Accentuate the Positive
One of the perks about public speaking as much as I do is that I get to travel. And when I travel, I stay...
Spoiled Rotten Robin
All week we’ve been watching an extremely obese baby robin who lives outside our dining room window. He’s out of the nest, but he...
No More Platitudes
Earlier this year, after the tragic fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Manners in a Toronto high school, I made the mistake of reading a...
September Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions are traditionally made, and broken, in January. My resolutions, though, tend to rear their ugly heads in September. That’s when I...
How Times Change
For a thought experiment in this first column of 2009, let’s take a trip down memory lane and see how things have changed in...
What’s a School For?
For all of you out there who hate standardized tests because they don’t really measure your kids’ successes, participants at a recent Ottawa education...
Actions Have Consequences
I was perusing the news a while back and two stories on the same day struck me. In one, the website YouTube was being...
Are We the World?
Ever since the earthquake struck Haiti my family has been busy raising money. My daughters have baby-sat and helped at bake sales; we’ve mailed...
Of Hope and Healing
Apparently there was once a time in Western civilization when children were seen but not heard. Yesterday, when eating at a fast food restaurant,...
The Most Worrisome Time of the Year
I’ve always believed that the Most Wonderful Time of the Year was Christmas, but according to a certain office supply chain, it’s actually right...
Family Values: Evil and Odd
Around or about 1665, Sir Isaac Newton, so the story goes, was resting outside under an apple tree, when a big red one landed...
Too “busy” for family?
The answer to that age-old question, “How are you?” has traditionally been “I’m fine.” Over the last few years, though, I’ve noticed a new...
A Virtual Childhood
Last week the stick was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. It met all their criteria for a great toy: it’s been around...
Mind If I Interrupt?
Knock Knock.
Who’s there?
The Interrupting Sheep.
The Interrupting Sh——
BAAAA!
That joke is guaranteed to cause all five-year-olds to collapse into fits of...
Seeking a Wise Man
Seeking a Wise Man Right now, many men are obsessed with that age old question: “how can I earn major brownie points this Christmas?”...
