Like many others in the true north, strong and free, I was saddened to hear that Stompin’ Tom Connors passed away, at the age of 77, on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. I can’t pretend to be any great fan of Stompin’ Tom’s, or any kind of expert on his life and times. All I can […]
“Today,” my wife remarked as we were getting up, “is the original ‘great day for Canada.’” Having acquired much familiarity with our nuclear family legends, I knew what she meant. But I asked the obvious dumb question anyway: “You mean,” I said, “that this is your grandfather’s birthday?” (My knowledge of the legends does not […]
[UPDATED DECEMBER 1]. One of the good things about Canada is that it is more serious and high-minded than other places, right? And a good example of this is the Globe and Mail – whose semi-post-modern headquarters at the edge of the lakeshore rail line into downtown Toronto still proudly proclaims “Canada’s National Newspaper”? Right […]
Late in January 2009 I posted an article headlined “Whatever happened to Merella Fernandez?” on this excellent website. It started out with “‘Who cares about local media personalities in Toronto, Canada?’ is a good question.” And it finally answered this question with: “The local Toronto media personality Merella Fernandez is so cute and multiculturally interesting, […]
One pristine winter in the early 1970s I took a trip with several friends to the annual carnival in Quebec City. While passing through Montreal we paid a poignant chance visit to St. Joseph’s Oratory, at 3800 Chemin Queen-Mary on Mount Royal. This was my first encounter with Brother André (1845—1937) – who inspired the […]
