Archived Columns

Rose Gardens, how lucky we were

I basically remember my teenage years as fun years. For grades 9 and 10, I attended Regiopolis College in Kingston, Ontario – my father felt that a Jesuit education would save me from the road to perdition he felt I had chosen as my path. After 2 years I realized I didn’t really like Regiopolis so my dad made me a deal: get all ‘A’s - which in those days was a 75% average – and I could go to school in Sarnia. After meeting the academic requirements, I returned to Sarnia and attended St. Pat’s.

Is Canada really going to pot?

I have two big fears about the impending (Oct. 17) legalization of marijuana:

To sail or knot?

I‘ve been a sailor all my life. Not a very good sailor in terms of the America’s Cup, and the Volvo Ocean Race guys and in fact, there are several sailors right here in Sarnia who could easily beat me on a race course. However, despite those drawbacks, going for a sailboat ride in heavy air is something that I just love to do. But… life has not always been that simple for me.

A theory or two...

These are just theories… but?

The endless rhetoric about gun control has resulted in not much getting done, which is good for the NRA and Ted Nugent but very bad for young people in schools. Therefore I thought it was a great idea when the students marched on Washington to demand that the government do something to stop the killing. The government does not want to be seen ignoring them. It will go poorly for them at the polls if they do.

Mike MacDonald

Back in August 2002, I went to Humber College in Toronto for a one-week course offered by the Humber College School of Comedy. I was enrolled in the standup-comedy course.

Life is just one big biological party

I first learned about endorphins from Ms. Jody Lynn Musio on June 6, 2000. Jody was a wonderful laser-therapist and she was the key to helping me quit smoking forever… well over 125,000 un-smoked cigarettes and $55,00 after-tax, un-spent dollars ago. As she was administering the laser treatment to me, this is what she told about what happened to me when I smoked a cigarette; “When you inhale smoke from a cigarette, you take a highly addictive drug called nicotine into your system. The cigarette is essentially just the vehicle that delivers the nicotine.

The future is getting closer every day

In June 2016, WORLDHEALTH.net posted an article called: Predictions in Technology and Health written by Dr. Ronald Klatz who has enough letters and titles after his name to convince me that he spent a lot of time researching his story. What follows is an excerpt from that article printed without their permission so please don’t go passing it around.

“In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they went bankrupt.

The NOVA press conference

I moved back to Sarnia in 1973 to help my dad run his appliance, TV and furniture business. Polymer, Dupont and Union Carbide had just announced a $750 million-dollar project that would change Sarnia forever. It was called Petrosar, and as we all know that has now morphed into NOVA Chemicals. I remember those years of the Petrosar construction (74 -78) and the project’s subsequent coming on line very well. Business was, as my brother Mark loved to say, “Rockin’ and rollin’.”

The lighter side of things

How Canadians make people crazy

An Englishman, a Canadian and an American were captured and sentenced to be executed by a firing squad. The enemy leader visited them on the eve of their execution and told them, “Before we execute you, you will be allowed to say your last words. Please let me know what you wish to talk about.”

With a very stiff upper lip, the Englishman replied, “I wish to speak about loyalty and service to the crown.”

A reason to remember

On Thursday, November 22, 2007 – U.S. Thanksgiving – I went out to my dad’s house to watch the Green Bay Packers play the Detroit Lions; a tradition we’d been observing since the Lombardi years. My dad, who was 90 at that time, was a big Lions fan but he loved the Packers too, so when the Lions traditionally disappointed their fans by failing to make the playoffs, we always had the Packers as our backup team to cheer for.