Category Archives: It Really Did Happen!

The crumbs and animal hair of real life.

Part of something bigger

Posted on March 5, 2020 by

My son James was front and centre in a news photo depicting the thrilling 73-72 RSEQ championship win by the Bishop’s University men’s basketball team on Saturday. In the shot, he’s not playing. Instead, he’s on the bench with his … Continue reading →

Posted in Family - whadya gonna do?, It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

How I killed disco

Posted on February 20, 2020 by

It is 1978 and I have entered Grade 7 at a regional high school that was famously  built facing backwards, a metaphor for many of the young minds that would pass through its halls. But this story is not about … Continue reading →

Posted in It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Cat Splat Fever

Posted on February 6, 2020 by

When you own multiple cats, even when you are down one cat as we’ve become, it is virtually impossible to determine which one is doing what in the litter box. Short of surveilling the cats’ (shall we say) movements, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Skiing, definitely. Trespassing, probably.

Posted on January 30, 2020 by

I missed a full season of cross-country skiing last year. I’m not an every-weekend skier, but Deb and I like to head into the woods when we can. Last winter, though, my innards and lowereds were still settling into place … Continue reading →

Posted in Family - whadya gonna do?, It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Down one cat

Posted on January 16, 2020 by

This is a sad cat story, I’m afraid. Attentive readers will remember Nellie, one of our five cats, and one on the larger side, so large that she had difficulty cleaning her deepest, darkest regions. First thing every morning, she … Continue reading →

Posted in It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , | 42 Comments

Permission to have the blues

Posted on November 21, 2019 by

I’m not going to lie, it’s been a rough week, for a number of reasons, not least being that I’m coming up to one year since my surgery for prostate cancer. Right now I’m in the clear, but you’re never … Continue reading →

Posted in It Really Did Happen! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

McSweeney’s little and big

Posted on November 12, 2019 by

Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of and sometime contributor to McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. This week, I have a piece running to mark Kurt Vonnegut’s birthday, entitled “Your Services As Guidance Counselor Are No Longer Required, Mr. Vonnegut.” … Continue reading →

Posted in It Really Did Happen!, Writing | 11 Comments