The Pumpkin Years

The Pumpkin Years

I grew up on the outskirts of Toronto, on an acre of farmland that was swiftly surrounded in the 1970’s by Bramalea, known then as Canada’s ‘First Suburban City’. My dad always grew a large patch of pumpkins and as the suburbs grew closer, I...
Blue lamp from the early 1960s

Blue lamp from the early 1960s

My parents had two matching blue lamps. When I was about 10 or 11, I was chasing my little sister around the living room early one morning and knocked one of them over. To my horror, it smashed to pieces. It took all the courage I had to confess this to my parents. I...
9200

9200

In 1974, Dad bought a duplex in the ‘Glens’, just two years after landing in Canada. He raised three kids and housed his unmarried siblings and widowed mother in that boxy abode, which was renovated to add 2 bedrooms (making 6) and a living/dining room that hosted...
Grampy’s garden

Grampy’s garden

There were times that childhood seemed like a nightmare! During those times, my Gramps was never far away. I’d find him and just hang out for a while. Being with him banished the bogeyman fo sure. He was a man of very few words who taught me about patience, and the...
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