Why were Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) staff creeping about the forests of Hiawatha installing cameras on Sunday September 15th? Why were workers putting stakes in the ground along what appears to be a looming fence line near fifth line on Sunday the 22nd? When did Sunday became such a common government work day? The first question led to me …
Mario Richard lived for earth, wind and fire
My last column, which ran on August 28th, was about my phenomenal experience tandem B.A.S.E. jumping in May with new found friends, Mario Richard and his wife Steph Davis in Moab, Utah. I didn’t know it at the time of writing, but my partner in flight caught his last air on August 19, 2013. Mario Richard, originally of Quebec City, …
Extreme sports, like tandem B.A.S.E. jumping off a cliff, help you enjoy life by looking death in the face
In a world of dwindling firsts, it’s always worth pausing when you capture one of them; however in this case, my first simply allowed me to reflect on what it meant to be alive. In May, while vacationing in Moab, Utah I became one of a select few in the world, and the first person in Northern Ontario to do …
What’s more strange, news or weather?
What’s more strange these days, the news or the weather? Are you tired of people complaining about the strange weather that we’ve had so far this summer? I have the solution: read the newspaper. Why? You’ll find stories that rival the weather in their oddity. I’ve collected a few beauties for your consideration, in order to improve your water-cooler conversation. …
Remember, lack of attention at the wheel can be lethal
May was road-safety month, a well-intentioned attempt to remind people of the importance of the rules of the road. Less than two months later, after being cut off twice on my motorcycle and having seen some crazy mistakes, I’ll echo that safety comes from not only following rules, but avoiding distracted driving. Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers. The Ministry of …
Share the road…It’s the law
There is a whole section in the driver’s handbook written on “sharing the road with other road users” (Section 2.3.2), and yet, I am keenly aware that it isn’t going so well out there. So far in July I’ve noticed two collisions reported in the paper between bicycles and automobiles. In the first incident reported on July 5 by the …
Great way to spend Canada Day
On the heels of a mediocre year of events celebrating the Sault’s 100th birthday and the bicentennial of the War of 1812, I can confidently say that few events have wowed me lately. The Passport to Unity, Relay for Life, BonSoo Gourmet Dinner at Sault College, and Buskerfest events are truly notable; and I can now add the Canada Day …
Where did our vocabulary go?
What’s happened to our vocabulary? It took some comic books from the 1960s and 1970s and a Nancy Drew novel from that era to hammer home the point that in four decades we seem to have lost a huge chunk of the English language. My daughter was home sick. Typically, she’d turn on the television and enter the monosyllabic land …
Hadfield down to earth
Once in a while I’m asked whom I’d like to have lunch with, regardless of whether they are alive or dead. Personally, I’d prefer eating with someone not decaying in front of me and I tend to choose someone alive. That said, I’m usually hard-pressed to pick someone. I am not awed by movie stars nor money. I respect athletes …
There are limits to genetic testing
Genetic testing recommended to anyone with a suspicious family history Angelina Jolie stunned the world when she announced that she’d had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery after finding out that she had a “faulty” gene linked to breast and ovarian cancer. For the first time ever, I became interested in a Hollywood boob job. Jolie has put “a …