Category: Life & Times
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I Wanted to See What Was Beyond the Horizon
A few weeks ago I met Myrtle Simpson. The lady is well over 80. In the 1960s she became the first woman to ski across Greenland with four others on an unsupported expedition. As this wonderfully feisty lady recounts her adventures to a small enthralled group of mostly women, she says so many things that…
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Eating Raw Leaves in the Name of Nutrition
When the report from the medical clinic referred to me as “obese,” I took a double take. The reference was in the Body Mass Index (BMI) section of the report. My family doctor had suggested a series of preemptive risk avoidance tests at a facility specializing in stress tests and the like. The report included…
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Five Traits to Yearn, Earn, and Reset Life
At an early stage of life, if you could choose five traits that could shape your destiny, what would they be? Have you ever thought about it? Choices are a way of life. We develop our instincts and start making choices based on circumstances and needs. When I aired this thought with my wife, I…
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Are Mothers of Children with Life-Threatening Illnesses “Chosen”?
The epidural was a game-changer. It was the first time in 25 years that I did not feel the throbbing unrelenting pain of arthritis in my lower back. I wept with joy. It was the sweetest experience of my life, prior to my daughter Anakha’s birth. The fact that it got rid of those pesky labour pangs, was…
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Globalization, Through a Wedding
Technically, there is no such thing as a simple Indian wedding. You take the complexity to another level when you do an Indian wedding in Canada, and the groom is American. Throw in remote management by my daughter who was living and working in New York City, the picture is complete. Globalization, through a wedding!…
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The failure of a small business
I feel kind of sad as I write this post. If you ever ran a small business that failed, you would know the feeling. It was not my business. But, you still feel for the people who tried really hard and still failed. The neighbourhood restaurant and bar had opened about a year and a half…
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When Your Child’s Student Loan Is Bigger Than Your Mortgage
We did the math. After we picked up half the tab, my daughter’s student loan was going to be larger than the mortgage on our house. It was not a comforting thought — letting your child rack up a debt of that size even before she starts working. My daughter’s first career choice was to…
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Second Career: Be Careful What You Wish For
When I missed it the second time around, I started to worry. It was my third week at the job; my second career – truck driving. I tried to remember the instructions from the truck driving school. Don’t let your ego come in the way. When in doubt, GOAL – Get Out And Look. Acting normal,…
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Don’t Be a Hero in a Morgue
This post is not about squash or tennis. Deji Odetoyinbo, this week’s guest blogger, is Toronto veterinarian by profession. Deji is a cycling enthusiast, squash player, and photography buff. In this narrative, interspersed with some hindsight, Deji takes us through a cycling incident and its aftermath. You don’t have to be a cyclist or a sportsperson to…
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A Ride Too Far – A Cycling Tale That You Should Read
You might be a hero in a morgue. But you’re still in a morgue. I crashed at the 190th kilometer of a 215 km ride. Joey, my co-rider, told me later that when he saw my body smack the road and stay still, he was absolutely certain that I was dead. I was relatively new to road cycling.…