Keith Dryden

New anthem Our federal government has announced plans to declare Louis Riel a father of Confederation, presumably because of the rumpuses he kicked up in the 1870s and 1880s. Now if they could only figure out some way to unhang him, our country would be a masterpiece of political correctness. No, wait, there’s something else. […] Read more

Eating dirt Scientists have discovered that chimpanzees, other animals and even some humans eat dirt in order to meet a dietary need. It has to be the right kind of clay, a spoonful of blowdirt won’t do anything useful for you. The question came up on a recent broadcast of Quirks and Quarks on CBC […] Read more

A radio commentator said recently that Canadians are in a strange mind set where disadvantaged children go hungry and it is called common sense. After all, the deficit must be wiped out. Many of our municipalities here on the Prairies got so far in debt during the 1930s that they were under the supervision of […] Read more

Adaptive people The first half of this winter was a frustrating experience. One of the joys of living in Saskatchewan is scoffing at people who regard this area is Canada’s Siberia because of -30 and -40 temperatures that normally happen sometime during winter. “We are dressed and housed for that kind of weather,” we tell […] Read more

Gold panning It was just 100 years ago that swarms of star-struck young men hit the Klondike Trail, “the Trail of ’98”, seeking the shovelsful of gold that reputedly could be found in the Yukon. Those who did find a fortune were far fewer than those who went home sadder and wiser. When the temperature […] Read more

The Latin quote Universities are gradually dropping Latin from their graduation certificates, presumably because it isn’t impressing employers as it once did. Doctors and dentists have been awing patients for years with their Latin scrolls declaring themselves graduates of this universitas or that. As you sit shivering with only a hospital gown to cover your […] Read more

Rusty’s legacy The recent passing of Rusty Macdonald removed from our midst an individual with a different, and often highly humorous, view of life. We’ll not soon forget his performance at an office Christmas party when he read a letter he had written to the Wheat Pool. This is how it started: “Dear Wheat: I […] Read more

Greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases have become flatulently front and centre on the list of perils with which humanity must deal or suffer dire consequences. Twenty years ago we were told we could reduce greenhouse gases many fold if only we would operate cars with catalytic converters. So we switched to catalytic converters and our men […] Read more

I don’t understand When you look at a kangaroo you can’t help but be puzzled as to why it was designed that way. Here is how writer Terry Domico describes the animal: “a human-size mammal with a deerlike head, rabbitlike ears, grasshopperlike hind legs and tiny squirrel-like forelegs, an animal that can jump 35 feet […] Read more

Christmas The face of Canada is changing with an annual quarter-million influx of immigrants from around the world. As we approach the great Christian observance of Christmas one wonders how meaningful it is to people of non-Christian background to hear in stores and malls the relentlessly recurring carols and seasonal songs. I’m sure they can […] Read more