It’s Spring! And the urge to clean and declutter comes over many of us. I’ve already made one run to the dump, and there will be more, along with side trips to the Sally Ann with surplus household items. This may possibly include rooster – themed dessert plates and tablecloths from well-meaning kin who thought my appetite for rooster collectables is limitless. It isn’t.
I’ve had to take a few tests in my time, I mean, I made it through public school and high school and got a diploma of some sort from college.
And outside of school I’ve had to take various tests in order to be allowed to do different things in life, drive, save someone from a stabbing wound caused by a shard of glass using nothing but my wits, a dixie cup, electrical tape, a box of Read more
Spring is here! I keep repeating this mantra to myself, even though mother nature (she has a perverse sense of humour) has greeted us the last few mornings with SNOW. But the determined birds keep singing spring’s praise, so much so, that if I close my eyes, I can almost feel spring. I’ve also had the spring-cleaning bug—rifling through closets, dusting off clothing no longer worn to donate and cleaning out the boxes that have been sitting in my back room for months and months.
I’m also shaggy. I am in serious need of a haircut, an eyebrow shaping, and I’m prickly! I dearly need a new razor to release these legs from their winter coat. Too bad we weren’t like animals and could shed our leg hairs each spring. Regardless, it got me to thinking about all this self care and how my current manuscript could the same focused love.
When beginning this blog, my intention was to explore the language that peppers social activism discussions these days. Terms such as virtue signaling, manufacturing consent, false flags, being woke and right to protect were mostly new to me. Instead, the writing was sidetracked and I learned an important lesson along the way.
FAIR WARNING – RANT ADVISORY!
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When being chased by a rhino, you should run in a zig-zag pattern. The wildlife guide in Nepal provided this advice to me. Zig-Zag is probably my favourite onomatopoeia word. The very sound of “zig” and “zag” suggests its meaning. I was “almost chased” by a rhino three times— still don’t know if it was a set up for an extra tip by the guide— and yes, each time, I duly ran in zig-zag patterns. Zippy-do-da! I’m still alive to write this blog.
Onomatopoeia refers to a word that imitates or suggests the word’s sound. It can bring language to life by capturing its sound in the word itself. Buzz, crash, whisper are all common examples. Animal noises (bark, meow, chirp) are all onomatopoeia words. Nature sounds lend themselves to be onomatopoeia. (The drizzle of rain; the swoosh of the wind; the gurgling creek).
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For the past few years I have been posting a salutation on International Womens’ Day to women in my circles, chronicling how they meet the chores and challenges of daily life in important ways, mostly unsung, but nevertheless persisting.
This year was different.
Like everyone else, I have been feeling horror and helplessness as the war in Ukraine has unfolded. And what of the women of Ukraine? They were in my thoughts before the 8th of March, and will continue to be for a long, long time. With your indulgence, this is what I have written in my blog.
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Above all else, writers should be writing, but what if you have trouble getting words on the page?
With the world raging in turmoil outside our windows, writers start to wonder if the words they are writing will matter in a time like this. We thought the pandemic was challenging, but now, people are dying thanks to a man with a greed problem. I’m simplifying this because the man has more problems than greed, but I’m sure you understand we are on the verge of World War III now that Putin, the Russian leader, has ripped up the peace deal and has launched a devastating attack on Ukraine by air, land, and sea.
This news is scary shit. Read more
Some years ago I found myself to be in some sorrow.
I had spent twenty-seven years as a married man. Life had its ups and downs, as it should, and I learned to gather enjoyment from both the good times and from our ability to deal with the not so good times.
All that ended the day after my twenty-seventh wedding anniversary when Read more