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Down to the River
By Didi GormanPictures by Dafna GormanThe scenic path winding in-between the trees all the way to the riverbank reminded me of the landscape paintings of 19th-century Impressionist artist, Claude Monet. The lush vegetation and gentle ripples on the water were nothing short of idyllic.It certainly helped take my mind off the COVID-19 pandemic. It hadn’t been easy recently. The long lockdown [...]
A Tale of the Past? The Mindset that Enables the Spread of Pandemics
By Didi GormanI’ve been reading a lot about plagues recently, in particular those that occurred in the Middle Ages.I’ve always found this subject fascinating in its own right, but it was the relevance to our current-day reality that had triggered my sense of urgency. It wasn’t just pure academic interest that led me into this research, but my need for reassurance.I [...]
The Americentrics
By Didi GormanA while back I wrote an essay about the impact of regional conflicts on a nation’s sense of security. It was not an analysis of any country specifically, more of a global reflection.I did reference the American-Canadian border in the text, as an example of a peaceful border and a token of geopolitical stability. (This was long before [...]
Say What?
By Didi GormanConducting dialogs with a facemask on has been quite awkward recently. The person says one thing, and you hear another. Take my cousin Sheila, for example, urging me through her mask to go see a certain Dr. Mary. “You really have to see this excellent Dr. Mary!” she said. “You’ll absolutely love it.”Needless to say, I don’t know anyone with [...]
Drenched in North Hatley
By Didi GormanOriginally, I had intended to title this piece ‘A beautiful afternoon in picturesque North Hatley’ or ‘A picturesque afternoon in beautiful North Hatley’. I was going to tell you all about our leisurely kayaking experience on Lake Massawippi.As life would have it though, the weather had a mind of its own that day.It was cloudy when my daughter and [...]
I’m Going Viral on Social Media!
By Didi Gorman I’m going viral on social media! I’m going viral on social media!Oh, wait. No, I’m actually not. But I sure would have loved to go viral! (Just to be clear, by ‘viral’ I’m referring to Facebook popularity, not to a literal virus infection, yes?)Anyway. Imagine posting something on Facebook, and within only a few hours, hundreds– no, thousands of likes [...]
The Hair Dye
By Didi GormanA few months back I wrote about how, during the coronavirus lockdown, I had incidentally become a hairdresser (of sorts) for my immediate family.When my 89-year-old relative, Auntie Beth, learned about my newly-discovered skill, she immediately phoned me, eager to make an appointment. I reminded her that my hair trimming undertakings had resulted in several of my recent victims (I [...]
The Snow Storm
By Didi GormanI feel a need to explain why I’ve chosen to write about snow in the middle of this sweltering, muggy heatwave.Well, that’s exactly why: because of the sweltering, muggy heatwave. As I’m writing these lines, the sweat dripping gently down my forehead into the keyboard, I’m trying to imagine snow. Remember snow? So let me entertain you with a refreshing [...]
Time Management
By Didi Gorman As I peer outside through the window, on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, a thought occurs to me: Why don’t I spend the rest of the day sitting on the porch, reading a book?I have a specific book in mind: Time Management. It’s been sitting on my nightstand for a while now and I haven’t really had the chance [...]
Wrong-Way Aisle
By Didi Gorman** This piece was written during the COVID-19 lockdown ** I’m starting to get used to the new procedure in stores now, where you have to follow arrows on the floor, looping in and out of aisles in a quest to find a desired merchandise. The first time I was introduced to this method, I needed to wrap my [...]