My mother wasn't able to look after herself anymore and had come to live with us. One day a conversation with a visitor went like this: —How old are you? —What year is it? —Two thousand and four —Then I am ninety-six. That was my mother; she couldn't remember how old she was, but she … Continue reading Dementia
Safety systems that make life dangerous
Last month a semi hauling aviation fuel was travelling down the A-40 expressway in Montréal. The truck was equipped with a state of the art safety system that was designed to bring the truck to a safe stop if it detected any sign of a leak from a load of fuel. I'm not sure exactly … Continue reading Safety systems that make life dangerous
Summer hibernation
Two weeks ago, we still occasionally ran the air conditioner to make the house comfortable. Now we use heaters in the morning to make it comfortable. We haven't seen hummingbirds at our feeder for four days now. Blackbirds are gathering by the hundreds, sometimes perched all along the wires of the power lines. We hear … Continue reading Summer hibernation
But refuse profane and old wives’ fables
Old wives' fables really are the words that the Apostle wrote. I thought perhaps this was some colourful turn of phrase courtesy of the translators. But no, this is an accurate translation of the Greek. Why do we associate old women and questionable stories? I have a theory. Older women tend to think of themselves … Continue reading But refuse profane and old wives’ fables
My way is the best
I grew up in rural Saskatchewan. My mother had a huge garden, producing enough potatoes, carrots, peas, beans and other veggies to last all year. The potatoes and carrots went into large bins in our cool cellar. Other veggies, fruits and meats were canned in glass jars. She bought flour in 100 lb bags and … Continue reading My way is the best
Two shall become one
– But it's easier said than done. On Sunday, before God and 500 witnesses in our country church, a young man and a young woman said their vows, joined hands and were declared husband and wife. Our little church could not possibly hold 500 people, even with chairs in the aisles and all the way … Continue reading Two shall become one
Scrambled thoughts on a Monday morning
I woke up some time after 7:00 am and found I was alone in bed. I wondered how long that had been. Through the closed bedroom door I could hear the muffled sound of the washing machine. What was that about? I thought she did all the laundry on Saturday. After stumbling around groggily for … Continue reading Scrambled thoughts on a Monday morning
A new cruiser for the information highway
My wife has been in need of a new computer for some time, hers was still running Windows XP. She has been receiving warnings about XP's obsolescence for several years, but it continued to work. More or less, anyway. Now it seemed the time had come to replace the old clunker. So we went around … Continue reading A new cruiser for the information highway
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And man, this clever fellow, seems to have become sleepless in order to invent ever new instruments to increase noise, to spread noise and insignificance with the greatest possible haste and on the greatest possible scale. Yet everything is soon turned upside down: communication is indeed soon brought to its lowest point with regard to … Continue reading No comment needed
Moose Jaw Memories
I was seven years old when I got my first train ride. It was back in 1949 and my mother and I boarded the train in early morning for the hour long ride into Moose Jaw. When we arrived in the city, the conductor held out his hand to help my mother and me down … Continue reading Moose Jaw Memories
Flatlander Faith 