Cal's Journal

August 8, 2026 Okanagan on Fire

“I’ve lost everything.” Andre’s words erupted over the phone. His anguish pulsed through the phone.  My heart sank. My friend, who had very little to start with, lost his home to the fast-moving fire that destroyed the village of Faulder and blazed toward the municipality of Summerland.  When I left my home in West Kelowna, I saw the billowing tower of smoke coming from behind the mountains along Okanagan Lake. At first I hoped this was smoke from some distant...

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August 1 2026, Wind Warning

My phone rang, and an emotional voice cracked over the line. “Hello, this is the man you saved on the seadoo yesterday. I wanted to thank you again and let you know you were our guardian angel, our savior. My wife and I wanted to thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.” My stomach churned and tumbled. I didn’t feel like anyone’s savior, and certainly not any type of angel. I only did what had to be done....

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May 9, 2026 Rock and Roll Machine

“Rock-and-roll machine, fastest thing I’ve ever seen…” The song by Triumph wailed, and my body moved. I was in a musical trance, a hopeful dance. My entire being belonged to the music and it captured my soul.  It was a Friday night in Calgary, and one of my all-time favourite rock bands was on the stage at the Saddledome. I will forever know it as the Olympic Saddledome. I think it has a bank’s name on it now. Like so...

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Sam’s Trading Post

Joe stared at the bright neon lettered sign on the building: Sam’s Trading Post—Making Trade Great Again. The lights flickered and he wondered about the added words at the end. He didn’t want to trade with Sam’s anymore, but he had very little choice. He marched up to Sam’s, knowing things had changed a lot in the last year. Joe had a deal he wanted to get done with the manager Eddie. If Eddie wouldn’t deal, he could still go Read more

By Victor Barr, ago

March 23, 2026 Six Years…

Six years ago, I began my online musings.  I would never have thought in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that things would have gotten substantially worse in the world. That divisions and war would be the new normal the world finds itself in in 2026.  Back in March 2020, the world felt surreal; things had gone sideways. We were forced to stay home, to do things like social distance from one another. We had to wear masks in Read more

By Victor Barr, ago

February 22, 2026 Going for gold.

It was 3:40 am, and vivid dreams haunted my mind. Dreams of a game yet to come.  My eyes flashed open. I stared at the strange surroundings. I was in my daughter’s apartment in Vancouver. At least that part of my dream was true. In my dreams, I was standing in line to get into the bar to watch Team Canada play Team USA for the gold medal in hockey at the Olympics.  It was a dream we all shared: Read more

By Victor Barr, ago

January 21, 2026 Mark Carney and Donald Trump a Tale of Two Leaders.

Davos Switzerland. A Canadian takes the stage. Mark Carney spoke at the World Economic Forum yesterday, January 20, 2026. He talked about a new world order, a time where things are changing, and a rupture has occurred. A change has taken place in the rules-based system we’ve lived in since the end of World War 2.   The words were clear, the message was real and concise. Canada is on the world stage to connect with other like-minded countries. Middle powers Read more

By Victor Barr, ago

Jaunuary 7, 2026 One Week In.

Revulsion. My whole body shakes with it. I have to turn off and shut down from the TV, from all media. But I can’t, it’s like a car crash or a natural disaster taking place in real time. I feel sick to my stomach.  Here it is 2026 – a year and a time, when I thought war and hatred would be behind us. I couldn’t have been more wrong. For the last year, I’ve resisted blogging about our neighbours Read more

By Victor Barr, ago

Death In The Window

I have finally published my debut novel, Death In The Window. It was an idea spawned from my days hanging off of high-rises in Calgary. I always thought, what if I saw a murder inside one of the apartments I was cleaning the outside windows on?  All these years later, my dream has come to fruition.  Death In The Window became live for purchase on August 18, 2025. My second edition has now been released on Amazon KDP.  It is Read more

By Victor Barr, ago

December 18, 2025 Time Flies

I know it has been far too long since I last posted to my blog. Life has been like that for me. Five and a half years ago, when I started this journal, it was a daily blog of life during COVID. Then, as things returned to somewhat normal, I dropped off to a weekly posting of life observations. Now it’s been over three months.  The world went from a standstill to Mach 5 in a few short years. At Read more

By Victor Barr, ago
Connections