Glenn Kubish

Happy end of the week, y’all. Here is this week’s list of three things I noticed I noticed that made me happy or grateful.                               1. Debt 55     I have a long list of unpaid debts that I am working on. One was entered the day in 1980 my Grade 10 physics teacher, Mr. Nowak, cornered me in the upstairs hallway at O’Leary High School. He had done the math. I was going to fail Physics 10 unless some force stronger than the gravitational pull on my mark appeared to pull it north of the Yellowhead. He offered me a deal. I would get a 55 if I promised not to enroll in Physics 20. He knew I wanted to go to university and that a failing grade wouldn’t help. I took the deal. Deus ex machina really happens. Why was I so lousy at physics? Kinematics couldn’t really have been more opaque than the Faulkner we read in English. But velocity and acceleration were difficult for me. I couldn’t see h...

  Happy end of the week, amigos!   Here, after internal review, are three things that made for some happiness or gratitude this week. Three Things, episode 69:                                             1. Away  🇪🇸 My friend Richie posted a vacation video of himself doing what he does a lot of in his spare time when he’s not on vacation, which is the point of vacations, I think. True, the video of him cycling is from the hills of Spain, not the hills of Gatineau, but pedalling a bicycle for joy is pedalling a bicycle for joy. Richie’s video is joyful and beautiful and, with the twisting highway, dramatic rock face and blue sky, elemental. For a bit of hometown Toronto, he added audio of a Skydiggers song, the lyric from Slow  Burning Fire where Andy Maize sings   But lately I’ve caught you   Staring at me   With a new kind of look on your fa...

Mr. Nowak offered me a deal. Mr. Nowak was my Physics 10 teacher, and he had done the math. I was going to fail Physics 10 unless some force stronger than the gravitational pull on my 45 per cent mark intervened. Up by the lockers in the hallway on the second floor of O'Leary High School, he laid it all out in a few easy-to-follow propositions. You're going to fail Physics 10. The final exam isn't worth enough to get you and your knowledge of physics to pass the course. That's unfortunate because I know you want to go to university and a fail won't help. I'll give you a 55 in the course if you promise not to try to get into my Physics 20 course. I took the deal. I woke up this morning and, as I do, checked Twitter. My high school buddy Slavo Cech had sent word that Mr. Nowak was dead. The obit is  nicely written. "Larry loved being both a teacher and a coach throughout his career. He also had a passion for basketball. He began playin...