Shelley Cook

Shelley Cook

Columnist, Manager of Reader Bridge project

Shelley is a born and raised Winnipegger. She is a proud member of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation.

In 2011 Shelley graduated (for the first time in her life!) from Red River College’s Creative Communications program. It was a milestone moment for the two-time high school dropout who took a chance on post-secondary education as a mature student at the age of 28.

This was an opportunity that changed her life, and one for which she is so grateful.

While stumbling around the University of Winnipeg for two years, dabbling in a number of different courses, Shelley started volunteering at Winnipeg Harvest (now known as Manitoba Harvest). There she met many wonderful people who made an impact on her life, including Donald Benham, a former journalist, city councillor and journalism instructor, who encouraged her to apply for the Creative Communications program, thus helping her find a career path that seemed to fit.

Shelley was the first recipient of the John W. Dafoe Free Press scholarship for Aboriginal students in 2009. This scholarship led to her first newsroom experience. She enjoyed a work placement at the Winnipeg Sun in 2010 to 2011 and spent the summer after graduating CreComm as a reporter for the Portage Daily Graphic in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

Shelley’s other notable work includes covering the 2014 JUNO Awards, concert reviews and a weekly Mix of Six column for Metro Winnipeg.

From 2012 to 2021, Shelley worked in marketing and communications at Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries as a social media coordinator.

Shelley is a mom and stepmom of three as well as a companion to two rescue dogs. She and her partner Chris co-parent and raise their kids with Donna, her stepkids’ mom.

Shelley has always been a good storyteller, a trait she likely inherited from her dad, one of the most engaging and interesting storytellers of all time. She tries hard, though she makes a lot of mistakes. Thankfully, making mistakes is a good way to learn and to grow and to try to be better. It also usually always leads to something interesting to write about.

Shelley still gets excited to see her work published in the Winnipeg Free Press. Having a column has been a dream come true.

Recent articles by Shelley Cook

Scrappy and mean, but full of love

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Scrappy and mean, but full of love

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 5, 2023

One day, about five and a half years ago, I was scrolling through Instagram stories when I saw a random post from a friend who was trying to help a couple rehome their cat. She shared a picture of a cute little senior calico with splotches of white, black and orange fur, asking if anyone wanted to adopt a new friend.

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Monday, Jun. 5, 2023

(Supplied)

Christina and Kiesa. Photo taken three days before Kiesa’s journey over the rainbow bridge.

The little meh-maid

Shelley Cook, AV Kitching, Eva Wasney, Jen Zoratti 8 minute read Preview

The little meh-maid

Shelley Cook, AV Kitching, Eva Wasney, Jen Zoratti 8 minute read Tuesday, May. 30, 2023

Last week, four millennial women who grew up with the original, animated version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid on repeat checked out the live-action release, starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, Javier Bardem as King Triton and Melissa McCarthy as sea witch Ursula. Could it live up to the nostalgia or did Disney bungle this one, too?

Like the 1989 film, Chicago director Rob Marshall’s 2023 version is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a young mermaid who exchanges her siren’s song for legs via a pact with a sea witch in order to experience life on land with the dashing prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). The casting of Bailey, who is Black, created a lot of controversy in the months leading up to the film. Many people had their doubts about singing and dancing photorealistic animals.

The Free Press’s Shelley Cook, AV Kitching, Eva Wasney and Jen Zoratti take a deep dive into some uncharted — and often unsettling — waters.

Eva Wasney: My question with all of these live-action Disney remakes is: Who is it for? What’s the audience?

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Tuesday, May. 30, 2023

Disney

The live-action remake features many CGI talking animals and fish, some of which are rather alarming.

Honoured to share story of Indigenous teen stolen from us

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Honoured to share story of Indigenous teen stolen from us

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 29, 2023

I love telling stories.

Stories have the power to connect us and change the way we see the world and other people. There is power and responsibility in storytelling. And as someone who does it for a living, it can also be a super-scary thing to do, especially when you are telling stories that don’t belong to you.

But it’s the greatest privilege.

I never fully understood how personally one could take their work until I started doing this. These stories — and the people behind them — really get into your head and heart. They move you to feel a range of emotions so deeply that it changes you. I’ve been extremely lucky to have shared several stories like that.

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Monday, May. 29, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Janet Bruyere, grandmother of Fonassa Bruyere, looks at old photos of Fonassa in her home on Sagkeeng First Nation.

‘I wonder if she called for me’

Shelley Cook 10 minute read Preview

‘I wonder if she called for me’

Shelley Cook 10 minute read Friday, May. 26, 2023

SAGKEENG FIRST NATION — There is an ache in Janet Bruyere’s heart that won’t go away; a void that keeps her up at night while the rest of her family sleeps in their modest home on this First Nation.

“I have dreams about her,” Bruyere, 72, says of her granddaughter, Fonassa Bruyere.

She sits at her dining-room table while her two young grandsons play underfoot. Cartoons blare in the background, catching the children’s attention for moments at a time before the curious boys return their gaze to their grandmother.

“I can’t sleep that much. Not since it happened,” the residential and day school survivor told the Free Press. “When I do, sometimes I have nightmares.”

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Friday, May. 26, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Janet Bruyere with a photo of Fonassa Bruyere, whose body was discovered in a field northwest Winnipeg.

Wake-up call in bedtime story embracing failure

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Wake-up call in bedtime story embracing failure

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 23, 2023

I was reading with my kid the other night. Bedtime stories are different now that she’s a little older. We’ve mostly transitioned from me reading to her, to us reading a graphic novel together before she goes to sleep. I love it.

The book we were reading was from the Cat Kid series by Dav Pilkey. The story is about characters who have joined the Cat Kid Comic Club, which is exactly what it sounds like: a club devoted to making comics.

The group members have been assigned to make comics, but they initially don’t even try. They have all sorts of reasons and excuses about why they don’t want to make a comic: They don’t have ideas, they can’t draw, they think the assignment is dumb. Ultimately, they don’t try because they are afraid to fail.

Club president Cat Kid and the vice-president — a floating worm character — decide to change up the assignment to have everyone make a comic and fail miserably at it. What is born out of that are a bunch of inspired students who aren’t afraid of exploring ideas, failing or even embarrassing themselves. This new perspective on the same assignment changes everything. It inspires the whole club to try because they have confidence and aren’t afraid of failing. Brilliant.

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Tuesday, May. 23, 2023

I was reading with my kid the other night. Bedtime stories are different now that she’s a little older. We’ve mostly transitioned from me reading to her, to us reading a graphic novel together before she goes to sleep. I love it.

The book we were reading was from the Cat Kid series by Dav Pilkey. The story is about characters who have joined the Cat Kid Comic Club, which is exactly what it sounds like: a club devoted to making comics.

The group members have been assigned to make comics, but they initially don’t even try. They have all sorts of reasons and excuses about why they don’t want to make a comic: They don’t have ideas, they can’t draw, they think the assignment is dumb. Ultimately, they don’t try because they are afraid to fail.

Club president Cat Kid and the vice-president — a floating worm character — decide to change up the assignment to have everyone make a comic and fail miserably at it. What is born out of that are a bunch of inspired students who aren’t afraid of exploring ideas, failing or even embarrassing themselves. This new perspective on the same assignment changes everything. It inspires the whole club to try because they have confidence and aren’t afraid of failing. Brilliant.

Indigenous women entrepreneurs in economic, interactive spotlight

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Indigenous women entrepreneurs in economic, interactive spotlight

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Sunday, May. 14, 2023

A showcase of Indigenous entrepreneurs promises to be a one-of-a-kind networking opportunity that shines a spotlight on one of Canada’s fastest-growing entrepreneurial segments.

The Celebrating Indigenous Entrepreneurs in Manitoba event is happening at RRC Polytech’s Manitou a bi Bii daziigae campus (319 Elgin Ave.) Wednesday (5:30-9 p.m.).

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Sunday, May. 14, 2023

SUPPLIED

The Celebrating Indigenous Entrepreneurs in Manitoba event is taking place May 17 from 5:30 -9 p.m. at RRC Polytech’s Manitou A Bi Bii Daziigae campus, 319 Elgin Ave.

Shining a light on lupus

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

Shining a light on lupus

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Monday, May. 8, 2023

It’s called the disease of a thousand faces because it affects people differently.

It can happen at any time to anyone of any age, but research shows that people of colour — specifically women of colour — are at greater risk of getting lupus.

Not only is systemic lupus more common in racialized communities, BIPOC women can have more severe lupus compared to non-BIPOC women.

Michelle Gazze, a Winnipeg woman whose family came from Guyana, was diagnosed with lupus six years ago at age 30.

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Monday, May. 8, 2023

SUPPLIED

Gazze said she hopes to encourage others to educate themselves on early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

It’s OK to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

It’s OK to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 8, 2023

I had the worst couple of days last week — absolute garbage.

It was one of those weeks where life piled on with a bunch of things. Big things, small things. Smaller than small things. Things that wouldn’t bother me if they were simply just a one-off. You know what I’m talking about. Those days where nothing seems to go right and no matter how hard you try, the day, your outlook, and everything around you just gets more sour.

We’ve all been there.

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Monday, May. 8, 2023

I had the worst couple of days last week — absolute garbage.

It was one of those weeks where life piled on with a bunch of things. Big things, small things. Smaller than small things. Things that wouldn’t bother me if they were simply just a one-off. You know what I’m talking about. Those days where nothing seems to go right and no matter how hard you try, the day, your outlook, and everything around you just gets more sour.

We’ve all been there.

Interpretive landmark unveiled

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Interpretive landmark unveiled

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 1, 2023

Against a grey sky with clouds that threatened to burst into rain and wind gusts that danced around the barren trees, the Dawson Trail commemorative project team unveiled an interpretive landmark on the western terminus of the trail at the Seine River Parkway.

The Provencher Boulevard placement was the final of 15 wayfinding markers to be positioned by the small group of community residents and volunteers throughout the path that highlight the traditional place names and heritage of the original Dawson Trail.

“This one is particularly meaningful and dear to us, as it marks the original western terminus of the trail and makes a clear statement as to the core values that have driven our project from the start, and reminds us of our interconnectedness,” Pierrette Sherwood, chairwoman of Dawson Trail Arts and Heritage Tour, said at the event last week.

The Dawson Trail is Canada’s first all-Canadian water- and land-based route, named after Simon J. Dawson, a surveyor on the expedition that led to the construction of a road that began at Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ont., and ended at the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg).

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Monday, May. 1, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Pierrette Sherwood, chairwoman of Dawson Trail Arts and Heritage Tour, along with supporters, takes part in the unveiling of an interpretive landmark on the western terminus of the trail at the Seine River Parkway.

Be kind to yourself, others are listening

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Be kind to yourself, others are listening

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 1, 2023

I always wonder if I’ve told my children I love them enough times in a day or if I’ve remembered to tell them how proud I am of them. I often think about the ways I could have shown love better.

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Monday, May. 1, 2023

I always wonder if I’ve told my children I love them enough times in a day or if I’ve remembered to tell them how proud I am of them. I often think about the ways I could have shown love better.

Undervalued, underpaid and overwhelmingly important in our kids’ lives

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Undervalued, underpaid and overwhelmingly important in our kids’ lives

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Apr. 24, 2023

Before I had kids, I never fully realized how many people would be helping me raise them when I did.

Obviously, I knew that I’d be a working mother (I can’t afford not to be), and I knew that my daughter would go to daycare, but I didn’t fully take into account that there would be people outside of my immediate family who would be help raise and shape who our children are and who they will become.

To be embarrassingly frank, I didn’t think much about the work of early childhood educators, nor did I consider the relationships our family would have with them before they became an important part of our life and our routine.

The 32nd annual Manitoba Child Care Association’s Week of the Early Educator starts today, an opportunity to celebrate the vital work of those unsung heroes and the difference they make in our lives.

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Monday, Apr. 24, 2023

Before I had kids, I never fully realized how many people would be helping me raise them when I did.

Obviously, I knew that I’d be a working mother (I can’t afford not to be), and I knew that my daughter would go to daycare, but I didn’t fully take into account that there would be people outside of my immediate family who would be help raise and shape who our children are and who they will become.

To be embarrassingly frank, I didn’t think much about the work of early childhood educators, nor did I consider the relationships our family would have with them before they became an important part of our life and our routine.

The 32nd annual Manitoba Child Care Association’s Week of the Early Educator starts today, an opportunity to celebrate the vital work of those unsung heroes and the difference they make in our lives.

RRC Polytech event shines spotlight on Indigenous talent

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

RRC Polytech event shines spotlight on Indigenous talent

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Apr. 24, 2023

RRC Polytech’s Manitou a bi Bii daziigae campus was abuzz April 19, with students, faculty, staff and community members coming together to connect and celebrate Indigenous culture through food, fashion and music.

The Winnipeg school’s annual RBC Reaction by Collision event — Food, Fashion, and Music — highlights the importance of entrepreneurship in Indigenous culture.

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Monday, Apr. 24, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

The joint event hosted by RRC Polytech and RBC showcased a fashion show featuring the work of Dawn Harris, Gayle Grubin and Olivia Nasikapow.

Anishinaabe elder’s life calling was forged between worlds, rooted in cultural resilience

Shelley Cook 11 minute read Preview

Anishinaabe elder’s life calling was forged between worlds, rooted in cultural resilience

Shelley Cook 11 minute read Monday, Apr. 17, 2023

Elder Robert Greene has been led by vision all his life.

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Monday, Apr. 17, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Robert Greene, whose spirit name is Niizhogabo (Two Standing Man), is Elder-in-Residence at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, where he leads ceremonies and provides an Anishinaabe worldview.

Event celebrates Indigenous excellence in sport

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Event celebrates Indigenous excellence in sport

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 17, 2023

It was a night to celebrate Indigenous excellence in sport.

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Monday, Apr. 17, 2023

SUPPLIED

Carey Lauder Recipients of the 2023 MASRC awards.

Our stolen sisters — all of them — matter; it’s as simple as that

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Our stolen sisters — all of them — matter; it’s as simple as that

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Apr. 10, 2023

I remember when Sunshine Wood went missing in February 2004. She was a 16-year-old Indigenous girl who vanished from Winnipeg’s downtown one night.

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Monday, Apr. 10, 2023

I remember when Sunshine Wood went missing in February 2004. She was a 16-year-old Indigenous girl who vanished from Winnipeg’s downtown one night.

Sagkeeng First Nations woman opens heart and home to stray dogs in the community

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

Sagkeeng First Nations woman opens heart and home to stray dogs in the community

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023

Brenda Everett’s work as an animal control officer on Sagkeeng First Nation means everything to her.

It’s a way for the mother of two adult sons and grandmother of six to not only give back to her community, but also to reciprocate the love she has received from a lifetime of canine companions.

Everett is known by some as the dog whisperer, because she displays an ability to communicate with the animals in a way others can’t.

“It’s the understanding of knowing what its like to be abandoned. To be without a home, and to be in a home, yet not a loving home. It’s a mutual respect and understanding,” she explains of the connection to dogs in her community.

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Sunday, Apr. 9, 2023

Supplied

Brenda Everett has opened her home as a sort of temporary shelter for many of the strays in the community.

Woman devastated after theft of Sgt. Tommy Prince beadwork medallion she spent 2 1/2 years on

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Woman devastated after theft of Sgt. Tommy Prince beadwork medallion she spent 2 1/2 years on

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 4, 2023

A Winnipeg woman who spent more than two years doing intricate beadwork on a medallion of Indigenous Manitoba war hero Sgt. Tommy Prince is pleading for the return of her art.

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Tuesday, Apr. 4, 2023

The beaded Sgt. Tommy Prince medallion that Chantel Scott spent over two years carefully beading. It was stolen during a break-in. (Supplied)

Indigeneity, identity at centre of questionable claims

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Indigeneity, identity at centre of questionable claims

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 3, 2023

The issue of Indigenous identity theft has been in a spotlight lately. It seems like every time I log into Twitter or scan the news, there’s another story about a person’s questionable claims to Indigeneity.

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Monday, Apr. 3, 2023

The issue of Indigenous identity theft has been in a spotlight lately. It seems like every time I log into Twitter or scan the news, there’s another story about a person’s questionable claims to Indigeneity.

Plainclothes passion at powwow sparks search, generous offer, cultural connection

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Plainclothes passion at powwow sparks search, generous offer, cultural connection

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

As drumbeats echoed through the Duckworth Centre at the University of Winnipeg graduation powwow, Stefanie Chabot couldn’t help but notice one man amid the sea of traditional dancers.

The man, a stranger, was dancing in his ordinary clothing — a black, grey and white plaid jacket and a pair of dark pants. He stood out against the others, all of whom were dressed in colourful regalia, though he danced the same as them.

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Sunday, Mar. 26, 2023

BROOK JONES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Stefanie Chabot, who makes ribbon skirts and star blankets, is planning to make a custom-made attire for Lukas Beardy to wear after she saw him dancing on his own at the University of Winnipeg graduation powwow.

Winnipegger earns Jewel of India Award

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Winnipegger earns Jewel of India Award

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

Returning to his home country to accept the Jewel of India Award was the last thing Jaideep Johar thought would happen as a result of casual conversations on Facebook.

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Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Jaideep Johar, who received The Hind Rattan (“Jewel of India”) award at the 42nd International Convention of NRI at Constitution Club of India, is photographed at Pembina Trails Library in Winnipeg March 14, 2023.

Re: ?

Beading becomes gateway to culture, community, contentment

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Beading becomes gateway to culture, community, contentment

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

I recently learned how to bead.

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Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

SUPPLIED

Seeing a little bit of progress in each project is part of the enjoyment of a new hobby.

We all have a responsibility to speak out and stand together

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

We all have a responsibility to speak out and stand together

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 13, 2023

On International Women’s Day, Mary Simon — the first Indigenous Governor General in Canada — shared a social media post, a video reel that starts with a black screen and a disclaimer: “This video contains coarse language that may be offensive to some viewers.”

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Monday, Mar. 13, 2023

On International Women’s Day, Mary Simon — the first Indigenous Governor General in Canada — shared a social media post, a video reel that starts with a black screen and a disclaimer: “This video contains coarse language that may be offensive to some viewers.”

Inuk Woman of Year builds cultural, community support cornerstone

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Inuk Woman of Year builds cultural, community support cornerstone

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Mar. 6, 2023

Nikki Komaksiutiksak has always had a fire in her belly and passion in her soul for helping people.

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Monday, Mar. 6, 2023

Bonding with my new besties as survivors come together

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Bonding with my new besties as survivors come together

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 6, 2023

I attended Mino-si-toon Wichozani last week, the first annual Southern Chiefs’ Organization survivors healing gathering in Treaty One territory. I am a descendant of a residential school survivor, Annie Cook.

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Monday, Mar. 6, 2023

SUBMITTED

The besties: Colleen, from left, Connie, and Shelley at Mino-si-toon Wichozani.

Indigenous culture scores at hockey games

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Indigenous culture scores at hockey games

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Feb. 27, 2023

They are chances to celebrate the rich diversity of Indigenous culture at the good ol’ hockey game.

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Monday, Feb. 27, 2023

SHELLEY COOK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

The Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre Night and Moose Follow Your Dreams Day jerseys will be worn by Jets and Moose players.

Making, always answering classic call of parents

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Making, always answering classic call of parents

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 27, 2023

When I was about 14 or 15, my parents sent me to camp for two weeks.

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Monday, Feb. 27, 2023

When I was about 14 or 15, my parents sent me to camp for two weeks.

Shimmering legacy: Indigenous elder, educator, athlete honoured

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Shimmering legacy: Indigenous elder, educator, athlete honoured

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023

Theodore Niizhotay Fontaine walked down many paths throughout his life. The late Anishinaabe author of the best-selling book Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools was a former chief of Sagkeeng First Nation. He was an elder, an educator, a public speaker, a residential school survivor and held many other titles and roles throughout his life.

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Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Theodore Fontaine

Doggone lucky in love

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Doggone lucky in love

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 27, 2023

In 2018, we got a puppy after seeing a segment on a local morning show with Spirit of Hope Animal Rescue.

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Monday, Feb. 27, 2023

Grad dress drive becomes labour of love

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Grad dress drive becomes labour of love

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 13, 2023

It’s only February, but the glimmer and glam of graduation is already on the mind of Kathy Hebert.

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Monday, Feb. 13, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Taylor Quill, 24, who will be graduating June 23, finds a dress through the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata program.

Childhood myths will be missed

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Childhood myths will be missed

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 13, 2023

While grocery shopping with my seven-year-old daughter the other day, she stopped me out of the blue and asked, “Do you think the Easter Bunny is real?”

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Monday, Feb. 13, 2023

While grocery shopping with my seven-year-old daughter the other day, she stopped me out of the blue and asked, “Do you think the Easter Bunny is real?”

High schoolers organizing Black History Month events

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

High schoolers organizing Black History Month events

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

This month a group of Black students at Collège Churchill High School have banded together to curate several events and initiatives taking place throughout the month of February to celebrate Black History Month.

