I’ve heard this expression frequently, during the pandemic. It isn’t as simple as it first appears to be. I thought a reflection about our country this July is timely. Turtle Island is an Indigenous reference to all of North America. This transcends western political boundaries. Most Indigenous people use the expression ‘Indigenous people in Canada”…

I try every day to be a better person than I was yesterday. In particular, I make an effort to be better if a similar setting presents itself – a second chance. Many years ago, I was with my family on an 8-hour drive south to Edmonton. The highway is often straight for many kilometres…

I am writing this when Alberta, my province of residence, has the worst number of new cases per 100,000 of any jurisdiction, province or state in North America. Please take what is useful and leave the rest. I wanted to share some of the ways I’m staying safer. Note the term is relative. I never…

I know that World Elder Abuse Day is mid-June each year. I find it hard to get my mind around that world concept. To put greater meaning to this important topic, I need to make it small, more intimate in scope. I approached the problem by making the term ‘ELDERABUSE’ an acronym. E: Education-I need…

I’ve had a life-long struggle of interrupting people I’m speaking with. I do this because I think I know what they will say, or I’m afraid I’ll forget what I want to say. This hasn’t improved with age, despite my best efforts to date. I’m quietly embarrassed when I behave this way, and I need…

I know the sports cliché of leaving everything out on the field. Essentially it means you used up all your available physical and mental resources during the competition. A winning effort was thought to be achieved because of that sacrifice. A losing outcome was felt to be noble, given the effort. I’ll return to personal…

I came across information about a young man with Down’s Syndrome. I can learn a lot from this person. I hope you find it useful as well. In brief, with family members’ help, he set out to run a marathon and finish within the maximum time allowed. He had a clear goal. He practiced and…

I vibrate with frustration when I hear the reference to the adjective unprecedented regarding the covid-19 pandemic. The implication is that because it is the first time we have experienced the pandemic, we have nothing to learn from history. How wrong we are. How much we dishonour the lives of those lost to this pandemic….

I don’t hear that expression very often, and I wondered why. I could quickly think of 5 men who would generally be accepted as geniuses; Einstein, Michelangelo, to name just a couple.  I’d be hard-pressed to identify even 2 women who would be commonly referred to as geniuses. I Googled “list, genius, female” and again…

I like happy endings. I enjoy parties, trips, conversations, and other minutiae of life to end on a good note. Here is some interesting research I came across. My disclaimer: The research was on young males only. More study is needed but let’s have fun with what we know on the topic. Here is a…