Cal's Journal

Kelowna’s skyline is being transformed in front of our eyes. I am fortunate to be a part of the building of the newest high-rise condominiums being built in the downtown of Canada’s fourth fastest-growing city. Mostly fortunate… I think. It sure is hard work. My favourite part of being on the site of the highest building between Vancouver and Calgary was the view. Every day when I was on the building I tried to make a point of soaking in Read more…

It was 420 in the Coronaverse today. This year 420 didn’t seem to mean anything. To me, it has always been a symbolic day in the struggle to legalize marijuana. I don’t really care anymore, life keeps dropping f-bombs on us all.  Case counts have been rising in the lower mainland. Ontario and the Maritimes have closed down. Here in BC, they have told us to stop all non-essential travel in the province. We are being asked to hunker down Read more…

The young girl stared in the mirror in front of her. She didn’t like the face staring back, it was tear-stained and the pain was etched across it with scars only she could see. Where were her friends? Why had they left her hanging? She paced the room, unable to move forward from the pain. Unable? Or Unwilling? She wasn’t sure. All she felt was the pain of loss, rejection, and fear. She felt like she wanted to escape her Read more…

I sat in my car looking at the line of traffic that sat stopped.  One year ago that traffic didn’t exist. This week traffic was back with a vengeance. Where are all the people coming from? Where are they going? You would never know we are in the middle of a global pandemic based on the number of cars on the road. I turned on my radio and heard the announcer say the cars would be rolling again soon. Highway Read more…

Debi stood in the street, everything felt strange. It seemed real but she shouldn’t be there. She didn’t live there anymore. She felt her sister’s presence more than she saw it. Deb knew it was Linda without opening her eyes. It felt real; like she was there. Her conscious mind reeled at it all. Yet she wanted it so bad. Her sister held her arms open and they moved together. She didn’t feel her feet move; they just came together Read more…

I ended up in the garden today. It felt good digging in the dirt, turning the soil, trimming the hedge, and cleaning the yard. It was a nice connection with the natural world. Spring has burst forth in our amazing part of the world and I was grateful to be outside breathing in the fresh mountain air. It was another Sunday in the caronaverse.  My honey was free of her viral foe and it was only one more day for Read more…

Elizabeth stood in the front row and looked up at the smart young man in the naval uniform. He looked dashing, charming, and oh so handsome. Her stomach swirled inside; she had never felt this way before. He smiled at her and she melted, unable to look away she excitedly said yes when he asked her to join him in the garden for a walk. Little did she know at the time he would be the one to walk with Read more…

I went down the rabbit hole again. I hate it when that happens. It was almost uncontrollable, my desire to engage on facebook drew me in and I found it very hard to retreat. This time it was the video posted from the restaurant in Vancouver. People chanted “Get out!” at the poor people just trying to do their jobs. A job nobody wants. Nobody wants to tell the poor restaurants they can’t serve people inside. How heart-wrenching it must Read more…

Dave lay there, cold sweats soaking the sheets of his bed. Sleep was hard to come by and his mind kept churning. Another wave of nausea clenched his stomach and he waited for it to pass. Food was a luxury he couldn’t afford as the meds they had given him continued to mess with his body. What was left of his body that is… He saw the moment with a clarity that shook him to the core; the moment that Read more…