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Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Nicholas Parrott is a leader of the group of ‘very determined’ students organizing Black History Month events and celebrations throughout February at Collège Churchill High School.

The kids (and parents) are all right

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

The kids (and parents) are all right

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

My sister recently went out with some old friends and colleagues for a reunion-type gathering that happens every couple of years. (She and I used to work together at the same organization, though I wasn’t in her department.)

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Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

My sister recently went out with some old friends and colleagues for a reunion-type gathering that happens every couple of years. (She and I used to work together at the same organization, though I wasn’t in her department.)

‘Check on the strong ones’ a mission for mental health

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

‘Check on the strong ones’ a mission for mental health

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 30, 2023

Stacia Franz and Kieran Ebanks met in the early 2000s, working at a St. Vital restaurant. She was a waitress, he was a cook.

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Monday, Jan. 30, 2023

SUPPLIED

Kieran Ebanks and Stacia Franz. ‘This is how I remember our love, always making each other laugh. I am so lucky to have known him and be loved by him,’ Franz wrote on Instagram.

Women Talking evokes rage, humour and hope with its powerful script, brilliant acting

Shelley Cook, AV Kitching, Eva Wasney and Jen Zoratti 10 minute read Preview

Women Talking evokes rage, humour and hope with its powerful script, brilliant acting

Shelley Cook, AV Kitching, Eva Wasney and Jen Zoratti 10 minute read Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023

Difficult, harrowing, poignant, enraging, sometimes funny, maybe even hopeful: Women Talking, Sarah Polley’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name, stirs a variety of emotions.

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Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023

Michael Gibson / Orion

The novel and the film are based on the true-life events of a Mennonite colony in Bolivia where the men were drugging and assaulting the women at night and then gaslighting them, saying it was ghosts, Satan, or wild female imagination.

Friendship keeps all afloat navigating life’s waves

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Friendship keeps all afloat navigating life’s waves

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

There is something to be said about those types of friendships when you click with someone and form that special kind of relationship that doesn’t wilt and wither away with time or space.

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Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

There is something to be said about those types of friendships when you click with someone and form that special kind of relationship that doesn’t wilt and wither away with time or space.

Volunteer provides food, blankets, comfort to homeless

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Volunteer provides food, blankets, comfort to homeless

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 16, 2023

The air is cold and the sound of snow crunching underfoot is loud while walking down a path that leads to an open area along the Red River just east of Higgins Avenue.

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Monday, Jan. 16, 2023

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Gina Smoke visits a treed area along the Red River near the Louise Bridge where she handed out food and clothing to people living in an encampment in the area.

‘Pretendians’ rob Indigenous people of jobs, opportunities

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

‘Pretendians’ rob Indigenous people of jobs, opportunities

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Jan. 16, 2023

I have been watching as people are being exposed or accused of falsely claiming Indigenous ancestry and/or identity.

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Monday, Jan. 16, 2023

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press Files)

Find something to be grateful for every day

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Find something to be grateful for every day

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 9, 2023

I started using an app to track the best parts of my day.

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Monday, Jan. 9, 2023

I started using an app to track the best parts of my day.

Making a present of the past

Shelley Cook 9 minute read Preview

Making a present of the past

Shelley Cook 9 minute read Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023

At 78 years old, Ken Paupanekis could easily be retired, but he continues to teach Cree because there’s nobody else to do it.

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Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Language keeper Ken Paupanekis, 78, teaches Cree on a part-time basis at the University of Manitoba.

Take time to celebrate all things great and small

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Take time to celebrate all things great and small

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 2, 2023

Here we are, at the start of a new year, and although I don’t usually make resolutions, I tend to get nostalgic when the ol’ calendar changes. It always feels like a clean slate and just another day all wrapped into one.

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Monday, Jan. 2, 2023

Here we are, at the start of a new year, and although I don’t usually make resolutions, I tend to get nostalgic when the ol’ calendar changes. It always feels like a clean slate and just another day all wrapped into one.

What time is it? Borrowed o’clock, I’m afraid

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What time is it? Borrowed o’clock, I’m afraid

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022

There is this scene in the 2005 finale of the HBO show Six Feet Under that I think about often (spoiler: I am going to say something about it — if you haven’t watched the series and it’s on the to-watch list, maybe don’t read on).

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Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022

There is this scene in the 2005 finale of the HBO show Six Feet Under that I think about often (spoiler: I am going to say something about it — if you haven’t watched the series and it’s on the to-watch list, maybe don’t read on).

Gift of permission to say no this season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Gift of permission to say no this season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 19, 2022

We are so close to Christmas, and I am not ready. At least, I don’t feel like I’m ready.

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Monday, Dec. 19, 2022

We are so close to Christmas, and I am not ready. At least, I don’t feel like I’m ready.

(Hand)making a difference

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(Hand)making a difference

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022

The first Pitâw Mīno Muskîkî Indigenous Handmade Market happens today and Saturday at Sgt. Tommy Prince Place, 90 Sinclair St., and it promises to be the boujeest, rezziest market of the year.

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Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022

Supplied

Anishinaabe Girl Designs by Shauna Fontaine

A new name for ongoing good work

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A new name for ongoing good work

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Dec. 12, 2022

It is an advocacy group out of Winnipeg, filling gaps and helping residents live better.

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Monday, Dec. 12, 2022

SUBMITTED

Some members of 204 Volunteers Caring Manitobans in Action, formerly known as 204 Neighbourhood Watch.

Why do Indigenous women have to beg the rest of Canada for dignity and justice?

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Why do Indigenous women have to beg the rest of Canada for dignity and justice?

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Friday, Dec. 9, 2022

I opened Twitter the other day and saw a video clip of Cambria Harris speaking.

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Friday, Dec. 9, 2022

Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris, speaks during a news conference in the foyer of the House of Commons on, on Dec. 6. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press files)

Program’s stunning success putting, keeping Indigenous families back together

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Program’s stunning success putting, keeping Indigenous families back together

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022

Kylie Nepinak, 31, cradles her 16-month-old son Kayden in a quiet room at the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre Monday morning. Her partner, Randi Thomas, sits beside her, attentive to the fussing toddler. A couple of their other children play happily with toys strewn about the room.

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Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Kylie Nepinak and her partner, Randi Thomas, have worked through the reunification program and have their family back together again. Kiarra Thomas (front), opens gift for the family for completing the program. Family group photo taken at the centre after press conference. Mom - Kylie Nepinak with her partner, Randi Thomas, and four of their nine kids, Kaycen Thomas (2yrs, in red), Kingsley Thomas (3yrs), Kayden Thomas (16 months) and Kiarra Thomas (6yrs). Press conference on successful Indigenous-led family reunification program, FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCING, at the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, Monday. See story. Dec 5th, 2022

More memories, less stuff this holiday season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

More memories, less stuff this holiday season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 5, 2022

Here we are, it’s December already. How’d we get here so fast and how did it get so busy?

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Monday, Dec. 5, 2022

Here we are, it’s December already. How’d we get here so fast and how did it get so busy?

Christmas hamper ‘team effort’ labour of love

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Christmas hamper ‘team effort’ labour of love

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Nov. 28, 2022

For the third year in a row, Ally Beauchesne is whipping up holiday magic for some Winnipeg families who could use a little bit of help.

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Monday, Nov. 28, 2022

Ally’s basement becomes a hamper making station, filled with donations of food and toys for the holiday hampers she’s made for several families over the past three years.

Making a pitch, building connections

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Making a pitch, building connections

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 21, 2022

Building a business or creative space is all about networking.

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Monday, Nov. 21, 2022

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

The Neechie Nights name and concept was developed by Amy Jackson of Native Love Notes after the success of a social celebrating her company’s first year in business.

An easy, but meaningful, change that helps us all move forward

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

An easy, but meaningful, change that helps us all move forward

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 21, 2022

Last week I read that the Girl Guides of Canada will be changing the name of Brownies — the branch for seven and eight year olds — because they’ve learned from racialized groups and former members that the name is harmful.

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Monday, Nov. 21, 2022

Last week I read that the Girl Guides of Canada will be changing the name of Brownies — the branch for seven and eight year olds — because they’ve learned from racialized groups and former members that the name is harmful.

Sharing is caring, but when is it too much on social media?

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Sharing is caring, but when is it too much on social media?

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

When I had my child, I had an overwhelming desire to share her with the world.

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Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

When I had my child, I had an overwhelming desire to share her with the world.

‘Heart work’ that heals families

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‘Heart work’ that heals families

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 7, 2022

The six-storey apartment on Gaylene Street, just off Pembina Highway, is not spectacular from the outside, but it represents a new beginning for many First Nations families.

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Monday, Nov. 7, 2022

The trick is never getting too old for the annual treat

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The trick is never getting too old for the annual treat

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 31, 2022

I love Halloween. It’s my second favourite holiday, after Christmas.

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Monday, Oct. 31, 2022

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Shelley (centre, the princess with the winter jacket under her costume) with her two sisters Heather (Strawberry Shortcake) and Christina (Makeshift Super Man) going out for Halloween in the 1980s

Flags are symbols of reconciliation

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Flags are symbols of reconciliation

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022

The Treaty 1 and Métis flags were raised for the first time Oct. 17 in front of Wesley Hall, and will continue to fly at the University of Winnipeg campus landmark.

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Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022

Stopped and searched: the humiliation of being profiled

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Stopped and searched: the humiliation of being profiled

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022

A recent news story about an Indigenous man being flagged as a shoplifter at a Canadian retail chain in Winnipeg hit close to home.

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Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022

Free Press writer Shelley Cook felt embarrassed after a security guard at a local retailer asked to look in her purse as she left the store without buying anything. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

Boo at Zoo weaves spooky magical experience

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Boo at Zoo weaves spooky magical experience

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 17, 2022

Each year when spooky season rolls around, we gather up the family — I’m talking anyone in our circle who wants to join — and venture out to Boo at the Zoo.

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Monday, Oct. 17, 2022

Walks create connections

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Walks create connections

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022

It’s just before 10 a.m. on a chilly Thursday. The sky is overcast, and there’s a hint of winter in the air. A group of about 25 people have gathered at the Comm.Unity.204 building for the twice-weekly Main Street Community Walk. On this day, I am one of those volunteers.

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Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022

No tricks, but mom a skilled magician

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No tricks, but mom a skilled magician

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 3, 2022

In August, my mom excitedly planned to attend David A. Robertson’s book launch for The Stone Child at McNally Robinson. For her, this was as big as a Harry Styles concert or something. She’s a big fan of Robertson, often citing from his book Black Water; she is convinced that she knows the location of a party he attended and wrote about.

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Monday, Oct. 3, 2022

SUBMITTED

Authors David A. Robertson and Colleen Nelson at Robertson’s August 24 book launch The Stone Child: Book Three in the Misewa Saga at McNally Robinson.

Grief and gratitude in a powerful sea of orange

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Grief and gratitude in a powerful sea of orange

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 30, 2022

There were so many people who showed up at Oodena Circle Friday morning. The crowd was diverse in nearly every way, and most everyone I saw was wearing an orange shirt in honour of the lost and stolen children.

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Friday, Sep. 30, 2022

Photo of Annie Cook (Prince), a residential school survivor, and her husband, Colin Donovan Cook. (Shelley Cook / Winnipeg Free Press)

Whiteshell petroforms, ancestor site hold deep spiritual meaning for Diane Maytwayashing

Shelley Cook 12 minute read Preview

Whiteshell petroforms, ancestor site hold deep spiritual meaning for Diane Maytwayashing

Shelley Cook 12 minute read Friday, Sep. 30, 2022

“Is it OK if I make a smudge?” Diane Maytwayashing asks on a mid-Monday morning in the kitchen of her home in Seven Sisters Falls.

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Friday, Sep. 30, 2022

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

For knowledge keeper Diane Maytwayashing, walking around and listening to teachings her friend gifted to her about the Bannock Point petroforms was a profound experience.

Medicine of beading joins seekers of their place in Indigenous culture

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Medicine of beading joins seekers of their place in Indigenous culture

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 26, 2022

My sister Christina gifted me a beautiful, beaded orange shirt pin she made. A small tribute to recognize and remember residential school survivors leading up to National Truth and Reconciliation Day and in all the days before and after Sept. 30.

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Monday, Sep. 26, 2022

SUBMITTED

Beaded poppy and orange shirt pins by Christina Cook, granddaughter of Colin Donovan Cook (Don), and Annie Cook (Prince).

Complex feelings wrap days of remembrance, mourning

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Complex feelings wrap days of remembrance, mourning

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 19, 2022

When I was a little girl, I remember sleeping at my Amma’s house and waking early to watch Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson get married and, of course, all of the extravagance and custom that a royal wedding brings.

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Monday, Sep. 19, 2022

When I was a little girl, I remember sleeping at my Amma’s house and waking early to watch Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson get married and, of course, all of the extravagance and custom that a royal wedding brings.

Glimmer of light during a family’s darkest moments

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Glimmer of light during a family’s darkest moments

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 12, 2022

Team Brody Foundation is a non-profit organization started by the family of a boy named Brody Birrell-Gruhn.

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Monday, Sep. 12, 2022

SUPPLIED

Brody Birrell-Gruhn and mom Tori Gruhn: ‘He was just one of those people,’ says Sheena Gruhn.

Poolside near miss reveals quick, quiet danger of drowning

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Poolside near miss reveals quick, quiet danger of drowning

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 6, 2022

Earlier this summer, my sister invited us to join her and her girls at a friend’s home for a swim. She was watching the place while they were away, and they’d given her the go ahead for the gathering.

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Tuesday, Sep. 6, 2022

Earlier this summer, my sister invited us to join her and her girls at a friend’s home for a swim. She was watching the place while they were away, and they’d given her the go ahead for the gathering.

Business owner’s honest post about hardship strikes chord

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Business owner’s honest post about hardship strikes chord

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 29, 2022

“I wish I never opened this store,” Katrina Tessier began the status message for her business Scout Coffee + Tea on the morning of Aug. 23.

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Monday, Aug. 29, 2022

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Scout owner Katrina Tessier, here at her Rothesay location, admitted in a social media post that she was struggling. ‘It made a huge difference for us. ... It made me proud to have a business in Winnipeg.’

Making road trip memories with the kids

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

Making road trip memories with the kids

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Monday, Aug. 22, 2022

We took our kids on a road trip. We drove through three provinces (four, if you count Manitoba) and three time zones, bought snacks and wandered through what seemed to be about a thousand gas stations from Winnipeg to Vancouver, all part of one hell of an adventure.

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Monday, Aug. 22, 2022

We took our kids on a road trip. We drove through three provinces (four, if you count Manitoba) and three time zones, bought snacks and wandered through what seemed to be about a thousand gas stations from Winnipeg to Vancouver, all part of one hell of an adventure.

Practice doesn’t always make perfect, The Rehearsal shows us

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Practice doesn’t always make perfect, The Rehearsal shows us

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 8, 2022

I’ve been watching a show on HBO called The Rehearsal. It’s written, directed and stars Nathan Fielder (from Nathan for You and This Hour Has 22 Minutes). It’s a docu-comedy type show that you’ll either get and subsequently love, or that you’ll hate because it’s so far out there. That’s sort of standard for Fielder, because his comedy is so awkward and quirky, but it’s also genius. At least in my opinion.

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Monday, Aug. 8, 2022

I’ve been watching a show on HBO called The Rehearsal. It’s written, directed and stars Nathan Fielder (from Nathan for You and This Hour Has 22 Minutes). It’s a docu-comedy type show that you’ll either get and subsequently love, or that you’ll hate because it’s so far out there. That’s sort of standard for Fielder, because his comedy is so awkward and quirky, but it’s also genius. At least in my opinion.

Wanbdi Wakita has been patiently listening all his 80 years

Shelley Cook 13 minute read Preview

Wanbdi Wakita has been patiently listening all his 80 years

Shelley Cook 13 minute read Friday, Aug. 5, 2022

It’s a hot summer day and Wanbdi Wakita sits at a patio table on the deck of the St. Andrews home he shares with his wife, Pahan PteSanWin.

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Friday, Aug. 5, 2022

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Sharing a ceremony experience devoted to weather, Wanbdi Wakita says he’s concerned ‘we’re not listening to our ancestors. We’re not listening to Mother Earth.’

For the love of dogs: helping to care for pets in fire zone

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For the love of dogs: helping to care for pets in fire zone

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 1, 2022

When 2,000 residents of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation were forced out of Pukatawagan because of a wildfire in July, they had to leave their beloved pets behind.

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Monday, Aug. 1, 2022

SUPPLIED
Manitoba Animal Alliance pulled 31 vulnerable dogs out of the community of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in Pukatawagan, and have fed and cared for hundreds more in the community.

After months of painful stillness, a mother finds solace in a return to her art

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

After months of painful stillness, a mother finds solace in a return to her art

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Monday, Jul. 25, 2022

The smell of medicines fills her tiny North End home on this warm Thursday morning. Candy Volk sits on the corner of her sofa, while three of her grandsons — all teenagers — sit around the dining room table using their devices in the other room. Occasionally, the sound of cars whizzing by on the fairly busy side street outside drowns out the sounds from inside this home. The TV murmurs in the background, offering just enough noise to be present. Fresh air wafts in through the open screen door, blocked by a baby gate so the small dog doesn’t escape. The walls are filled with photos of the close-knit family, and there’s a shelf stuffed with knick-knacks and mementoes that hold memories, sometimes too painful to say out loud.

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Monday, Jul. 25, 2022

After losing her daughter and tiny grandson in a car crash two years ago, Candy Volk found it too painful to practise her beading art. Now, she’s returned to it with a deep feeling of connection. Volk is hard at work creating earrings for an upcoming sale at Club Regent Casino. (Supplied)

Frazzled fun at Fringe

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Frazzled fun at Fringe

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jul. 18, 2022

This year is the first year I’ve attended the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival.

As a lifelong Winnipegger, I feel a bit of embarrassment about this. The festival has existed for nearly as long as I have (35 years) and I had been meaning to maybe check it out one day, though never quite getting around to it.

This year, however, was the year. I reviewed five shows for the Free Press and was blown away by how great the experience was.

On the first night of the festival, I reviewed The Paladin (sci-fi action comedy) and Civilized (drama about Canada’s legacy of racism and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples). I went to both (one after the other at venue 23 at 188 Princess St.) alone because we didn’t have a babysitter.

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Monday, Jul. 18, 2022

Supplied
Charlene Van Buekenhout in Minoosh Doo-Kapeeshiw.

Table at heart of women’s centre and community

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Table at heart of women’s centre and community

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jul. 11, 2022

It’s a place to gather, connect and take refuge in the shade from the summer heat or block wind from a winter chill.

The yard of the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre is a meeting spot for people in the community and, until recently, so was the rickety old wooden picnic table at its heart. The table is now gone, succumbed to time, use and Winnipeg’s extreme seasons, replaced (for the meantime) by a couple of stumps someone donated when they cut a tree down.

“There are so many ways that people use this spot — it’s a super popular spot for people in the community,” said Khalida Benedictson, office administrator of NPDWC, adding many would connect there with neighbours for coffee and conversation.

What’s more, Benedictson explained, the table outside was an accessible place for the centre to cater to clients in wheelchairs and with mobility issues, as the building located at 221 Austin St. N. (a former corner store) doesn’t suitably meet those needs of some.

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Monday, Jul. 11, 2022

It’s a place to gather, connect and take refuge in the shade from the summer heat or block wind from a winter chill.

The yard of the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre is a meeting spot for people in the community and, until recently, so was the rickety old wooden picnic table at its heart. The table is now gone, succumbed to time, use and Winnipeg’s extreme seasons, replaced (for the meantime) by a couple of stumps someone donated when they cut a tree down.

“There are so many ways that people use this spot — it’s a super popular spot for people in the community,” said Khalida Benedictson, office administrator of NPDWC, adding many would connect there with neighbours for coffee and conversation.

What’s more, Benedictson explained, the table outside was an accessible place for the centre to cater to clients in wheelchairs and with mobility issues, as the building located at 221 Austin St. N. (a former corner store) doesn’t suitably meet those needs of some.

From baby steps to an enduring bond

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

From baby steps to an enduring bond

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Monday, Jul. 4, 2022

In September 2019, Anroup Patti saw an Instagram post that would change her life, and the life of a married couple — Mat Arye, a software engineer, and Jeremy Tse, a financial analyst from New York.

Patti, a speech-language pathologist, was scrolling through Instagram when she saw a photo by local photographer Sunny Szpak-Holly. The woman in the photo was smiling, with a beautiful fall day as the backdrop. She held a letter board that read, “This stork will be delivering a special bundle for a deserving couple, May 4, 2020.”

The caption went into more detail about how the woman had decided to have a baby for another family.

“I had just had my daughter in April of 2019 and I was very intrigued. I thought it was fascinating and just became curious about what it all entailed,” Patti said of the photo, and the woman’s journey.

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Monday, Jul. 4, 2022

SUNNY S-H PHOTOGRAPHY
From left, Mat Arye, Anroup Patti (holding baby August) and Jeremy Tse met and built a family through an incredible surrogacy journey.

