Cal's Journal

This week the hockey world lost two of its greatest goal scorers. Mike Bossy passed away early this week and was followed to the hallowed halls of hockey heaven by Guy Lafleur. I’m sure they are sharing a toast to great careers. Two men gone too soon.  Fucking Cancer. My memories of growing up in a simpler time were punctuated by watching Saturday night Hockey Night In Canada with my parents. I will never forget watching the Montreal Canadians sweep Read more…

Pain seared through Louise’s body and racked the fibre of her being. It was agony like never before. Yet somehow she knew it would end soon.  The feeling came in waves, like a storm breaking on the shore. When the pain ended she knew it would be a beautiful beginning.  But a new ache would fill her soul afterward. Her physical anguish disappeared from her memory like a phantom. Her mental pain would last much longer.  A pain that was Read more…

A pulsing ringing circled his head, the world spun into consciousness. Barrman rolled over and his eyes peeled open to greet the day. His body ached and his head felt like someone was squeezing it between their hands. The only hand on his head was his own.  Barrman felt every one of his fifty-two years, he pushed to his left and forced himself to move. He was motivated not only by the urge to ski but the urge to… never Read more…

I arrived at my mountain home for the last weekend in the ski season of 2021-22. My wife was already there and our friend Karen accompanied me to spend the last day on the hill. It has been a season to remember, a season that lacked snow but had a lot of sunshine. The last weekend saw the world coated with one last blast of winter. No spring skiing on this April weekend. Nothing mattered except the fact we made Read more…

Fifty-two spins around the sun… I remember when I was my daughter’s age how anyone over forty was over the hill. According to that, I am now over the hill and hurtling down the other side. Strangely enough, I don’t feel that much older than I did when I was in my twenties – mentally anyway. Physically, well that’s another story altogether. This was my first birthday since 2019 when there were no restrictions on my ability to go out Read more…

The crisp evening air buzzed with an energy unseen and unfelt in over two years. It pulsed into the night air.  Music. And the crowd standing in front of the stage at Big White Ski Resort was alive with it. Four thousand people danced with the energy of it all.  732 days earlier the band was supposed to be there on the stage. The Arkells were the headliners and the show was at 5700 feet. Then covid came to shut Read more…

The three-man band looked out at the group of revelers dancing to their musical ministrations. They felt an energy and a connection that lifted their spirits and filled their souls.  It was nice seeing their faces beam to the rhythm of the music. The bar was filled with people who have been missing the wonderful connection live music creates.  The band has been missing that connection too. Now they were back. And like the song says – what a feeling, Read more…

I read the first posts I wrote two years ago. At the time I had no idea I would still be typing away twenty-four months later. Yet here I am. Back then I wrote in the present tense. It all felt so immediate, I lived each day one moment at a time. Now I live much as I did before. I ski, I dance and I look forward to a better future. I have a message which I want to Read more…

It was another Monday in what seems like a lifetime of Mondays. 105 Mondays to be exact since the world flipped on its head. 104 since I began my documentation of the strange situation. I feel honoured so many of you have joined me on this journey. I began writing a journal to record my feelings and thoughts about this new pandemic that swept the world. It has taken me places I could not have predicted that fateful Monday, March Read more…

What a pleasure it’s been to see so many faces this week. It’s been a memorable and momentous week. The first week in a very long time without being told to wear a mask indoors.  At first, it was a little strange walking into a store or a restaurant without anything covering people’s faces.  Some people still chose to wear a mask in the grocery store. That’s is ok, it is their right. The one I struggle to understand is Read more…