Back in the spring, as I flailed more aimlessly than usual in a world ground to a halt by COVID, I stumbled upon a writing contest purely by accident. It was run by a nature biodiversity organization in Alberta that I’d never heard of and the only barrier to entry was the purchase of a […]
My First Car Becomes My First Published Work
I got published! Okay, okay, let’s not get too excited here. This wasn’t a professional gig by any stretch. I didn’t get paid in cash, though I suppose a free copy and one year subscription is better than the ubiquitous “exposure”. Nonetheless, something I wrote is forever captured in the printed pages of a […]
Crude Awakening
“It builds character.” These words of encouragement, long-favoured by well-intentioned relatives and friends, cycled endlessly in my mind as I sat behind my faux-wood desk in my soon-to-be-former cubicle on the west side of the fourteenth floor of Gulf Canada Square in suddenly not-so-opportunity-filled Calgary. I was numb. A few minutes prior, my phone had […]
Resolutionary Trouble
Only one month has passed and I’m already having a serious problem with one of my resolutions. Before you comment, no, I have not eaten any chocolate. That resolution, rather shockingly, has been going terrifically. I remain focused on succeeding at it and even if I were to succumb to the slightest temptation, my two […]
Prairie Corn
They are pathetic things really, only two feet tall, if I’m being generous, and kind of crooked. Some with too many leaves, others with too few and all completely barren of anything remotely resembling an ear of corn. Twelve stunted reminders that sweet corn just doesn’t grow on prairies like does back home. I tried […]
Scrub: A Tale of Baseballs and Bicycles
Before the last sticky globule of partially chewed Corn Flakes found its way to my startled stomach, I bolted from the kitchen table, grabbed my backpack, squeezed the side of the bag to make sure my ball glove was inside, and slung it over my shoulders. “Bye Mom! Luv ya!” I hollered down an empty […]