Mothers on mission to create safe space for parents

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Mothers on mission to create safe space for parents

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jun. 27, 2022

Sixteen years ago, two mothers, Alba Lopez Gomez and Naomi Finkelstein, met at a meeting of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

“I went… because my son had come out, and I had never gone to a support meeting for anything,” explained Finkelstein. “This was one thing that I really knew that I had to do. I knew I was going to support my child, but I wasn’t quite sure how.”

At the same meeting, Lopez Gomez, whose son had come out as transgender and was around the same age as Finkelstein’s son, was trying to navigate how best to support her child. In fact, Finkelstein said, the boys had probably met one another in high school when they attended the same group at the Rainbow Resource Centre.

The women hit it off. They were the only two parents at the meeting whose kids were transgender. They formed a tight friendship almost immediately. At that time, there wasn’t a lot of support or resources for parents.

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Monday, Jun. 27, 2022

Alba Lopez Gomez (left) and Naomi Finkelstein help each other to help their transgender kids. (Shelley Cook / Winnipeg Free Press)

Bumping into new friends in a cemetery

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Bumping into new friends in a cemetery

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Monday, Jun. 20, 2022

It was a warm Saturday evening that I was making my way home from Brokenhead Ojibway Nation. The sun was still hot in the sky and there was no sign of nightfall in spite of the numbers that were moving forward on the clock — this was the kind of hot (nearly) summer evening that Manitoba is notorious for.

I took a right on Highway 59, making the detour through Selkirk. I had enough time and daylight left to make a quick stop at St. Clements Cemetery to pay my respects to my family members that are buried there, before making my way home. I always try to stop in when I’m in the area. It’s the only place I’ve ever remembered visiting my grandparents on my dad’s side.

I pulled into the cemetery. It was mostly still, though I immediately saw a woman wandering around the graves. At first I thought she was just there to do what I had come to do — visit her loved ones. However, I noticed she wandered to various graves in different spots with a watering can in hand, with no particular spot or grave that she was visiting.

Maybe she worked there. It seemed like weird hours for a caretaker, but then again I don’t know much about the hours people keep besides my own.

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Monday, Jun. 20, 2022

Cook graves at the cemetery in St Clements in Selkirk

Capturing a moment in Indigenous elders’ lives

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

Capturing a moment in Indigenous elders’ lives

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Monday, Jun. 13, 2022

Gerald Kuehl has been creating beautiful pencil portraits of Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers from all over Manitoba and the Northwest Territories for 25 years.

The drawings are meticulous and detail every wrinkle, spot and hair, and the exact texture of that person in the exact moment. They are nothing short of mesmerizing.

Kuehl, a self-taught artist and photographer, invited me to his home to see a glimpse of the world of portraits he’s created. We’ve been friends on Facebook for a while. I’m not sure exactly how long, but he shows up on my feed, and I show up on his. When he posts pictures of his work online, I fall over myself to hit the “like” button as fast as I can, because they are stunning.

Kuehl’s portraits, beautifully framed and matted, are hung on walls throughout the home. They are a powerful and exquisite monument to the people he’s met and the stories he’s heard. Most of them hang there only temporarily, until Kuehl can meet with the person he’s drawn to present the gift to them. Each work takes hundreds of hours because of the painstaking attention to detail. In all, he’s drawn about 290 portraits.

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Monday, Jun. 13, 2022

Harriet Redhead (Facebook photo)

Working from home tilts the balance

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Working from home tilts the balance

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 6, 2022

When the work-from-home model became mainstream during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was new and a bit scary.

Those of us with school-aged children were also participating in (and often failing at) home learning and trying our best not to drown in the hectic and foreign dynamic.

I remember how hard it was to adapt to this change, though I knew early on how privileged I was to be able to secure myself and my family during a pandemic.

I missed that work version of myself — the one who did her hair and wore red lipstick; someone who wasn’t being asked for a snack or a glass of chocolate milk every five minutes. I remember how sorely I missed my work friends and our cubicle and lunchroom chats. It felt isolating to be away from that building I spent nearly every single day going to and from.

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Monday, Jun. 6, 2022

When the work-from-home model became mainstream during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was new and a bit scary.

Those of us with school-aged children were also participating in (and often failing at) home learning and trying our best not to drown in the hectic and foreign dynamic.

I remember how hard it was to adapt to this change, though I knew early on how privileged I was to be able to secure myself and my family during a pandemic.

I missed that work version of myself — the one who did her hair and wore red lipstick; someone who wasn’t being asked for a snack or a glass of chocolate milk every five minutes. I remember how sorely I missed my work friends and our cubicle and lunchroom chats. It felt isolating to be away from that building I spent nearly every single day going to and from.

Troubled past provided lessons Charlotte Nolin needed to transform

Shelley Cook 13 minute read Preview

Troubled past provided lessons Charlotte Nolin needed to transform

Shelley Cook 13 minute read Monday, May. 30, 2022

The first time Charlotte Nolin met her birth mother, it was Christmas 1966 and she was 16 years old.

Nolin, a ’60s Scoop survivor taken from her family when she was only six months old, had navigated her childhood through the child welfare system, alone and unaware she had a family.

At one point, a foster parent told her that her parents had died in a car accident. Nobody ever mentioned that she, the youngest of eight, had siblings. It was a social worker who eventually connected her to her brothers and sisters, many already adults.

“My mom came over to my sister’s place for Christmas dinner… and as she was coming up the sidewalk, my older sister goes, ‘Oh god, here comes our drunken mother.’ ‘Cause mom had an alcohol problem, the same as dad,” Nolin recalls.

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Monday, May. 30, 2022

John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press
Charlotte Nolin, an Oji-Cree, Métis two-spirit knowledge keeper, is a ’60s Scoop survivor.

Visiting sister provides insight

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Visiting sister provides insight

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, May. 30, 2022

My youngest daughter and I travelled to Vancouver to visit my sister on the May long weekend.

The city holds a special place in my heart. It was a whirlwind of a trip, though we made the most of our time there, packing in as much as we could.

On the last day, we were driving through the tree-lined streets of a neighbourhood just outside of downtown Vancouver, talking and listening to music. I was high on that feeling of being in vacation mode and filled with fantasies of what it would be like to live in this big, vibrant city, and my sister was basking in our company. There was a bit of sadness in the air, knowing the visit was winding down. I miss her terribly.

The conversation flowed about regular sort of things that happen in our daily lives, and we somehow ended up talking about our goals and hopes for the future — some which seemed impossible or just out of reach. It was easy for both of us to point out the things we lacked or the things we felt defeated in. Looking forward, we were at the beginning of our current journey.

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Monday, May. 30, 2022

My youngest daughter and I travelled to Vancouver to visit my sister on the May long weekend.

The city holds a special place in my heart. It was a whirlwind of a trip, though we made the most of our time there, packing in as much as we could.

On the last day, we were driving through the tree-lined streets of a neighbourhood just outside of downtown Vancouver, talking and listening to music. I was high on that feeling of being in vacation mode and filled with fantasies of what it would be like to live in this big, vibrant city, and my sister was basking in our company. There was a bit of sadness in the air, knowing the visit was winding down. I miss her terribly.

The conversation flowed about regular sort of things that happen in our daily lives, and we somehow ended up talking about our goals and hopes for the future — some which seemed impossible or just out of reach. It was easy for both of us to point out the things we lacked or the things we felt defeated in. Looking forward, we were at the beginning of our current journey.

Memories make old toys more than just plastic pieces

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Memories make old toys more than just plastic pieces

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 24, 2022

A few weeks ago, I gifted some of my kids’ large plastic backyard toys — including a tower slide and pool combo, a small picnic table, a Little Tikes playhouse and a water table — to friends who have smaller kids.

These toys have taken up so much space in our backyard — a heap of colourful plastic telling everyone in the neighbourhood that yes, we have a bunch of kids who live here.

These structures have been well-loved throughout the early summers of my kids’ lives, though less and less. They have been the setting for some of the most fun days outside in the sunshine, and the backdrop and stage for core memories they’ll take with them into adulthood.

I can’t tell you how many times my kids have had water fights in that old pool, or about the countless dance parties that took place on the top of the tower slide. The water table brought so much joy to my toddler, who grew up too fast.

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Tuesday, May. 24, 2022

A few weeks ago, I gifted some of my kids’ large plastic backyard toys — including a tower slide and pool combo, a small picnic table, a Little Tikes playhouse and a water table — to friends who have smaller kids.

These toys have taken up so much space in our backyard — a heap of colourful plastic telling everyone in the neighbourhood that yes, we have a bunch of kids who live here.

These structures have been well-loved throughout the early summers of my kids’ lives, though less and less. They have been the setting for some of the most fun days outside in the sunshine, and the backdrop and stage for core memories they’ll take with them into adulthood.

I can’t tell you how many times my kids have had water fights in that old pool, or about the countless dance parties that took place on the top of the tower slide. The water table brought so much joy to my toddler, who grew up too fast.

Grieving mother to get high school diploma at age 57

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Grieving mother to get high school diploma at age 57

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, May. 16, 2022

Fifty-seven-year-old Vivian Ketchum will walk across the stage in her cap and gown and accept her high school diploma on June 30.

She’s been working toward her diploma since last October.

“Last year, I applied for a really good job. I was qualified and had all the technical skills, except they wanted the transcript of a Grade 12,” she said.

Ketchum decided to look into getting her high school diploma. When she walked into the Winnipeg School Division offices, she wasn’t sure where it would lead, but a guidance councillor had her fill out forms.

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Monday, May. 16, 2022

Vivian Ketchum poses for her high school graduation photo while holding the moccasins of her late son, Tyler.

Petition seeks to get BodyBreak in hall of fame

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Petition seeks to get BodyBreak in hall of fame

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, May. 9, 2022

A few years ago, in the wee hours of the morning, Virgin Radio’s Ace Burpee and Chrissy Troy were getting ready for their morning show.

“It was the end of 2019, maybe early 2020,” Troy said in a phone call. “Ace and I were in the studio before the show started and he just said to me ‘do you think Hal and Joanne are in the sports hall of fame?’”

Burpee was referring to Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, the iconic BodyBreak duo that has been delivering their “keep fit and have fun” message on Canadian television sets since the 1980s.

Scouring the Canadian sports hall of fame website, Troy found no sign of Johnson and McLeod. She and Burpee figured the pair’s induction was a no-brainer. However, the morning show, which they host alongside Lloyd (Kevin Frobisher) and Amber Saleem, was about to start and they dropped the pre-show conversation. Nothing else really came of it — until earlier this year.

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Monday, May. 9, 2022

A few years ago, in the wee hours of the morning, Virgin Radio’s Ace Burpee and Chrissy Troy were getting ready for their morning show.

“It was the end of 2019, maybe early 2020,” Troy said in a phone call. “Ace and I were in the studio before the show started and he just said to me ‘do you think Hal and Joanne are in the sports hall of fame?’”

Burpee was referring to Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, the iconic BodyBreak duo that has been delivering their “keep fit and have fun” message on Canadian television sets since the 1980s.

Scouring the Canadian sports hall of fame website, Troy found no sign of Johnson and McLeod. She and Burpee figured the pair’s induction was a no-brainer. However, the morning show, which they host alongside Lloyd (Kevin Frobisher) and Amber Saleem, was about to start and they dropped the pre-show conversation. Nothing else really came of it — until earlier this year.

Sharing comfort of being comfortable in own skin

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Sharing comfort of being comfortable in own skin

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 2, 2022

It was one of those days, where nothing fit and I fretted over my reflection in the mirror.

My hair wasn’t right and no amount of styling seemed to work. My three-barrel curling iron, set on high, only produced frizzled strands of singed hair instead of the beachy waves I was going for. My makeup didn’t seem to cover my blemishes, and my body seemed particularly rotund that day. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin.

Body image issues were creeping in fast.

I try so hard to be body positive and to embrace and appreciate who I am and what I look like. My body, after all, has walked me through many years and experiences in life. It was my daughter’s first home, as she grew from it. It might not be perfect, but it is strong, and it is a gift.

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Monday, May. 2, 2022

It was one of those days, where nothing fit and I fretted over my reflection in the mirror.

My hair wasn’t right and no amount of styling seemed to work. My three-barrel curling iron, set on high, only produced frizzled strands of singed hair instead of the beachy waves I was going for. My makeup didn’t seem to cover my blemishes, and my body seemed particularly rotund that day. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin.

Body image issues were creeping in fast.

I try so hard to be body positive and to embrace and appreciate who I am and what I look like. My body, after all, has walked me through many years and experiences in life. It was my daughter’s first home, as she grew from it. It might not be perfect, but it is strong, and it is a gift.

Fierce competition, important learning… and fun

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Fierce competition, important learning… and fun

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 25, 2022

It’s trivia, except instead of being the first one to know the answer, players of Non-Trivial Trivia strive to be the quickest to find the answer through a Google search. The goal is to learn the histories and have fun doing it.

The online quiz was born in the summer of 2020. Michael Young, a Winnipeg programmer of industrial control systems, was taking Yale University’s online course African American Studies. He started the course a few months after George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer.

“I felt like I needed to do something,” Young said, adding a friend pointed him in the direction of the course.

Young figured learning was a good first step in being part of change. The more he learned, the more the world and his view of the world changed.

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Monday, Apr. 25, 2022

It’s trivia, except instead of being the first one to know the answer, players of Non-Trivial Trivia strive to be the quickest to find the answer through a Google search. The goal is to learn the histories and have fun doing it.

The online quiz was born in the summer of 2020. Michael Young, a Winnipeg programmer of industrial control systems, was taking Yale University’s online course African American Studies. He started the course a few months after George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer.

“I felt like I needed to do something,” Young said, adding a friend pointed him in the direction of the course.

Young figured learning was a good first step in being part of change. The more he learned, the more the world and his view of the world changed.

Anonymous Winnipeg artist draws up Ukraine relief

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Anonymous Winnipeg artist draws up Ukraine relief

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 11, 2022

Have you ever seen a Winnipeg Waldo around the city?

The art pieces have been popping up all around the city, mostly in the warmer months, since 2017. They are always some variation of Waldo, the main character in the series of children’s puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford.

The beauty of the local art is you never know where you’ll see a new Waldo — on a hydro pole, the back of a sign, on a building or fence — or how long it will be there.

It’s a little local treasure and a little burst of beauty for all to enjoy.

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Monday, Apr. 11, 2022

Image of the Winnipeg Waldo images that are being sold to support Ukraine. (Supplied)

Indigenous elder, military veteran and residential school survivor has found peace after all these years

Shelley Cook 11 minute read Preview

Indigenous elder, military veteran and residential school survivor has found peace after all these years

Shelley Cook 11 minute read Thursday, Apr. 7, 2022

Melvin Swan is a proud Indigenous military veteran.

His awards and military decorations hang on the wall of the living room, a prominent display of his service, and a big part of who he is. Most noticeable is a large picture of a young Swan wearing a military police uniform; a timeless capture of a young warrior with a baby face and hardened eyes.

“My life’s been a war, I’ll tell ya,” he says sitting in an armchair in the North Kildonan home that he shares with his wife, Una, and their three cats Boots, Shadow and Zoro.

“I had a stroke in April 2012, I took on the army for discrimination back in ’94,” he says almost immediately after introducing himself.

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Thursday, Apr. 7, 2022

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
‘I’ve learned to forgive a lot. I’ve learned to forgive a lot and be able to live and keep voicing and using platforms to deliver,’ says Melvin Swan, age 63, survivor.

Weekend of hockey, weekend of pride

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Weekend of hockey, weekend of pride

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Apr. 4, 2022

HEADINGLEY — The sounds echoed in the Camp Manitou ice rink as the women-led Southern Thunderbird Medicine Drum group sang out into the unseasonably cold March morning.

The thumping of the drum, so heavy you could feel it all the way in your soul, is an invitation to gather in ceremony and celebration. On this day, the thumping was in honour of the partnership between the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre and True North Sports and Entertainment Ltd., and their commitment to investing in youth.

A fair-sized group had gathered at the spot for the unveiling of the new WASAC and Follow Your Dreams jerseys and a cheque presentation event at Camp Manitou, in Headingley. Many in attendance were wearing shirts and hoodies bearing the Indigenized Winnipeg Jets logo — an NHL first of its kind, designed four years ago by Leticia Spence of Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

John Olfert, True North president and chief operating officer, presented Lindsay Campbell, WASAC North co-ordinator, with a giant cheque for $43,447.85 — proceeds from retail initiatives that will be invested back into Indigenous youth throughout Manitoba.

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Monday, Apr. 4, 2022

HEADINGLEY — The sounds echoed in the Camp Manitou ice rink as the women-led Southern Thunderbird Medicine Drum group sang out into the unseasonably cold March morning.

The thumping of the drum, so heavy you could feel it all the way in your soul, is an invitation to gather in ceremony and celebration. On this day, the thumping was in honour of the partnership between the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre and True North Sports and Entertainment Ltd., and their commitment to investing in youth.

A fair-sized group had gathered at the spot for the unveiling of the new WASAC and Follow Your Dreams jerseys and a cheque presentation event at Camp Manitou, in Headingley. Many in attendance were wearing shirts and hoodies bearing the Indigenized Winnipeg Jets logo — an NHL first of its kind, designed four years ago by Leticia Spence of Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

John Olfert, True North president and chief operating officer, presented Lindsay Campbell, WASAC North co-ordinator, with a giant cheque for $43,447.85 — proceeds from retail initiatives that will be invested back into Indigenous youth throughout Manitoba.

Progress, like a song, takes a while to get in tune

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Progress, like a song, takes a while to get in tune

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 28, 2022

During lulls in the day, when my partner has a few spare moments between online meetings and work, he picks up his acoustic guitar and strums, practising notes and chords, turning them into songs.

Sometimes he’ll give commentary on how the music comes together or about the song itself. Sometimes he’ll sing along to the music he’s making or mutter in frustration when he’s made a mistake. His teacher is a guy he found on YouTube who uploads videos from his home somewhere in America.

For the most part, we are both still working from home. I’ve been listening to my partner practise over the months, sometimes in tune with his hobby and other times annoyed by it because the sounds are in the way of whatever I’m doing. He has managed to finesse sloppy chords into smooth transitions, giving life to a song and his hobby.

The funny thing is, I didn’t notice how good he’d gotten until a song he was playing one day caught my attention. I thought to myself, “Dang, he got good.”

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Monday, Mar. 28, 2022

During lulls in the day, when my partner has a few spare moments between online meetings and work, he picks up his acoustic guitar and strums, practising notes and chords, turning them into songs.

Sometimes he’ll give commentary on how the music comes together or about the song itself. Sometimes he’ll sing along to the music he’s making or mutter in frustration when he’s made a mistake. His teacher is a guy he found on YouTube who uploads videos from his home somewhere in America.

For the most part, we are both still working from home. I’ve been listening to my partner practise over the months, sometimes in tune with his hobby and other times annoyed by it because the sounds are in the way of whatever I’m doing. He has managed to finesse sloppy chords into smooth transitions, giving life to a song and his hobby.

The funny thing is, I didn’t notice how good he’d gotten until a song he was playing one day caught my attention. I thought to myself, “Dang, he got good.”

Boot drive marches to successful season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Boot drive marches to successful season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 21, 2022

A few years ago, Robyn Brown was working as a family centre co-ordinator in the Louis Riel School Division. Part of her job was helping to outfit children and families, who needed a little bit of help during the winter season with attire.

She worked with community capacity builders such as Harvest Manitoba and Koats for Kids, but there were a couple of students still in need.

“I had a mom phone me to ask if I had any boots for her kids,” Brown explained in a phone call, as her one-year-old daughter gurgled and cooed in the background. “She couldn’t get her kids to school because they walked, and they didn’t have boots.”

The phone call moved her; a light-bulb moment that made act.

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Monday, Mar. 21, 2022

A few years ago, Robyn Brown was working as a family centre co-ordinator in the Louis Riel School Division. Part of her job was helping to outfit children and families, who needed a little bit of help during the winter season with attire.

She worked with community capacity builders such as Harvest Manitoba and Koats for Kids, but there were a couple of students still in need.

“I had a mom phone me to ask if I had any boots for her kids,” Brown explained in a phone call, as her one-year-old daughter gurgled and cooed in the background. “She couldn’t get her kids to school because they walked, and they didn’t have boots.”

The phone call moved her; a light-bulb moment that made act.

Deepening bond with Indigenous culture

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Deepening bond with Indigenous culture

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 14, 2022

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of sitting down for lunch with Wally Chartrand.

He is an Indigenous knowledge keeper, traditional pipe carrier, sweat lodge holder, sun dancer, and a shkabeh, which means helper. He is also on the executive management team at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata in Winnipeg, as the keeper of the spirit.

I met Chartrand once before, briefly last year in a sharing circle at the end of a conference we both attended. We barely spoke then, he accepted my Facebook friend request after the conference wrapped.

More recently, he graciously agreed to meet me for an interview when I messaged him out of the blue last month. Initially, when I messaged him, I wasn’t sure that he’d even remember or know who I was.

