I’m calling around for people to give me a boost. But it’s cold and most have left town. It’s the annual pilgrimage to Val-d’Or for some all-out sports event featuring the up-and-coming, the best, the fastest, the oldest, the messiest, […]

Grasping the handle of the super-sized shopping cart, I join the long line of sweating, winter-coat-swaddled shoppers a hundred metres deep. We are all waiting our turn at the automated checkout machines. One of the machines has communication issues with […]

Halloween is on the tip of everyone’s tongue as the scary, hairy, beautiful, ridiculous and just plain crazy costumes are dug out of the closet. It’s a bit like the Mardi Gras of the north, with kids in cute costumes […]

The sturdy Norwest 24-foot cedar-and-canvas canoe reached the crest of a 15-foot wave. We bobbed over the top only to see a mass of swells. The 40-horse outboard quickly revved up and we flew across the swells for some time […]

“Yes, I’ll take the baby car seat and GPS options please, plus the take-it-to-the-max insurance,” I tell the tall, young, professional-looking man at the car rental counter. In short order I had my pick of colour and finish. Two hours […]

I’m adjusting my tie and checking for any missed beard stubble. A quick shower and shave gets me ready in about 15 minutes. It’s just a matter of finding some good socks to go with my George dress shoes and […]

We sat around silently waiting for the next person to say something meaningful. The silence was thick. The atmosphere felt discharged of energy – no emotions, just sombreness. The lampshades did little to brighten the room as muffled shadows greyed […]

I’m sitting halfway up the hills formed from the Precambrian Shield near a cluster of old dry pine trees, which must be at least a half-century old. These wizened tiny trees – our northern Bonsais, I like to call them […]

My heart was beating overtime, my brow sticky with sweat and dust. The drumbeat was at once exciting and soothing. The songs sung by men from Alkali Lake, BC, effortlessly reached the high notes. Many from the circle of admirers […]

Oh, what to do this summer? The goose-hunting season is now going full tilt in every Cree community on both sides of the James and Hudson bays. Every community has emptied out, leaving lonely stragglers to fend for themselves. In […]