Shrink Wrap I have a love/hate relationship with my memories of Bonnie. Bonnie was the Social Worker assigned to work with me by the C.A.R. Program. I first met with her [date]. A chunky, fortyish brunette she came into the reception area and called my name. She escorted me to her office. Sat down behind…
Adeline was my new physiotherapist. A rangy, dark-haired young woman. She did not vibrate to the same frequency Kenny had. No one could. She had a soft voice and a sweet nature. I thought I would spend months with her. I didn’t. I had just four sessions with her. That first session she did a…
Your Towel Sir Every time I take my bath towel in my two hands and scrub my back dry, I think of Celine. Celine was the first therapist I met the day I started the C.A.R. Program. Celine was nothing like the French Canadian singer of the same name. Sure, she had a mop of…
It was Wednesday, November 3, 2010. I had just hobbled down the stairs from my third floor apartment. The Handi-Bus was just pulling in front of the apartment. Fortunately I had left enough time to make it down the stairs. And, for a change, there were no cars blocking the sidewalk that led to…
What is luck? Folks talk about “the luck of the draw”. Or, “I just got lucky”. Or, “you makes your own luck”. The Roman philosopher Seneca said this of Luck, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” I first heard this epigram from a senior systems advisor at my former employer, Imperial Oil Limited….
I am not sure why I have long been, I guess some would say, obsessed with the topic of death. I think it stems from two sources. I used to be a member of, what I now call, the Cult of Jehovah, aka the Jehovah’s Witness religion. JW’s are focused big-time on the End of…
Even though I enjoy the mysteries of James Patterson, especially the Alex Cross series, when it comes to writing I am much, much more like Lee Child. Lee has no idea where he will start his next bestseller. Well, maybe a vague notion. But he starts with a few totems by his side — freshly…
I heard the sounds of machines. Pumping. Breathing. Nearby. And, in the distance. The murmur of voices. Professional voices. Clustered somewhere close. Close enough to hear the occasional word. Phrases. Sentences. I didn’t understand the sentences, the phrases. But I did understand the words. Especially one. My name. Why were they speaking my name? Why…
Every word of this book is true — except for those that aren’t. I knew from the beginning that I had to write the ambulance team as a man and a woman. In twenty eleven I started requesting my patient records. When I reviewed the ambulance records. I found out that the actual ambulance team…
Prologue Death was calling him. He remembers her most recent call. May first-twenty ten. He had just moved into his apartment. Beginning a new life. Alone. Hopeful. Joyous. Then it all turned to shit. Somewhere around noon. The witching hour. His mood dropped. Crashed. Plummeted. Lower than a salamaner’s belly. Lower than a cockroach’s. Lower…
