Category Archives: seniors

Running On Fumes

I have just finished week 7 of the COVID19 life-style and I’m starting to run on fumes. The fight is draining out of me. I feel like I’m trapped on a carousel of an ever changing cycle of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, five stages of grief. However just as you think you have worked through one, a […]
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In Fascist Fields Where Hate Does Grow

For some reason I woke up at 3am this morning with the song “Romper, stomper, bompar boo” floating in my mind. Why that should have been there is beyond me. I was a few generations ahead of the TV show “Romper Room” but the tune was stuck in my head. I knew I wasn’t getting […]
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The Convenience of Fear

I have just finished my “voluntary” isolation period. Haven’t been tested but not feeling ill at all. I have taken the opportunity to get out for a good wheel when weather allowed practicing “social distancing”. The reality of life in a wheelchair is that “social distancing” is standard practice. I experience way too many people […]
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The Resurrection of a Memory

Growing up in the Children’s Hospital you really have little control over your day to day life. You learn quickly two things, routine is very structured and your activities are very planned. I knew everyday that a nurse would be there at 8am, noon, 4:30pm and again around 9pm to check temperatures, blood pressure, heart […]
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Activist or Advocate?

Advocacy is often seen as working “within the system” whereas activism is seen as working “outside the system” to generate change. I think this is really useful, as clearly the role or issue can shift from one to the other. – Author unknown I have fifty years experience as an activist with another 25 years of advocacy experience […]
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Writing From Frustration

(A variant quote) – “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission” – Grace Hopper With the writ finally coming down for the next federal election it is time to start writing again. I have ignore my writing all summer while I took on other challenges only to realize my absence of expression only […]
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Return to Sender

“A lesson learnt and not shared is destined to become a lesson lost on wasted time” – Terry Wiens (2019) I stopped writing about six weeks ago thinking my publishing days were over. In part because one just gets tired of writing the same thing over and over by finding different words but also in […]
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Syphoning Hope

“When I was young my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world.  My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there” – Jim Henson I think most people are born with a certain amount of hope. I believe I was born with […]
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It’s the Not the Attention We Receive That Counts, it’s the Attention We Pay

“When you pay attention to boredom it gets unbelievably interesting” – Jon Kabat-Zinn I became a fan and follower of Jon Kabat-Zinn early in my career as a mental health therapist.  His teachings not only contributed to my job performance but blended well into my every day life.  Living with a disability while maximizing ones […]
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The Building Blocks of Youth

“To take children seriously is to value them for who they are right now rather than adults-in-the-making.” ~ Alfie Kohn We all like to see our kids enjoying themselves.  We all want to protect our kids however there is a big difference between “protecting” and “hiding” them from the realities of the world.  Too many […]
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