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 lead to greater family connections.

How a white-haired old-guy can cause a tough young-guy to take flight.

Happy Birthday Lisa! Such a fantastic girl!

Although we encourage creativity and imagination in our Learning-Thru-Music Kindergarten for Gifted Children, we have concerns about Timmy’s new gangsta rapper persona and his freestyle raps. Our goal is to instill a love of learning through age-appropriate music and, although I know little about rap, Timmy’s experimentation with this genre doesn’t fit with our objectives.

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 tilt his head up and to the right, focus on the middle-distance and reminisce as he spoke to no one in particular.

It is interesting to look at how others might use Rap to voice how they really feel, not some polite and well-considered words. What might have been in Queen Elizabeth’s mind as she prepared for her 2022 Easter address? There are some things that she might think but never say out loud.

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. The stage name Lil’ Auntie Facts is appropriate on multiple levels.

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 is best viewed on the YouTube video link above (the founding father has a bang-on Scottish accent), but the script follows below.

My late Auntie Endla, who passed away 20 years ago this week, could make me laugh like nobody else. She is so missed.

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 the melting snow flying behind.

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 the word ‘Mawdsley’ will ever occur in the same sentence as these words: Atwood, Grisham, Ondaatje, or Rushdie. Except for that previous sentence.