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Monday, Mar. 14, 2022

For columnist Shelley Cook, meeting Wally Chartrand meant much more than just having an interview with the Indigenous knowledge keeper. (Shelley Cook / Winnipeg Free Press)

Wally Chartrand is keeper of the spirit at Ma Mawi

Shelley Cook 11 minute read Preview

Wally Chartrand is keeper of the spirit at Ma Mawi

Shelley Cook 11 minute read Friday, Mar. 11, 2022

Wally Chartrand is a spry man with salt-and-pepper hair and kind eyes that glimmer from behind his glasses.

Holding his red drawstring medicine bag with white, yellow and black ribbon sewn onto it — the colours of the medicine wheel — and an intricately carved talking stick, he leads us into a small room on the third floor of the Swan Lake First Nation office in Headingley.

He begins to lay out seven smooth stones, which have been painted red, in a turtle formation.

“This is one of the Turtle teachings I was talking to you about,” he explains.

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Friday, Mar. 11, 2022

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
‘When we do things from our heart, that’s part of being in ceremony as well,’ says Wally Chartrand, keeper of the spirit at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre.

There is nothing quite like a health scare

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

There is nothing quite like a health scare

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 7, 2022

I recently had a mammogram. I’m too young to get one annually, but I found some lumps a while ago. They were deemed to be irregular tissue but must be monitored.

My appointment was a follow-up from one in 2020, after I discovered the lumps. It should have happened last year, but the waitlist is so long that this was the first appointment available to me.

The process is simple enough, and even though the squish is uncomfortable, it’s not so bad.

When you arrive, they give you a short gown for the top half of your body and have you sit in a little cubicle and wait. They take you into a room between the exam area and the waiting room that has a bunch of stalls for people to wait in privacy. You sit there until they call you to go with them or leave. After your mammogram, you wait for the all-clear from the doctor before leaving.

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Monday, Mar. 7, 2022

I recently had a mammogram. I’m too young to get one annually, but I found some lumps a while ago. They were deemed to be irregular tissue but must be monitored.

My appointment was a follow-up from one in 2020, after I discovered the lumps. It should have happened last year, but the waitlist is so long that this was the first appointment available to me.

The process is simple enough, and even though the squish is uncomfortable, it’s not so bad.

When you arrive, they give you a short gown for the top half of your body and have you sit in a little cubicle and wait. They take you into a room between the exam area and the waiting room that has a bunch of stalls for people to wait in privacy. You sit there until they call you to go with them or leave. After your mammogram, you wait for the all-clear from the doctor before leaving.

Eloquent words from CBC broadcaster

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Eloquent words from CBC broadcaster

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 28, 2022

I went to bed early the night Russia invaded Ukraine. I was so tired, but I couldn’t sleep.

I grabbed my phone, even though I knew scrolling through the madness of the internet wouldn’t help me sleep. I checked social media and saw tweet after tweet about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine. It was unbearable, yet I couldn’t look away. I kept scrolling through all the pictures, first-hand accounts, news stories, opinions, videos and headlines — so many headlines. An invasion was happening in real time before our eyes, but my eyes were watching it on a screen in the safety of my home, far away from the terror.

I kept watching that night and the next day, and when it became too much, I put my phone down and stopped thinking about it for a while by busying myself with other things.

On Thursday evening, I saw a tweet by former Free Press reporter Temur Durrani. He posted an audio clip of CBC journalist Carol Off on the eve of her last show with CBC Radio’s As It Happens. In the clip, which is just over a minute long, Off speaks about bearing witness to the struggles of others and staying engaged in the world and the issues people need us, as a society, to be engaged in. The clip was from a segment with Matt Galloway that aired on Feb. 18. Off was speaking about why people should stay engaged with the news. Her words were eloquent and meaningful, and she described exactly what I and probably so many other people needed to hear in that moment.

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Monday, Feb. 28, 2022

I went to bed early the night Russia invaded Ukraine. I was so tired, but I couldn’t sleep.

I grabbed my phone, even though I knew scrolling through the madness of the internet wouldn’t help me sleep. I checked social media and saw tweet after tweet about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine. It was unbearable, yet I couldn’t look away. I kept scrolling through all the pictures, first-hand accounts, news stories, opinions, videos and headlines — so many headlines. An invasion was happening in real time before our eyes, but my eyes were watching it on a screen in the safety of my home, far away from the terror.

I kept watching that night and the next day, and when it became too much, I put my phone down and stopped thinking about it for a while by busying myself with other things.

On Thursday evening, I saw a tweet by former Free Press reporter Temur Durrani. He posted an audio clip of CBC journalist Carol Off on the eve of her last show with CBC Radio’s As It Happens. In the clip, which is just over a minute long, Off speaks about bearing witness to the struggles of others and staying engaged in the world and the issues people need us, as a society, to be engaged in. The clip was from a segment with Matt Galloway that aired on Feb. 18. Off was speaking about why people should stay engaged with the news. Her words were eloquent and meaningful, and she described exactly what I and probably so many other people needed to hear in that moment.

Don’t wish their childhood away

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Don’t wish their childhood away

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022

When my daughter was a baby I remember having a conversation with her dad, Chris, about the kids, or about parenthood, or something. I don’t remember the actual conversation. I only remember one part of it — a piece of advice that he got, and shared with me, that resonated with me so deeply.

He said back when he was about to become a father for the first time, before we knew each other, he was having a conversation with a colleague. This person, a father of teenagers, was telling him how fast kids grow up and change. He went on to say no matter how hard it gets, don’t wish those moments, their childhood, away.

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. They were so simple and obvious, yet hearing this story felt so deeply personal. It was a real “light bulb moment” for me.

I can’t tell you how accustomed I’d become of wishing the hard moments of my life away, without realizing what else I was wishing away with them. Or how many times I thought things would just get easier when the kids were a little older or a little more independent. What’s that old saying — the days are long, but the years are short.

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Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022

Kids will be kids and want to play. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Random act of kindness a lesson in caring: teacher

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Random act of kindness a lesson in caring: teacher

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 14, 2022

A chance encounter with a stranger has helped stock a Winnipeg classroom’s bookshelf and left a teacher with a story of generosity.

On Saturday, Stephanie Rempel went to McNally Robinson to pick up some books for her Grade 3 class at Harold Hatcher School in Transcona.

Clutching a purchase order from the school, and the list of sought-after books she and her students had prepared, Rempel made her way through the second-floor children’s section.

As she browsed the shelves and filled her cart, she’d see an additional book she knew her students would like, and she’d add it to the growing pile. When finished, she knew she’d be over budget.

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Monday, Feb. 14, 2022

Curt Cawson photo
Stephanie Rempel with books she purchased, with the help of a random stranger, at McNally Robinson this weekend.

Feeling more alive in world of optimism

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Feeling more alive in world of optimism

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Feb. 14, 2022

Did you ever read The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch?

It’s co-authored by Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. The best-seller, released in 2008, stemmed from a talk Pausch gave titled Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams at Carnegie Mellon University on Sept. 18, 2007. His talk was part of a series called the Last Lecture. Academics were asked to think about things that really mattered to them and speak as though they were giving their final talk. “What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?”

In Pausch’s case, it actually turned out to be one of his last lectures. He was told his battle with pancreatic cancer was terminal only a month earlier. He was staring down death, in the prime of his life, when all the best moments were supposed to be ahead of him. You’d expect, given the prognosis, that Pausch’s lecture would be sombre (if he gave it at all). It wasn’t.

Pausch gave a talk filled with optimism, hope and even humour. It only inspired millions of people around the world, including me. The Last Lecture went viral in a time when MySpace was still the top social-media platform, Facebook was relatively new, and Twitter, Instagram and TikTok hadn’t been invented.

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Monday, Feb. 14, 2022

Did you ever read The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch?

It’s co-authored by Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. The best-seller, released in 2008, stemmed from a talk Pausch gave titled Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams at Carnegie Mellon University on Sept. 18, 2007. His talk was part of a series called the Last Lecture. Academics were asked to think about things that really mattered to them and speak as though they were giving their final talk. “What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?”

In Pausch’s case, it actually turned out to be one of his last lectures. He was told his battle with pancreatic cancer was terminal only a month earlier. He was staring down death, in the prime of his life, when all the best moments were supposed to be ahead of him. You’d expect, given the prognosis, that Pausch’s lecture would be sombre (if he gave it at all). It wasn’t.

Pausch gave a talk filled with optimism, hope and even humour. It only inspired millions of people around the world, including me. The Last Lecture went viral in a time when MySpace was still the top social-media platform, Facebook was relatively new, and Twitter, Instagram and TikTok hadn’t been invented.

Breaking up with a bad habit is hard to do

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Breaking up with a bad habit is hard to do

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 7, 2022

I think the universe sends me a sign when I need it most. Or perhaps I’m the kind of person who likes to look for signs and meaning in ordinary situations.

Last weekend, I broke a bracket on my braces. It was on my snaggletooth — the tooth that has been the bane of my smile for as long as I can remember because it was out of place and made me insecure. The reason I bit the bullet and opted for adult braces. (The left lateral incisor, for anyone who is curious.)

The bracket popped off the tooth as I was brushing, and it was no big deal. My teeth have straightened out so much since I got the braces in the summer. I’ve questioned (with an admitted lack of orthodontic experience) why I have to wear them for another 18 months. My teeth are nearly straight.

Within hours of the bracket popping off, my incisor and the tooth beside it started to ache. If you’ve had braces, you know this ache. It’s the feeling of teeth shifting. The pain is not a like a regular toothache that hurts deep in the nerves and is unbearable. It’s less than that, but still painful. The feeling is usually isolated to one spot in your mouth — a tooth, maybe two, and it feels like the tooth is sore.

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Monday, Feb. 7, 2022

I think the universe sends me a sign when I need it most. Or perhaps I’m the kind of person who likes to look for signs and meaning in ordinary situations.

Last weekend, I broke a bracket on my braces. It was on my snaggletooth — the tooth that has been the bane of my smile for as long as I can remember because it was out of place and made me insecure. The reason I bit the bullet and opted for adult braces. (The left lateral incisor, for anyone who is curious.)

The bracket popped off the tooth as I was brushing, and it was no big deal. My teeth have straightened out so much since I got the braces in the summer. I’ve questioned (with an admitted lack of orthodontic experience) why I have to wear them for another 18 months. My teeth are nearly straight.

Within hours of the bracket popping off, my incisor and the tooth beside it started to ache. If you’ve had braces, you know this ache. It’s the feeling of teeth shifting. The pain is not a like a regular toothache that hurts deep in the nerves and is unbearable. It’s less than that, but still painful. The feeling is usually isolated to one spot in your mouth — a tooth, maybe two, and it feels like the tooth is sore.

Feeling grateful for small acts of kindness

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Feeling grateful for small acts of kindness

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 31, 2022

I was at a grocery store recently to grab a few things after picking up my daughter from daycare. The evening felt heavy, like it was already slipping too far out of my reach. We popped in for a couple of things and, as is often the case, ended up at the checkout with far more than I had intended.

A woman who made her way to the checkout at the same time as us told us to go ahead. She waited patiently as we loaded our groceries onto the conveyor belt. It was a small gesture, letting us go ahead of her in line, but one that felt was especially kind given that my patience was running thin and I was in a rush to get home and battle the mountain of things I had ahead of me.

As we stood there, my daughter and the woman struck up a conversation. Riel said hello, and the woman behind us responded by telling her that she liked her hat—a yellow Pikachu tuque. (Pikachu is a character from Pokémon.)

“My son used to like Pikachu when he was small,” the woman said.

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Monday, Jan. 31, 2022

I was at a grocery store recently to grab a few things after picking up my daughter from daycare. The evening felt heavy, like it was already slipping too far out of my reach. We popped in for a couple of things and, as is often the case, ended up at the checkout with far more than I had intended.

A woman who made her way to the checkout at the same time as us told us to go ahead. She waited patiently as we loaded our groceries onto the conveyor belt. It was a small gesture, letting us go ahead of her in line, but one that felt was especially kind given that my patience was running thin and I was in a rush to get home and battle the mountain of things I had ahead of me.

As we stood there, my daughter and the woman struck up a conversation. Riel said hello, and the woman behind us responded by telling her that she liked her hat—a yellow Pikachu tuque. (Pikachu is a character from Pokémon.)

“My son used to like Pikachu when he was small,” the woman said.

Kid in video has big heart and big personality

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Kid in video has big heart and big personality

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 24, 2022

Toronto was hit with a massive blizzard last week that saw the city covered in 55 cm of snow.

There were clips of people digging themselves out from under the record-setting snowfall all over the internet and social media. One video encapsulated the experience in the most hilariously relatable way. It’s a 32-second CTV News clip of nine-year-old Carter Trozzolo letting out the mother of all sighs and explaining with deadpan delivery that he’s tired and would rather be in school than shovelling.

If you haven’t seen the clip, stop what you’re doing and type his name or “Toronto snow kid” into Google. Countless clips, stories and posts will pop up. Outlets from all over the world — including People, ET Canada and Buzzfeed — have featured Carter in response to his hilarious interview. Someone created an electronic YouTube remix song called Always Tired (Carter Trozzolo Remix), and George Takei shared the clip on his Facebook page.

People can’t get enough of Carter and his honest reaction to shovelling out of a blizzard.

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Monday, Jan. 24, 2022

Toronto was hit with a massive blizzard last week that saw the city covered in 55 cm of snow.

There were clips of people digging themselves out from under the record-setting snowfall all over the internet and social media. One video encapsulated the experience in the most hilariously relatable way. It’s a 32-second CTV News clip of nine-year-old Carter Trozzolo letting out the mother of all sighs and explaining with deadpan delivery that he’s tired and would rather be in school than shovelling.

If you haven’t seen the clip, stop what you’re doing and type his name or “Toronto snow kid” into Google. Countless clips, stories and posts will pop up. Outlets from all over the world — including People, ET Canada and Buzzfeed — have featured Carter in response to his hilarious interview. Someone created an electronic YouTube remix song called Always Tired (Carter Trozzolo Remix), and George Takei shared the clip on his Facebook page.

People can’t get enough of Carter and his honest reaction to shovelling out of a blizzard.

Always a teacher: home-learning made better by granny

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Always a teacher: home-learning made better by granny

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 17, 2022

Like most parents, I had a mix of feelings when the province announced kids would start remote learning after the winter break — fear, anxiety, relief, denial.

Juggling work and three kids in three different grades learning at home is overwhelming.

Our experience with remote learning in the past has been hard, though I recognize my family is fortunate. Both my partner and I can work from home, and our kids have access to technology and a Wi-Fi connection that’s decent overall but choppy when we’re all logged into video calls. I am grateful for that privilege. However, like our Wi-Fi, my mental bandwidth has become choppy and stretched thin. I often feel like I have only enough attention span to survive. These are trying times for all of us.

This time around, however, I was handed a lifeline. My mom, who I can only describe as a saintly woman with more patience than seems humanly possible, stepped in to help us for the week. She is a recently retired teacher (though you know the old saying, “Once a teacher, always a teacher.”)

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Monday, Jan. 17, 2022

Granny — Dr. Paula Cook — and Riel dive into home learning. (Submitted)

Golden Girls brings joy with golden family memories

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Golden Girls brings joy with golden family memories

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 10, 2022

When The Golden Girls first aired, I was six years old, the same age my daughter is now.

Back then, we had 13 channels and one TV in our home, and I don’t think it had a remote control. If memory serves me, that job belonged to my sisters and me. We’d sit beside the ol’ box TV, scanning the channels until there was something suitable to watch. The numbers on the buttons had worn away from the constant pressing.

Kids these days will never know the struggle of being the family remote control.

There wasn’t a steady stream of cartoons or other kids’ shows at our fingertips. We took what we could get. Renting movies from Adi’s Video was only a weekend thing, and usually only on special weekends.

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Monday, Jan. 10, 2022

Betty White was more than the characters she played on TV. Her starring role in The Golden Girls made her part of warm childhood memories. (Chris Pizzello / The Associated Press files)

A walk in service and gratitude with Mama Bear Clan

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A walk in service and gratitude with Mama Bear Clan

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 3, 2022

This was not the year we thought it would be. At least, not for me. I was naive enough to believe the pandemic would be over by now.

I don’t know what kind of normal I was expecting. I don’t think I dug that far into my imagination, I just wrongly assumed things would be heading back into some sense of normalcy. I didn’t think we’d be headed into another wave with Omicron, a variant that sounds like a monster robot.

Alas, we are here. Although it’s not the place where we expected to be, there have been some bright spots throughout the year and the journey that has led us here. I am not trying to fill your head with toxic positivity or make light of how trying things have been. I am struggling, and life is a dumpster fire a lot of the time. But, as we usher in a new year, I’m looking back at the people and the goodness that have brought me joy during such a trying year.

I walked with the Mama Bear Clan earlier this year. I only volunteered with them a handful of times in the spring. I hope to do so again because I am in awe and humbled to join in the work they do.

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Monday, Jan. 3, 2022

This was not the year we thought it would be. At least, not for me. I was naive enough to believe the pandemic would be over by now.

I don’t know what kind of normal I was expecting. I don’t think I dug that far into my imagination, I just wrongly assumed things would be heading back into some sense of normalcy. I didn’t think we’d be headed into another wave with Omicron, a variant that sounds like a monster robot.

Alas, we are here. Although it’s not the place where we expected to be, there have been some bright spots throughout the year and the journey that has led us here. I am not trying to fill your head with toxic positivity or make light of how trying things have been. I am struggling, and life is a dumpster fire a lot of the time. But, as we usher in a new year, I’m looking back at the people and the goodness that have brought me joy during such a trying year.

I walked with the Mama Bear Clan earlier this year. I only volunteered with them a handful of times in the spring. I hope to do so again because I am in awe and humbled to join in the work they do.

Book by book, wish by wish, hamper goal doubled

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Book by book, wish by wish, hamper goal doubled

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 20, 2021

In October, I wrote about Ally Beauchesne, my friend who was holding an online book sale to raise money to make Christmas hampers for families in need this holiday season. This was the second year that she has organized the online sale. This year, Ally had a goal of raising enough money to make 10 hampers for families in need — up from last year’s seven.

Well, I wanted to give a little update on what she accomplished, because it’s nothing short of spectacular.

“I don’t even know how many books I sold,” she told me on a quick phone call last Thursday. “I know that there were 107 buyers and that we made $2,772. But, a lot of people donated more money with their book purchases. I haven’t had a chance to count how many books we actually sold.” 

This year’s book sale not only helped Ally raise money for the hampers she put together, it also helped her form new connections and friendships with people. One person, she told me, reached out to explain they were cleaning out the home of a friend who had just passed away and had collected a bunch of books that they wanted to donate.

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Monday, Dec. 20, 2021

In October, I wrote about Ally Beauchesne, my friend who was holding an online book sale to raise money to make Christmas hampers for families in need this holiday season. This was the second year that she has organized the online sale. This year, Ally had a goal of raising enough money to make 10 hampers for families in need — up from last year’s seven.

Well, I wanted to give a little update on what she accomplished, because it’s nothing short of spectacular.

“I don’t even know how many books I sold,” she told me on a quick phone call last Thursday. “I know that there were 107 buyers and that we made $2,772. But, a lot of people donated more money with their book purchases. I haven’t had a chance to count how many books we actually sold.” 

This year’s book sale not only helped Ally raise money for the hampers she put together, it also helped her form new connections and friendships with people. One person, she told me, reached out to explain they were cleaning out the home of a friend who had just passed away and had collected a bunch of books that they wanted to donate.

Picture worth 1,000 words… including a few stern ones from child

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Picture worth 1,000 words… including a few stern ones from child

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 13, 2021

A while ago, I took a photo of my kid after she’d fallen asleep.

When I peeked inside her room to check on her before I headed to bed, I was struck by how cute she looked, nestled under her big fluffy blanket, sleeping so peacefully. So I took out my phone and snapped a picture of her.

I didn’t think much of it. I’ve been taking photos since her birth six years ago, documenting every milestone, every cute and memorable moment — and many ordinary ones, too.

That was that. I didn’t post the photo online or show it to anyone else except for her dad, so we could marvel at the cute child we have together. I forgot all about it until a few days later, when she saw the picture on my phone and asked why I took it.

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Monday, Dec. 13, 2021

A while ago, I took a photo of my kid after she’d fallen asleep.

When I peeked inside her room to check on her before I headed to bed, I was struck by how cute she looked, nestled under her big fluffy blanket, sleeping so peacefully. So I took out my phone and snapped a picture of her.

I didn’t think much of it. I’ve been taking photos since her birth six years ago, documenting every milestone, every cute and memorable moment — and many ordinary ones, too.

That was that. I didn’t post the photo online or show it to anyone else except for her dad, so we could marvel at the cute child we have together. I forgot all about it until a few days later, when she saw the picture on my phone and asked why I took it.

Sscope offers hope and home for ‘our family’

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Sscope offers hope and home for ‘our family’

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 6, 2021

It’s a place of hope and opportunity. A home and safe space for folks who otherwise might not have a place to lay their head at night.

