From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. While ships searched for the submersible lost while visiting the Titanic gravesite, I visited another gravesite. I was back in northwestern Ontario, where I was born and raised. On…
Only in America
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. No matter what calamity the world suffers, the only really important news in the United States these days is Donald Trump. News networks feverishly report his limo leaving Trump…
Another one gets fried
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. It’s disturbing to see how intelligent people who get close to Justin Trudeau get burned.The latest scorched victim is David Johnston, the former governor general who Trudeau appointed his…
A nation of contradictions
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. I don’t get out much, spending most of my time among the birds and squirrels who dance in the woods surrounding my place. So my recent trip to the…
It’s a dogs life?
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’m in California visiting my American granddog Rusty. Rusty has had a rough year or so health wise. Breathing problems and fatigue that appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Thinking about wildfires
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. You can smell hints of summer in the air and the promise of sunny, worry-free times. A worrisome thing is present, however, but for now it’s something requiring…
Scoring goals requires passion
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I have never been a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Probably because I was born and raised in Northwestern Ontario, where most folks disliked southern Ontario and anything to…
What’s in store this summer?
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. So here comes the heat. And, the heavy rains, big thunderstorms and the wild winds that accompany them. That’s what the professional forecasters are telling us. Their climate…
The trees of our lives
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. ’m in the woods looking for white spots that might be fuzzy pussy willow catkins, a true sign of spring. I see a couple of white spots, but…
Covid on the brain
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’m certain that the Covid virus has infected peoples’ brains, pulling them down to new levels of meanness and stupidity. I don’t have any medical evidence to support…
Yes, it is our business now
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. There are times when we must risk the consequences and tell a friend that he or she is doing wrong. Canada has reached one of those times. It’s…
Advertising needs rethinking
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. My cell phone has one of those cute puzzle apps that help to keep my mind and fingers busy whenever I have a minute or two to spare.…
Standing up and speaking out
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’m starting to see why Canada is a racist country, and why it will continue to be. It’s us, the people. We do little to stand up and…
Worrying about the Frost Centre
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’m getting dark, worried feelings about the Frost Centre on Highway 35 just south of Dorset. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) bought the 40-acre site and…
Fears for the future
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. It’s been a while since I’ve gone shopping at a gun store, but I found myself in one last week. A target shooter was having trouble finding ammunition…
Fewer perks for the privileged
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I've always been in love with the RCAF – the Royal Canadian Air Force. My love affair began young when I set out to become an RCAF fighter…
Of elves and trolls
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. The world’s problems are becoming so complex that it appears politicians are turning to elves for help. It’s happening in Mexico. Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently posted…
A Needed Covid Inquiry
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Canadian politicians have been working diligently to complete a new long-term agreement on how health care will operate in this country. Sounds nice, but they are neglecting something…
The threat from above
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’m eating my cereal and staring out the kitchen window when M arrives at the bird bath, now filled with seed for feathered friends not gone south. M…
Thinking hearts and flowers
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. It’s been an unsettling week. My two oldest children were born on Valentine’s Day, two years apart. So, I had to consider whether to cancel their birthday celebrations.…
Bye Bye American Pie
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. It’s February, and as the singer-songwriter Don McLean wrote in his 1971 smash hit American Pie: February makes you shiver. It isn’t February cold that makes McLean shiver.…