What a great vacation I’ve just had. While I missed writing my columns, I also really enjoyed my time away. Thank you Maureen Stoeken of S.O.S. Technical Writing for making sure Advance readers had interesting new material in my absence. So, you’ve invested in sneakers for your kids, new computer software for your high school…
It’s funny where terrific ideas get born. Take Jane Boake, for instance. There she was, living in Germany, teaching at an international school and then being a full time mommy. Being a full time mommy gave Jane the opportunity to take her interest in dogs–puppies, in particular–to a whole new level. Jane had always been…
Deborah Johnson is a woman with many gifts. She is able to tap into people’s energy as well as their aura. She can assist someone who’s trying to understand why they are where they are in their life, people running for a breakthrough, whether it’s sports, academic performance, career dynamics, or self. In fact, Deborah’s…
One of my personal heroines is journalist and author June Callwood. Social activist, humanitarian, grieving mother, television personality, champion of troubled teens, June Callwood puts her journalist’s pen to its highest power and the world benefits. Now 81, June is certainly an icon in our country. In fact, just type Callwood, June into google.ca and…
When Andrew Johnston looks back, he’s going to shake his head in wonderment. But, right now he’s too busy taking orders and picking up customers, depositing them and running back to the office. Andrew, at age 23, is the latest entry into Barrie’s taxi scene. He’s marshalled his environmental commitment, blended it with a need…
What a treat to sit in Molson House last week! It harkened back to the days when Formosa Spring Brewery offered cross country ski equipment and trails on the grounds of the 200 acre brewery property, hot food in the kitchen at the farmhouse, and skating on the pond by what is now Molson House….
A few years ago a little boy in a movie shared the giving ahead concept that has become known as “Pay it Forward.” A bittersweet movie with an eternal message, it hit home with individuals and families alike. Pay it forward has become a common phrase with a common understanding. For many years before this…
It’s Sunday as you’re reading this, likely. But it’s Thursday when I write it. Just for perspective. So yesterday for you is Saturday. But yesterday for me is Wednesday. Are you confused yet? Anyway, Wednesday (yesterday) was a magic day. I hit the “pause” button on my life for an entire day. When you’re self…
Every pew was filled with a caring soul on Wednesday as many communities gathered to say goodbye to Kathy Irvin. 25 yellow roses bowed their heads in a vase at the front of the church. A shock, her passing. One minute a cheery, efficient message on the answering service; the next the news that her…
That, perhaps, might be the core of Linda Irwin’s quiet, complex, unconditional energy. Most of Barrie didn’t know Linda Irwin. Just before her final vows as a nun, she chose the family route to living her goodness, Linda married, had children whom she absolutely loved, had neighbours, friends, and colleagues. She divorced. She had a…