Who You Gonna Call?
I’ve been robbed. Call the police.
Category: Officialdom
Musings on my strongest point: dealing calmly with those in positions of authority.
Open Sesame?
Waiting in line at a border crossing, I am reminded of, and inspired by, a classical scene from a classic fantasy novel: The Lord of the Rings.
What Do You Mean by That?
Razor sharp after a midnight departure from Vancouver and 15 hours in the air, I squint again at Question 9. The series of 11 questions had started with a seemingly innocuous lead-in: “Are you bringing into Australia . . . .” Now what’s in that dot-dot-dot is giving me fits …
Stick. String. Nerve. Not.
As a communicator, my default assumption is that a situation gone bad—whether at home or work—is all about the medium selected, the words chosen, the tone used. But the failure here was not one of communication, but of nerve.
Sloppy Is As Sloppy Does
A badly designed medical-information form provokes a rant about being sloppy and some consideration about when being careful really matters. Are you planning to get pregnant in the next three months? I look around. No, it’s just me and the Big Guy in the room, and he’s busy with his …
E is for Eye Doctor
The little kid within still carries a grudge against a suspicious school nurse from 40 years ago.
In The Stack
As an adolescent, I wondered why countries couldn’t or wouldn’t solve their joint problems. How hard could it be? Now I treasure anything that we do get right.
Call It a Feature
A family trait for literalism runs true. Not entirely a good thing. Which of you has the dangerous weapon? On the ‘show no fear’ principle, I try not to wince at this question from the border guard scanning our four declarations. Number one son steps forward. Going by the …
False Positives
In honour/honor of 04 July. Happy Independence Day! What is the purpose of your visit? The uniformed speaker must be kidding: it’s July and the car is packed to the gunnels. Parents and maps fill the front seat; four kids cram the back seat; a boxy tent-trailer brings up the …