Another in a series of short personal fictional stories about a mystery church with a quirky minister in an unnamed community, though not in a galaxy far away. Enjoy. Between the covers A face stares up at me from a large bowl of Bouillabaisse, a French seafood stew — the version before me with a... Continue Reading →
Anne Lamott on “All things new”
A New Year's Day reflection by Anne Lamott [Anne Lamott] I will flinch a bit today whenever someone exhorts me to have a happy new year. It might be the word “happy,” which is so giddy and clown-shoe slappy, in combination with my walking personality disorder. It‘s also that the emphasis will be on Hap,... Continue Reading →
Inspiration for the New Year
On New Years Day I typically share W. H. Auden’s poem New Year Letter, a truly imaginative and insightful piece I commend to you once again. This year however, I want to share something different, a sort of what I got for Christmas this year kind of report. I have almost finished "Joyride: A Memoir"... Continue Reading →
Do Re Mi and Ho Ho Ho
More original fiction from your humble scribe “I know we’re not all here yet, but let’s start anyway,” Gladys announced. “The others will arrive soon, I hope.” Awkwardly spaced between uncomfortable pews, we gathered upstairs in the church sanctuary, an uncomfortable though convenient rehearsal space, huddled around the one-manual, four-stop pipe organ donated by someone,... Continue Reading →
Early Sunday morning
Another in a series of original short stories. Enjoy “Between the vestibule and the altar, let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.” (Book of Job) I wasn’t weeping, but I felt a little funny. There I was, dressed in Alb and Stole, standard clerical dress for ministers of many Christian denominations, on a... Continue Reading →
Encouraging words about writing
Readers of this blog are well aware of my newfound interest in writing, not just non-fiction but most recently fictional short stories, a practice that may lead to longer forms in time. I am surprised how much fun I have in creating characters who participate in dramas f my own design based on memories of... Continue Reading →
Meet my friend Dick
Another in my series “Larger Than Life Characters in our little town of Summerland” Dick Spencer and I met shortly after Kathie and I moved to Summerland in the fall of 1994. With his wife, Lois, he was a member of the Anglican congregation I served as priest from 1994-2004. A talented woodworker and carpenter... Continue Reading →
Fifty years and counting – Our 1975 high school grad class meets for a reunion
I walked onto the rooftop patio of Victoria’s Strathcona Hotel to meet almost one hundred members of my high school graduating class. Now fifty years after the actual 1975 graduation ceremony at Victoria’s Oak Bay High School I wasn’t really thinking about the effects of the passage of time. Temporarily befuddled, a server pointed me... Continue Reading →
Rolodex rules
You can still buy them because more people than you think still use them. They were ubiquitous office organizational tools before the advent of digital contact managers. The brand still exists offering a wide variety of office management tools and devices. The one device however that put Rolodex on the product map was the folder... Continue Reading →
Hobbies and side-hustles
I am looking forward to visiting with others who graduated from Victoria’s Oak Bay High School fifty years ago, the Class of 1975. As interest spreads my guess is that around fifty of us will show up at a Victoria hotel in early June, hoping that we are recognizable and we will recognize others. I... Continue Reading →