Everything Changes

Everything Changes

While sewing curtains 

on the diningroom table

grand daughter asked, 

“Are you any good at making curtains?”

Laughing you said, “Well I used to be”

Everything changes

We drove that day for yet

another medical appointment,

the Subaru had a flat tire,

you were thankful I was there,

said I should live to 94,

we needed each other 

we make a good team

we always have, 

agreed.

Everything Changes

next morning, too, my sister texted

“Yes, I do have cancer…

so I’ll wait for a surgeon to call.”

Everything Changes

How Does that Work?

 How Does that Work?

I don’t know what got him to be the way he was

That stubborn, detached person distant from most emotions.

Perhaps, a World War, a Russian Revolution, a Global Depression,

Unemployment, loneliness and death all take their toll.

The vessel we were left with, as father, was often empty,

Puzzling and distant.

Then he would surprise and build me something 

from his wood shop, followed by a lack of interest.

After he retired from the factory where he was anti-union

Yet highly skilled, he would disappear from home for months.

One morning slurping coffee form his over-sized coffee hound

Mug, slip from harbour, take the only car and wander the continent.

Until one morning it was a chipper

“Good Morning”

Like he had never left,

Save for the few random post cards from San Diego

and Miami.

Frugal, cheap, controlling,

My mother had no say in groceries, decor, trips, or cars.

A male domain of the old school, I thought  normal

Until I knew better and saw the world.

Something more secular, as religion or males were suffocating

Influences.

Prayer for liberation was a token given to women a myth created by

Men, as the rich give it to the poor.

Finally, my mother vacationed South,

My dad on a jealous whim followed

No trust 

No love

Did I have the mark of the beast?

I saw him cry once when he lost his job and we had to move the family.

He provided as men did.

After graduation he followed me where I went.

I think he could love in he own way, in his own time

It was a slow painful process.

My resolute indelible image:

early morning slurping his strong coffee from and over-flowing

Mug into a large saucer just returned from somewhere.

I did love him too

How does that work?

One Step Forward

One Step Forward

Walking along the surging creek on a city trail

Groomed for urban walkers

A fence on my left, a demarcation between

private property

And where I stood graffitied with bright blue

Aerosol paint indicated the path forward 

to salvation, revival and redemption

Or stagnation, revisionism and status quo,

“Its not where you come from, it’s where you are going.”

Also caligraphy in bright blue,

Apt to read while trail walking.

Beside that, also in blue caps, “COVID 19”

Followed by the sign for the Greek and mathematical

symbol for pi (not found on my keyboard)

3.14 and never quits,

I paused staring at the prophetic fence

The doomsday fence

Which way forward to infinity and beyond?

Two steps backwards,

Or just where I was going that day.

The complexities of life, on a fence strewn with graffiti

One step forward, I thought.

Good Night America Good-bye

 Good Night America and Good-bye…

As a Canadian, like many other Canadians, I will no longer travel in the United States.  However, from previous trips I had visited several cotton and rice plantations in the Southern States. These were reminiscent of the dysfunctional and cruel economy that existed for over two hundred years and is seared into the American Psyche to this day.  America alone bears this historic burden of white supremacy, racism and cruelty which led up to the Civil War and the racial divides that exist today.  

I am struck by the easy acceptance of many Americans to revert back to some of these same behaviour patterns in modern day society.  They have willingly participated in a new racism in America that has openly embraced hate, violence, inhumanity and now imperialism.  America is quickly divorcing itself from its democratic origins by embracing these old ideals and reviving them on stale banners of nationalism.  A type of movement that effectively renders America a pariah, a country that breaks treaties and trust as a routine way of doing business.  

Many Americans simply accept the new executive privilege that they feel should by-pass judges and sterilize the power of congress in order to allow a real estate/golfer to rule as their new King. The danger to this is that the Magas and those other supporters who wanted cheap eggs will enable a dictator to completely divide the country to the point that soon there will be no turning back.  Already civilized countries have issued travel bans against the USA as they sink behind their tariff walls, isolationism and billionaires.  It may be a sleep that takes a 1000 years to recover.

Good night America, and Good bye.

King and Country

King and Country

America a country of war

Patriots threw tea in the Boston Harbour

shedding bonds of taxation.

Oppression from King George,

They declared their right to bear arms

To rebel against tyranny and oppression.

They pledged to be the voice of freedom,

Of worship, 

Of expression and 

Tolerance.

Welcome the homeless and the oppressed.

One hundred and four wars later 

With five million civilian owned guns

They stand by peace and the second amendment.

They live with their school shootings and wars.

Ready to over throw any government 

they can not control.

Today, their “king” defiles land, liberty, 

Disrespects,

Freedom, levies his own stamp tax

Threatens smaller nations,

They are all “Nasty, nasty People”

He teaches fear and loathing.

A king and his country constantly at war

What are all those guns for?

King and Country

America a country of war

Patriots threw tea in the Boston Harbour

shedding bonds of taxation.

Oppression from King George,

They declared their right to bear arms

To rebel against tyranny and oppression.

They pledged to be the voice of freedom,

Of worship, 

Of expression and 

Tolerance.

Welcome the homeless and the oppressed.

One hundred and four wars later 

With five million civilian owned guns

They stand by peace and the second amendment.

They live with their school shootings and wars.

Ready to over throw any government 

they can not control.

Today, their “king” defiles land, liberty, 

Disrespects,

Freedom, levies his own stamp tax

Threatens smaller nations,

They are all “Nasty, nasty People”

He teaches fear and loathing.

A king and his country constantly at war

What are all those guns for?

Censorship Librium Prohibitorum

Librorum Prohibitorum

Heretics burned at the stake 

The purity of the Inquisition 

the dominance of religion and politics over 

The written word a first amendment imperative

“All animals are equal but some animals

are more equal than others.”

