Columns
Get your hands dirty, A shifting narrative, A blizzard by another name
In an era when democracy is often defined by hashtags, heated rivalries and urgent declarations, a small campaign has quietly reminded us what true civic engagement looks like.
It has been a while since I've taken on a tough topic and the reason, frankly, is that I just haven't had it in me. As we at The Citizen work to combat homophobia, racism and the rise of toxic nationalism...
My weekend was dominated by my proofreading duties for the February issue of The Rural Voice (farm readers will get this issue in a couple of weeks).
Some people bring light into a room by entering it; others cause light in a room by their vocation. A perfect example of the latter was William Cecil Thuell, commonly known as Billy.
Before he was shamelessly performing at Donald Trump events, a person in a bad Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume at his side, Vanilla Ice, also known as Robert Van Winkle...
By now, everyone has heard that The Chaff is, somewhere in the background, working on getting a statue of Betty White built. But maybe not everyone.
As an old man now, after decades watching events from south of the border, I've never witnessed anything like we're currently seeing from President Donald Trump and his followers. And I've seen a lot!
Dedicated readers of this space know me as a card-carrying former member of the video store workforce.
It has been exactly one week since the idea of a Betty White statue was introduced here, and already the community is bracing itself for what can only be described as organized chaos with a hint of civic ambition.
Watching MS NOW program host Rachel Maddow speak about her podcast Burn Order, dealing with the U.S. treatment of California's Japanese population during World War II...
New life, Hiding out in the open, A moment of clarity
With the arrival of winter comes the task of shoveling snow. One chore that most modern householders are spared from is that of creating a route to the little house behind the big house.
At the beginning of each year, there is an expectation that intentions will be declared.
Last year I started a bit of an interlude series in the vein of The Righteous Gemstones - a Danny McBride vehicle that had, every season, one interlude episode that went back in time to tell a prequel story for one or more of the characters - that I...
How do you judge United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy? Is he a brave man willing to stand up for what he believes, no matter how unpopular that is, or is he an egotist, sure he knows more than doctors and medical...
Dearest Sister Rebecca,
Thank you for communicating to me about the passing of our dear mother, Sarah Ritchie Findlay. She lived to a great age of 77 and I am so sorry that she was unable to visit us here in Ontario as she had so wished to do
In my first column of 2023, so almost two full years ago, I wrote about my ongoing obsession with listening to Leonard Cohen, much to the dismay of a co-worker at the time who said that, due to the frequency at which I would listen...
Unless you have been reading The Chaff with the kind of attention usually reserved for cereal ingredients and parking signs, this column may come as a surprise.
To change the words of the Irving Berlin classic, first sung by Bing Crosby in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn, I'm dreaming of a green Christmas, just like the one I used to know.
Unspeakable tragedy, No, thank you, Selfless heroism
Way back in the dawn of time (as far as our current understanding of the internet is concerned), there was a video of an American lawyer - randomly with a gun in a side holster - explaining the world of women to the internet-active public at large.