The Brown Knowser

The following is a draft excerpt from my novel, Gyeosunim . If you haven't read my previous novel, Songsaengnim: A Korea Diary , be warned that there are spoilers in this post. Wednesday, March 4, 1998 Raymond and Ashley had filled in for me over my two-day absence, though they admitted that there wasn’t much for them to do. It took almost all of the time to take attendance and then explain that they weren’t my students’ teachers. They practiced some exercises at the beginning of the students’ exercise books, which were, to my disappointment, the Side by Side books that I had fought to replace at the hagwon . Lots of repetition, lots of narrow fill-in-the-blank responses, and little room for expansion. When I was promoted at the hagwon to lead the other teachers, and with the help of Tanya, we procured better books that drew in our students’ interests. There was little chance that I could persuade the university to update its choice of books. Raymond and Ashley also had assig...

Typically, when the autumn leaves glow their gold, red, and orange, I grab my camera gear and head up to the Gatineau Hills to try to do justice to the beauty that beams in the woods, around the lakes, and below the lookouts. This year, with COVID-19 still going strong, I've opted to stay in my own province. Gatineau, this season, is in a pandemic red zone, and despite this classification thousands are still flocking to the trails to take in the colourful leaves. No thanks. Actually, I haven't gotten out much, but when I have taken my cameras out to photograph fall, I've headed to where I have plenty of private space. A friend, who has a farm out toward Plantagenet, has several acres of colourful woodland to capture with a lens. If you follow me on Instagram , you've seen many images that I've captured over the months and, lately, with the changing leaves. But DW and I have also wanted to take in nature like we're used to in the Gatineau Hills, so a few weeks ag...

For more than a week, now, we've been keeping our new kittens separated from our two cats, to get our older housemates used to the smell of new residents and, more importantly, ensure that the kittens don't bring any health issues into the house. And while the older cats seem okay, knowing they aren't the only felines in our home, we're still maintaining a safe distance between them. Still, we couldn't help but show the kittens another part of the house. The other day, we brought the kittens, Finn and Cece, into our home office, with the door closed and watching them closely, to make sure that they didn't crawl into crevices in which it would be hard to retrieve them, and to ensure that they didn't chew or become entangled in the cables for our computers, which we still haven't tied up and out of the way. As they played, I thought it would be fun to set up one of my 360-degree cameras to record the action. I made three very short videos (less than 20...

Many of us were outraged, last week, when we learned of the judges decision in the case of the wrongful death of Abdirahman Abdi against Ottawa Police Services Constable Daniel Montsion. It was a long and heart-wrenching trial, and the pain of Abdi's family was exacerbated when Ontario Court Justice Robert Kelly delivered his verdict and acquitted Montsion of all charges. Like so many people, I saw the video footage of Montsion striking Abdi as he lay on the ground outside his apartment building. I learned of the reinforced gloves that Montsion wore as he dealt his forceful blow. And like those who saw this evidence, I was outraged and delivered my angered verdict of guilty. Yet another cop getting away with killing a person of colour. And then, over the weekend, DW showed me an opinion piece that a friend of hers shared over Facebook. The person who wrote the opinion urged readers to do their own research, and so I did. There's another side to the story. By looking at pre...

The following is a draft excerpt from my novel, Gyeosunim . If you haven't read my previous novel, Songsaengnim: A Korea Diary , be warned that while there are no spoilers, you may be missing some context. “Bollocks,” said Charles, as we walked along Kurfürstendamm, past the Europa-Centre and the remains of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the ruined spire of a once-massive cathedral and all that remained after the bombing and attacks at the end of the Second World War. At mid-afternoon, the sun shone along the shopping centres and expensive shops, while well-dressed citizens went about their business along the wide sidewalks. “Bollocks,” he said again, as though I hadn’t heard him the first time. “What can we do?” I said, immediately regretting my words. Charles wanted to do something and didn’t need my comments. “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” he said, “we’re going to be there at Alexanderplatz.” “You can’t be serious,” I said. “They want you on the western side of...

