October 27, 1962, is not a date that most people consider an especially noteworthy one. It certainly doesn’t rate with 9/ll or John Kennedy’s assassination or the fall of the Berlin Wall. But it was by far the most dangerous day in human history – the day the world came perilously close to being devastated … Continue reading Most dangerous day in human history was unquestionably October 27, 1962
Memoir
Science fiction helps us to envision the future, as well as clarify the past
When I started reading science fiction, in my teens, it was widely regarded as a disreputable form of literature. This was not surprising, since at that time -- the early 1940s – science fiction was confined to pulp magazines with lurid covers, often depicting scantily-clad heroines shooting ray-guns at BEMS (bug-eyed monsters). Living in Newfoundland … Continue reading Science fiction helps us to envision the future, as well as clarify the past
Come from Away: A great play that extols merits of hospitality and co-operation
The Broadway musical Come from Away has sublimely exposed hundreds of thousands of non-Newfoundlanders to the province’s uniquely hospitable and heartwarming culture. My wife and I finally got to see the play when it was recently performed at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Like the rest of the audience, we were completely enthralled by … Continue reading Come from Away: A great play that extols merits of hospitality and co-operation
Mary and the Confessional: An excerpt from my memoirs
In a town where Catholic children were not so much taught religion as indoctrinated with it, I always found it difficult to equate the catechism and the commandments with my sense of logic. So did many other kids. But if we dared question any of the farfetched tales from the Bible, the priests and nuns … Continue reading Mary and the Confessional: An excerpt from my memoirs
Grandpa’s universe: An excerpt from my memoirs
“If you love being alive, you must learn never to squander time, for time is the stuff life is made of.” --Benjamin Franklin. My paternal grandfather was a maintenance-of-way foreman on the Clarenville-Bonavista branch line of the Newfoundland Railway. After retiring in 1930, he came to Corner Brook and helped defray the cost of building … Continue reading Grandpa’s universe: An excerpt from my memoirs
The Nonagenarian's Notebook 