Alex Carrick’s Blog

My wife and I argued over a plant tonight and it isn’t even our plant. During our usual de-briefing after a busy day, she told me the following story about her workplace that I think will resonate with many readers. I am changing most of the names to protect the innocent and this is, truly, […]

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Please keep in mind this story was written in 2008, since it has a bearing with respect to the ages of our children, as noted in brackets.   Towards the end of May, our daughter, Tammy-Li (aged 5), needed ten dollars for the “book fair” at her school. This set off a chain reaction of serpentine financial […]

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Nothing symbolizes the start of summer in our neck of cottage country more than a mattress. And that’s not due to the strange alchemy and hormonal urges that meld dangerously when sand, sun and teenagers mix. No, it’s rather because June 1 is traditionally big garbage day.

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A woman, working in a Tim Hortons donut shop in London Ontario, was recently fired for giving away one free “timbit” to a baby.   This has become a public relations nightmare for the company.   Timbits are the punched out centres of donuts – the empty holes, as it were – and, in some […]

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There are quite a number of reasons it might be “neat” to be the Governor of the Bank of Canada. Here, arranged in no particular order, are the Top 10.   (1) Guv’nor just sounds so great and fits in with this nation’s British heritage.   (2) You always win at Monopoly cause you can just print […]

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My wife can read my mind, which makes it easier for her to steal things from me.   Okay, before I get into big trouble, “steal” is too strong a word. Borrow long-term is a better description.  

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Over the weekend, I had some fun imagining how certain celebrities and politicians would seem to be ideally suited for second careers, in their golden years, as “greeters” at Wal-Mart. Try to imagine being met by these people and these words on your way into the store.

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  There has been a major casualty of the digital age that you may be noticing only peripherally. Has it entered your consciousness that there are fewer punning headlines anymore?

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It has often been said there are two driving seasons in Canada, winter and construction. We are currently in the transition period from the former to the latter.   My wife and I were talking about this the other day as we made our way to the cottage on Georgian Bay for the first time in the […]

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The “green movement” is everywhere these days. You find references to “green” in news stories, television ads and learned journals. It’s all about climate change and conserving scarce resources for the future.

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