Gifted Typist

In this part of the world, it’s not unusual to wait until May or even June for anything that closely resembles spring.
Sometimes we go from winter directly to summer with hardly a moment of spring.
And sometimes there’s no summer either.
But this year spring seems to be in the air early and it couldn’t some too [...]

I’m sure the Olympic closing ceremonies were meant with a wink and a nod to Canadian humour, but the thing was tacky beyond belief and came off as a big dose of, well, self-referential Canadian humour.
When I saw the inflatable Mounties, the Fred-Flintstone canoe people (with their feet sticking out the bottom) and the beaver [...]

Many years ago, this typist’s sister played hockey.
Back in those days, they didn’t have organized hockey for girls, so my sister faked it.
She pretended to be a guy by changing her name slightly. She was tomboy-ish anyway, and young enough go to and leave the game in her gear.
No one knew the difference and she [...]

Click to my Herald column to see her picture.

She was seven when the Titanic sank and nine when World War I broke out.
She was 13 when women in Canada got the right to vote and 24 when women were recognized as “persons” in Canada.
She was 58 when JFK was assassinated and 64 when Armstrong walked [...]

I suppose it’s the dumbing down of American (Canadian) culture.
Politicians wish to be amongst us,  the mere lumpen proletariat.
They flip burgers and nuzzle babies to make us think they are one of us.
The idea is that this will win them votes. Sweet huh?
Of course it’s just cliche and most of us can smell this cynical [...]

In my neck of the woods, summer is defined as July/August. That’s when the kids are off and people take their holidays.
But the weather patterns are a changing. These days August/September are the nice months and July is generally rainy and foggy, unpleasant at best.
When we lived in an agricultural economy, July/August were the months off so [...]

Guess all is forgiven. Sir Paul MacCartney played to an audience of 50K here on Saturday night.
And it was all adoration, “We love you Paul” and local bagpipes backing up on Mull of  Kintyre.
All stirring stuff that won over the hearts and minds of New Scotland.
How quickly we forget.
Remember when Sir Paul and his ex-missus [...]

I’ve always been a tad uncomfortable with the forced patriotism of “Canada Day.”
Flag-waving and nationalistic chest thumping runs contrary to the Canadian national character.
Canadians pride themselves on their understated, low-key, practical nature. We aren’t a terribly flamboyant or excitable people. (Unless there’s a hockey game.)
We don’t wear our pride on our sleeve and we don’t [...]

See my column here.
My neighbourhood is under siege. The European Fire Ants have arrived. They are little red ants that sting.
Actually they arrived some twenty years ago off the ships but only recently have people been getting up in arms about it.
These little devils set up colonies with multiple queens. So you can’t just kill [...]

Apparently our province has more centenarians than most other parts of the country.
The average number of 100-year olds is 14 per 100,000. In Nova Scotia, it’s 21 per 100,000.
I have personal experience of this. My own grandmother is 104 and in good health, except for her knees and her hearing. She’s getting forgetful. She forgets [...]

Today’s the day:  Summmah.
It’s also the longest day of the year. Hooray.
It’s raining, but that’s OK, we’ve had a beautiful spring which is remarkable given the string of hideous springs we’ve had in these parts for the past 7 years: usually it’s three months of rain, fog and dampness.
So this typist isn’t complaining.
Long live summah!

Last year, the politicians of this province lavished $9M on something called Democracy 250. The idea was to engage young people in the democratic process.
They brought in two former premiers – old, grey-haired,  stodgy men – as co-chairs of this “celebration.” Typical of Nova Scotia politicians, these men have all the charisma of an aging [...]

So.
Last week I was fretting over whether to change my snow tires.
A few days later, I was caught in a little hail dump.
Good, I thought. I’ll wait till May to make the change.
Today they’re predicting temperatures of 28C (82F).
Hmmmm.
May isn’t until Friday.
And where I live, a snow storm still isn’t out of the question.
I’ll keep [...]

I saw a chickadee.
There were BTUs in the sunshine.
The streets were all buzzy with the sound of motorbikes.
The crocuses are in flower and the tulips are looking hopeful for a bloom.
I saw a bumble bee.
There is hope in the air after a long, ice-encrusted, miserable winter.

My daughter’s wearing green to school today. Yesterday she brought home all of the garbage she generated in the day. This recognizes Earth Day. It’s great to see that the kids “get it.”
Some adults get it too, but most don’t, especially in Canada. And the politicians we elect definitely don’t get it. They have their [...]