Censorship of the free thinkers of

Sexual content, political ideologies, historical accuracy,

“Who controls the past controls the future."

 morality, racism, violence, LGBTQIA,

“War is Peace..

Religious viewpoints, age appropriateness, sexual content

“A book is a loaded gun.”

If a spider can talk, a young boy perform magic, 

Should one question gender identity 

speak of dystopian futures which are establishing 

Here and now.

If they ban a book, can they ban a judge?

They control ideas, the books, 

They burn, delete and turn to Fox News

For the latest on cultural wars, 

the evils of characters of colour

The overt unfairness of DEI hires, the magical, 

the mystical and the cultish must be purged 

from the schools and be replaced 

with the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments

On classroom walls.

Ban the Department of education with

Thoughts and Prayers  fuelled by bigotry 

to replace language and literary themes

From:

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

All Boys Aren’t Blue

The Satanic Verses

Of Mice and Men

Lord of the Flies

Brave New World

Animal Farm

Mein Kampf

Grapes of Wrath

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Slaughter House Five

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Charlotte’s Web

Burn the books for social order 

trust in AI to write our future 

with white male youths as central characters, 

rewrite our history to control

our future 

safe for new democracy

with Freedom of Speech for all.

Marty Rempel

Hotel Literati

  

NEW BEGINNINGS WITH NEW BOOKS: HOW TO START YOUR OWN BOOK CLUB

Published:

January 10, 2025

Filed under: Features

Tags: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra, Ayden Elworthy, book club, Books, Confederacy of Dunces, Craig Thompson, George Saunders, John Kennedy Toole, Lincoln in the Bardo, Mike McCay, St. Mary High School, Teachers, The Hotel Literati, The Tsar of Love and Techno

Like our new website? Let us know here or email editor@communityedition.ca

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  NEW TUNE REVIEW: HEIRLOOM (2024)

Ayden Elworthy

January 10, 2025

﹡ Features

My dad has been involved in his book club, The Hotel Literati, for about 15 years. Talking to any of the members, it’s clear how important this club is to this collection of largely schoolteachers.  Originally the book club started with just a couple teachers from St. Mary’s high school.  

I joined them for their annual holiday book exchange at a bar social at the end of November. It was here I learned about the history of the club, as well as some tips for prospective book club-ers.   

Mike McCay, the appointed leader or “Commish” of the group, gave some insight into the success.   

“You do not need the microphone at all times, it’s not the only way to lead,” he said.   

Mike is quiet yet steadfast in his leadership. It’s become a bit of a joke that Mike is almost an authoritarian leader, but of course this is all just fun and games. At the end of the day, his say goes—he sends out the monthly email reminders for the club and does a great job of keeping things going.   

Mike started the club shortly after the birth of his twins. He had gone an entire year without reading a book and realized that he just hadn’t made the time for it anymore.   

With the stress of school and work, Mike needed a deadline to get some reading done. Additionally, he was jealous of his wife, as she was a part of multiple book clubs—it was the only way for her to get out of the house!   

The Hotel Literati meets the last Thursday of every month at a bar; the venue has changed over the years. Mike found it important that the book club meeting was at the same time every month and wanted to make sure it wasn’t at someone’s house. He tried to stress the importance of finding a neutral place where the discussion of the book in question can shine.  

They found that the magic number is around 8-13 members. Any more than that, and not everyone gets a chance to speak. Or if they do, they are probably just re-iterating an opinion heard by another person.   

Mike mentioned that the best meetings are the ones that have interesting and friendly yet heated discussions, where everyone has a different opinion. If a book comes around and everyone loves it, it’s usually an easy meeting. A book like Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole got a good rise.   

Mike said meetings are a chance to talk about the book, but also a chance to connect with people. There’s usually a pre and post period during every meeting where friends will catch up, grab a beer and socialize about things other than books.   

The article would be remised to speak about a book club without mentioning some of the hall of famers: One of the best books in the backlog was Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.   

“We had a little tournament of books, based on the premises—we narrowed it down to Lincoln in the Bardo. It got tens and it got zeroes. Everyone either loved or hated it—[which was great],” Mike said.  

Mike also spoke for his love for Anthony Marra’s novels The Tsar of Love and Techno andA Constellation of Vital Phenomena, as well as Habibi by Craig Thompson—one of the graphic novels the group did.   

Habibi was also one of the most beautifully designed books that they encountered. The club usually reads a graphic novel during June. Most of the members are teachers, and since June is report card month, it’s generally a little harder to find time to read.   

The only other month that doesn’t have a monthly read is December. In preparation for the holidays, members conduct a book exchange. At the end of this exchange, we would go around the table, and each member would make a case for which book they thought should be the next month’s read.  

Mike spoke of the importance of letting these traditions flow naturally. Observe, and try to take action, but don’t force things to happen. In a setting like this that is largely a passion project and hobby, it’s important to not let things feel tired.   

It’s clear that the Hotel Literati is important to its members. Mike told me that a running joke in the book club is that one of their members, “this is the best thing of my life,”—to which the rest of the members of the book club replied “You’ve been married for 30 years, and have two kids!”.   

All jokes aside, having a place like this to discuss creativity, arts and politics among your friends is important. If anything, it’ll help you become more well read over a couple of beers.   

The Hotel Literati meets the last Thursday of every month. Membership is very exclusive, and they are NOT accepting new members.   

1. 

   Marty Rempel

   February 1, 2025

   Excellent summary of our Club Literati. We have endured the test of time as we delve through our book selections and enjoy each other’s points of view each month. So unique when guys come together to discuss literature over sports and politics once each month.

   Reply