As Ian Sees It

    It never ceases to amaze me what Christmas.....or the holiday season brings out in people.  It is no secret that I live the Holiday Season.  In America the Holiday Season begins with Thanksgiving.  In Canada, I have always considered the Holiday Season kickoff to be the Grey Cup.  Our Canadian football extravaganza that used to line up with the Americans Thanksgiving.   Back in the day the Grey Cup was something special.  To some of us, it still is.  It has been hurting since cable t.v. made the NFL available, but there remains a faint hint of national celebration that constitutes the kick off to the Holiday Season.   I don't always like what Christmas brings out in some people.  There are those who absolutely find Christmas to be nothing more than commercial hype.  A ridiculous expense.   Canned music,  unhealthy food,  too close quarters with relatives you love better from a distance.   Many think it s...

 Remembrance Day is a week away.  It is almost 80 years since the last world war, but we have exposed our service people to many conflicts since then.   There was that Korean War to which we referred as a police action.   Canadians were the bench mark for peace keeping and our men and women put themselves in harms way across the globe saving the lives of thousands of innocents who had the misfortune of being born in the wrong time and place.  .   Then there was the whole Afghanistan thing.  A war not of our own making but where we supported our neighbours.   As much as those in this corner of my home and native land will hate me for bringing it up, we were fortunate enough to have a sitting government with the insight to keep us out of Iraq.  But Canadians, like they always have, did the heavy lifting in Afghanistan.  And in defence of our neighbours we paid a very heavy toll.  It's what we do.  We have never asked for a whole ...

    Fully aware that there is no such thing as perfect, our autumn in this corner of my home and native land has been as close weather wise as one could hope for.  Weather out here is something one never takes for granted.  And as much as has gone on in our lives this fall, we have managed to steal some moments and just enjoy what has been given to us.  Now when I say "what has gone on" it isn't the typical exaggeration one would expect from the lips of a story teller.  And yet, I suspect it is the same s%#t in a different pile for most families.       I had some very stellar moments with some people who have been a great part of my life at different times, in different places, in different ways.  I had some great opportunities to say things to individuals that I haven't seen, or never met for a life time.  I had the chance to tell these people what I thought, or how they mattered.   And I tried.        So o...

      I grew up in the wild wild west, in the middle of a rain forrest back when this corner of my home and native land was still frontier.   And I was an odd duck in so many ways.  We know things now about people like me that we didn't know then.  I am dyslexic,  and very spectrumy.  ADHD I would suspect which I believe wasn't too rare in my chosen profession.  But in the 1960's my reaction to things was simply bad behaviour.  And in truth?  Well it was.   I have a couple of grand children who are also on the spectrum and truth be told their lives aren't real easy.  But there is some understanding about people like me these days which may at some point in time make their lives a little easier.       Back in the day, I basically grew up as an only child.....but not really.   I came as a surprise to my parents some eight years after my older sister.  Eight years.   She was born at the conclusio...

       On this day,  September 11th 2001, I was on the island of Inishmore, Ireland riding a bicycle to a prehistoric fort on the northern coast.  When we arrived,  there was something terribly wrong.  There were cries and embraces and looks of distress across the faces of almost every tourist off the several tour busses in the parking lot.  Almost all those tourists were Americans.  My wife asked the person selling tickets into the fort what was happening.  That's when we learned about the North Tower of the World Trade Centre being struck by a plane.  Although we were pretty sure at the time. no one knew if it was an attack or an accident.   We traveled down to a local pub just in time to see the south tower being struck.   As tragic as it was at that moment,  I am not sure that we all knew just how devastating this terrorist attack was to be.         It was an attack on American soil. ...

 I have nine grand children.  All of them in some form of school and all of them starting the next school year between yesterday and Tuesday.  I have two children who are teachers and they are also back in school.   The very idea of school brings a couple of things to mind.  Firstly,  I am a sucker for nostalgia.  I don't mean to get lost in the past,  but I do love the feelings the recall of certain things give me.  Secondly, August and September are my favourite months.   I have always enjoyed the warm days and cool evenings that come to this part of my home and native land in those two months.  I love the colours.  In August the crops are ready to reap.  They turn to golden and they wave with the winds.  In September, the leaves turn.   The leaves are mostly yellow in these parts but some local flora such as the Mountain Ash turn a beautiful Auburn/reddish colour.  A goodly amount of the lower brushes are...

   A little over half way through the XXXIII Olympiad and we have seen some pretty incredible things.  Like Simone Biles,  who is so powerful, so in control, so complete.  And for all her physical talents have done for the discipline,  let us not forget what her recovery and her addressing the mental journey she has taken this last four years has done for athletes around the world.       Of course, if you're a fan of swimming from any country,  Canada's Summer Macintosh has been pretty jaw dropping.  A 17 year old as well versed on giving an interview as she is swimming the butterfly,  or being a team member.        The fastest man in the world 100m will always be the draw,  and this time the fastest man in the world was five thousandths of a second better than the second fastest man in the world.  Then out of nowhere a B.C. kid, years younger and less experienced than the rest of the field won a g...