto with which I’m familiar, and love. My 40th birthday party, compliments of work colleagues at 680 News, was held at a wonderful Greek restaurant there called Pappas Grill. Greektown is a great area to meet friends for a drink on a patio or dinner. …
Only Londoners of a certain vintage will remember the Hiney Winery! It was a fictional locale, part of CKSL morning show lore, located in lovely Arva, just outside London. Rich and Norm referred to it regularly as if it was a real place. …
I never imagined that I would become part of such a growing segment of society; the hearing impaired. At least six people I know are completely deaf in one ear. It’s a lot of work for them to make sure they’re always on their good side for a conversation. Some of them simply avoid social situations because it’s too much work. …