Sscope announced last week that its second attempt to access federal funding had failed, and it will have to vacate the former Neechi Commons building by Jan. 6. Sscope, which stands for Self-starting Creative Opportunities for People in Employment, offers homeless people with mental health and addiction issues paid jobs and training, and a place to sleep.

Saleha Atif, the non-profit’s communications specialist, reached out to me to see if I could help shed some light on their situation.

“Can I come there?” I asked.

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Monday, Dec. 6, 2021

Sscope will have to vacate the former Neechi Commons building by Jan. 6 after failing to secure federal funding. (Shannon VanRaes / Winnipeg Free Press)

Adoptee’s reunion journey finds disappointment

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Adoptee’s reunion journey finds disappointment

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Nov. 29, 2021

It was supposed to be a reunion of a lifetime.

Katherine Legrange, director of the 60s Scoop Legacy of Canada was finally going to meet her older half-brother.

Legrange started looking for her biological family in 1990, although her search was difficult until 2015, when closed adoption legislation changed in Manitoba. She asked for her father’s name but ended up getting her mother’s name. She learned that her parents had met in Lynn Lake in the 1970s, so she turned to social media to see if she could find any leads.

She learned that her mom died by suicide when Legrange was nine years old. Her father died a year later, in 1982, in Vancouver. She discovered her mom had two sons, one of whom she connected with in a Lynn Lake Facebook group in 2015. The pair pieced their lives together quickly, and had been in contact but had never met. He was the only link to a family and a lineage that Legrange had wondered about and been pulled to for as long as she could remember.

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Monday, Nov. 29, 2021

Katherine Legrange with a photo of herself as a child. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)

It’s easy to throw a stranger a lifeline

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It’s easy to throw a stranger a lifeline

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 22, 2021

Six months after my daughter was born, I made my first blood donation.

I had always wanted to donate blood. It seemed heroic and the easiest way to do something good for somebody else. But I had always been hesitant. I’m not afraid of needles or having blood drawn for lab work, but the idea of giving blood gave me a real sense of anxiety.

I remember hearing that the questionnaire was invasive (it’s not), and I remember being afraid that in my pursuit to donate they would find something incurably wrong with me, and I wasn’t ready to face that. It sounds foolish, but for so many years I had the privilege and immaturity of never having to think beyond myself.

Things shifted when I became a mom. I don’t mean for this to sound cliché, but when my daughter was born so was her mother. My kid made me a better person and changed the way I saw and lived in the world.

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Monday, Nov. 22, 2021

Six months after my daughter was born, I made my first blood donation.

I had always wanted to donate blood. It seemed heroic and the easiest way to do something good for somebody else. But I had always been hesitant. I’m not afraid of needles or having blood drawn for lab work, but the idea of giving blood gave me a real sense of anxiety.

I remember hearing that the questionnaire was invasive (it’s not), and I remember being afraid that in my pursuit to donate they would find something incurably wrong with me, and I wasn’t ready to face that. It sounds foolish, but for so many years I had the privilege and immaturity of never having to think beyond myself.

Things shifted when I became a mom. I don’t mean for this to sound cliché, but when my daughter was born so was her mother. My kid made me a better person and changed the way I saw and lived in the world.

Excited about revival of TV show

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Excited about revival of TV show

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 15, 2021

It has been announced the Sex and the City 10-episode revival show And Just Like That will debut on HBO Max Dec. 9 with its first two episodes, followed by releases every Thursday night.

I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am. Somewhere inside of me is a wistful 20-something 1990s gal who identifies with each character on this show and is naive enough to believe in the lifestyle it sold me. A weekly sex columnist in New York City who galavants around Manhattan with her best friends, while wearing designer clothes (and shoes) and who lives in a giant brownstone with a walk-in closet…

It’s not that I thought I would get there in my life — to have the lifestyle that Carrie Bradshaw had — but the show sure gave me a lot of wonderful scenery to use in my daydreams. To be completely honest, I never imagined that I’d ever see New York in real life. When I did in 2019, I nearly cried when I walked up from the subway station and was immediately swallowed up by the biggest buildings I’d seen in my whole life. Love at first sight.

Since they announced this reboot last January, I have been watching social media like a hawk, savouring every single glimpse of the fictional characters Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker and her besties, Miranda Hobbes (played by Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (played by Kristin Davis.) Bless the age of social media where people can stumble upon a movie set in the middle of a New York street one afternoon and film a little clip to post on Tik Tok or Twitter.

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Monday, Nov. 15, 2021

It has been announced the Sex and the City 10-episode revival show And Just Like That will debut on HBO Max Dec. 9 with its first two episodes, followed by releases every Thursday night.

I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am. Somewhere inside of me is a wistful 20-something 1990s gal who identifies with each character on this show and is naive enough to believe in the lifestyle it sold me. A weekly sex columnist in New York City who galavants around Manhattan with her best friends, while wearing designer clothes (and shoes) and who lives in a giant brownstone with a walk-in closet…

It’s not that I thought I would get there in my life — to have the lifestyle that Carrie Bradshaw had — but the show sure gave me a lot of wonderful scenery to use in my daydreams. To be completely honest, I never imagined that I’d ever see New York in real life. When I did in 2019, I nearly cried when I walked up from the subway station and was immediately swallowed up by the biggest buildings I’d seen in my whole life. Love at first sight.

Since they announced this reboot last January, I have been watching social media like a hawk, savouring every single glimpse of the fictional characters Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker and her besties, Miranda Hobbes (played by Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (played by Kristin Davis.) Bless the age of social media where people can stumble upon a movie set in the middle of a New York street one afternoon and film a little clip to post on Tik Tok or Twitter.

Reconciliation Road a step to ease pain, sadness along Highway 59

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Reconciliation Road a step to ease pain, sadness along Highway 59

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021

There is a new Reconciliation Road in Manitoba, and the grandson of a Canadian Indigenous war hero is delighted to have played a part in putting it on the map.

“This is for my dad,” Earl (Buddy) Prince said Monday on National Indigenous Veterans Day. “I know that he would be very, very proud of what we accomplished here today.”

The accomplishment was having the name of a dirt road on the south side of Highway 59 in the RM of St. Clements previously known as Colonization Road officially renamed. The highway runs adjacent to Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, about 45 minutes north of Winnipeg.

Prince is a member of the First Nation who regularly drove to and from the community, passing the accurately ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­― and insensitively ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­― named road each time.

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Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021

SHELLEY COOK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Buddy Prince and Chief Deborah Smith

A kind heart joins Ogichidaa in heroic cause

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A kind heart joins Ogichidaa in heroic cause

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021

It came up on my Instagram feed two weeks ago, a hoodie bearing the image of Sgt. Tommy Prince in shades of red, blue and beige similar to the iconic Barack Obama "Hope" poster. Under the image was the word "Ogichidaa" which is Ojibway and means warrior, a veteran; a ceremonial headman.

The post was from a group called Helping Hand Warriors. The post outlined that the cost of the hoodie was $55, with partial proceeds going to Community Helpers Unite to help raise money to build a community kitchen in the North End.

I took a screen shot of the post and sent it to my mom.

‘Did you see this?’ I asked her.

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Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Mannie Spence, founder of Helping Hand Warriors, models the Tommy Prince hoodie and mask that they are selling to fundraise for a community kitchen in Winnipeg on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. For Shelley story. Winnipeg Free Press 2021.

Living the childhood wrestling fan’s dream

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Living the childhood wrestling fan’s dream

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 1, 2021

I loved ’80s and ’90s wrestling.

I grew up on the stuff — Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Miss Elizabeth, Andre the Giant, Jake the Snake, Brutus the Barber Beefcake, the Honky Tonk Man, the Hart Foundation… I used to beg my mom to buy me the WWF (now WWE) magazine when we went grocery shopping. She seldom did, but I always looked through them while she shopped.

When I was a kid, the highlight of my weekend was watching Saturday morning wrestling. My sisters and I would watch with our dad, cheering on the babyfaces and booing the heels. I thought it was real and took the storylines to heart. There was no internet back then, so finding out about wrestlers’ lives and identities by slipping down a Google rabbit hole wasn’t a thing. As far as I was concerned it was all real inside of the TV screen.

I fell out of wrestling for a few years but started watching again in the late ’90s. I was a still just a kid — well, I was barely a young adult with a job, which meant I could go to shows when the WWE came through Winnipeg. My favourite wrestler was, and probably still is, Bret “the Hitman” Hart. He is, after all, the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.

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Monday, Nov. 1, 2021

I loved ’80s and ’90s wrestling.

I grew up on the stuff — Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Miss Elizabeth, Andre the Giant, Jake the Snake, Brutus the Barber Beefcake, the Honky Tonk Man, the Hart Foundation… I used to beg my mom to buy me the WWF (now WWE) magazine when we went grocery shopping. She seldom did, but I always looked through them while she shopped.

When I was a kid, the highlight of my weekend was watching Saturday morning wrestling. My sisters and I would watch with our dad, cheering on the babyfaces and booing the heels. I thought it was real and took the storylines to heart. There was no internet back then, so finding out about wrestlers’ lives and identities by slipping down a Google rabbit hole wasn’t a thing. As far as I was concerned it was all real inside of the TV screen.

I fell out of wrestling for a few years but started watching again in the late ’90s. I was a still just a kid — well, I was barely a young adult with a job, which meant I could go to shows when the WWE came through Winnipeg. My favourite wrestler was, and probably still is, Bret “the Hitman” Hart. He is, after all, the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.

Online book sale spreads Christmas cheer to families in need

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Online book sale spreads Christmas cheer to families in need

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 25, 2021

I’ve been sorting through my kids’ books, making room for new books and a giveaway pile for the stories they’ve grown out of. I always get a little sentimental when I go through their things, especially well-loved books and favourite toys and outfits, because it reminds me how much they’re growing and changing. Still, I try not to get attached to objects.

I am giving our pile of used books to my friend Ally Beauchesne for an online book sale she’ll hold after Halloween. This is the second year she’s done the sale with the goal of raising money to make Christmas Hampers for families in need.

The books will be organized, numbered and posted on her Facebook and Instagram accounts for anyone to buy. Children’s books will be $1 and adult books $3. Proceeds will go toward buying gifts and perishable items for the hampers Ally will put together for families who she’s been matched with by Inspire Community Outreach.

She’s not sure how much money she’ll make or even how many books she’ll end up having for sale. Last year, she put the call out to her friends on social media and in her local giveaway group, asking if anyone had books they’d like to donate. People, many of whom were strangers, rallied behind her, donating books and spreading the word about the donation drive and sale. Her mom did a big purge from her own bookshelf, dropping off boxes upon boxes to Ally’s house.

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Monday, Oct. 25, 2021

I’ve been sorting through my kids’ books, making room for new books and a giveaway pile for the stories they’ve grown out of. I always get a little sentimental when I go through their things, especially well-loved books and favourite toys and outfits, because it reminds me how much they’re growing and changing. Still, I try not to get attached to objects.

I am giving our pile of used books to my friend Ally Beauchesne for an online book sale she’ll hold after Halloween. This is the second year she’s done the sale with the goal of raising money to make Christmas Hampers for families in need.

The books will be organized, numbered and posted on her Facebook and Instagram accounts for anyone to buy. Children’s books will be $1 and adult books $3. Proceeds will go toward buying gifts and perishable items for the hampers Ally will put together for families who she’s been matched with by Inspire Community Outreach.

She’s not sure how much money she’ll make or even how many books she’ll end up having for sale. Last year, she put the call out to her friends on social media and in her local giveaway group, asking if anyone had books they’d like to donate. People, many of whom were strangers, rallied behind her, donating books and spreading the word about the donation drive and sale. Her mom did a big purge from her own bookshelf, dropping off boxes upon boxes to Ally’s house.

Being welcomed a moving experience

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Being welcomed a moving experience

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 18, 2021

A few weeks ago, I attended a conference called Breaking the Shackles of Racism.

The two-day national event was put on by the Islamic Social Services Association and featured several speakers and panel discussions about human rights, justice, policing and the media. I bought a ticket after meeting the association’s executive director, Shahina Siddiqui, this summer.

I learned a lot, and I shared a lot — more than I expected. The experience changed me.

One of the panelists couldn’t make it on the second day, so they asked me to fill in. I humbly joined Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, who joined via Zoom, and Azeezah Kanji, the director of programming at the Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto. Kanji is a legal academic and writer whose work focuses on issues relating to racism, law and social justice.

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Monday, Oct. 18, 2021

A few weeks ago, I attended a conference called Breaking the Shackles of Racism.

The two-day national event was put on by the Islamic Social Services Association and featured several speakers and panel discussions about human rights, justice, policing and the media. I bought a ticket after meeting the association’s executive director, Shahina Siddiqui, this summer.

I learned a lot, and I shared a lot — more than I expected. The experience changed me.

One of the panelists couldn’t make it on the second day, so they asked me to fill in. I humbly joined Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, who joined via Zoom, and Azeezah Kanji, the director of programming at the Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto. Kanji is a legal academic and writer whose work focuses on issues relating to racism, law and social justice.

When it come to Munsch stories, I’ll love them forever

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When it come to Munsch stories, I’ll love them forever

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021

When bedtime rolls around in our home and it’s time to pick a story (or three), there’s usually at least one Robert Munsch book in the mix.

We love Munsch stories. They’re fun, they’re usually silly, and they’re often central to some of my most favourite memories.

My mom read them to me as a kid, and now I read them to my own kids. Reciting the familiar words of the stories I grew up with feels like a rite of passage, as my kids echo them back to me. You can’t read a Munsch book without emphasizing the words and becoming the characters. That’s what makes his stories so special. It’s a whole production.

When my daughter was born, my mom gave a copy of Love You Forever, the sweet and sad story Munsch wrote years after he and his wife suffered the loss of two stillborn children. The lullaby in the book was one that he made up in his head for his lost babies — words he couldn’t say out loud.

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Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021

A page from Munschworks 2. Jean Levac / Ottawa Citizen

Taking the plunge to embrace change

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Taking the plunge to embrace change

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 4, 2021

I got braces a little while ago.

I opted for the full metal bracket kind that glimmers when you smile. They feel different than I imagined. For one thing, they feel a lot bigger than they are. They’re a bit intrusive, even after getting used to them. I can feel them protruding from my teeth when I talk or smile, acting as a sort of ledge for my lip to sit on.

They feel so blatant. That said, I think they’re more noticeable to me than to anyone else, partly because we wear masks in public. When I came home from the orthodontist and showed my kids my new smile, the middle kid couldn’t get over how “adorable” (in her words) I looked.

The eight-year-old thinks I’m cute!

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Monday, Oct. 4, 2021

I got braces a little while ago.

I opted for the full metal bracket kind that glimmers when you smile. They feel different than I imagined. For one thing, they feel a lot bigger than they are. They’re a bit intrusive, even after getting used to them. I can feel them protruding from my teeth when I talk or smile, acting as a sort of ledge for my lip to sit on.

They feel so blatant. That said, I think they’re more noticeable to me than to anyone else, partly because we wear masks in public. When I came home from the orthodontist and showed my kids my new smile, the middle kid couldn’t get over how “adorable” (in her words) I looked.

The eight-year-old thinks I’m cute!

It feels like hope is on the horizon

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It feels like hope is on the horizon

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 27, 2021

My kid brought home a picture from school last week. She made it on the first day of fall.

It said, “Goodbye Summer. I will miss,” with a blank spot for her to write what she would miss the most about summer. She wrote “Findig Seashells,” with the spelling error and both Ss backwards. Under that, she drew herself and her sisters collecting shells at the beach, with a person she said was me lying in the sand under an umbrella. It was the sweetest little drawing.

I’m glad she has nice memories of collecting shells at the beach. We did it often this summer, and last year, too. I’m not sure I’ve been to the beach as much in my whole life as I have been the past two pandemic summers. One thing this pandemic has done is dramatically slowed the pace of our lives and changed the way we spend time together. Working from home, for the most part, and remaining in our immediate bubbles means we have more time to spend together.

Of course, it wasn’t always rosy these past two summers. I think we all experienced feelings of loneliness, isolation and seeing too much of each other. But we’ve been able to spend time — time we wouldn’t have otherwise had in our pre-pandemic routines and lives — at the beach or wherever else our adventures took us.

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Monday, Sep. 27, 2021

My kid brought home a picture from school last week. She made it on the first day of fall.

It said, “Goodbye Summer. I will miss,” with a blank spot for her to write what she would miss the most about summer. She wrote “Findig Seashells,” with the spelling error and both Ss backwards. Under that, she drew herself and her sisters collecting shells at the beach, with a person she said was me lying in the sand under an umbrella. It was the sweetest little drawing.

I’m glad she has nice memories of collecting shells at the beach. We did it often this summer, and last year, too. I’m not sure I’ve been to the beach as much in my whole life as I have been the past two pandemic summers. One thing this pandemic has done is dramatically slowed the pace of our lives and changed the way we spend time together. Working from home, for the most part, and remaining in our immediate bubbles means we have more time to spend together.

Of course, it wasn’t always rosy these past two summers. I think we all experienced feelings of loneliness, isolation and seeing too much of each other. But we’ve been able to spend time — time we wouldn’t have otherwise had in our pre-pandemic routines and lives — at the beach or wherever else our adventures took us.

Remembering a friend with plea for more support

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Remembering a friend with plea for more support

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 20, 2021

I don’t remember exactly when I met Alyssa Stevenson.

It was at École River Heights School in the 1990s. She was in Grade 9, a grade higher than me. She was enrolled in French Immersion, I think, but I can’t be sure. I just remember her being in our friend group one day. She seemed to know everyone, and she seemed to like and be liked by everyone. She was close with my friend Stephanie, and I was her friend by association. I always felt like Alyssa had my back.

She was fiery and fiercely loyal to her friends. She greeted people with hugs every time she saw them. It was Alyssa’s signature. I wasn’t good friends with her. We never had sleepovers or hung out after school, except at dances, where our little friend group would dance in a circle to songs such as Free Your Mind, Informer and Shoop.

It’s fuzzy to look back so long ago, but there are a handful of memories that are so clear. Most of them are times that didn’t seem particularly special or memorable in that moment but are burned into my mind.

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Monday, Sep. 20, 2021

I don’t remember exactly when I met Alyssa Stevenson.

It was at École River Heights School in the 1990s. She was in Grade 9, a grade higher than me. She was enrolled in French Immersion, I think, but I can’t be sure. I just remember her being in our friend group one day. She seemed to know everyone, and she seemed to like and be liked by everyone. She was close with my friend Stephanie, and I was her friend by association. I always felt like Alyssa had my back.

She was fiery and fiercely loyal to her friends. She greeted people with hugs every time she saw them. It was Alyssa’s signature. I wasn’t good friends with her. We never had sleepovers or hung out after school, except at dances, where our little friend group would dance in a circle to songs such as Free Your Mind, Informer and Shoop.

It’s fuzzy to look back so long ago, but there are a handful of memories that are so clear. Most of them are times that didn’t seem particularly special or memorable in that moment but are burned into my mind.

Orange shirts show solidarity

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Orange shirts show solidarity

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 13, 2021

Earlier this summer, Parliament unanimously passed legislation to make Sept. 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The day has been observed nationally as Orange Shirt Day since 2013. It was born from an event at the site of the former St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C., in May 2013, when former student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad shared her story of her first day at residential school in 1973. She recalled the orange shirt her grandmother had bought for her first day, which was stripped from her tiny body and replaced with a uniform.

“The colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying, and no one cared,” Webstad said, as quoted on the Orange Shirt Society’s webpage states.

Since Webstad shared her story, the orange shirt has become a nationally recognized symbol for Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools. It represents the stolen kids who came out forever changed and those who never made it home. As the discoveries of unmarked graves of Indigenous children at former residential school sites across Canada continue to be uncovered, the colour orange has become a symbol of our grief. The colour is a way for us to mourn and express feelings that are too sorrowful for words about Canada’s ugly and barbaric legacy of racism, and stand in solidarity in the spirit of healing and reconciliation.

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Monday, Sep. 13, 2021

Earlier this summer, Parliament unanimously passed legislation to make Sept. 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The day has been observed nationally as Orange Shirt Day since 2013. It was born from an event at the site of the former St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C., in May 2013, when former student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad shared her story of her first day at residential school in 1973. She recalled the orange shirt her grandmother had bought for her first day, which was stripped from her tiny body and replaced with a uniform.

“The colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying, and no one cared,” Webstad said, as quoted on the Orange Shirt Society’s webpage states.

Since Webstad shared her story, the orange shirt has become a nationally recognized symbol for Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools. It represents the stolen kids who came out forever changed and those who never made it home. As the discoveries of unmarked graves of Indigenous children at former residential school sites across Canada continue to be uncovered, the colour orange has become a symbol of our grief. The colour is a way for us to mourn and express feelings that are too sorrowful for words about Canada’s ugly and barbaric legacy of racism, and stand in solidarity in the spirit of healing and reconciliation.

Backpacks loaded with excitement, uncertainty

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Backpacks loaded with excitement, uncertainty

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 7, 2021

Our kids are heading back into the classroom this week in grades one, four and seven. The two older girls are excited, mostly because they get to see their friends. I think they’re also feeling ready to head back because school — when it’s been in-class learning — has provided a sense of normalcy for them.

