Category Archives: Life

Preserving life or prolonging death?

Sorry for my long absence but here is something I published yesterday in the Huffington Post. It is a follow up to an earlier post (How would you like to die, Sir?): PRESERVING LIFE OR PROLONGING DEATH? Let’s cut to the chase – should we allow euthanasia? A Quebec man – Michel Cadotte – is [...]

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I can still touch my ceiling!

Hi folks, I decided to take the easy way out and honour the Rio Olympics by dragging out an old post. It was originally published in this blog in 2012. (I can touch my ceiling…and other great Olympic feats!). A slightly updated version (with unfortunately a much more bland title chosen by them) was published [...]

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Killing made easy

Hi, I published this article in the Huffington Post this week in the aftermath of the massacre in Orlando. (see: If You Think ‘Guns Don’t Kill People’ You Are Missing The Point) KILLING MADE EASY The National Rifle Association in the United States, and other gun owner lobby groups constantly proclaim the “Guns don’t kill. [...]

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Screwed up parents, screwed up kids

Screwed up parents, screwed up kids!* (Chers lecteurs Francophones. SVP, voir la note plus bas. Merci) Screwed up parents almost always produce screwed up kids but screwed up kids don’t always have screwed up parents. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the ability to ensure our children turned out well-adjusted, functional and happy? I [...]

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Eulogy to a janitor

Giuseppe Zacchia 1923-2016 Please honour this remarkable human being by sharing his story to the people that matter in your lives. It was published in the Huffington Post on February 9, 2016, Eulogy to a Janitor. ________________________________________________________________ Chères lecteurs et lectrices Francophone: Après plusieurs années de déclin physique mon père est décédé le 1 février. J’ai [...]

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Et comment désirez-vous mourir, Monsieur?

Voici la version Française de mon billet du 24 septembre: Nous mourrons tous, un jour. Si nous avions notre mot à dire sur la façon dont cela se produira, qu’est-ce que la plupart d’entre nous choisiraient? Dernièrement, j’ai commencé à poser directement cette question à des clients, des amis et des membres de ma famille; [...]

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How would you like to die, sir?

We are all going to die. If we had a say in how it happened, what would most of us choose? Recently I began asking clients, friends and family members this straightforward question and the results of this unscientific survey are very telling. Of the fifty or so people I have asked, all but three [...]

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Smooth rocks and plastic rings

SMOOTH ROCKS AND PLASTIC RINGS (SVP, voir plus bas pour la version Française) Why do we always seem to come home from vacation with a pocketful of smooth rocks or seashells we picked up at the beach or cheap plastic rings we bought at an amusement park? I don’t know about you but I have [...]

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Inspirational people

The kind of story that moves me the most is one where a person triumphs over adversity and manages to maintain a healthy positive attitude. (Chèrs lecteurs Francophone, voir plus bas pour une belle histoire inspirante, écrite en Français). There is enough horror and evil out there to make us all miserable. But we are [...]

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The foster mother

The foster mother (SVP, voir plus bas pour la version Française) We are blessed by the mother who gave up the child. – Lucinda Williams. As an adoptive father, that lyric makes me cry every time. My last two trips to the United States were to Burlington, Vermont and New York City. Both times we [...]

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