The days are melting together in the summer heat. Morning comes early and the evening lingers on into the night. I have struggled to sit and write, seeking time and inspiration in the busyness of the summer days. Boat tours, seeing friends, life has very much returned to the way it was before. Before Covid, before lockdowns and fear. Summer has sprouted in our amazing valley and we are making connections. We are living as if there were no insidious Read more
Four months ago I started writing my daily journal. 122 days of reflections and ruminations. Our world has morphed itself into a new semblance of itself. My world has morphed into a new reality. I don’t think I would have predicted either seventeen some weeks ago. Now I sit in reflection of the time that has passed. March 16, Big White closed in sudden reaction to the viral infection that stopped the world. Covid19 overtook everything, the media, the hospitals, Read more
The Edmonton Eskimos gave up their name today. A name I despise, but not for racial reasons. I am a diehard Calgary Stampeders fan. I have hated the Eskimos in a brotherly way all of my life. I am not happy with the change. I understand why they have done it but I question the rationale that is being used. The Washington Redskins gave up their name only a week ago so Edmonton felt compelled to follow suit. Yet the Read more
Daylight crept intrusively past my eyelids. I was tired, too tired. I fought the sensation and rolled over. The warm body of my wife lay welcomingly beside me. I snuggled in tight, my fight against wakefulness victorious. I held her tight and went back into my dreams. When I climbed back out of my slumber I glanced at my clock. It was 7:50, time to move. A nagging doubt crept into my being. I had something I was supposed to Read more
I quit my job today. Well, just one job, a job that I have been putting off and dreading. I gave in and pulled the pin. I will not be cleaning any more windows again. My back is sore, and my desire is gone. I feel bad walking away from the fifteen story building and leaving it for the guys from Ever-Clear but I just can’t do it. I admit it, I am out of shape and sore. Hanging off Read more
“If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.” The magical words of Led Zeppelin carried my wife and I to another time, a simpler place. Jon Bos sang with his heart and we felt the love emanating from our friend on the stage. We felt love and support from our friends surrounding us in our yard. Our party could not have been any better. Happy birthday to my amazing wife, happy covid birthday to me and Read more
My head spins as I get up at six am, again. Busy days have taken control, life is running away again. I want to put the brakes on, my brake pedal isn’t working very well right now, Coronabreak seems to have come to an end. It has been the busiest week for me in quite some time, three days in a row of six am wake ups and midnight bedtimes. Hy head spins while my body aches. How can I Read more
Dreams danced through my brain and I rolled over in denial. I was no longer in Calgary, I no longer hung off skyscrapers cleaning windows. Yet in my vivid dream I fall… And awake to my new reality. I peeled open my eyes and took stock. My clock said 5:52 am I groaned and rolled over, hoping for a few more minutes. Reluctant to return to my recurring nightmare. Real-life was a much better dream. I groaned inside myself and Read more
Booming music blasted obnoxiously from the speakers. The boat careened towards the fuel dock of the Eldorado resort. The wakeboard tower rocked back and forth, reeling from the music and the waves. I leaped to my feet prepared for the worst. At the final second the brunette in a blue bikini reached out and tried to push off the dock. At the same second the driver hit reverse. the twenty-something girl lurched forward, yet somehow managed to stay on the Read more
Four months ago they declared a Pandemic. Four months ago. Four months, seem like a lifetime and a flash. A pandemic was declared on March 13 and four days later on Wednesday, March 18 they closed Big White. The reality of the uncertainty and fear struck home hard for me that day. I had skied my last turns; when we should have had so many more. Now the mountain is open for biking. Restaurants are open, pubs, hair salons and Read more