At the end (well, multiple ends, but I’ll let that one go) of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings epic, Frodo mentions he feels the pain of the wound on the anniversary of the attack, and he suffers from recurring weakness and shadows of fear tied to the traumatic events he endured. On one hand, I understand it was a way of framing PTSD and trauma recovery at a time when it was just called “shell-shock”. But it always struck me – in my youth – as unrealistic. I’d think “oh, get over it already!” And ever year around April since
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Throwback / Throw a light to the future Thursday
In March 2021 my sister Kathie had been told “yes, the cancer is back, and your time is up.” So, prior to the Easter weekend, I took a few days off work to travel to Edmonton. I visited Kathie, her family, and my other two siblings: Gail and Ken (and Ken’s wife & one of their sons). It was…great. We all talked, socialized, made each other laugh, and generally had a lovely time despite knowing this would probably be the last time we were all together. Then on April 7th, I started my COVID19 journey, resulting in me spending almost
Continue readingCOVID-19, Writing, and Edits
April 2021 will always be the lost month, as I was hospitalized with double pneumonia due to being infected with the South African variant of COVID-19. I was hospitalized for 13 days at the Rockyview hospital here in Calgary. It gave me time to think about my priorities in life. I will be doing more writing, pushing myself to find ways (grants/online work, other) to live as a writer, even though I may have to work part-time at other jobs. There is a casualty to this – the whole “Alone Plague” journal I was writing (and then – nervous cough
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