The youngest is nervous and has told us she doesn’t want to go back to school. She’s developed a steadfast clinginess to her father and me over the course of the pandemic. I don’t blame her, considering it started when she was four. A big chunk of her life — the formative years, as well as her entire school experience — have been spent in a weird state that teeters from absolute isolation to kind of normal. We’ve been her two pillars, and at times her only friends, when the rest of the world had to be locked out.

She has been so lonesome for friends. I think her anxiety will taper off when she’s back at school and back in her routine, and sees kids around her own age. I think she will enjoy being with her friends and teachers again. That’s my hope, anyway.

In a lot of ways, I can’t wait for the kids to go back at school. It is something that gives me a great sense of relief, but a sense that’s riddled with worry. My biggest concern at the moment is that my two younger kids, who aren’t old enough to be vaccinated, will get sick. Severe outcomes for children who have been infected with COVID-19 have been less common than for adults in previous waves of this pandemic. As the fourth wave moves in, unvaccinated people, including children, are most at risk of serious illness and death.

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Tuesday, Sep. 7, 2021

Our kids are heading back into the classroom this week in grades one, four and seven. The two older girls are excited, mostly because they get to see their friends. I think they’re also feeling ready to head back because school — when it’s been in-class learning — has provided a sense of normalcy for them.

The youngest is nervous and has told us she doesn’t want to go back to school. She’s developed a steadfast clinginess to her father and me over the course of the pandemic. I don’t blame her, considering it started when she was four. A big chunk of her life — the formative years, as well as her entire school experience — have been spent in a weird state that teeters from absolute isolation to kind of normal. We’ve been her two pillars, and at times her only friends, when the rest of the world had to be locked out.

She has been so lonesome for friends. I think her anxiety will taper off when she’s back at school and back in her routine, and sees kids around her own age. I think she will enjoy being with her friends and teachers again. That’s my hope, anyway.

In a lot of ways, I can’t wait for the kids to go back at school. It is something that gives me a great sense of relief, but a sense that’s riddled with worry. My biggest concern at the moment is that my two younger kids, who aren’t old enough to be vaccinated, will get sick. Severe outcomes for children who have been infected with COVID-19 have been less common than for adults in previous waves of this pandemic. As the fourth wave moves in, unvaccinated people, including children, are most at risk of serious illness and death.

Personal journal reveals right path

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Personal journal reveals right path

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 30, 2021

I have a huge, overflowing bin of old journals in my basement. Worn-out books with diary entries, cringey poetry, and lots of doodles, stickers and pictures cut out from old magazines and glued in collages.

The books date back to my angsty teenage years in the ‘90s, well before we could shout our thoughts and opinions into the voice of the internet.

A deep dive into these personal archives is always met with a wave of nostalgia mixed with a twang of embarrassment. For one thing, I’ve used “your” when it should be “you’re” in nearly all of my writing for most of my life. It’s not a big deal, but I can’t help but smile at all of the posts blatantly riddled with typos and grammatical errors.

The entry that always gets me is from around 2008. It’s an old, pixelated photo of myself that I printed and glued onto a page of an old journal. There I am, taking a selfie in a mirror in the washroom at the University of Winnipeg. My hair is a shaggy, shoulder-length bob, and I have thick, black eyeliner on. I am using my old burgundy flip phone to take the photo (this was long before I had a smartphone), and I have a look on my face — serious but posing, and trying way too hard doing it. I wrote, “Shelley, your exactly where you are supposed to be” on the photo in black marker.

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Monday, Aug. 30, 2021

I have a huge, overflowing bin of old journals in my basement. Worn-out books with diary entries, cringey poetry, and lots of doodles, stickers and pictures cut out from old magazines and glued in collages.

The books date back to my angsty teenage years in the ‘90s, well before we could shout our thoughts and opinions into the voice of the internet.

A deep dive into these personal archives is always met with a wave of nostalgia mixed with a twang of embarrassment. For one thing, I’ve used “your” when it should be “you’re” in nearly all of my writing for most of my life. It’s not a big deal, but I can’t help but smile at all of the posts blatantly riddled with typos and grammatical errors.

The entry that always gets me is from around 2008. It’s an old, pixelated photo of myself that I printed and glued onto a page of an old journal. There I am, taking a selfie in a mirror in the washroom at the University of Winnipeg. My hair is a shaggy, shoulder-length bob, and I have thick, black eyeliner on. I am using my old burgundy flip phone to take the photo (this was long before I had a smartphone), and I have a look on my face — serious but posing, and trying way too hard doing it. I wrote, “Shelley, your exactly where you are supposed to be” on the photo in black marker.

Join me in stopping global warming

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Join me in stopping global warming

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 23, 2021

Nearly every time I read a news story about global warming or the dire state of the planet, I start to panic.

My heart starts beating so fast I can hear the thumps echoing in my ears, and I get the same sour taste in the back of my throat as when I’m about to throw up. My stomach becomes knotted, and I feel like my lungs become stiff.

I’m ashamed to admit this, but I have been teetering from sheer panic to complete denial about the climate crisis for as long as I can remember. I haven’t always done my part, and there are many ways I could be a better, more eco-conscious human. It has always been easier to pacify my anxiety with denial than to confront the issue and change my behaviour. Denial is a harder state to be in when the changes in the world have become so obvious.

I only recently learned the terms eco-anxiety and eco-grief to describe the feelings and mental toll climate change takes on a person. They are the chronic fear and sense of loss you feel when you realize or see the impacts of climate change. I think many of us have felt that doom, though it’s hard to articulate. For me, there is nothing more grim than the thought of my children’s future on fire.

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Monday, Aug. 23, 2021

Nearly every time I read a news story about global warming or the dire state of the planet, I start to panic.

My heart starts beating so fast I can hear the thumps echoing in my ears, and I get the same sour taste in the back of my throat as when I’m about to throw up. My stomach becomes knotted, and I feel like my lungs become stiff.

I’m ashamed to admit this, but I have been teetering from sheer panic to complete denial about the climate crisis for as long as I can remember. I haven’t always done my part, and there are many ways I could be a better, more eco-conscious human. It has always been easier to pacify my anxiety with denial than to confront the issue and change my behaviour. Denial is a harder state to be in when the changes in the world have become so obvious.

I only recently learned the terms eco-anxiety and eco-grief to describe the feelings and mental toll climate change takes on a person. They are the chronic fear and sense of loss you feel when you realize or see the impacts of climate change. I think many of us have felt that doom, though it’s hard to articulate. For me, there is nothing more grim than the thought of my children’s future on fire.

Taking candy from a stranger

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Taking candy from a stranger

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 16, 2021

A Facebook memory of a trip to beautiful British Columbia popped up on my timeline a few months ago.

My sister Christina was heading to the West Coast for an event in 2017 and decided to extend her stay to enjoy a vacation with me and my daughter, who had tagged along.

We spent the first part of the week visiting Riel’s grandparents on Salt Spring Island and the other part in Vancouver, exploring the city and visiting our Aunt Rose. The day we arrived in Vancouver, we got off the sky train in downtown Vancouver after a 90-minute ferry ride from Victoria. It was a sunny afternoon in the middle of the week. The city moved fast around us — faster than I was used to. The sidewalks were bursting with people, the streets lined with bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the skyline of skyscrapers with a backdrop of mountains was enough to take anyone’s breath away.

This wasn’t my first time in Vancouver. I’ve been there a handful of times in my life, and it has always been thrilling to be swallowed up by the big, bustling city.

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Monday, Aug. 16, 2021

A Facebook memory of a trip to beautiful British Columbia popped up on my timeline a few months ago.

My sister Christina was heading to the West Coast for an event in 2017 and decided to extend her stay to enjoy a vacation with me and my daughter, who had tagged along.

We spent the first part of the week visiting Riel’s grandparents on Salt Spring Island and the other part in Vancouver, exploring the city and visiting our Aunt Rose. The day we arrived in Vancouver, we got off the sky train in downtown Vancouver after a 90-minute ferry ride from Victoria. It was a sunny afternoon in the middle of the week. The city moved fast around us — faster than I was used to. The sidewalks were bursting with people, the streets lined with bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the skyline of skyscrapers with a backdrop of mountains was enough to take anyone’s breath away.

This wasn’t my first time in Vancouver. I’ve been there a handful of times in my life, and it has always been thrilling to be swallowed up by the big, bustling city.

Little things in life can take on big meaning

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Little things in life can take on big meaning

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 9, 2021

Every once in a while, I have to try extra hard to look for the good things around me, especially lately.

I remind myself to poke my head outside of my echo chamber, and remember that even though the world seems to be on fire (literally and figuratively) there is still goodness and my soul needs to be nourished by it.

Sometimes, the brightest spot on my day is a jackpot — something like going on a vacation or finding a $5 bill in my pocket.

It’s the days that I easily make a connection with someone or have so much fun doing something that I forget about all the chaos around me.

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Monday, Aug. 9, 2021

Every once in a while, I have to try extra hard to look for the good things around me, especially lately.

I remind myself to poke my head outside of my echo chamber, and remember that even though the world seems to be on fire (literally and figuratively) there is still goodness and my soul needs to be nourished by it.

Sometimes, the brightest spot on my day is a jackpot — something like going on a vacation or finding a $5 bill in my pocket.

It’s the days that I easily make a connection with someone or have so much fun doing something that I forget about all the chaos around me.

Letting good education go to e-waste

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Letting good education go to e-waste

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021

Aira Fusilero Villanueva started the E-Waste Manitoba project last March.

The 20-year-old university student hadn’t been particularity interested in e-waste when she stumbled on the Electronic Recycling Association scholarship, but she saw an opportunity to make a change in her community and help her parents cover the cost of her tuition.

“Everything about who I am is because of my parents,” she said. “Paying for my education is difficult for them, I am always looking for different ways to help.”

Villanueva was in Grade 5 when she and her parents arrived in Winnipeg from Alcala, Pangasinan, Philippines, 10 years ago. They had little more than the pocket money they had borrowed and hope for a new future. Growing up, Villanueva was involved in Wayfinders, an after-school community mentorship and outreach program in the Seven Oaks School Division. It was through this program that she developed a passion for volunteering in her community, which included volunteer work with the Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba and other Filipino outreach groups.

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Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021

MIKE SUDOMA / Winnipeg Free Press
University student Aira Villanuvea is joined by her father, Rodrigo Villanuvea, as she hosts an electronic waste drop-off event at Tyndall Park Community Centre.

Kids experience mini trip as vacation of a lifetime

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Kids experience mini trip as vacation of a lifetime

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021

Last weekend, we got a dog sitter and took our kids to the South Beach Casino & Resort for an overnight staycation.

We chose that hotel because it has a pool and it’s close to Patricia Beach. We figured we could have a family slumber party at the hotel (with Granny and Papa in an adjoining room) and follow it up with a day at the beach before heading home.

It doesn’t seem like much, but it was likely the big vacation of our summer. The kids eagerly overpacked their small carry-on suitcases days in advance in anticipation of our little vacation. They brought books, toys, stuffies and far too many outfits for a 24-hour stay. You would think we were going on a weeklong overseas adventure.

The novelty of being a hotel guest made them giddy.

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Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021

Last weekend, we got a dog sitter and took our kids to the South Beach Casino & Resort for an overnight staycation.

We chose that hotel because it has a pool and it’s close to Patricia Beach. We figured we could have a family slumber party at the hotel (with Granny and Papa in an adjoining room) and follow it up with a day at the beach before heading home.

It doesn’t seem like much, but it was likely the big vacation of our summer. The kids eagerly overpacked their small carry-on suitcases days in advance in anticipation of our little vacation. They brought books, toys, stuffies and far too many outfits for a 24-hour stay. You would think we were going on a weeklong overseas adventure.

The novelty of being a hotel guest made them giddy.

Package full of cheer was a true inspiration

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Package full of cheer was a true inspiration

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Jul. 26, 2021

Last week, I was loading a few items into my minivan in the parkade at the Superstore on Portage Avenue. I have a system where I don’t bag anything at the checkout. I pile everything back into the cart and bag it up at my van. It alleviates a lot of stress for me because I am the world’s worst and slowest grocery bagger.

I was standing in the parkade, bagging and loading the items while listening to a song through my earphones. My body was grooving to the music, and I was probably a bit of a spectacle. (When a good song pops up on your playlist and gets into your soul, it doesn’t matter that you’re standing in a quiet parkade — you’ve gotta go with it.)

All of a sudden, a woman walked up to me. I didn’t hear what she was saying at first because of the music.

“Sorry?”

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Monday, Jul. 26, 2021

Last week, I was loading a few items into my minivan in the parkade at the Superstore on Portage Avenue. I have a system where I don’t bag anything at the checkout. I pile everything back into the cart and bag it up at my van. It alleviates a lot of stress for me because I am the world’s worst and slowest grocery bagger.

I was standing in the parkade, bagging and loading the items while listening to a song through my earphones. My body was grooving to the music, and I was probably a bit of a spectacle. (When a good song pops up on your playlist and gets into your soul, it doesn’t matter that you’re standing in a quiet parkade — you’ve gotta go with it.)

All of a sudden, a woman walked up to me. I didn’t hear what she was saying at first because of the music.

“Sorry?”

What do you say when your child asks about death?

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What do you say when your child asks about death?

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jul. 19, 2021

I read my daughter a book about Frida Kahlo recently. It is a children’s book from the Little People Big Dreams biography series. The story was a short outline of the artist’s life: she was born in Mexico, got sick with polio when she was young, and years later she was in a serious collision when the bus she was riding on hit a streetcar. While she was recovering, she started painting.

After we read the story, before I even put the book down my daughter asked “Is she dead?”

“Yes,” I responded.

Her big eyes widened and I could see the lightbulb flicker on in her head.

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Monday, Jul. 19, 2021

I read my daughter a book about Frida Kahlo recently. It is a children’s book from the Little People Big Dreams biography series. The story was a short outline of the artist’s life: she was born in Mexico, got sick with polio when she was young, and years later she was in a serious collision when the bus she was riding on hit a streetcar. While she was recovering, she started painting.

After we read the story, before I even put the book down my daughter asked “Is she dead?”

“Yes,” I responded.

Her big eyes widened and I could see the lightbulb flicker on in her head.

Longing for the good old days

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Longing for the good old days

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jul. 12, 2021

Once in a while, life will stand still just long enough for me to realize how quickly it’s moving.

This could be catching a glimpse of an old photograph or noticing just how much one of my kids has grown. This could be listening to a song on the radio from my heyday that is now considered “classic,” or, when I hear people talking about somebody famous and I have no idea who it is, because somewhere along the way I fell out of the loop.

It also happens when I have time to really look at my reflection in the mirror as I get ready for the day — I don’t remember my hair being this thin and my skin this saggy. The bags under my eyes are just another feature I’ve earned from being the last to bed every night and the first to wake every day. There is no amount of eye cream that can save me now. Come to think of it, when did I start plucking the stray hairs on my chin more than my eyebrows that are still recovering from the late ‘90s?

“I’m still young,” I tell myself as I sip tepid coffee from my favourite mug, and fail miserably trying to apply my makeup like the glamorous12-year-olds on Tik Tok. (Seriously, how and when did the youngsters get so good at doing makeup?)

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Monday, Jul. 12, 2021

Once in a while, life will stand still just long enough for me to realize how quickly it’s moving.

This could be catching a glimpse of an old photograph or noticing just how much one of my kids has grown. This could be listening to a song on the radio from my heyday that is now considered “classic,” or, when I hear people talking about somebody famous and I have no idea who it is, because somewhere along the way I fell out of the loop.

It also happens when I have time to really look at my reflection in the mirror as I get ready for the day — I don’t remember my hair being this thin and my skin this saggy. The bags under my eyes are just another feature I’ve earned from being the last to bed every night and the first to wake every day. There is no amount of eye cream that can save me now. Come to think of it, when did I start plucking the stray hairs on my chin more than my eyebrows that are still recovering from the late ‘90s?

“I’m still young,” I tell myself as I sip tepid coffee from my favourite mug, and fail miserably trying to apply my makeup like the glamorous12-year-olds on Tik Tok. (Seriously, how and when did the youngsters get so good at doing makeup?)

Canada needs to reconcile with its past

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Canada needs to reconcile with its past

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jul. 5, 2021

Last week, after the Canadian Forces in the United States posted a series of tweets about Sgt. Tommy Prince — my great uncle — I couldn’t stop thinking about him, or about my papa. Two Indigenous war veterans, both heroes, who fought for a country that didn’t even let Indigenous people vote until 1960.

I called my dad to ask about his dad and his Uncle Tom.

My dad has a knack for telling a story. He is animated and spares no detail. He immediately took me for a walk down memory lane to a place I only know from my imagination, when he was a little boy. He shared vivid memories along with stories passed on from his own father. I hung on to every word, jotting down notes so I could piece it all together.

Family lore is that my papa, Colin Donovan Cook (Don, to his friends) was sitting under a tree with his buddy Frank Johnston one afternoon. It was the early 1940s. The two men were young married fathers who had been struggling to support their families. The way my dad tells it, my papa turned to Frank and said “My kids are starving, my wife is starving, maybe I can be making money if I join the army.”

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Monday, Jul. 5, 2021

SUPPLIED
Sgt. Tommy Prince (from left), Lawrence Cook, Trixie the dog and Colin Donovan Cook in the 1940s.

The end of a weird, isolated school year

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The end of a weird, isolated school year

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 28, 2021

Thursday morning started off with an online farewell ceremony for our eldest daughter (my stepdaughter) and her Grade 6 classmates.

The Google meet marked the end of a weird and isolated school year, and the end of a chapter. Little boxes of dressed-up kids, sitting alone in their homes filled the screen. Their teacher and the principal contained to their own boxes on the screen lead the event, navigating through minor glitches that come with every online meeting. They spoke about the unprecedented year, and about how well the kids navigated through it, both getting emotional when they spoke of this group of students moving on and what an important milestone this was.

In September, they’ll be in middle school.

Each student read from a prepared speech, about what they’d learned from their time at the school, and what impacts have been left of them as their words and a photo of them graced the screen. It seems like just yesterday when we watched these same kids march on from kindergarten in their paper hats with a whole bunch of years at this school ahead of them, and now we’re here at the end of that time.

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Monday, Jun. 28, 2021

Thursday morning started off with an online farewell ceremony for our eldest daughter (my stepdaughter) and her Grade 6 classmates.

The Google meet marked the end of a weird and isolated school year, and the end of a chapter. Little boxes of dressed-up kids, sitting alone in their homes filled the screen. Their teacher and the principal contained to their own boxes on the screen lead the event, navigating through minor glitches that come with every online meeting. They spoke about the unprecedented year, and about how well the kids navigated through it, both getting emotional when they spoke of this group of students moving on and what an important milestone this was.

In September, they’ll be in middle school.

Each student read from a prepared speech, about what they’d learned from their time at the school, and what impacts have been left of them as their words and a photo of them graced the screen. It seems like just yesterday when we watched these same kids march on from kindergarten in their paper hats with a whole bunch of years at this school ahead of them, and now we’re here at the end of that time.

Mourning long string of ‘supposed to be’ days

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Mourning long string of ‘supposed to be’ days

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 21, 2021

I can’t count how many times throughout this pandemic I’ve said to myself, “Oh, today was supposed to be…” insert life event here.

We’ve had so many “supposed to be” days over the past 15 months, everything from birthdays and family gatherings to weddings, funerals, graduations, concerts, travel plans…

I could go on and on, but you get it. You’ve experienced it too.

Every day was supposed to be different, something more. Or, even if it wasn’t meant to be anything beyond an ordinary day it was supposed to be a normal kind of ordinary, where crowds of people were inconvenient, but easy to wade through, and hugging someone outside your household didn’t seem like something to aspire to.

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Monday, Jun. 21, 2021

I can’t count how many times throughout this pandemic I’ve said to myself, “Oh, today was supposed to be…” insert life event here.

We’ve had so many “supposed to be” days over the past 15 months, everything from birthdays and family gatherings to weddings, funerals, graduations, concerts, travel plans…

I could go on and on, but you get it. You’ve experienced it too.

Every day was supposed to be different, something more. Or, even if it wasn’t meant to be anything beyond an ordinary day it was supposed to be a normal kind of ordinary, where crowds of people were inconvenient, but easy to wade through, and hugging someone outside your household didn’t seem like something to aspire to.

No words to describe horrific discovery

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No words to describe horrific discovery

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Jun. 14, 2021

I didn’t say much when it was announced late last month that the remains of 215 Indigenous children had been found buried at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

I didn’t know what to say.

This is an act more horrific than I can fathom or put into words. People much smarter and more knowledgeable than me have spoken out in the media and on social media, writing articles about Canada’s tainted past. Leaders such as Murray Sinclair, the former senator and chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, addressed the world with empathy and poise, giving words to something unspeakable. He translated our sorrow and reminded us we must persevere on this journey to reconciliation.