I really neglected my bicycle this year. DW and I got outdoors quite a bit, this summer, as 2020 has been the year to make an effort to get out into the fresh air and keep our distance from those outside our social bubble. And while DW and I got in a lot of walking and kayaking, with the occasional hike outside of our city, we didn't go for many bike rides. It seems as though, when we did get on our bicycles, we didn't go far. On the occasional Sunday, we would ride from our house to Morning Owl Coffee House, in Manotick, where we would enjoy a coffee and snack before riding home again. Round-trip, the journey would be just shy of 20 kilometres and would be less than an hour. It's a far cry from last fall, when we would pack up our bikes and head out to the Eastern Townships of Québec, where we would ride the trails and roads through this beautiful part of the country. It's a farther cry from the time before my reconstructive foot surgery, when we were members of the Ot...

 

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that I had taken some time away from writing. Last week and yesterday, I took a break from both here at The Brown Knowser and from my fiction. I couldn't concentrate, mostly because I found that my head and heart were full of rage. I was angry at the seemingly growing number of COVidiots, the anti-maskers and the throngs of assholes who are disregarding physical distancing. I've grown irritated with the waffling of the provincial government, which lacks any consistency in rules for the pandemic. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, is more interested in saving businesses than in saving lives: livelihoods are at risk? how about lives?? I went to a take-out restaurant to find a customer, standing in the small waiting space, without a mask. The staff, behind plexiglass, also maskless, said nothing, despite big notices on the door that state no entry without a mask. I called the feckless customer a "maskless dick...

 

The down-side is that we couldn't sit down together, at the same table, passing the stuffing and mashed potatoes, and clinking glasses together. We weren't able to go around the room, each of us sharing what we were thankful for on this Canadian Thanksgiving. Instead, we were all in our own homes, eating our own dinners, drinking our own wines, savouring our own holiday desserts. The up-side is that we're all healthy: my mother, sisters, brother. My wife and two daughters. I'm thankful that my eldest, who is living in the GTA, in residence, is practicing social distancing, keeping to her room, studying online. When she does go outside, to take solitary walks or to get groceries and other essentials, she wears a mask and keeps her distance from others. And so, she was able to come home for the holidays. I'm thankful that I was able to connect with my parents and siblings, over video conferencing, so that we could assure one another that we were safe and healthy. Thou...

The following is a draft excerpt from my novel, Gyeosunim . If you haven't read my previous novel, Songsaengnim: A Korea Diary , be warned that while there are no spoilers, you may be missing some context. The following passage is pure fiction and never really happened, though some places and people are real. Friday, March 6, 1998 It was the third day in a row that I had asked one of my evening students, Kim Kyu-jong, to put away his mobile phone. It was my most-rambunctious class, with more than half of the students not wanting to be there. And of those students who didn’t want to be there, Kim Kyu-jong was the leader of that pack. Always striking up conversations with others, always seeking attention. In some ways, he reminded me of one of my hagwon kids, Steven, who loved to mutter, loved to try to get the other students to laugh, and who always copped an attitude. Only, Steven was seven years old. Kyu-jong was texting on his phone, a small, slim yellow device that had a co...

There's an old photograph that was taken from Parliament Hill, back around the turn of the previous century, from the top of the tower of the center block (before it was the Peace Tower), looking toward Wellington Street. I wish I could remember the exact date of this photo—if I ever saw it in the first place, that is. I love this photo for many reasons. The elegant buildings on the south side of Wellington Street, most of which are long-gone. I love how the cityscape lacks skyscrapers of glass and steel. The tallest structures are the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council (left-side building) and a few church spires in the distance. It's still too early for the Blackburn building and way, way too early for the Darcy McGee Building and World Exchange Plaza. But what I love the most about this photo is the collection of little shacks, directly across from the Parliament Buildings, in between the stately structures along Wellington Street. Was it a single home with neigh...

When DW and I first bought our flights to Rome, I booked on points. We were able to get a good deal for DW and the kids, and by using Aeroplan points for my flight, we further reduced the overall cost of flying four people, round-trip, to Italy. Especially since we also bought four round-trip tickets from Rome to Venice. While I was able to book the same flight to Rome as the rest of the family, I was not able to take the full flight back to Ottawa with them. The girls were flying from Rome to Frankfurt, Germany, and then on to Ottawa; I had to fly from Rome to Munich, change flights, and fly to Frankfurt, where I would join my family for the final leg. When I bought my tickets, though, I noticed that there was only a one-hour layover in Munich. I called the airline to confirm this connection and was told, curtly, that if it wasn't possible, they wouldn't have offered it. If, for any reason, my Rome flight was delayed and I missed my connection, the airline would get me...