Jason Rapp’s smile would light up a room. His energy and drive was a light in the dark. There were days when he could be a friend to everyone. And when he shredded the guitar we all stopped in wonder. Now he will shred no more. Jay Wormbox has gone to the other side to dance with the Great Spirit. His spirit lives on in the mystical wonder of the world. And in our memories. I met Jay almost thirty Read more…
The peace of Big White mountain embraced every fibre of my being. I stared at the reflection of the valley behind me. From my perch atop a 32-foot ladder I stared at gold and red painted on a blue canvas. For a brief minute, I stopped my climb. Everything was still I embraced the view and allowed it to flow through my soul. Music flowed in my headset and I was in the zone. A zone we all search for. Read more…
Everything was gone. The explosions rocked the street and her home tumbled to the ground. Fatima stood and held herself. Numb. Her whole body shook as she stared at the rubble that used to be her home. If she’d have been a few minutes earlier she would have been inside that burning hulk of concrete that lay tattered in front of her. Why did they have to destroy everything? Part of her was happy about what Hamas had done to Read more…
The day started bright, warm and full of optimism. Lana stood in the middle of the field, waiting for the bands to start. She’d been looking forward to the festival of the kibitz For the last few months. Now she was running for her life. Lana grabbed her husband’s hand and held on. His grip was one of her only connections with sanity. Otherwise, the world was going insane. The bombing started two hours earlier. The music stopped and she Read more…
I’d been home from my European adventure for six days and I had a fishing tour on the boat. The weather couldn’t be any better. I set out from the dock in Peachland with high hopes for a morning fishing trip. The sun peered over the mountain while red and gold colours painted the sky. It was good to be alive. Even if it was a little cool, I knew the temperatures would surely rise and the lake was as Read more…
What a long, wonderful trip it’s been. I apologize for my extended absence from my blog. I have been on a whirlwind trip that began on September 11, 2023, and ended on October 1. I had high hopes that I would continue to write about my adventures and my life while traveling the many wonderful places we went. Alas, time didn’t allow me to do that. For that, I am sorry—not sorry. A quick recap of our travels for the Read more…
The last few weeks have flown by in a flash of smoke, flames, and landslides. Summer 2023 will undoubtedly go down as one to remember. For some, it may be one they’d sooner forget. The heat and sunshine warmed our valley and I never wanted to end. But in the back of my mind, I had anxiety and worry. When would the smoke come? When would fire strike? I never thought it would come so close to home. Yet we Read more…
“My house is gone. My mom’s property burned, and five out of six buildings were burned down. The fire destroyed the whole place.” The man’s words haunted me. He was surprisingly calm, for someone who’d lost everything to fire. A fire that ripped through parts of West Kelowna and up the Westside until it stopped after burning Okanagan Resort to the ground. Fire. It was like nothing I’d ever seen in my lifetime. Something that haunted me inside. I had Read more…
I stood at the top of my road and stared at the raging flames in the distance. A deep pit hung inside and I turned to my wife and friends that were sharing the apocalyptic view. “It’s like a warzone.” I’m not sure who made the comment, it may have been me. It didn’t matter, we all agreed, it was a war—a war against the rages of nature. A war until now our brave firefighters had been losing. But the Read more…
Winds continued to howl as the morning sun shone through the smokey haze. I stared out my window, hoping that the devastation from the previous night was some kind of nightmare. It was a nightmare, only far too real. The Okanagan was ablaze. Yet looking out my window the smoke in the distance was the only hint at the tragedy which was unfolding only a few kilometres away. The wind continued to push the fire northward. Like a hungry predator, the Read more…