left behind like the hockey jerseys and books long forgotten in your parents’ basement collecting dust a relic of a past life a memory a stepping stone onto bigger better newer me, not so much same old same old same old i know i’ve begun to fade from colour to grey to a vague memory… Read more »
Since my high school years in Slovakia, and throughout my university studies, I have been dreaming of becoming an English teacher. My objective is to educate children, adolescents and adults whose native language is not English. Though there are many people in Slovakia who speak English – they are still in the minority. Often, expertise… Read more »
What are we on now – our fifth hurricane of the season? Or is it the seventh? It’s hard to keep track; right now we seem to be hearing of a new severe storm each week. Sitting pretty in Southern Ontario, I hardly have to consider the gale-force winds and nasty weather that has so… Read more »
Introduction John Paul II had been Bishop of Rome and 262nd Pope – Leader of the Catholic Church – for twenty five years. One of the most radical, strategic and dominant figures in the history of the modern church and a major figure in the last quarter of the twentieth century for a variety of… Read more »
This week, I inherited a family heirloom. Not silver or a tea service, but my grandmother’s cookbook, Meta Given’s Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, Volume II, printed in 1949. To most people, a cookbook would not be as valuable as silver; to my mother and I, the book is priceless. My grandmother, Emma, loved to cook…. Read more »
This week is very exciting for Canadian sports because of three events. First, the Canadian Women’s World Cup team has become the first Canadian soccer team to advance past the opening round of a World Cup. Second, the World Road Cycling Championships is being held in Canada for the second time in 29 years, and… Read more »
I moved this fall into a new house – new to me at least. As you likely know, one of the many perks of being an Athabasca University student is the ability to move cities without changing schools. I have moved several times, twice to different cities, traveled Europe and done classes in at least… Read more »
A few days ago I was sitting at my kitchen table working out my study schedule for the next few weeks. In planning for Monday October 13th I commented off-handedly about my classes. My wife looked at me oddly and said that I didn’t have any classes that day because of Thanksgiving. I told her… Read more »
This fall I engaged in an activity I’ve neglected for the last few years. I made pickles! I had wanted to do it every time I went to the farmer’s market and saw the piles of small cucumbers and sheaves of dillweed, but just couldn’t seem to make the time. However, this one particular Saturday… Read more »
If all goes according to my plan (but really, why should it?) by June of the year of our Lord, 2007, I will have completed my master’s degree in literature. This will be the fulfillment of a promise made to myself many years ago (whilst drunk on Peach Schnapps in an abandoned church on the… Read more »