©2013 Rick Hardman I often feel as if I am trapped within a bubble. The wide world is all around me but here I am isolated and separate. It seems impossible to escape into the reality that surrounds me. Nor can others enter my world. I just float on and on, alone. Weightless, in the…
Norm Magnusson is planning more nose tweaking, this time along the New York State Thruway. I used to travel that highway when I lived in Upstate New York so I can envision the route and am tickled by the prospect. I wrote about Norm’s I-75 Project for This Gives Me Hope. About a week ago…
© 2013 Rick Hardman The glaring light from the string of bulbs above the mirror does me no favours. Apparently, I combed my hair with an egg beater this morning. But, at least I have hair, My one small victory. Though who is that stranger in front of me? My evil twin? Wrinkles, they must…
Mother had told us her brother Speed (Levi Outhouse) was moving to Twin Falls. We knew he had been living in an SRO (single-room occupancy) building in Portland, Oregon. The building was being demolished. With nowhere to go, he became yet another recipient of my Aunt Grace’s and Uncle Dewey’s generosity. He moved in with…
My former husband and I were farming on Vancouver Island when we first heard of Fred Eaglesmith. The friend who introduced us to his music was another smallholder. We were all working as many jobs as it took to pay the bills for farms that fed our dreams but not our bank accounts. The friend…
Gloria Taylor died today. ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, was gradually robbing her of control over her own body. She wanted to be able to choose her death should life become untenable. Along with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Taylor fought for that right, not just for herself but for anyone suffering a terminal illness.…
I’ve just come in from an evening walk along the waterfront. One of the resident great blue herons sat on a concrete embankment, contemplating his dinner prospects in the water below. Along the bridge I stopped to see if the red-winged blackbirds were scouting a nesting spot among the reeds. Last year the male regularly…
70 for 70, seventy friends for a 70th birthday. That was the plan, and thanks to the determination and incredible organizational skills of Jeannette (David’s wife), the twins (Robin and David Jarman) celebrated in style. The Jarmaniac twins turned 70 on March 27th. For their 50th birthday they wrenched their backs trying to duplicate the…
“I hope I see you again,” she said. We stopped last night to say farewell to a couple who are high on our list of favourite people. When we said our goodbyes, Jill spoke the six words that struck me like an arrow. I can’t get that simple phrase out of my mind. Farewells are…
When a friend sent this to me, I read it with increasing absorption. It moved me deeply—and does again as I post it here. We humans are complex. It is no wonder love doesn’t come in tidy packages, all predictable and easy. I’m grateful to the author, who prefers to remain anonymous, for allowing me…
I’m nursing a case of acute tendonitis. It’s a first for me but not the first injury I’ve had that’s reading related. Three of them stand out, but not one of them has persuaded me to change my ways. The first was the third assault on my poor tailbone. I was engrossed in a book…
Nearly a week has passed since I wrote the first draft of this post. Today, the feelings are just as strong. The Overland train is swaying along the tracks that lead away from Melbourne. This morning we said our last, reluctant goodbyes and hopped the train at the Southern Cross Station. Around 4 p.m., we’ll…
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