Twelve suspected voodoo practitioners were secondary casualties of Haiti’s cholera epidemic when an angry mob hacked them to death, believing the outbreak to be the result of evil magic. Medical doctor George Burden take a look at cholera and its deadly toll today and through the ages.
The Land of Evangeline: Nova Scotia’s Acadian Heartland
Nova Scotia Grand Pre region is steeped in scenic beauty and Acadian history. The famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow even penned the poem Evangeline about a fictional Acadian heroine and her trials and tribulations before being united with her lover, Gabriel.
A Poppy for My Father
Dad was asked why he was fighting Japan and he answered something like, “I didn’t sign up to fight you, I signed up to fight Hitler.” On that note, he was given a wry smile and promptly sent from the hut.
An Unlikely Friendship: The German Girl and the Candy Bomber
At Remembrance Day, a story from postwar Berlin that may surprise you, a reminder that small gestures and acts of kindness — a child’s letter, a quick decision, two sticks of gum — can have unexpected, far-reaching results. At this time of year especially, I sometimes wonder how it is possible to get past […]
A Classical Romance
I suffer from a rather rare ailment I sometimes call the “classical bug”. This is characterized by total fascination with all things ancient, especially those concerning the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.
An Ancient Murder, A Modern Day Apology
Alan Cram sets off for Canterbury to apologize for a murder committed by one of his ancestors, a knight of Henry II, many centuries ago. How would you feel if one of your fore-bearers had brutally murdered an Archbishop?
Stories that Light Up the Dark
The experiences of our ancestors offer us wisdom for surviving today’s crises.
No Pasarán: Found Photographs and Lost Eras
A photographer and writer remembers his father’s passion for the Spanish Civil War as he strips together old 35 mm negatives in an attempt to create a web background. The web background didn’t work but the image that survived the failed experiment is a powerful testament to human life, exploitation and the quest for freedom.
Bless this House, O Lord We Pray…
Inspiration from her travels to Ancient Roman sites offered Julia McLean insights into ancient peoples and the gods, goddess and spirits that they welcomed in their homes. She was so inspired that her family decided to dedicate their new house to an ancient god.
“Doc” Like An Egyptian
In 1862, Egyptologist Edwin Smith purchased a papyrus after it was discovered between the legs of a mummy from the Upper Egyptian necropolis of Thebes. What was remarkable as that this ancient manuscript described elegant and simple diagnostic and treatment programs, some paralleling those of modern medicine almost exactly.