Pent-Up Demand Goes Panting

Last weekend all across Ontario, the entire 15 million of us, poured into theatres, museums, gyms, hair-dressers and border crossings. Even though none of what was suddenly open could accommodate more than a half or even a quarter of us, we…

Back to Abnormal

We’re officially three weekends into freedom and what are you feeling? A bit like that old Ontario tourism campaign – “Friendly, Familiar, Foreign and Near?” Me too. Shaking hands, which I took to be a universal human gesture, feels…

Hot Enough for You?

Global warming isn’t always about Heat Advisories in the High Arctic. It’s about our normally placid middle-of-the road weather going bi-polar. It’s about extremes. So while we’re baking this summer, compare that to what’s coming to…

Saturday Multi-Slacking

Is the whole point of weekdays the weekend? Certainly it is in summer, and most certainly this summer because last summer was cancelled without notice. My advice. Get outside and stay there. At least until it’s dark and you can come inside…

Downhill from here

The longest day of easily the longest year was last Monday, June 21st. Between then and December 21st, the sun will shine on our feral faces a little less each day. But we don’t care, do we? Because we’re all stepping out into our two-jab…

Summer is a Season Again

Last summer didn’t count. We couldn’t go anywhere, do anything, see anyone. Already, this summer is making up for lost time. We’re going everywhere, doing everything, seeing everyone. But save a tear, please, for the online lives…

By the Dawn’s Early Light

I want to go to America. So do you. I know we live in a beautiful land. But like everyone else on earth, crossing a border makes our destination more exotic and exciting. I also want Americans to come here. They’re so much fun to admire, decry…

Streaming or Screaming?

The pandemic not only sent us all home, it threw us onto our screens. Here we dutifully started watching videos – not just by streaming movies and TV series, but by watching vastly more videos than we ever did before. Now that we can be outside…

Queen Victoria is not amused

It’s her weekend and are we planting our gardens without fear they’ll freeze overnight? Are we opening our cottages, swatting the blackflies, gassing up at Tim Horton’s?  Well, we are more than last year when we were all locked up…

Saturday soul-searching –and soul-selling.

Odds are, you’ve had at least one shot, and if you’re American or British, both. But if you’re like me, you’re still suffering from vaccine-envy. Why can they barbeque, worship and travel and we can’t? And do we have to lose two…