Review: The Cluttered Corpse

The Cluttered Corpse by Mary Jane Maffini My rating: 3 of 5 stars I dove into this one right after reading the first in the series featuring Charlotte Adams, the non-stop organizer of people and things. Probably not a good idea. The protagonist’s unflagging energy and curiosity, disguised as concern, can be a bit wearing…

Review: Dumb Witness

Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie My rating: 5 of 5 stars Agatha Christie, as usual, weaves a good tale. This one is unusual as a dog is one of the characters and even has a speaking part. For a dog lover, it’s a great addition to the normal all-human mystery plot. I had early on…

Humans Did That

Wings of flowing air Amaze me As they roll with flair In the sky And fly Straight Past Their engines roaring, their blades turning Fast, oh so fast. Humans did that.

February. A Poem.

February. In the old days, snow so deep    you sunk up to your knees, slipped and slid       on the unshovelled walks. February. In the new days, no snow,    that counts anyway. February. In the old days, cold so sharp   you huddled in your fur coat, your wool coat,     your scarf…

Santa Claus Comes to Town

One of my favourite memories of winter was when the snow first fell and Santa Claus came to town. I wrote this short, memory-story for an e-mail course I took to relearn how to write back in 2003. It took place on a day like today, many years ago, when Santa Claus came to Toronto,…