So many people have said to me, “You look fantastic!” Why focus on how I look? You probably have little idea about my quality of life compromises that you cannot see on the outside. For me, I had bilateral vocal chord polyps and nodules, basal cell carcinoma in my radiated field, ringing in my ears, [...]
“I am lucky enough to have a front row seat for Humanitarian Acts,” proclaimed my new friend Ida Huneault who chaired the dental hygiene conference in Ottawa at which I was the keynote speaker. Her 15 year old son Tyler Huneault has Sialidosis, a very rare enzyme disorder from which few children survive more than [...]
Canada is a huge country and not too populated so they open their doors to loads of people from all corners of the world who are young enough to add to the work force and hopefully add to the population by starting a family there. My taxi driver from downtown Saskatoon to the airport told [...]
Two years ago, after my lecture for the National Oral Health Conference in Huntsville Alabama, I grabbed some dinner at the hotel restaurant. When I went to pay my bill, the server told me it was taken care of. I inquired by whom. I walked over to the 'lady over there.' Shelly Spoeth, currently a [...]
“We were engaged 35 years ago, but never married. Now, we are engaged again,” explained the couple sitting at the next table at the restaurant. I started talking to them when the server rolled the cooking table over with the ingredients to prepare my favorite dessert in the world, bananas foster, which is served flaming. [...]
When I meet a person, I'm anxious to know their story. What do they stand for? How has their life experience shaped them? I met Samantha through this article in Business Insider and her story is worth telling. She is a professional hugger. She hugs people for $60/hour and makes $7200 a month. Soon she [...]
A story not silenced. She was raised by a single mother in upstate NY. She was a 'good kid' and stood out as a great dancer. By age 12, she knew she was gay and became outspoken about her discovery, causing unmanageable friction in the house. In this day and age, there are still parents who just [...]
A story not silenced. A story can change worlds. Mr Gillard shares his story, inspiring us with how to turn adversity into opportunity. "In my heart of hearts, I wanted to do the right thing, but selling drugs was easy. Everyone was doing it. I mean, I'm not using that as an excuse, I made [...]
A friend recently walked in memory of a young woman who took her life. I saw this poem and slightly adapted it to remove the religious tone. Those who fight suicidal thoughts may find some comfort in this poem: A Higher SelfIn this moment I choose to recognize that there is within me a perfect Self.A [...]
A story not silenced. A silver-haired man in a white t-shirt and jeans was going through Atlanta airport’s TSA in a wheelchair. He had no legs and only one arm. I thought to myself, how does he get into the airplane seat? How does he get over the thin ramp into the plane with the wheelchair? [...]
