This is a story about my mom’s romp through the woods in Jasper. I am grateful that she is mobile and active, even though she has survived breast cancer thirty years ago. My mom and her partner Tim were hiking in the mountains when the path they were on became narrower and narrower until it was only a mere goat path. Then the terrain became swampy and mom had to step through some moss, and her foot sank down into the wate...

All of my life I have had to deal with a mind crippling depression. The origional time this depression hit me was when I was 11 years old and had started 7th grade. I had just moved from my grade school to a junior high. For the intial first half grading period, I was forgetting homework assignments and even how to do tasks. I suffered. I could get control of my emotions after 3 weeks and my course work improved, so I fel...

At first light I can finally see around me No furniture No walls Nothing as it was only hours ago Now is only silent  Feeling numb In the rumble, I see a photo with smiling faces  I see the damage  The pieces of my life I want to scream Should I rebuild  Hang on or let go As I close my eyes I feel the sun on my face I don't want to think or open my eyes For some time  

Dear Diary,  You know how when you put your whole self into something or you give all you can that day, even if it’s not much, it still feels like a whole lot to you? And you know, how you feel so good about yourself for a minute because you think you did a lot and gave it your all but come to find out you're not doing even half of what normal people are?  None of that probably makes sense at all but it’s how I feel about...

This is a true story about teenagers helping other teenagers during a band project. This story connects Edmonton with what is now described as an Iconic Canadian Band... THE TRAGICALLY HIP.  On March 23, 1988, some friends and I were looking for whatever experience we could have, when someone saw a poster that a band called The Tragically Hip was doing a gig at Dancing Shoes, a small bar on the south side of the Mayfield...

Donna would tell she was in her late eighties, just not how late. She always had a smile and if she could get her hands on you, even a bigger hug. She had fallen and I went to the hospital to check on her  As I got to the door. I heard voices. Thinking the doctor was with her I waited  I heard Donna's voice begin to tell one of her many stories. Her words took me in as I closed my eyes and listened. She told of growing up...

0430 Military time, 8 year old Theo would wake up, clean up, put on his dungarees, and fill up with whatever Mama bought that week.  By 0515 get to the corner for the farm truck to come by. Everyone there was speaking another language, yet they came to know him well. Theo was from an old mold, they said. They all remembered starting work so young in "the Old Country." Some never spent a day in school. Life was to be worke...

The tears I not let fall As I look at your pictures The smiles Our laughter Your song of love Never leaving my mind Touching tenderly My heart cries for you Souls forever one No The tears I not let fall

Wherever they are found, and wherever they have traveled, Kender evoke a common adage amongst those who have encountered them. The most dangerous thing in the world is a bored Kender. I must beg to differ in this tale. For those who don’t know Kender, they are a race of Halflings/Hobbits known for an overwhelming sense of curiosity. So great is their curiosity that they are fearless even in the most dire of circumstances....

The day at the airport Many were waiting for loved ones A look at the clock told the time was near Sounds of the plane had finally come  People moving  Cries and laughter were everywhere A man moved into view My heart told me It was him We stopped  As customs say  Our eyes didn't meet I heard the drop of a bag  Saw him go down on one knee As he extended his hand Palm up I heard material tearing Taking both my hands in his...

Here’s yet another fond memory from the bygone days of PnP role-playing. This tale centers around one of my players creating a new character. Everyone playing the game had many characters. We just picked out characters from our portfolio according to whim every time we sat down at our custom-built plywood and 2x4 gaming table. Everyone wanted a wide variety of options, so we often rolled up new characters whenever we were...

Twenty years ago last night, I spent New Year’s Eve waiting for someone in the world to call and tell me something in our product line didn’t work. Or that it worked incorrectly. It was December 31st, 1999 and Y2K misbehavior was clearly at the forefront of many people's minds. Including mine. In January 1999, I had been re-assigned from Director of World Service to Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for a major m...

There were some grand moments in my old PnP role-playing days that I will think fondly of until my dying day. This is one of them. My gaming world was one of my own creation, put together in the fashion of Frankenstein’s monster from numerous sources. It was quite the “Monty Haul” campaign, which means that loot was abundant. I balanced this by giving the monsters and other beings in the world access to the same hauls of...

I had been living at the care home for a few months when the recreation committee decided to have an end of summer indoor street dance. It’s not that we didn’t have regular recreational events, we regularly had a pub night. Local musicians e.g. vocalists, guitarists, keyboardists & accordionists, who once played the club circuit, now found purpose and meaning in playing the care home circuit, providing live music to peopl...

To fill the hours in the day I do as expected Alone in a crowd I prefer it that way Not really alone As some think I see you in my mind Feel you in my soul Your whisper at times I hear Whenever I miss you the most Every beat of my heart Every breath I take Your whispers give me strength The courage to continue on They are really a treat I realize  To have the time we did A blessing beyond  belief