personal reminiscence – Page 2

My Old School – In the Beginning

In July of 1997 I moved out of my husband’s house. He had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia about three weeks prior to this, and while I had offered to stay and help him through the illness despite our marriage being over, he’d insisted that I go. This was just as well because itContinue reading “My Old School – In the Beginning”

Work to Do

I am in my second year of retirement and have lately been looking back over my 40 years of work with a curious eye. Library positions made up almost the entirety of my working life, although I did try my hand at some other jobs before settling into my career as a teacher/librarian. I gotContinue reading “Work to Do”

You’re my Best Friend

Senior public schools came into vogue in the early 70s, landing me in the inaugural class of the newly opened Henry Hudson Senior Public School. The first floor of the building contained regular classrooms designated for art, music, and science. It also housed the office, two gyms, a library, all the lockers, and a largeContinue reading “You’re my Best Friend”

High School Confidential

I started high school at Woburn Collegiate Institute in Scarborough in 1974. Woburn is a huge school. It has separate tech, art, and athletic wings, a large cafeteria with an outdoor quad, and a full-size auditorium with plush, fold down seats. There were some 2,400 students at the school when I attended, and I wasContinue reading “High School Confidential”

Ya Gotta have Friends

When I was a young girl I had two best friends. Coincidentally they were both named Andrea, although they pronounced their names differently. Andrea Romanuk said her name in the traditional, North American way – AN-drea. Andrea Johnson’s pronunciation was more European sounding – an-DRAY-a. Her family all called her Bumper because of some hilariousContinue reading “Ya Gotta have Friends”

Everyday I Write the Book

Books have been a constant in my life. My earliest memory of discovering a book on my own happened when I was 5 or 6. We were visiting my cousins in Raynham, Mass. when I slipped into my youngest cousin’s bedroom to get away from the noise and delirium of eight children in the familyContinue reading “Everyday I Write the Book”

What’s New Pussycat?

We never had pets when I was a girl. My eldest brother is afraid of animals, and I think my mom felt that having five kids along with all of their friends in the house was quite enough. I don’t recall ever asking for a pet, possibly because of my experience with a couple ofContinue reading “What’s New Pussycat?”

I Got the Music in Me

Music has been a huge and integral part of my life. My father was a professional musician and his whole family was very musical. My mother, though unable to play herself, was an avid music lover, as were her mother and sister. Both my brothers are professional musicians and my middle sister is a stageContinue reading “I Got the Music in Me”

What’s in a Name?

My maternal grandmother was born on August 29, 1911 and christened Margaret Jean Fargey (pronounced far-gee) – I always assumed her schoolmates gave her the rhyming moniker Margy Fargey. Her hometown of Weyburn, Saskatchewan is a small city in the southeast corner of the province, just 70 km from the North Dakota border. It is perhapsContinue reading “What’s in a Name?”

International Women’s Day

So we have once again arrived at International Women’s Day which always puts me in mind of a few things. The first is something that happened early in my teaching career. The day was acknowledged on our morning announcements, prompting a boy in my class to petulantly blurt out, “When is International Men’s Day?” ToContinue reading “International Women’s Day”