It was Labour Day today. A day that celebrates the working man. I know that it is for the working woman as well, but when it first was celebrated in 1894, working women didn’t exist in the minds of those that created it. In the last 127 years, we have come a long way. Back in the latter part of the eighteenth-century workers were very much oppressed by their employers. Women even more than men. The labour movement began its Read more
We set out from the Eldorado Hotel dock with a north breeze at our back. My excited group of adventurers sat in the bow of our pontoon boat and got comfortable for their two-hour journey on the waters of Okanagan Lake. It was one of the last tours of the summer of 2021, Labour day weekend unofficially signals the end of summer in our beautiful valley. There may be more warm days ahead but most people have resigned themselves that Read more
The crowd below Mia milled about holding signs, chanting slogans, and blocking traffic. The fourty-five-year-old nurse felt her nails dig into her flesh as she stood there staring out the window. She felt emotions tumble through her. What did those people think they were accomplishing? Why were they targeting the hospital? Mia wished they would just go home, she just wanted them to go away. Mia could hardly believe it when she heard about the planned protest outside Kelowna General Read more
Today was the last day of August, the final day in the last full month of summer. A summer to remember, a season that will go down in history. It was a historic summer for many reasons. A summer of unprecedented heat. It was a summer we began with optimism and excitement. This month ended with a time of uncertainty and fear. The month also ended with something we drastically needed. Rain. Glorious, rejuvenating, energizing rain. Our drought-ridden soil soaked Read more
Two weeks ago our fearless leader(?) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election. An election in the coronaverse that made little sense but will cost taxpayers a lot of dollars. A mere seventeen months ago the last election campaign resulted in a minority government for the Liberal Party of Canada. I am not sure what they think has changed to warrant a return to the polls. Canadians are in no mood for another batch of political posturing. We want the Read more
Ben sniffed loudly, the invasive stench of smoke still filled the air. He could smell another odour in the evening breeze. There were so many strange smells Ben didn’t recognize. It made him shiver with a feeling he couldn’t quite identify. His momma would have told him. But his momma wasn’t there. Was it fear? Out of the corner of Ben’s eye, he saw movement. A white blur. Ben turned and ran toward the tree. Behind him Snowbee the cat Read more
Black and silver ripples coated my view as I cruised the dark waters of Okanagan Lake. The sky overhead was filled with sparkling stars that lit the night. The shore in front of me was lined with the artificial lights of humanity. I felt freedom, and exhilaration as I powered my Biltmore over the rippled water. It felt surreal, it felt free. I had a connection with the universe under the sparkling stars of the moonless night. Then I saw Read more
Vaccine passports… The phrase has been bantered about for the last year or more. Some view them as a threat to their freedom. Others see them as a path to freedom. I guess it all depends on what kind of freedom people are looking for. There are those that want freedom from all restrictions and don’t want the vaccine, for whatever reason. Others view vaccines as a way forward and the best way to rid the world of our viral Read more
Sima stood looking toward the airport in Kabul. All around the tarmac was a wall of bodies pushing forward. People pressed together in a crush of human anguish. Inside Sima, grief was raging. Her hands twitched, searching for something beyond her reach. She was in search of freedom, of something she knew was lost to her. Was it lost forever? The Taliban were back in control of her home. Soon they would try to control her life. Sima wasn’t ready Read more
It was gone. All of it – gone. The fire left nothing but memories and rubble Dee’s stomach sank into the pit of her toes as she stood looking down upon what was left of her home. Her entire life was in wisps of ashes and dust. There were tiny pieces lying in the charred remains of what once was a beautiful log home overlooking Okanagan lake. The valley below was filled with smoke. Her soul was overwhelmed with emptiness. Read more