Family History & Valuing Family
On a crisp and sunny November day in 2021, my wife Lisa and I were taking the scenic route from Grande Prairie to our home in Calgary, unaware we were about to learn a piece of family history that would…
On a crisp and sunny November day in 2021, my wife Lisa and I were taking the scenic route from Grande Prairie to our home in Calgary, unaware we were about to learn a piece of family history that would…
That is my Dad, Jim Mawdsley, in the foothills of Alberta, circa 1952. He would have been 22 and recently finished his BSc in geology. Throughout his life he often said, “This reminds me of working in the field,” then…
It is interesting to look at how others might use Rap (and injecting the words sh*t, f**k and motherf**ker) to voice how they really feel, not some polite and well-considered words. What might have been in Queen Elizabeth’s mind as…
Lady Gaga released her chart-topping hit “Poker Face” in 2008. Listening to this early in the Omicron wave, I realized this was a perfect base for satirical lyrics about anti-vaxxers protesting outside hospitals while their unvaccinated peers filled ICUs inside….
Chad, one of the leaders of the “Freedom Convoy” time-travels in his semi-truck to 1864 in an attempt to convince Canada’s founding fathers that the British North America Act (BNA Act) needs to be modified to suit his purposes. This…
My late Auntie Endla, who passed away 20 years ago this week, could make me laugh like nobody else. She is so missed. This is an essay I wrote in memory of Endla, which was published in the The Globe…
I am taking creative writing classes and this is the first in a series of pieces to document my creative writing efforts. Hopefully, an improvement can be observed over time. Although I like to think big, it is unlikely that…
It was a warm early-spring day in Calgary when our neighbours heard a commotion and looked out their window just as our daughter sprinted past their house—without shoes. This was immediately followed by Lisa’s car accelerating past with spray from…