Glenn Kubish

It feels difficult and wrong and even obscene to fiddle around with three little things when such big things are going wrong, and when ordinary people are forced onto the unarmed road of flight. But I am grateful for my little life. I hope it can stay this way. It is heartbreaking to see everyday lives clawed apart by the powerful. Against the historic backdrop of our dark times, I offer this week's Three Things подкаст . 1. Reappearing act   The doorbell rang. Our friends Lori and Murray were on the front step, carrying a gift from the beyond. Back in the 2000-2001 minor hockey season Murray coached the KC Annunciation Rink Rats novice team on which our son Alex played. Coach Murray had things under control, including the most important thing for a coach to have under control: himself. He was calm and knowledgeable and made the season fun for the eight- and nine-year-olds and their fans. He was in it for the team. (The mistakes I would go on to make as a hockey coach I wouldn’t h...

Here's this week's   Three Things podcast . Thanks for giving it a listen. Or a read. 1. Showtime  Auntie Shelagh and I were sitting at the back of the Chez Pierre Cabaret when we met Battista, who was at the table next to ours. It was a few years ago. That night, Darcia and Boris, aka the Mercury Opera Company, late of Edmonton, used the infamous strip club to stage La Traviata, in full voice and fully clothed. At intermezzo, the lights came up, conversation rose and we said hello to the neighbours. Saying hello to strangers in Edmonton isn’t like saying hello in other places. Nobody really asks Where do you live? or Where are you from? or What’s your church? to get a read on someone’s beliefs. It’s more, How are you doing? or Are you enjoying the show? Maybe the prying extends to, Where did you go to high school? But looking at Battista’s Roman profile and judging his age to be within three years or so of mine, I knew his high school was either O’Leary or St. Joe’s. I w...

Here's this week's Three Things podcast on Apple. Also, in words and pics: 1. Fish 🐠 There’s an aquarium at the Lois Hole Library in west Edmonton, and if you happened to be there last Sunday afternoon close to closing time, that was me standing in front of it, staring like someone who had never seen fish in a tank, which is pretty much what it felt like. I was mesmerized. The little fish twitch and flash and appear quite nonplussed about hanging suspended in gallons of water held in shape by a thin skin of glass on the other side of which is, well, death for them. Earlier that day, Auntie Shelagh and I had spent a couple of hours on Whyte Avenue. We took the steps down to the Tokyo Noodle Shop for ramen. We darted into Blackbyrd for some new vinyl. We drifted over to Sugared & Spiced for brownies and to talk to Jeff about Thomas Hobbes. If you think this dropping, darting and drifting means I now see all of us as kinds of giant upright fish flowing past each other insi...

Here, for the week of noticing things that made me feel happy or grateful ending February 4, 2022, is the Three Things podcast . 1. Sign of summer 🌻 I love winter in Edmonton, especially when there’s new snow. It’s like a fresh comforter out of the wash. But there are cold days—I’m looking at you last Monday—when the north wind casts snow across the roads so the roads themselves appear to be in motion. The strands of white look like strips of cirrus clouds skimming at fast forward speed over the asphalt. The snow works itself into swervy shapes that bury the work of sidewalk shovellers. On those days, you open the front door to see four inches of snow lining the threshold. There are signs this geometry of winter is not eternal. In fact, I saw one of those signs last week. It was in the middle of a field in the Rossdale Flats. The sign read: "See you on the hill 2022." This means the Edmonton Folk Music Festival intends to be back on Gallagher Hill this August. This is music ...