Alex Carrick’s Blog

I refer to this piece as half poetry, half storytelling and half crazy. Since there is a poetic element, I’d like the flow to be consistent down the page (or screen, actually, in this case). Thus present preamble to take the intro past the picture of the scholarly-looking gentleman on the right (your left). ** […]

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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 […]

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“Start with a ‘hook’. It can be an exceptional title. Or a nifty idea. Even a joke, as long as it’s original. That’s where I begin. Then embellish it. Work backwards if you have to. And always, always, keep in mind the primary question – will this keep a reader interested?” That was the gist […]

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In the order they transpired, I’m recording events of the past couple of days in my marriage as a favor to the brotherhood. Navigating the asteroid belt of our spouses’ emotions requires all the skill and sharing of experiences we can muster. Members of the fair sex aren’t shy about seeking help from each other […]

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  “Daddy, why does Canada have so many comedians?” 10-year old Justin asked, one blustery winter evening.  The magic hour approached when the burden of parenthood was about to be ever so briefly lifted and some time might be spent by mom and dad alone in front of the television set.  “I have a theory […]

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Donna and I have attended an auction or two. It’s a fascinating experience, filled with tradition and a lively cast of characters. Not least among the latter is the auctioneer. He’s charged with keeping things going and, of course, making as much money as possible for sellers and the “house”. On that score and for […]

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Now that our oldest son Tom has returned to university, it is my task at night to walk our beautiful dog Daisy before we all lay down our heads. While the journey is usually pleasurable, there are always hidden dangers lurking around the corner. This preamble is by way of saying that Farley and Grover […]

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The old Canada is changing very quickly. The interests displayed in the new Canada contain a considerable number of carry-overs, but there are also some stark changes. The following ditty attempts to bring the sometimes co-operating and sometimes conflicting sentiments together in a cohesive whole. Canadians love hockey, you know that’s no lie, still there are other […]

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     The following are my ruminations on the passage of time and the aging process.      There are also some wry observations on how tolerant society is towards the elderly.      What’s required may be a little more patience. Of course, most of this is tongue in cheek.         Tick-tock or digital flash,      seconds race a headlong […]

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Griselda Beamish was happier than she had been in a hundred years. While others of her kind were having trouble adjusting to modern times, Zelda embraced the new. All of the most recent advances in technology made her life simpler. There were opportunities that she could never have imagined before. Take her job for instance. […]

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