A boy becomes a man before his time — “Tola, wake up. Hurry!” Tola’s mom shakes him roughly out of deep sleep. She pulls him out of bed and hands him his baby sister. “Take Nomsa and let’s go.” “What’s going on?” asks Tola, groggily. His mom runs out of his room, his 4-year-old sister Lindi looking scared and…

They will soon be few and far between — I sell eyeglasses for a living. A father came in today with his two daughters. They were around 7 and 5 years old. And they were a handful. As he attempted to find suitable frames, they would run around the store, poking at each other, trying on frames, or screaming…

Or is it? — Joan: I respect everyone that I meet. I believe that respect is lost, not earned. Vikki: I’m not sure that I follow. Joan: Everyone is made in the image of God. By that alone, they deserve my respect. …

Stop asking me to join you — You know that person who is first to smell a bad smell. Maybe it’s you whom I’m referring to. Why do you ask us to join you? You know how it goes. The stink reaches your nostrils and the first thing you do is take a deeper sniff just to…

Does anyone care about this colonial relic — Growing up in Kenya, over 35 years ago, when the Commonwealth games came around, there was a lot of excitement. Our best athletes trained hard to do wealth at these games and it was an honour to receive a medal. Living in Canada now, I don’t hear much about them…

Apparently, you have to be a biologist to do so — “I am woman, hear me roar!” “It’s a woman’s right to choose!” These are mantras bellowed out by those who identify as feminists. And they’re fine. Every struggle has it’s slogan. “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud!” “Were here, we’re queer, get used to it!” They are simple…

Drunk driving and the brutality and tragedy it unleashes on victims — Edward Lake is dead. He took his own life on Father’s Day, seven years after his three children were murdered by a drunk driver. I’m not going to cite the particulars of that fateful day. …

You could miss out on the greatest rewards of your life — When my daughter was about 12 years old, she was going to take her first city bus trip alone. She figured out the two buses she would need to take, where to transfer, and where to get off. Even with all the planning, she was scared. “What if I get…