Monthly Archives: April 2024

from Carson McCullers’ “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe”

“First of all, love is a joint experience between two persons — but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar experience to the two people involved. There are the lover and … Continue reading

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Thank you Danielle and UCP

for the current power outages in the province. “The Alberta Advantage” again, right? Thank you for nickeling and dining Alberta’s power grid. We know you have more important things to do like building an arena in Calgary or building a … Continue reading

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Probably My Biggest-Ever Dilemma: Sept. 1975

My father had gone down to Sioux City, Iowa on the Labor Day long weekend and ended up on Aug, 31 (my birthday) in a head-on car collision, requiring the ‘Jaws of Life’ to pry him free.  (The car was … Continue reading

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Two Incredible Years: 1973-75 (My Double Life, Age 24-26)

(fall 1972: first teaching job) By day, I was teaching full-time senior-high English in Grand Centre, AB (now Cold Lake). Eventually, by ‘night’, 1973-1975, I was performing in two groups: Four, which became Betty Plus Four. In 22 months, we … Continue reading

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Watching Humane Society rep with kitten on tv;

took me back to when I was 7 and having lunch with our elderly neighbor in her kitchen. Her cat Biddy was hanging around the kitchen and the neighbor wanted to let me play with the cat so she cut … Continue reading

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7 Decades of RD Writing:

  Including 60 textbooks and teacher’s guides (over 1 million sold as of 2005), several chapbooks, over 100 magazine publications (U.S. and Canadian), many contest winners, several contest judgings, blog entries (2 blogs, 15 yrs. total), hundreds of readings and … Continue reading

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Music, still is, was, has been and will continue to be a major mainstay and pleasure of my life.

Beginning at age 3, when I was left for long periods of time with our radio console and record player. From age 4 to my mid-20s, I spent a good chunk of time listening to top 40 radio, amassing collections … Continue reading

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Advertising: Information, Persuasion, Deception

Mostly deception these days, designed to separate consumers as much money as possible.

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While many others are losing their common sense, tolerance, and humanity,

trolling, suing, and physically attacking strangers in public, I continue to support peace, reason, and diversity. We know that nobody is perfect, but that is no excuse for dumping others to satisfy our egos, jealousy, and what Golding called “the … Continue reading

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A sign of public places decline

are the many men spitting shamelessly in public, ignoring former no-spitting city ordinances. Like so many other courtesy signs fallen by the wayside. I’d have to add, though, that professional athletes and media have vetted spitting on camera and the … Continue reading

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