In a Facebook video posted on June 1, Sinclair spoke about the survivors who shared their stories with the TRC. They gave horrendous accounts of abuse and neglect and the utter loneliness that shaped their experience. He explained about how the impact of being stolen from their families and communities and indoctrinated into a different culture against their will was a deliberate act by the Canadian government, and that one of the most common stories they heard was about children who died in residential schools.

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Monday, Jun. 14, 2021

I didn’t say much when it was announced late last month that the remains of 215 Indigenous children had been found buried at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

I didn’t know what to say.

This is an act more horrific than I can fathom or put into words. People much smarter and more knowledgeable than me have spoken out in the media and on social media, writing articles about Canada’s tainted past. Leaders such as Murray Sinclair, the former senator and chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, addressed the world with empathy and poise, giving words to something unspeakable. He translated our sorrow and reminded us we must persevere on this journey to reconciliation.

In a Facebook video posted on June 1, Sinclair spoke about the survivors who shared their stories with the TRC. They gave horrendous accounts of abuse and neglect and the utter loneliness that shaped their experience. He explained about how the impact of being stolen from their families and communities and indoctrinated into a different culture against their will was a deliberate act by the Canadian government, and that one of the most common stories they heard was about children who died in residential schools.

Child’s eye can see beauty in anything

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Child’s eye can see beauty in anything

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 7, 2021

Last weekend, we had a bonfire in our fire pit. It was a lovely evening — warm and dark and well past our daughter’s bedtime. The embers crackled under a new log we had just thrown on as the smell of the fire lulled us into relaxation.

It was nearly perfect.

As we sat there, with the fire fading and flickering in the darkness, I thought I would go get the dried-up flowers I had got for my birthday and Mother’s Day. I hadn’t got around to tossing them out yet and figured I would throw a stem or two into the fire.

I excused myself and grabbed the flowers, dumping the vases in the sink and leaving a trail of wilted chrysanthemum leaves in my wake. When I returned, my daughter looked up at me, delighted that I brought the bunches of dead flowers.

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Monday, Jun. 7, 2021

Last weekend, we had a bonfire in our fire pit. It was a lovely evening — warm and dark and well past our daughter’s bedtime. The embers crackled under a new log we had just thrown on as the smell of the fire lulled us into relaxation.

It was nearly perfect.

As we sat there, with the fire fading and flickering in the darkness, I thought I would go get the dried-up flowers I had got for my birthday and Mother’s Day. I hadn’t got around to tossing them out yet and figured I would throw a stem or two into the fire.

I excused myself and grabbed the flowers, dumping the vases in the sink and leaving a trail of wilted chrysanthemum leaves in my wake. When I returned, my daughter looked up at me, delighted that I brought the bunches of dead flowers.

A day at the beach, a harrowing nightmare

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A day at the beach, a harrowing nightmare

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 1, 2021

Terrible thoughts kept popping into Blake Morden's head as he frantically paddled his kayak in the direction of the shore at Grand Beach Saturday afternoon with an exhausted man and a terrified little girl hanging on to a rope behind him.

Morden — whose muscles were burning and back seizing from a 3 1/2-hour kayak trip earlier in the day — was struggling against the stiff wind on Lake Winnipeg's choppy, frigid water with the added weight he was towing, and contemplated asking Jason Cherewayko to let go of the rope.

It's something he feels incredibly guilty about.

“I thought this man was going to have to sacrifice himself for his daughter,” Morden said.

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Tuesday, Jun. 1, 2021

Jason and Cynthia Cherewayko (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

Grieving during pandemic isn’t fair

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Grieving during pandemic isn’t fair

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 31, 2021

A few weeks ago, I convinced my partner and our daughter that we needed to leave the house for a change of scenery.

I wanted to go for a drive with no clear destination in mind. I was hoping to trade in an afternoon of screen time, or walks in our neighbourhood for an afternoon of looking out the window at places that we never used to bother to notice when the world was busy and not plagued with the virus.

It felt good to dust the isolation off our shoulders, even though we were still encased in our minivan away from other people. We drove aimlessly at first, and then we started to head towards St. Clements Cemetery in Selkirk. It seemed like a safe place to go. It had been at least a year, probably longer since I last visited my father’s side of the family who are buried at this cemetery. I’m not sure if it’s the pandemic, or the work that I’ve been doing with the Reader Bridge (probably a little of both) but I have had a real sense of longing to connect with that side of my family — to figure out where my roots are, and essentially where I come from. I don’t think that I’ll find the answers at the graveyard, but it has always been the only place that I can ever remember visiting my nana and papa. They both died when I was a baby.

When we arrived at the cemetery my daughter got scared and told us she didn’t want to go in, so her dad took her for a walk down by the river, while I ventured in to visit my relatives.

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Monday, May. 31, 2021

A few weeks ago, I convinced my partner and our daughter that we needed to leave the house for a change of scenery.

I wanted to go for a drive with no clear destination in mind. I was hoping to trade in an afternoon of screen time, or walks in our neighbourhood for an afternoon of looking out the window at places that we never used to bother to notice when the world was busy and not plagued with the virus.

It felt good to dust the isolation off our shoulders, even though we were still encased in our minivan away from other people. We drove aimlessly at first, and then we started to head towards St. Clements Cemetery in Selkirk. It seemed like a safe place to go. It had been at least a year, probably longer since I last visited my father’s side of the family who are buried at this cemetery. I’m not sure if it’s the pandemic, or the work that I’ve been doing with the Reader Bridge (probably a little of both) but I have had a real sense of longing to connect with that side of my family — to figure out where my roots are, and essentially where I come from. I don’t think that I’ll find the answers at the graveyard, but it has always been the only place that I can ever remember visiting my nana and papa. They both died when I was a baby.

When we arrived at the cemetery my daughter got scared and told us she didn’t want to go in, so her dad took her for a walk down by the river, while I ventured in to visit my relatives.

Kendra’s Walk tends teen’s shining legacy

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Kendra’s Walk tends teen’s shining legacy

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 25, 2021

The Kendra’s Walk committee from St. John’s-Ravenscourt school reached out to me to help amplify their message. They will host their 12th annual walk to raise awareness and support cancer research on Friday.

The walk was started in 2009 by Kendra McBain, a student who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, three years earlier, when she was 15. Her initial goal of starting this fundraiser was to raise enough money to create a teen room at CancerCare Manitoba.

Kendra launched the first walk — with the help of her family, friends and the St. John’s-Ravenscourt community — as a way to give back to a place where she had spent many hours of her young life. She wanted to make sure that people her age going through cancer treatment would have a comfortable place to be at CancerCare Manitoba. It was also a way to celebrate what seemed like the end of her battle. More than 2,000 people showed up, most dressed in purple, to walk in support of Kendra and her cause. They raised more than $160,000 — much more than her $10,000 goal. The proceeds were more than enough to finance the space she had dreamed of.

A few months after the walk, the McBain family found out Kendra’s treatment wasn’t successful, and the outlook was grim.

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Tuesday, May. 25, 2021

KEN GIGLIOTTI / FREE PRESS FILES
The walk was started in 2009 by Kendra McBain, a student who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

What a rush: ex-Bomber to get vaccinated in style

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What a rush: ex-Bomber to get vaccinated in style

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, May. 17, 2021

Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber fullback John Rush, a local Twitter favourite, has booked his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for May 31, and he’s making sure it’s an affair to remember.

After seeing people posting photos of themselves online, in which they are dressed in formal attire for their shot, Rush decided he would get dressed up for the occasion. He considered renting a tuxedo, then thought about a wedding gown.

“Everyone has been living in their sweatpants for the last year, so this was the perfect chance to dress up,” he said. “I am a confident cisgendered man. I have absolutely no problem wearing a dress out in public. Not everyone is afforded that opportunity.”

When Rush mentioned on Twitter that he might wear a wedding gown to receive his vaccine, he was flooded with support.

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Monday, May. 17, 2021

supplied
Former Blue Bomber John Rush with his two ‘babies’: Bailey and Bon Homme.

Waste not, want not: ‘rescue’ food for others

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Waste not, want not: ‘rescue’ food for others

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 10, 2021

There’s an agency that takes food waste from Winnipeg businesses and gives it to various agencies for people to eat.

The “food waste” is excess food that is still good to eat but can no longer be used, sold or served at a business. If not for the app, the food would likely end up in the landfill.

The Leftovers Foundation is one of Canada’s largest, tech-enabled food charities. It was started by Lourdes Juan in Calgary in 2012 and was established in Manitoba by Brandy Bobier last fall.

In the short time it’s been in operation in Winnipeg, leftovers has been taken from businesses such as St. James Burger Co., Starbucks, and Red River Co-op among others, and redirected to agencies such as the North End Women’s Centre, Rossbrook House, Bear Clan, and KaNi Kanichihk.

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Monday, May. 10, 2021

There’s an agency that takes food waste from Winnipeg businesses and gives it to various agencies for people to eat.

The “food waste” is excess food that is still good to eat but can no longer be used, sold or served at a business. If not for the app, the food would likely end up in the landfill.

The Leftovers Foundation is one of Canada’s largest, tech-enabled food charities. It was started by Lourdes Juan in Calgary in 2012 and was established in Manitoba by Brandy Bobier last fall.

In the short time it’s been in operation in Winnipeg, leftovers has been taken from businesses such as St. James Burger Co., Starbucks, and Red River Co-op among others, and redirected to agencies such as the North End Women’s Centre, Rossbrook House, Bear Clan, and KaNi Kanichihk.

Protect those on Canada’s front lines

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Protect those on Canada’s front lines

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, May. 3, 2021

On Tuesday morning, I was getting ready for work, when my phone rang with my child’s school name flashing on the screen.

Why are they calling me at 7:41 a.m.?

It was the principal. He was calling to let me know someone in my daughter’s class had tested positive for COVID-19 and the school believed my daughter had been a close contact. We needed to self-isolate immediately, and wait for more information and instructions to follow. I was annoyed and felt inconvenienced by having to self-isolate in my home with my partner and child for two weeks. Working from home with a child in tow is nearly impossible, even when she spends much of the day with eyes glued to a screen.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized my inconvenience and experience is dripping in privilege.

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Monday, May. 3, 2021

On Tuesday morning, I was getting ready for work, when my phone rang with my child’s school name flashing on the screen.

Why are they calling me at 7:41 a.m.?

It was the principal. He was calling to let me know someone in my daughter’s class had tested positive for COVID-19 and the school believed my daughter had been a close contact. We needed to self-isolate immediately, and wait for more information and instructions to follow. I was annoyed and felt inconvenienced by having to self-isolate in my home with my partner and child for two weeks. Working from home with a child in tow is nearly impossible, even when she spends much of the day with eyes glued to a screen.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized my inconvenience and experience is dripping in privilege.

Waves of grief mix into beautiful memories

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Waves of grief mix into beautiful memories

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 26, 2021

The other day, Facebook showed me an old selfie I’d taken with my Amma (Icelandic for grandma).

“Shelley, here is your most-loved photo of 2014,” read the caption, with a large button underneath inviting me to share this memory with my Facebook friends.

There we were, our heads resting together and smiling at the camera, trapped in a moment of time.

Amma died in 2015. She had the privilege of living longer than most. She had always been old for as long as I’d known her — only really advancing in age in the last decade of her life.

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Monday, Apr. 26, 2021

The other day, Facebook showed me an old selfie I’d taken with my Amma (Icelandic for grandma).

“Shelley, here is your most-loved photo of 2014,” read the caption, with a large button underneath inviting me to share this memory with my Facebook friends.

There we were, our heads resting together and smiling at the camera, trapped in a moment of time.

Amma died in 2015. She had the privilege of living longer than most. She had always been old for as long as I’d known her — only really advancing in age in the last decade of her life.

Mom-guilt be damned, I’m trying my best

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Mom-guilt be damned, I’m trying my best

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Apr. 19, 2021

One of the things I didn’t expect about having children is how much guilt I tend to take on.

It’s been especially heightened over the course of this past year, but even in a non-pandemic life I feel as though I am living in a constant state of mom-guilt. Sometimes the load is heavy and other times it’s just a dusting on my day.

No matter what, that guilt is always there.

I feel guilty about the excessive screen time my kids indulge in. I feel guilty about being short with them when they don’t hustle out the door to school, or when they don’t want to go to bed. I feel guilty when I think about all the things they are missing, or how I keep promising to make up for lost time and experiences one day. I especially feel guilty for the fact they still wholeheartedly believe in and cling to “one day” — a place where the promise of replacing lost playdates and birthday parties comes true, and gatherings are abundant.

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Monday, Apr. 19, 2021

One of the things I didn’t expect about having children is how much guilt I tend to take on.

It’s been especially heightened over the course of this past year, but even in a non-pandemic life I feel as though I am living in a constant state of mom-guilt. Sometimes the load is heavy and other times it’s just a dusting on my day.

No matter what, that guilt is always there.

I feel guilty about the excessive screen time my kids indulge in. I feel guilty about being short with them when they don’t hustle out the door to school, or when they don’t want to go to bed. I feel guilty when I think about all the things they are missing, or how I keep promising to make up for lost time and experiences one day. I especially feel guilty for the fact they still wholeheartedly believe in and cling to “one day” — a place where the promise of replacing lost playdates and birthday parties comes true, and gatherings are abundant.

Catching up with former teachers

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Catching up with former teachers

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Apr. 12, 2021

The other night, as my sister and I talked on the phone, we found ourselves discussing our Grade 6 teacher, Mr. Bergmuller.

He was one of those larger-than-life teachers who left a profound impression on us. When I really think about it, I don’t even know why. I mean this sincerely, because I can’t pinpoint why we liked him so much or why he stands out in our lives. Perhaps it’s just because he was kind and he seemed to really care about us.

Our conversation manoeuvred around nostalgia and reflection, as though we were looking at vivid memory patches attached to a faded tapestry. In succession my sisters and I moved through Carpathia School and his classroom two years apart, experiencing some of the things that he’d become known for, such as reading the Chronicles of Narnia out loud to the class, and taking notice if you were having an off day.

I once went to school late, with bleary eyes, and he pulled me aside to ask if anything was wrong. His concern was sincere, though I don’t think he expected me to burst into tears when I told him that I was upset because I didn’t like my outfit.

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Monday, Apr. 12, 2021

The other night, as my sister and I talked on the phone, we found ourselves discussing our Grade 6 teacher, Mr. Bergmuller.

He was one of those larger-than-life teachers who left a profound impression on us. When I really think about it, I don’t even know why. I mean this sincerely, because I can’t pinpoint why we liked him so much or why he stands out in our lives. Perhaps it’s just because he was kind and he seemed to really care about us.

Our conversation manoeuvred around nostalgia and reflection, as though we were looking at vivid memory patches attached to a faded tapestry. In succession my sisters and I moved through Carpathia School and his classroom two years apart, experiencing some of the things that he’d become known for, such as reading the Chronicles of Narnia out loud to the class, and taking notice if you were having an off day.

I once went to school late, with bleary eyes, and he pulled me aside to ask if anything was wrong. His concern was sincere, though I don’t think he expected me to burst into tears when I told him that I was upset because I didn’t like my outfit.

Free Press asking Manitobans of colour to join in making our storytelling more diverse, inclusive

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Free Press asking Manitobans of colour to join in making our storytelling more diverse, inclusive

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Saturday, Apr. 10, 2021

For the last three months, I’ve been spending much of my time trying to build a bridge.

I was thrilled that the Free Press turned to me to help lead this groundbreaking project. But I was also humbled and, if I’m honest, a little scared.

I wondered if I could do it. If I could actually help build and create a new connection for our newsroom and for readers to offer so much meaning and potential. I wondered if my shoulders were strong enough to help carry this forward.

But as a proud Indigenous woman who is a member of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, I knew I had to take my space offered to me in the newsroom to work towards creating a better, more inclusive Free Press for all.

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Saturday, Apr. 10, 2021

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
We need to be better at amplifying Indigenous, Black, Filipino, Indian and Asian voices. One of our goals in this project is not just to do better as a newsroom in sharing your stories, but by making space and sharing our platform with you, the readers.

Remember: you’re enough, you deserve to be happy

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Remember: you’re enough, you deserve to be happy

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, Apr. 6, 2021

A few weeks ago, I bought a bikini — a black, high-waisted two-piece with simple ruffles on the top and bottoms — online.

It looked cute on the “curvy plus” model and on the people who submitted photos of themselves wearing it on the website’s review section.

It was the unaltered photos of women of all different shapes and sizes, and their marvelling at how they looked and how good it made them feel, that convinced me to buy the suit.

Summer is coming, and I have every intention of spending as much time as I can on the beach making memories with my kids.

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Tuesday, Apr. 6, 2021

A few weeks ago, I bought a bikini — a black, high-waisted two-piece with simple ruffles on the top and bottoms — online.

It looked cute on the “curvy plus” model and on the people who submitted photos of themselves wearing it on the website’s review section.

It was the unaltered photos of women of all different shapes and sizes, and their marvelling at how they looked and how good it made them feel, that convinced me to buy the suit.

Summer is coming, and I have every intention of spending as much time as I can on the beach making memories with my kids.

Cleaning up community a uniting experience

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Cleaning up community a uniting experience

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 29, 2021

A few weeks ago, I saw a Facebook event for a North End community cleanup hosted by the Elizabeth Fry Society of Manitoba, Anishiative and Strength in the Circle. I signed up, as I was starving for a chance to do something that might make a difference, and I also wanted to break free from my bubble.

When I arrived at the society’s parking lot on Selkirk Avenue on March 20, I felt intimidated and shy. People were just starting to gather, some in reflective vests and shirts with the name and logo of the groups they are a part of, such as the Bear Clan and the Mama Bear Clan.

There were also people who, like me, weren’t part of a larger group. I’m not a member of the North End community, but the Facebook post said everyone was welcome.

Mitch Bourbonniere, a community organizer and a new friend I had met a few weeks earlier, rolled up shortly after on his motorcycle. It seemed as if every person there knew him, because they probably did.

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Monday, Mar. 29, 2021

A few weeks ago, I saw a Facebook event for a North End community cleanup hosted by the Elizabeth Fry Society of Manitoba, Anishiative and Strength in the Circle. I signed up, as I was starving for a chance to do something that might make a difference, and I also wanted to break free from my bubble.

When I arrived at the society’s parking lot on Selkirk Avenue on March 20, I felt intimidated and shy. People were just starting to gather, some in reflective vests and shirts with the name and logo of the groups they are a part of, such as the Bear Clan and the Mama Bear Clan.

There were also people who, like me, weren’t part of a larger group. I’m not a member of the North End community, but the Facebook post said everyone was welcome.

Mitch Bourbonniere, a community organizer and a new friend I had met a few weeks earlier, rolled up shortly after on his motorcycle. It seemed as if every person there knew him, because they probably did.

Pandemic’s weight an invisible burden

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Pandemic’s weight an invisible burden

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 22, 2021

Last week, I had a spare chunk of time before I had to pick up my daughter from daycare, and we were in need of fresh produce, milk and a few other things, so I headed to the grocery store.

I pushed my cart through the aisles of Superstore, passing others who were gathering their own groceries. Most were being mindful not to touch things they weren’t going to take, following arrows and maintaining physical distance from everyone else, while some paid no mind to the directional markings on the floor. It has become so normal, abiding by the COVID-19 rules, trying not to take up too much space and dodging close encounters or contact with masked strangers.

I nestled myself into an aisle of the produce department beside a table full of bananas and pulled out my phone to read my grocery list, before scanning the table for the perfect bunch. It was the most ordinary moment when suddenly I looked at the people around me and experienced this sinking feeling, a profound sense of sadness that came out of nowhere. I felt it like a sucker punch to my gut. One second I was scanning for a bunch of bananas and the next second this rush of melancholy washed over me so thoroughly, that I felt as though I might burst into tears.

Admittedly, my emotions are and always have been big, but this was something else. It was heavy and all-encompassing and in that moment, surrounded by people in the produce section, I had never felt so alone. It came from nowhere, and it arose from nothing in particular, but this sudden wave of sadness swallowed me whole.

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Monday, Mar. 22, 2021

Last week, I had a spare chunk of time before I had to pick up my daughter from daycare, and we were in need of fresh produce, milk and a few other things, so I headed to the grocery store.

I pushed my cart through the aisles of Superstore, passing others who were gathering their own groceries. Most were being mindful not to touch things they weren’t going to take, following arrows and maintaining physical distance from everyone else, while some paid no mind to the directional markings on the floor. It has become so normal, abiding by the COVID-19 rules, trying not to take up too much space and dodging close encounters or contact with masked strangers.

I nestled myself into an aisle of the produce department beside a table full of bananas and pulled out my phone to read my grocery list, before scanning the table for the perfect bunch. It was the most ordinary moment when suddenly I looked at the people around me and experienced this sinking feeling, a profound sense of sadness that came out of nowhere. I felt it like a sucker punch to my gut. One second I was scanning for a bunch of bananas and the next second this rush of melancholy washed over me so thoroughly, that I felt as though I might burst into tears.

Admittedly, my emotions are and always have been big, but this was something else. It was heavy and all-encompassing and in that moment, surrounded by people in the produce section, I had never felt so alone. It came from nowhere, and it arose from nothing in particular, but this sudden wave of sadness swallowed me whole.

