For Three and a half years I wrote a grammar column for the Edmonton Journal called “Grammar Gaffes.” Since then my views on grammar and usage have evolved considerably. When I wrote the column, I was pretty much a prescriptivist; that is, I believed there were rules of standard grammar and usage that should be … More Pet Peeve
For at least 25 years I worked out regularly at the gym at the University of Alberta. The gym was a short walk from my office in the library, and the convenience made it easy to form such a positive habit. Such an exemplary life style culminated in 2008 in a heart attack. The cardiologist assured … More Staying Hydrated
When I was a kid, we were at the low end of the working class, but in the 1950s post-war expansion of the economy, even the low end of the working class was actually working. We had many deficits in our lives, but a sense of crushing poverty was not one of them. Everybody … More The Gift of the Bicycle
Dear Theo, We promise to remember you in the snow, black on white, where you were striking and strong. We’ll think of your dignified bow, how you lowered your snout and performed a little dance as we approached. How you crossed your paws on the kitchen floor, and sighed in your sleep, and how you … More Sara Rutkowski’s Tribute to Theo, a Belgian Sheep Dog
I have given up Facebook. I haven’t given it up for the reasons I posted to FB friends just before I deactivated my account. I claimed I simply wanted to sit less and walk more. Actually, I gave up Facebook in order to slay a monster. Over the six years I was on FB, the … More On Giving Up Facebook
Back in the 1950s, door-to-door selling could be a lucrative occupation. At various times my brother Bill sold cookware, encyclopaedias, siding, guitar lessons (he didn’t play the guitar), and rugs. We spent a lot of time in coffee shops talking about how much money could be made in one of those endeavors. Bill dreamed of … More Selling Encyclopedias
No Harm Spilt 