What’s with the oral fixation? Any parent with a child in Grade 4 and up is currently facing the dreaded oral presentation unit of the class curriculum. For the Grade 4s it is destined to be three to five minutes of their best knee-knocking, voice-quivering speech in front of the class, with no props or visual aids. My concern is …
Swimming with dolphins
To swim with dolphins or not to swim with dolphins — that is the question. I’ve recently returned from Jamaica, where I took my family to swim with dolphins at Dolphin Cove in Ocho Rios. Since then, I happened to catch the documentary “The Cove” which is about the dolphin slaughter in Japan each September. The movie links these dolphin …
Think outside the boxes
When Boxing Day started last week; I wasn’t ready for it. I’m not talking about the sales of Christmas leftover stock that happens on the 26th of December, I’m referring to my move to a new house. Boxing day started in the middle of December and is still ongoing for me. I have done nothing but pack boxes and unpack …
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Enough is enough: the gun laws have to change
When a child dies, we all grieve. It’s not just their parents, teachers, friends, and family that have been trespassed upon emotionally; we all hurt. As a society, we sigh deeply, and ache somewhere deep inside because we know that the natural order has been broken. Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children. Children aren’t supposed to be slaughtered. Innocence …
Mantracking book launch goes well thanks to many local friends
If you’ve planned an event before, you know that it can be quite stressful. You wonder: will the word get out fast enough? Will people come? Will it run smoothly? Will the result be what you’d anticipated? One event takes a lot of time and energy, so hosting four events in 30 hours is foolhardy, unless you’re in the Sault …
Someone asked me recently what advice I’d have for them towards becoming a writer. I really didn’t know what to offer. After all, I’d only just figured out that I was a writer in the last four years. Now that we’ve launched a book at www.mantracking.ca , I’ve been reflecting on my career path, and laughing at how I ignored …
Lots of environmental concerns for former St. Marys Paper site
Last Friday I attended a wine tasting at the former St. Marys Paper site. It was quite the affair and I left with mixed emotions. It was clear that there is a ton of potential for the site, but I felt as if there was an elephant in the room, which was never addressed. Riversedge Developments Inc. had a lovely …
Those recognized by the community are excellent role models
I attended the Community Recognition Awards at City Hall on Monday. Joan M. Foster and the Honourable Ray Stortini were the 2012 recipients of the annual award. You may have seen it if you watched the city council meeting on television. The City of Sault Ste. Marie gives the awards to recognize “cultural contributions for activities considered to be particularly …
It’s easy to believe the millions of small ‘lies’ on the Internet
I have two recent examples for you relating to famous quotes. Granted, misattribution has gone on for years, but there seems to be an exponential increase now with the Internet. My favourite Marianne Williamson quote is from her work Return to Love. For years I have been saying that although it was indeed her quote, it was made notable by …
What’s your word worth?
What’s your word worth – a presentation on the power and magic of language.