Other writing (Page 2)

By:
On:
In: Other writing, Widget D Left, Words

09 June 2020 The face of litter is changing. It used to be all Tim Hortons cups and cigarette butts. Now they’ve been joined by face masks and nitrile gloves. A lot of people celebrate the pandemic lockdown because of the restorative effect it has on our ecosystem. People notice the cleaner air and water. Maybe it just seems cleaner because there’s not as much dirt in it. While there might be less grit in the air, there’s a lot more latex, nitrile, and plastic going to landfill. Guelph’s waste disposal guide tells us to put the gloves in the grey cart. Grocery stores won’tRead More →

By:
On:
In: Other writing, Widget D Left, Words

(02 June 2020) Old age is the most potent, and common, carcinogen you will ever be exposed to. It combines with all the other substances that enter our bodies and turns them loose to do the damage they do. In a perverse and bizarre fashion, the increased incidences of cancer result from the successes of modern medicine. Rather than hang our heads in sadness, we could point exultantly at our senior citizens and rejoice at the news that we have conquered smallpox, beaten measles, cured tuberculosis, and will soon put the novel coronavirus to rest. We extended our average life expectancy and now live longRead More →

By:
On:
In: Other writing, Widget D Left, Words

(25 May 2020) Oh, Export A. You took my breath away. I smoked like a chimney for forty years or more. Probably more. Looking back, it wasn’t the brightest thing I could have done. It didn’t seem harmful when the deep wisdom and maturity of a typical 14-year old guided my decisions. I had my last cigarette in 2006 while waiting to go to the hospital to have a heart attack checked out. I mention this by way of pointing out that I never came down with lung cancer. It is the most common long term misery waiting for heavy smokers, but not everyone getsRead More →

By:
On:
In: Other writing, Widget D Left, Words

I live 1.6 kilometres from the corner of Metcalfe Street and Speedvale Avenue. Pretty close to three and a quarter kilometres there and back. About fifty minutes walking, as long as it isn’t raining. Cool and windy is fine. Wet and miserable isn’t. Some days, I go a bit longer. If I turn left at Speedvale and go down to Delhi and then home, it’s about 3.8 km round trip. If I turn right and go up to Stevenson, over to Palmer Street, down to Metcalfe and home, it’s about four and a half. About 65 minutes if I don’t have to wait too longRead More →