Opinion

Dear Santa, Yes, it’s me again. I wrote to you two years ago and asked you to help me find my Christmas mo-jo, remember? I was so pleased when you replied and told me about a special book, “The 29 Gifts”.

Christmas can be very difficult for many people, but then again life itself can also be difficult. One thinks of the parents of an elementary school in Connecticut and is instantly grateful that it didn’t happen here. But it could.

To be honest, I never heard him say it. But this quote has been attributed to Albert Einstein, a legitimate genius of his time. It read: “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.

What does home mean for you? The reason we ask this question is that we have not been able to come up with one answer. We each have our own opinion on what a home means to each of us.

I concluded last week’s column with a lament by the psalmist, “How long, O Lord . . . will you hide your face from me?” I promised I would share in this week’s column how I see Christmas as God’s response. A lot has happened since then.

Once in awhile a community is gripped by grief. The ripple effect from Brandon Thomas’ death has been felt by many in our community and beyond.

These last few days before Christmas, our Gift Wrap Centre is open and ready to take care of your wrapping in exchange for a donation to emergency accommodation needs in Cochrane.

In my last column, I outlined the first five tips for keeping your horses healthy during the winter — they included adequate movement, being with a group, time to graze or forage, provide mental stimulation and respecting your horses’ instincts.

Hockey’s a funny old game. I picked up my first hockey stick at the age of 22 when I was living in Kimberley, B.C., and was invited to join the men’s recreational league there. The only problem was I had never skated before.

This past spring, a young man named Jess Findlay beat out over 25,000 other entrants to win the Youth Award in a prestigious photography competition hosted by Nature’s Best Photography.