You are Mayor Koch!

by Derek Alger

Originally published on July 1, 2011

The adrenaline and exhilaration of declaring freedom from a situation perceived as oppressive was soon replaced by increasing panic when I realized I would no longer be getting a paycheck.

You never know what you might see

by Derek Alger

Originally published on June 1, 2011

I stood frozen in the aisle when all of a sudden, a man in jeans with a gun drawn appeared in front of me and another guy, also with gun drawn, came flying over the shelf to my right, knocking canned goods and cardboard boxes all about.

Walking the Dog – A Matter of Life and Death

by Derek Alger

Originally published on May 2, 2011

I can’t imagine how they felt — shock, paralysis, disbelief. It was an ordinary day, a Thursday, nothing special, and then, all changed in a second.

Preserving the past as best we can

by Derek Alger

Originally published on April 1, 2011

I picked myself up and wandered along the front of the lake down toward our cottage, my right hand raised to my tear-filled eyes, little knowing my father had shifted from filming the action between the Indian tribes, instead, concentrating on my solitary walk of defeat along the shoreline.

A journey through Celtic past, present, and future

by Derek Alger

Originally published on March 4, 2011

Treasa has lived in Barrie for the past 11 years, where she is currently the coordinator of the Novalis Project, responsible for providing presentations of drama, music and dance, and performances and workshops in the arts for adults with developmental disabilities who work and reside in a neighborhood together.

Bob Payne: A Traveling Man

by Derek Alger

Originally published on February 1, 2011

I was recently returning from visiting my sister and her kids in Ontario when I thought of Bob Payne, a travel writer whose articles have appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Islands, Outside, Men’s Journal, and Bon Appetit, as well as the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, and Dallas Morning News.

A long overdue lunch with Sidney Offit

by Derek Alger

Originally published on January 1, 2011

I was at lunch recently with my friend, the acclaimed historian and novelist, Thomas Fleming, and his friend Sidney Offit, the best writing teacher I ever had, when I took a course with him at the New School on W.12th Street in Manhattan after suffering a devastating experience in a graduate writing program. At my [...]

Celebrity time with Dad

by Derek Alger

Originally published on December 1, 2010

The celebrity culture has always been alien and incomprehensible to me. I have never been in awe of anyone, except perhaps Mickey Mantle when I was four, and I have never wished I was someone else. Not that I think I’m even close to perfect, or great; in fact, the opposite is probably more accurate, [...]

Now that the voting is over

by Derek Alger

Originally published on November 1, 2010

Many will be relieved, either happy or down, with most indifferent, as the results of the mid-term elections across the country will now be official, in most cases. For me, I’m simply happy my mailbox will no longer be stuffed with campaign literature. It’s amazing how bad, in terms of being effective, most campaign literature [...]

Finding an Interesting Writer a Phone Call Away

by Derek Alger

Originally published on October 4, 2010

The other week my brother and sister, who are a year apart in age, and both younger than me, attended a high school reunion.  I can’t believe what year reunion it was because I still think of my siblings as teenagers, even though age wise, they could be very young grandparents. My brother and sister [...]