The Dark Season is here, and my dinner table is about to be given over to a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. I feel a bit sheepish about confessing the grandma-ness of this, but I haven’t had to write a resume for over a decade, so I am now liberated of having to impress anyone with…
Just One Question – a new column in Coast Mountain Culture magazine
I’ve been contributing to Coast Mountain Culture magazine since their debut issue, and this winter, have taken that relationship to the next-level, with my debut column, in which I apparently endorse tarot cards, dancing instead of wrestling, and the Buddhist concept of Mu. Mostly, what I want to say is, if we want better solutions,…
What’s to Gain from Letting Risk In
The code of the fisherman is to stare every day, unflinchingly, at the sea. Fishing has been in Hiroshi Shirakawa’s family for more than 15 generations. At 72, he still operates a seasonal seaweed harvesting operation on Japan’s north-eastern coast, putting out to sea from his village of Oya every morning before dawn, and returning…
Finding the right outlet
A month ago, I drove through Pemberton and one of the most beautiful 14 year old kids I know, was standing in the middle of the roundabout, shaking a sign and punching his fist in the air. The Climate Strikes had come to Pemberton. Nice work, gang, I thought. Good for you. I honked my horn in…
Riding Back in Time
As we rode away from the trailhead, the guide turned back to throw a cheerful bit of advice over her shoulder. “You might as well turn your phones to Airplane Mode now. Save the batteries for the camera.” Searching for a signal would drain them dead, since there’s none to be found once you ride…
Forget pink and blue. Gender relations is a green issue
If I told you my kid loves to wear nail polish, is passionate about nature, animals and Wild Kratts, likes soccer, mountain biking and skiing, and sported, for the last month of summer, a feather in blond locks from Slow Food Cycle – and that her name is Jo – I’m guessing you’d think she…
A question of growth
I read somewhere that your garden is a reflection of your personality. My garden has gone off-script. It is wild, unkempt, rangy, not willing to commit to any one single thing beyond the belief that there are mysterious forces at play in the natural world to which I surrender control. It’s utterly prolific and not…
Imperfect, but adapting to it
It’s an ugly truth. When I first encountered climber Craig DeMartino, I felt a little bit sorry for him. He was inspiring, for sure. Remarkable in his resilience, absolutely. But, with his right leg amputated below the knee, I saw the absence more than his remarkable presence. DeMartino was a professional climber and one of…
Voice Lessons
They say that your mother’s voice is the one you hear in your head, even as an adult, all your days. I reached a point when I realized that that was not going to work for me anymore. It was not the right voice. And so began a long slow exorcism, a careful, yet fitful,…
Why The Way of the Problem Solver
I’m face-pressed into the concrete, lying on the floor, squinting under the stove. My five year old lost a piece of Lego. He runs to get a flashlight. It’s impossible to reach – his arms are too short, mine are too thick, to work our way deep under the heavy steel oven. We can…
