Category Life Lessons

Apr 15 2018

My first book is now republished!

the history teacherI am excited to announce the rerelease of my first book, The History Teacher! I first published it in 2010 and decided to give it a makeover after the release of my second book, The History Teacher 2.0, which I published through a new self-assisted publisher, FriesenPress. Quite frankly, I wanted to clean it up a bit. It was my first effort, and grammatically, it needed some work. So it’s the same story, but a much smoother read! If you would like to check out the storyline, go to the Fred’s Books page.

All three of the books I’ve written [The History Teacher, The History Teacher 2.0 and The Christmas Choice], are available on FriesenPress and Amazon.

Thank you so much for your support and for taking the time to read my books! Please know that I appreciate it enormously!

I am presently writing the third instalment of The History Teacher trilogy and hope to have it published by the end of this year. After that, I plan to begin writing, The Kid!

Dec 24 2016

Healing Parkinson’s Disease Naturally – Recovery Inspiration #1 … You can recover!

christmas treeYou can recover from PD!

I am baffled by the number of people who believe parkinson’s is incurable! The medical community, PD societies and MJF Foundation are doing everyone a grave injustice by espousing this notion. [And does anyone find it peculiar that these folks are trying to find a cure [with a pill] for something they claim is incurable.]

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May 15 2016

Our Father… A calling missed?

dadOur father passed on three weeks ago on April 24. Arthur Carlton “Carl” Phillips was in his 88th year. That he lived such a long life could be considered a medical miracle given the litany of health conditions he experienced: arthritis, gout, blood disorders, shingles, strokes, prostate cancer and heart attack. By the end of his life, he was on a mind-boggling concoction of prescription drugs! But this isn’t his story! Not at all!

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Dec 2 2014

The Courageous Little Duck!

duckSince moving to the lake in October, I have had the joy of watching the daily goings on of the abundance of waterfowl that have been making Cook’s Bay their home. No matter the weather, be it subzero temperatures, howling winds, blinding snow or three foot whitecaps, they are out there, braving the elements appearing to be as unconcerned about the conditions as I am about the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs [Toronto’s professional hockey team].

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Aug 24 2014

Hardship versus Inspiration, It’s Our Choice!

MandelaThere are certain things I can’t relate to. For instance, I can’t relate to growing up in a war torn country. Nor can I relate to living in an occupied country. Mari can. She spent the first 32 years of her life living in Estonia, which was under Russian occupation at the time. I also can’t relate to living in a communist country or one ruled by a fascist dictator. I can relate to living in a country where the government seems more intent on serving itself than the people it was democratically elected to serve, but this isn’t nearly as bad.

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May 4 2014

Advice for a Young Adult

muhammad aliA young man recently asked me for advice. He wanted to know for someone just starting out how best to live life. When I thought about it, two things occurred to me. First, I felt very honored by the request because I’ve never been asked this before and I understood how genuinely important it was. Second, I realized that the advice I was going to offer this young man, for the most part, would be the same advice I would offer just about anybody, as they are the principles that have become the guiding light for how I live my life …  and I’m almost 60.

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Mar 7 2014

Rory McIlroy, a lesson for us all!

rory mcilroyThis past weekend, I got to watch yet another professional golfer crash and burn on the back nine on Sunday afternoon. On this particular occasion it was young Northern Ireland phenom, Rory McIlroy. McIlroy started the day with a comfortable lead, but as so often happens, he succumbed to pressure and made too many bad shots.

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Oct 26 2013

When Fate Comes Calling

elton and bernieIn London in the late 60s’ a young Elton John responded to an ad looking for songwriters. He walked in to an tiny, unassuming office and spoke to a man sitting behind a desk. He told the man he could write music, but couldn’t write lyrics. The man searched through a pile of papers and handed a sheet to Elton. He said, “This guy says he can write lyrics so check him out and see what you think.” And so began a successful songwriting partnership that has spanned five decades, producing such amazing songs as Tiny Dancer, Daniel and Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me. The lyricist, of course, was Bernie Taupin.

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Oct 18 2013

Ownership … the Cause of Much Suffering!

audiThe notion of ownership causes a great deal of suffering. “Those are my things, so don’t touch them or I’ll hit you.” “This is my property, so stay off it! Violators will be prosecuted!” “This is my family, so don’t bother them or you will experience my wrath!” “This is our country, so stay out of it  or we’ll go to war with you.”

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