Outlaw Radio 1960

With an election a year off, the UCP Government has gone into full election mode. Social Media, Facebook and YouTube are running ads touting the accomplishments of the Smith Government as she is trying to remove herself and her party from the referendum debate, which has the voters of this province wound up like tops as we move ever closer to the October vote, which could hold up to nine questions in total. The separatists that Smith has courted for all this time are now dumbfounded because the person who started all this and wound them up abandoned them by declaring herself now for Canada. If this were not such a serious matter, I might find this laughable. However, once the spark is lit win or lose, and I’m assuming that most Albertans will favour Canada as I do the argument from the separatist cause will only intensify in magnitude. Creating even more chaos than what we see today. Every poll indicates that if the election were called today, because of the rural-urban split in vot...

Long before oil and natural gas were discovered, coal was essential across the Prairies for heating, lighting, and cooking. Alberta’s abundant coal reserves led to the development of mines throughout the province. While the Drumheller seam in south central Alberta was a major source, the richest area was the eastern slopes, known as the Coal Branch. Dozens of small mining communities emerged almost overnight to supply an energy hungry province with the coal it depended on. Like workers drawn by Alberta’s many oil booms, miners came to the province seeking well-paying jobs in its rich coal seams. The rise of the first miners’ unions brought a measure of security and stability, allowing families to put down roots even as miners laboured in thick coal dust, a hazard that, for many, later led to black lung disease. By 1956, as oil and natural gas increasingly replaced coal, these communities on Alberta’s frontier had become ghost towns. Mining companies quickly evicted residents from comp...

What does it truly mean to be a writer? For many, the term conjures images of authors or journalists and their professional pursuits. However, writing is not solely defined by financial  remuneration , but rather by one's experiences and the intricate influences of the stories and individuals that inspire us. If being a writer were limited to published works alone, it is likely that most of our voices would remain unheard.   From an early age, I  demonstrated  a talent for storytelling, often imagining complex worlds and populating them with compelling characters. My narratives were so convincing that others sometimes questioned whether I could distinguish between reality and the realms of my own imagination.   At one point, my parents arranged for me to meet with a psychologist, concerned that this issue needed urgent attention. They feared I might struggle to form friendships and that others would misunderstand me due to a perceived lack of awareness about eve...