Archive for Port Arthur

GRAN’S CANADA HIGHWAY – EPISODE 6: THUNDER BAY TO KENORA by Jaimie Vernon

Posted in Family, life, Opinion, Serialized Book with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2020 by segarini


The pass between Pays Plat and Cavers at the top of Lake Superior is nearly 11 km long divided almost evenly between uphill and downhill escarpments with grades approaching 8% on many sections so those who are weak stomached or decide to skimp on new brakes for the car need to turn around and go back to Toronto.

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GRAN’S CANADA HIGHWAY – EPISODE 3: LOADED TO BEAR by Jaimie Vernon

Posted in Family, life, Opinion, Review with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 13, 2020 by segarini


In 1965, Canada was well on its way to making inter-continental travel from sea-to-sea-to-sea a lot more enticing and convenient. The Trans-Canada Highway had linked the otherwise awkward and barely passable sections of Lake Superior in Ontario and the Rocky Mountains between Alberta and British Columbia. And so, my grandparents decided to take a little trek out of province to see that the world didn’t end in Port Arthur, Ontario (merely life as we know it).

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Pat Blythe – The Women of Blues Revisited – Part IV – Maggie & Janis

Posted in Opinion, Review with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 17, 2017 by segarini

I have “moved” Janis Joplin from my Women in Rock series to this one. When I started the “Women of ……” series, I felt she had a foot in both camps. However, the more I listen to Joplin the more I realize her feet were far more firmly planted in the blues as her voice alone attests. There have been comparisons over the years between Maggie Bell and Janis Joplin. They are reminiscent of each other and that starts with the hair. Scotland is steeped in the blues (just listen to the pipes and some of the Celtic music) but the seeds were planted, and the roots run to the core of the earth, in the U.S.’s “deep south”. Keep in mind, much of the southern U.S. became home to the Scots fleeing the oppressive English in the late 1700’s. Combine that with the African “slave” songs….mix with oppressive heat and stir….so, sometimes I wonder, who exactly influenced whom?

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JAIMIE VERNON – MY SUMMER HOLIDAY 1975: PART 2

Posted in Opinion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 13, 2015 by segarini

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We continue this week with the second part to my vacation with my Grandma Vernon to celebrate the 40th anniversary of my awakening as a world traveler. We begin with a western push out of Sault Ste. Marie toward Thunder Bay, Ontario and BEYOND!

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JAIMIE VERNON – MY SUMMER HOLIDAY 1975 – PART 1

Posted in Opinion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2015 by segarini

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For those remotely following along at home you may know that my current day gig is to impersonate a security guard at cemeteries around Toronto. On Sunday and Monday nights I’m usually assigned to Pine Hills in Scarborough. Many of my relatives are buried there as I’ve posted most recently in acknowledging my mother’s mother’s 100th birthday.

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