Alex Carrick’s Blog

The 19th century writers Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker were among the first great environmentalists. Their creations – Frankenstein’s “monster” and Count Dracula respectively ‒ blazed new trails in preserving scarce resources. In his research and during the operation that led to his triumph, Dr. Frankenstein was careful to use the purest form of electric […]

[Read more →]

I don’t understand how women think. It’s been a mystery to me all my life and I expect it will continue to confound me ‘til the day I die. I had a perfectly reasonable idea for how our family should spend the holidays this year. It was practical, do-able and would have saved us a […]

[Read more →]

Toronto City Council recently banned the use of plastic bags beginning January 1, 2013. It’s a tremendous source of comfort to me that our elected officials are always looking out for what’s in our best interests, whether we know it or not.   My family of five will no longer be able to tote home […]

[Read more →]

There were several reasons why Giles’ mood was tanking. First, there was the change in seasons. Summer was only a degree or two away from turning into fall. Giles loved the summer. He lived in a northern clime and the winters were long and harsh. The cold weather, when he’d been a child, had encompassed […]

[Read more →]

A father drove his two children, 12-year-old Bud and eight-year-old Betty-Lou, to school every morning. In good weather and bad, mostly in heavy traffic, they motored slowly along the well-established route and talked through many of the major issues of life. “What’s that guy doing, Dad?” asked Bud, sitting in the front seat with his […]

[Read more →]

David and Maria made sure to arrive home on a Tuesday evening before 6 p.m. after long hard days at work for both of them. They were a married couple in their mid 40s, with three children – William aged 20, Walter 10 and Wendy 5. Later that evening, they would be meeting with Maria’s […]

[Read more →]

“When one scoop of ice cream is too much, two scoops can sometimes be just right.” That was something my wife, Donna, said one summer evening – perhaps unwittingly, we’ve never been quite sure – when the family walked to the local ice cream parlour for a cool treat. Then she demonstrated her belief in this […]

[Read more →]

My wife and I had kind of a unique wedding. We sort of eloped, but then we also bought the farm on the same day –  literally, not figuratively. And our only child at the time, Tom, aged 12, was my best man.   Donna and I were due to get married, so we arranged for […]

[Read more →]

Today, I’ll continue with a discussion about the perils of watching movies at home with the children. I’ll cover the embarrassment of violence, pornography and bad language.   As for violence, Donna and I haven’t wanted our kids to be over-protected, so we’re pretty liberal in our viewing habits. Besides, you can’t get away from […]

[Read more →]

There are few things in life much more fun than taking the kids to a movie in an actual theatre. You load up on popcorn, Pepsi and Twizzlers; the lights go down; the sound starts to reverberate; and the fun begins. You look over and your youngest ones are looking up at the screen, wide-eyed […]

[Read more →]