Walking the Dog – A Matter of Life and Death
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 168 ~ May, 2011
I can't imagine how they felt -- shock, paralysis, disbelief. It was an ordinary day, a Thursday, nothing special, and then, all changed in a second.
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From the Editor Archives
Preserving the past as best we can
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 167 ~ April, 2011
I picked myself up and wandered along the front of the lake down toward our cottage, my right hand raised to my tear-filled eyes, little knowing my father had shifted from filming the action between the Indian tribes, instead, concentrating on my solitary walk of defeat along the shoreline.
A journey through Celtic past, present, and future
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 166 ~ March, 2011
Treasa has lived in Barrie for the past 11 years, where she is currently the coordinator of the Novalis Project, responsible for providing presentations of drama, music and dance, and performances and workshops in the arts for adults with developmental disabilities who work and reside in a neighborhood together.
Bob Payne: A Traveling Man
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 165 ~ February, 2011
I was recently returning from visiting my sister and her kids in Ontario when I thought of Bob Payne, a travel writer whose articles have appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Islands, Outside, Men's Journal, and Bon Appetit, as well as the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, and Dallas Morning News.
A long overdue lunch with Sidney Offit
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 164 ~ January, 2011
I was at lunch recently with my friend, the acclaimed historian and novelist, Thomas Fleming, and his friend Sidney Offit, the best writing teacher I ever had, when I took a course with him at the New School on W.12th Street in Manhattan after suffering …
Celebrity time with Dad
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 163 ~ December, 2010
The celebrity culture has always been alien and incomprehensible to me. I have never been in awe of anyone, except perhaps Mickey Mantle when I was four, and I have never wished I was someone else. Not that I think I’m even close to perfect, …
Now that the voting is over
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 162 ~ November, 2010
Many will be relieved, either happy or down, with most indifferent, as the results of the mid-term elections across the country will now be official, in most cases. For me, I’m simply happy my mailbox will no longer be stuffed with campaign literature. It’s amazing …
Finding an Interesting Writer a Phone Call Away
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 161 ~ October, 2010
The other week my brother and sister, who are a year apart in age, and both younger than me, attended a high school reunion. I can’t believe what year reunion it was because I still think of my siblings as teenagers, even though age wise, …
Oh, Brother, Glad You’re Still With Us
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 159 ~ August, 2010
My mother always told us if something ever happened, if we were ever injured or in trouble, the first thing we should say when we called in such a situation was “I’m okay,” before going into the specifics about whatever had happened. I came home …
According to Whom?
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 158 ~ July, 2010
It’s a simple phrase, an elementary question, but one which probably should be considered more frequently by people in general, and journalists, in particular, both print and broadcast, and that is “According to whom?” In an age where passions, and resulting generalizations run high, outlandish …