Alex Carrick’s Blog

“What’s $100,000?” she asked flippantly. “It’s $95,000 more than I’ve got,” was his answer. She was starting to drive him crazy. She had two pre-occupations, money and her research. On neither score, was she in any way practical. They’d been living together in a basement apartment for seven months while attending Queen’s University in Kingston, […]

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Beginnings oft times are brutal. Unfortunately, so are endings. In between is mostly a race. A mad dash to grow up, acquire knowledge and earn a living, whether honestly or not. Events spin out of control. The passing show’s a blur. On the final leg, if we’re lucky and fate hasn’t already intervened, we race […]

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Washington has a huge debt problem and the Democrats, Republicans and Tea Party can’t agree on which comes first, increase taxes or lower spending. Here are some innovative answers I’ve come up with, combining both approaches and some “outside the box” ideas, to break the impasse. (1) Privatize the issuing of birth certificates to Donald […]

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The following is essentially a monologue as two men face each other, standing on the sidewalk of a small town’s Main Street in Midwest America. The date is the present, on a beautiful spring morning, a time of year when some things need nipping in the bud. The burly one, dressed in a dun-colored uniform […]

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The old Canada is changing very quickly. The interests displayed in the new Canada contain a considerable number of carry-overs, but there are also some stark changes. The following ditty attempts to bring the sometimes co-operating and sometimes conflicting sentiments together in a cohesive whole. Canadians love hockey, you know that’s no lie, still there are other […]

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As a special favor, Louise Traynor was escorted to a couple’s table in the trattoria’s alcove by the establishment’s executive chef and owner late into the luncheon sitting. The faux Italian décor was complemented by Dean Martin crooning in the background. A tiny fountain listlessly gurgled in the centre of the room. Other diners noted […]

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Herb Green was frustrated beyond containment. His toxic mood might have been possible to deal with except he had newly acquired a truly foul vocabulary. He started swearing like Regan in The Exorcist. Furthermore, he lacked the originality to be entertaining in his gross verbiage. No, he was disgusting to listen to. His wife, Wanda, was really […]

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It was medieval times in Merry Olde England and tales of knights and dragons, sorcery and witchcraft still held sway over the land. Superstition was rampant and those who could foretell the future were held in high esteem. Revered for being at the top of her profession was Madame Lazonga, a woman who had grown […]

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Pedro Martinez had entered the United States illegally. There was no denying the fact. He was part of a group of 20 individuals brought over in the false back of an 18-wheeler from Mexico in early spring two years ago. To pay for the privilege, he made a cash contribution to his wife’s distant cousin, Jose […]

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A weatherman, an economist and a little old gypsy lady were attending a forecasters’ convention. After all the speeches and the events of the first day, they met in a bar and had a few drinks together.   As the night wore on, they challenged each other to reveal their worst forecasting errors.   The […]

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