Alex Carrick’s Blog

Now that our oldest son Tom has returned to university, it is my task at night to walk our beautiful dog Daisy before we all lay down our heads. While the journey is usually pleasurable, there are always hidden dangers lurking around the corner. This preamble is by way of saying that Farley and Grover […]

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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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     The following are my ruminations on the passage of time and the aging process.      There are also some wry observations on how tolerant society is towards the elderly.      What’s required may be a little more patience. Of course, most of this is tongue in cheek.         Tick-tock or digital flash,      seconds race a headlong […]

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I’ve come up with a parlour game that’s the mental equivalent of twiddling one’s thumbs. Think of an imaginary statement, proposition or news item that uses at least two popular song titles. Then consider what the reaction of an impartial observer might be. Is this confusing? Read a few examples and you’ll quickly catch the drift. […]

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Here are sixteen new highly-sophisticated road jokes. (1) Why did all the world’s politicians cross the road? The bridge? The highway? To take credit for the infrastructure work. (2) Why did Jack Bauer cross the road? He finished torturing all the terrorists on this side. (3) Why did Gregory House cross the road? To avoid walking under a ladder, […]

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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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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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I have a story I know needs to be handled with delicacy. Thank goodness “finesse” is one of my middle names. The media often give coverage to some hapless and usually incompetent bad guy who robs a liquor store. However, this time it was the liquor store that robbed me and I’m not happy about it. Nor […]

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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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