When I was a kid I loved to collect baseball cards. There was such excitement when I was able to get a new pack of cards. Inside of the waxy wrapper were  14 cards and a flat piece of hard, okay maybe stale bubble gum. It was always a surprise to see who woul...

For baseball fans Opening Day is kind of like our Christmas. Some of us count the days until spring training starts. Then all eyes are on Opening Day. It is a day of hope and community, each team and city looking forward to the new season and what it may bring...

What do Mookie (Do The Right Thing movie), Kilgore Trout (Kurt Vonnegut novels), Bluto Blutarsky (Animal House movie), Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain), Quenton Casssidy (Once A Runner novel) and Lt. John J. Dunbar (Dances With Wolves movie) all have in common? T...

A member of the Harbour Air crew was perched on the wing of the plane clearing the snow off with a broom. As I watched him prepare the plane for flight I thought of the people I have met in North Carolina over recent months. We have all just completed a series...

Awe Walks I read a study completed with older adults where two groups were instructed to go on a weekly 15 minute walk and record their experiences. One of the groups, the “control group” received no further instruction. The other group was asked t...

I am enjoying some of the ways to stay connected as the pandemic goes on. Early on, my friend Dave in Cincinnati, hosted a “Music Draft.” About 30 music lovers met online and each selected our top 10 songs of all time. After it was complete we all ...

This colourful pop up plaza has become such a welcoming place in the neighbourhood. These plazas have been set up around the city. At all hours of the day people are there eating, talking, reading, stopping with their pets, playing music, painting and simply r...

Building a Web of Connections I have been hosting a Staying Connected During a Global Pandemic Zoom conversation with old and new friends in North Carolina with support from the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities. At a recent gathering we dis...

A Place for Stories I have been working with several groups including the Free Library of Philadelphia looking at the impact of community catalysts initiatives. The power of residents having a platform to tell their story has been significant. Tiffany, a libra...

This was that last large gathering I was part of before social distancing became the expectation. This was 3 days spent with old friends and meeting new ones, all sharing how people build connections in their neighbourhoods and the significance of this. Now we...