The bus platform at Toronto’s Lawrence subway station is uncharacteristically quiet for a Friday evening. There are few commuters, no buses and little noise. It doesn’t even feel like rush hour until Jan Wong arrives. Wearing a green hooded coat and bright royal blue backpack, Wong could just as easily be coming from school as… Continue reading Little Miss Mischief
Series: Summer 2004
Food or thought?
Last June, people working at Transcontinental Media were given disconcerting news. They learned that their jobs were no longer secure and that a new editor and publishers were on the way. Upper management at the Toronto-based company, they found out, had been busy making a series of senior staff changes at Canadian Living and Homemakers… Continue reading Food or thought?
Fear Factor
I’ve known foreign correspondents who confess to becoming so addicted to war, they feel lost without a new one to cover. Although I spent a decade in and out of conflict zones, I never had that problem. The Fear Factor, as well as aging, saw to that. It never caused me to flee a war… Continue reading Fear Factor
Farewell ”Mr. McGoo”
It is 1965 and the federal election campaign is nearing an end. Don McGillivray is on a train heading toward Toronto along with other press gallery journalists and prime ministerial candidate John Diefenbaker. A lively discussion about journalism rages in McGillivray’s roomette. Diefenbaker has been saying things in speeches that are untrue and some reporters… Continue reading Farewell ”Mr. McGoo”
Electric Current
It’s 5:30 a.m. and Anna Maria Tremonti is singing at the top of her lungs. As she drives to work, she warms up her voice by belting out the words to “Romanza,” which blares from the stereo of her 1997 Honda Accord. Andrea Bocelli’s ballad is perfect for the job because it has lots of… Continue reading Electric Current