Category: Community
-
A Man’s Home is His Castle
The mission of the Fortune Society, founded in 1967 in New York City, “is to support successful reentry from prison and promote alternatives to incarcerations, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities.” Their slogan is “Building people not prisons.” Read more
-
The More Things Change
This past summer I spent way more time than I cared to attending council meetings, writing letters and talking to neighbours about a proposed Heritage Conservation District (HCD) for our tiny historic hamlet, when I really needed to be up on the scaffolding. I am hardly anti-heritage but I also don’t believe that the benefits… Read more
-
Cheerios in the Floorboards and Other Assorted Commonalities
Most people pick their friends based on sympathetic personalities, socio-economic similarities, common interests, or the age of their children. But we seem to be collecting friends who, like us, live in old and partially renovated houses. I can’t decide whether our rural roots or similar value sets are bringing us together or whether there is… Read more
-
A Moving Manifesto on Homelessness
Husband more often than not works from home these days, which is particularly useful on nasty winter days when snow squalls or freezing rain threaten. I have switched to indoor work now and am especially appreciative of the warm, dry and nourishing surroundings that we share. I jealously protect my solitude a little less now… Read more
-
Birds of a Feather
On the evening of the ninth anniversary of 9/11, the twin columns of light projected as a memorial over the World Trade Center site became a source of mystery. Illuminated in the beams were thousands of small white objects, sparkling and spiralling, unlike anything seen on other nights. Some viewers wondered if they were scraps… Read more
-
Old Gal Gets Naked
Stripping on the main street of any village is usually frowned upon except, perhaps, in the most liberal enclaves. In our little microcosm of the world at large, structural nakedness – the disappearance of siding and the appearance of paint swatches – can set gums a flappin’ and opinions a flyin’. It’s good for at… Read more