Canada Slim and the Third Man

Landschlacht, Switzerland, Wednesday 26 June 2019 To understand something alien to one’s self it becomes necessary to make time and effort to learn and study that which one does not already know. I have often considered it a sign of wisdom and maturity when one does not only admit when one does not know something… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Third Man

Canada Slim and the Author’s Apartment 1: Learning

Landschlacht, Switzerland, Thursday 13 June 2019 In everyone’s life there are marker moments that separate who you were from who you are, as significant to the individual as BC and AD are to the Western calendar. I have had my share of such moments in my own life. Some are as obvious as scar tissue… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Author’s Apartment 1: Learning

Canada Slim and the Voices without Echo

Landschlacht, Switzerland, Monday 2 June 2019 Thursday was Ascension Day, a holiday commemorated in both Thurgau Canton (where my wife works) and in St. Gallen Canton (where I work), and, to our mutual surprise, we found ourselves both free from the obligations of employment simultaneously. A miracle almost as spectacular as someone rising to Heaven… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Voices without Echo

Canada Slim and the Mandir of Nose Hill

Landschlacht, Switzerland, Tuesday 21 May 2019 This Sunday in Switzerland some folks will attend services in either a Reformed Church or a Roman Catholic Church and both groups will call themselves Christian.     And as the Earth spins around the Sun, from the Dark Continent of Africa to the Canadian tundra, Christians will kneel… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Mandir of Nose Hill

Canada Slim and the Station Sanctuary

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 19 January 2018 “Romance!“, the season tickets mourn, “He never ran to catch his train, But passed with coach and guard and horn – And left the local – late again!” Confound romance and all unseen Romance brought up the nine-fifteen. Rudyard Kipling, “The King” Above: Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936)   Paul… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Station Sanctuary

Canada Slim and the Freudian Slippers

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 15 January 2018 I have spoken of Sigmund Freud before. Above: Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)   And I must confess to a reluctance to like the man and his theories, for the same reason I am reluctant to embrace Charles Darwin and his theories: Above: Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)   Admitting… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Freudian Slippers

Canada Slim and the Current War

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 17 October 2018 (Continued from Canada Slim and the Visionary) What has gone before…. I visited Serbia this past April and spent a few wonderful days exploring the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Of the many wonders to explore and of the many things Belgrade and Serbia have to offer, one particular attraction that… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Current War

Canada Slim and the Anachronic Man

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 8 October 2018 anachronic: not belonging to the time where one finds oneself   There are some places in the world where a person is immediately drawn to explore, either because of the sheer immensity of the place or because there is something truly remarkable there that cries out to be visited. Kilchberg,… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Anachronic Man

Canada Slim and the Body Snatchers

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 4 September 2018 I should be dead. In fact, for at least a quarter of a century. Back in Canada, I tried to chop a log. The axe bounced off the log and sliced into my foot. A mile in the bush limp, a drive home, a quick dash to the local hospital… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Body Snatchers

Canada Slim and the Magnificent Homeland

Landschlacht, Switzerland, 26 August 2018 There is something about the politics of a number of nations today (the United States, North Korea, the Philippines, Venezuela) that reminds me again and again of the late Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Above: Il Duce Benito Mussolini (1883 – 1945) I have written about Mussolini before – his… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Magnificent Homeland