Stay away from the thief of joy

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Stay away from the thief of joy

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 15, 2021

I have this bad habit of scrolling through social media and comparing myself with other people. I know logically that I am comparing my everyday experience with someone else’s manicured highlight reel, but that doesn’t stop me from doing it, and sometimes feeling lesser for it.

To be honest, I’ve never compared myself with someone else and felt good about it. Even in the instances where I thought what I had going on was better than someone else, it has never been something that has made me feel like a better person. On the contrary, it’s a dirty, filthy habit that I can’t seem to shake and sometimes robs me of joy.

The thing is, I have a great life. It’s gritty, it’s messy, and it’s often chaotic. None of it’s perfect, but it’s actually pretty good, and I am lucky. I also am aware I have many privileges that I put on display on my social-media accounts that other people may or may not be comparing themselves and their lives to. My highlight reel is lovely and carefully showcases a piece of my life that is extremely polished.

The things we see online aren’t real, and if they are, they have hints and sometimes gobs of embellishments. We have the tools at our fingertips to easily edit our faces, blurring out any sign of a pore or line and creating a distorted version of ourselves that society deems better or prettier. The filters on our social-media accounts have become so standard that it becomes a given that pictures we post online will be filtered and edited.

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Monday, Mar. 15, 2021

I have this bad habit of scrolling through social media and comparing myself with other people. I know logically that I am comparing my everyday experience with someone else’s manicured highlight reel, but that doesn’t stop me from doing it, and sometimes feeling lesser for it.

To be honest, I’ve never compared myself with someone else and felt good about it. Even in the instances where I thought what I had going on was better than someone else, it has never been something that has made me feel like a better person. On the contrary, it’s a dirty, filthy habit that I can’t seem to shake and sometimes robs me of joy.

The thing is, I have a great life. It’s gritty, it’s messy, and it’s often chaotic. None of it’s perfect, but it’s actually pretty good, and I am lucky. I also am aware I have many privileges that I put on display on my social-media accounts that other people may or may not be comparing themselves and their lives to. My highlight reel is lovely and carefully showcases a piece of my life that is extremely polished.

The things we see online aren’t real, and if they are, they have hints and sometimes gobs of embellishments. We have the tools at our fingertips to easily edit our faces, blurring out any sign of a pore or line and creating a distorted version of ourselves that society deems better or prettier. The filters on our social-media accounts have become so standard that it becomes a given that pictures we post online will be filtered and edited.

Happy memories are just not enough

Shelley Cook  4 minute read Preview

Happy memories are just not enough

Shelley Cook  4 minute read Monday, Mar. 8, 2021

Dr. Seuss Enterprises has announced it will no longer be publishing six Dr. Seuss titles because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”

There was some uproar about this. I saw many social-media posts and comments from people who thought this move by the publisher was taking things too far, and that the world has become too sensitive. Many people have a connection to Dr. Seuss because so many of us grew up with his whimsical stories and nonsensical rhymes. His work is etched into our childhood and associated to some of our greatest moments. I don’t remember a Christmas without the Grinch, and I can’t foresee ever having one, to be honest. So, I understand why people are upset. They feel like something is being taken from them.

However, warm memories and not being affected or offended personally by something isn’t enough to make it good or reason for it to withstand the test of time and societal change. Charles M. Blow from the New York Times wrote an opinion piece on the topic headlined, Six Seuss books bore bias. He begins his piece by pointing out that as a Black child in the United States, he was led to believe that Blackness was inferior. It was through toys, cartoons, children’s shows and books that he and other children had been trained and acculturated to hate themselves.

I felt those words profoundly.

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Monday, Mar. 8, 2021

Dr. Seuss Enterprises has announced it will no longer be publishing six Dr. Seuss titles because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”

There was some uproar about this. I saw many social-media posts and comments from people who thought this move by the publisher was taking things too far, and that the world has become too sensitive. Many people have a connection to Dr. Seuss because so many of us grew up with his whimsical stories and nonsensical rhymes. His work is etched into our childhood and associated to some of our greatest moments. I don’t remember a Christmas without the Grinch, and I can’t foresee ever having one, to be honest. So, I understand why people are upset. They feel like something is being taken from them.

However, warm memories and not being affected or offended personally by something isn’t enough to make it good or reason for it to withstand the test of time and societal change. Charles M. Blow from the New York Times wrote an opinion piece on the topic headlined, Six Seuss books bore bias. He begins his piece by pointing out that as a Black child in the United States, he was led to believe that Blackness was inferior. It was through toys, cartoons, children’s shows and books that he and other children had been trained and acculturated to hate themselves.

I felt those words profoundly.

Kids turn plans into beautiful chaos

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Kids turn plans into beautiful chaos

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 1, 2021

When I became a parent almost six years ago, I had this assumption of what my child would be like.

I had no basis for this, just the idea that I would cruise through motherhood with this little person who was identical to me, only smaller and cuter. Before she was even born I made grandiose claims that there would be no such thing as co-sleeping, nor an abundance of screen time in our home.

I assured everyone I knew that my child would never run wild through a restaurant or a Walmart shrieking at the top of her lungs. All her food would be made from scratch. I boasted that I wasn’t going to lose myself in motherhood.

I envisioned it perfectly.

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Monday, Mar. 1, 2021

When I became a parent almost six years ago, I had this assumption of what my child would be like.

I had no basis for this, just the idea that I would cruise through motherhood with this little person who was identical to me, only smaller and cuter. Before she was even born I made grandiose claims that there would be no such thing as co-sleeping, nor an abundance of screen time in our home.

I assured everyone I knew that my child would never run wild through a restaurant or a Walmart shrieking at the top of her lungs. All her food would be made from scratch. I boasted that I wasn’t going to lose myself in motherhood.

I envisioned it perfectly.

Memories of taking my toddler to the MD

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Memories of taking my toddler to the MD

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 22, 2021

There are things I teach my kids and there are things they teach me. For one, they have given me a new perspective on life and on the meaning and value of time. All they need to do is keep growing and changing and I’m reminded of how slowly but surely the little parts of childhood are slipping away and being replaced with a world view and life experience that is their own. Memories often look and feel different when they’ve been eroded by time.

I keep trying to capture these moments in pictures and videos and in posts in baby books and on social media. While I highlight the good, and the picture-worthy, there are other moments that aren’t so good but have given me real lessons in life and parenthood. Or, that have just been part of the journey.

I remember one time, taking my toddler for her yearly checkup. She must have been two years old. As we were making our way into the doctor’s office she had a meltdown at the entrance of the clinic. I don’t even remember what it was about, but it was one of those tantrums that filled her little body with so much rage that she thrashed around on the dirty floor and screamed as though her soul was on fire.

I couldn’t soothe her, or even scoop her up off the ground without almost dropping her as she forcefully writhed out of my grip. People in the pediatrician’s waiting room stared at us, and I felt judged even though hindsight and my own experiences tell me that most were probably empathetic to our situation.

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Monday, Feb. 22, 2021

There are things I teach my kids and there are things they teach me. For one, they have given me a new perspective on life and on the meaning and value of time. All they need to do is keep growing and changing and I’m reminded of how slowly but surely the little parts of childhood are slipping away and being replaced with a world view and life experience that is their own. Memories often look and feel different when they’ve been eroded by time.

I keep trying to capture these moments in pictures and videos and in posts in baby books and on social media. While I highlight the good, and the picture-worthy, there are other moments that aren’t so good but have given me real lessons in life and parenthood. Or, that have just been part of the journey.

I remember one time, taking my toddler for her yearly checkup. She must have been two years old. As we were making our way into the doctor’s office she had a meltdown at the entrance of the clinic. I don’t even remember what it was about, but it was one of those tantrums that filled her little body with so much rage that she thrashed around on the dirty floor and screamed as though her soul was on fire.

I couldn’t soothe her, or even scoop her up off the ground without almost dropping her as she forcefully writhed out of my grip. People in the pediatrician’s waiting room stared at us, and I felt judged even though hindsight and my own experiences tell me that most were probably empathetic to our situation.

Online group has giving spirit to spare

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Online group has giving spirit to spare

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021

When I joined my local “buy nothing” Facebook group a few months ago, I wasn’t expecting to find a community.

At most, I thought maybe I would find something of use, while having the option to give away some stuff I no longer had use for. However, I quickly discovered many of the more active members had a greater story and purpose for being involved.

One member in particular, Kimberlee (who prefers to use her first name only), navigated her way through this and other online parenting groups effortlessly. She posts items she no longer needs, asks for things her family could use and for items for other people in need.

“In January 2019, we became a family of five children overnight,” said Kimberlee, a foster mother with a large extended family, with children ranging from infant to teen (and two sets of siblings). “The way the finances are set up in the fostering community is that you get paid the following month, so everything is out of pocket initially.”

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Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021

Kimberlee, who doesn't want her last name used, has taken full advantage of a "buy nothing" Facebook site. SUPPLIED

Project helps feed students in need

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Project helps feed students in need

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 8, 2021

Years ago, when I was in college, I experienced something that will stick with me forever.

It was near the end of my last semester of the two-year creative communications program at Red River College. Graduation was so close, but at the time it seemed impossibly far away. My student line of credit was dwindling, and life outside of being a student pressed on even though school was all-encompassing.

I was in my early 30s. I lived alone in a small apartment and worked part-time weekend shifts as a casino security officer. I cycled between paying for rent, bills, food, all while paying down the line of credit I was using to cushion the shortfalls of my income. It was hard, but my experience was in no way worse than many other students. For a while, I would pick up extra overnight shifts at work as a way to supplement my income. I would wake up at 2:30 a.m., go to work for 3:15 a.m. and be out just in time to head to school for the day. My plan seemed feasible at first, but things quickly started to unravel. It turns out some hours in the day are meant for rest. I overestimated my ability to function with so little sleep.

My journalism instructor, Duncan McMonagle, noticed I had been struggling more than normal. I’d missed a couple of assignments, my work was sloppy, and the only thing I seemed to do was show up for class. He pulled me aside and asked me if I needed help. I remember it vividly, because in that moment I was seen. I never wanted to ask for help because I wasn’t sure what kind of help I even needed. I knew there were people more in need than me. My struggle felt heavy, but it wasn’t grave.

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Monday, Feb. 8, 2021

Years ago, when I was in college, I experienced something that will stick with me forever.

It was near the end of my last semester of the two-year creative communications program at Red River College. Graduation was so close, but at the time it seemed impossibly far away. My student line of credit was dwindling, and life outside of being a student pressed on even though school was all-encompassing.

I was in my early 30s. I lived alone in a small apartment and worked part-time weekend shifts as a casino security officer. I cycled between paying for rent, bills, food, all while paying down the line of credit I was using to cushion the shortfalls of my income. It was hard, but my experience was in no way worse than many other students. For a while, I would pick up extra overnight shifts at work as a way to supplement my income. I would wake up at 2:30 a.m., go to work for 3:15 a.m. and be out just in time to head to school for the day. My plan seemed feasible at first, but things quickly started to unravel. It turns out some hours in the day are meant for rest. I overestimated my ability to function with so little sleep.

My journalism instructor, Duncan McMonagle, noticed I had been struggling more than normal. I’d missed a couple of assignments, my work was sloppy, and the only thing I seemed to do was show up for class. He pulled me aside and asked me if I needed help. I remember it vividly, because in that moment I was seen. I never wanted to ask for help because I wasn’t sure what kind of help I even needed. I knew there were people more in need than me. My struggle felt heavy, but it wasn’t grave.

You’re never too old to make a change

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You’re never too old to make a change

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 1, 2021

I quit my job at the end of 2020. When I emailed my letter of resignation before Christmas, I was terrified. It was a fine place to be, it paid the bills. However, I was near the point of my career where I would need to move on, and no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t find a spot for myself.

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Monday, Feb. 1, 2021

Condos bought for tenants in need

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Condos bought for tenants in need

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 25, 2021

I was on Facebook the other day when I came across a video that my former co-worker was tagged in. Kevin Pfau and his wife, Jamie, were in a condo they had purchased that was decorated and furnished with donated items for a mom and her two children who were to move in that day.

The condo was one of two that the Pfaus bought last year for people who may not be able to afford it. The tenants they showcased in the video are a mom and her two children who were survivors of domestic violence. They were not a part of the video for privacy and safety reasons, but Kevin and Jamie wanted to make sure that everyone who helped them reach this point saw what their donations had helped to create.

A video tour of the condo showed a home outfitted with furniture, linens and laundry soap in the cupboards, dishes, and pots and pans. The couple also signed up for high-speed internet and a Netflix account to ensure the families would have everything to live in comfort.

After some research on what the tenants could afford based on income assistance, the duo set the monthly rate below that figure, to make sure their tenants would have enough money for food and expenses. I asked them if they made any income on the properties and they told me they spend about $100 a month out of pocket for expenses and bills at each home.

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Monday, Jan. 25, 2021

supplied
Kevin and Jamie Pfau

Embrace the mess is my new mantra

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Embrace the mess is my new mantra

Shelley Cook  5 minute read Monday, Jan. 18, 2021

I have a confession to make. I can’t find the surface of my dining room table, and I haven’t seen the surface of the my dining room hutch since before the pandemic started.

There are piles and piles of stuff everywhere — from toys and markers to mail and mountains of school and daycare art projects — that I haven’t had a chance to file away yet. My house is a testament to the children who live in it. In fact, right now there are 2,000 various sized water beads in a number of large containers taking up most of the surface on my coffee table. There is a laundry basket full of clean laundry in my living room, and it’s usually there, always full even after I’ve folded everything, because it is bottomless and I have learned that laundry actually never stops.

It’s amazing how the stuff adds up.

A lot of the table top spaces in my home have become a sort of graveyard for unfinished projects and activities and I teeter from not caring about the mess to caring deeply and being really bothered by it, some of which is mine. I have the greatest intentions to clean, sort, organize and give away most of the things in my home, I just need to figure out when.

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Monday, Jan. 18, 2021

I have a confession to make. I can’t find the surface of my dining room table, and I haven’t seen the surface of the my dining room hutch since before the pandemic started.

There are piles and piles of stuff everywhere — from toys and markers to mail and mountains of school and daycare art projects — that I haven’t had a chance to file away yet. My house is a testament to the children who live in it. In fact, right now there are 2,000 various sized water beads in a number of large containers taking up most of the surface on my coffee table. There is a laundry basket full of clean laundry in my living room, and it’s usually there, always full even after I’ve folded everything, because it is bottomless and I have learned that laundry actually never stops.

It’s amazing how the stuff adds up.

A lot of the table top spaces in my home have become a sort of graveyard for unfinished projects and activities and I teeter from not caring about the mess to caring deeply and being really bothered by it, some of which is mine. I have the greatest intentions to clean, sort, organize and give away most of the things in my home, I just need to figure out when.

I’m happy to share joy through my writing

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

I’m happy to share joy through my writing

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 11, 2021

Last week, I wrote about getting a SK8 Skates hoodie. My column was a little story, about how I’d wanted this hoodie ever since I was a 15-year-old kid because it’s cool and because it brought back warm feelings from that part of my life. It reminded of a silly situation that my friend Becky and I got ourselves into and the remarkable people who were so kind to us back then, namely Jai Pereira, who was one of the owners of SK8, and his partner, Alana Lowry.

The story, an ancient one that I’ve recounted more times than I can remember, was a silly little tale that I wasn’t sure would be worth writing about because of how simple it was. Would it resonate with people? Is it something that people will care about? It’s an interesting process, sharing pieces of your life in the hope someone will read it and get something from it, whether it’s just a little bit of enjoyment or something more profound.

This one was different, though.

The night before my column came out, I was anxious about it. To be fair, I usually get anxious before my columns are published, but this time my anxiety was a little bit greater. Although the story touched on the impact that Jai and Alana had on me, I debated whether or not I should have written about them. Since this would be running in the newspaper, and Winnipeg is small, there was a good chance their families would read my story.

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Monday, Jan. 11, 2021

Last week, I wrote about getting a SK8 Skates hoodie. My column was a little story, about how I’d wanted this hoodie ever since I was a 15-year-old kid because it’s cool and because it brought back warm feelings from that part of my life. It reminded of a silly situation that my friend Becky and I got ourselves into and the remarkable people who were so kind to us back then, namely Jai Pereira, who was one of the owners of SK8, and his partner, Alana Lowry.

The story, an ancient one that I’ve recounted more times than I can remember, was a silly little tale that I wasn’t sure would be worth writing about because of how simple it was. Would it resonate with people? Is it something that people will care about? It’s an interesting process, sharing pieces of your life in the hope someone will read it and get something from it, whether it’s just a little bit of enjoyment or something more profound.

This one was different, though.

The night before my column came out, I was anxious about it. To be fair, I usually get anxious before my columns are published, but this time my anxiety was a little bit greater. Although the story touched on the impact that Jai and Alana had on me, I debated whether or not I should have written about them. Since this would be running in the newspaper, and Winnipeg is small, there was a good chance their families would read my story.

Hoodie buy takes me back to my skater youth

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Hoodie buy takes me back to my skater youth

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 4, 2021

On Boxing Day, I bought myself a Sk8 Skates hoodie. I’ve wanted a black zip-up hoodie like this since I was 15, and when I saw the sale on Instagram, I thought to myself, “Now is the time to buy it.”

I’m 41 years old. I’ve never really skateboarded, I tried a few times when I was younger but I never quite got the hang of it, though I swear I landed an ollie once in the St. James Civic Centre parking lot on my friend Becky’s skateboard in the mid-’90s. I don’t think she even saw me do it, but I would hold on to that claim of fame for years. I ollied once.

Becky and I wanted so badly to be skater chicks — Bettys. She was far more invested than I, because she had a skateboard, a subscription to Thrasher magazine and she looked the part. I was what you’d call a poser. I couldn’t afford to dress the part and my parents certainly wouldn’t dream of letting me even have a skateboard because they were scared that I’d get hurt. They were probably right. And to be quite honest, I didn’t have the passion for it to defy them. I just liked the culture and wanted to be cool.

All that being said, the Sk8 hoodie still holds a lot of significance for me. Not just because I think Sk8 is a Winnipeg institution, but because back then when I was a poser kid, the guys who ran the store were really kind to me and my friend Becky and they became important parts of our awkward teenage existence. In fact, we had a super hilarious and weird friendship with them that didn’t last terribly long, but that has held a special place in my heart and my life even now.

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Monday, Jan. 4, 2021

On Boxing Day, I bought myself a Sk8 Skates hoodie. I’ve wanted a black zip-up hoodie like this since I was 15, and when I saw the sale on Instagram, I thought to myself, “Now is the time to buy it.”

I’m 41 years old. I’ve never really skateboarded, I tried a few times when I was younger but I never quite got the hang of it, though I swear I landed an ollie once in the St. James Civic Centre parking lot on my friend Becky’s skateboard in the mid-’90s. I don’t think she even saw me do it, but I would hold on to that claim of fame for years. I ollied once.

Becky and I wanted so badly to be skater chicks — Bettys. She was far more invested than I, because she had a skateboard, a subscription to Thrasher magazine and she looked the part. I was what you’d call a poser. I couldn’t afford to dress the part and my parents certainly wouldn’t dream of letting me even have a skateboard because they were scared that I’d get hurt. They were probably right. And to be quite honest, I didn’t have the passion for it to defy them. I just liked the culture and wanted to be cool.

All that being said, the Sk8 hoodie still holds a lot of significance for me. Not just because I think Sk8 is a Winnipeg institution, but because back then when I was a poser kid, the guys who ran the store were really kind to me and my friend Becky and they became important parts of our awkward teenage existence. In fact, we had a super hilarious and weird friendship with them that didn’t last terribly long, but that has held a special place in my heart and my life even now.

Sprinkle some self love on your New Year’s resolutions

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Sprinkle some self love on your New Year’s resolutions

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 28, 2020

The new year starts in a few days, and with that comes change and a clean slate. Or at least that’s what it feels like — a new beginning and a chance at a fresh start.

I don’t know how many New Year’s resolutions I’ve made throughout my life, but most of them have been about losing weight. I’m not alone in that, a quick Google search shows that losing weight is one of the top New Year’s resolutions for everyone. Like most people, I failed at achieving this year-over-year. Probably because for me it was always more of a wish than an action. Nonetheless, I stopped making resolutions a few years ago and my life is better for it.

I have always struggled with my weight and as a result I have also always struggled with my self worth. I started my first diet in elementary school and since then I have walked a fine line of disordered eating and unbalanced behaviours that aren’t healthy, and that frankly made me feel terrible both inside and out.

Every diet I’ve ever started, I have failed. Diet culture is a scam, and it’s robbing us of joy and happiness.

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Monday, Dec. 28, 2020

Odua Images
Focusing on achieving a certain body type isn't necessarily healthy.

Remembering the kindness of strangers

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Remembering the kindness of strangers

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020

The other night I was up late, making Christmas cookies.

My kids were nestled into their beds long asleep, their dad was snoring away too. It was nearing midnight and I was tired, but these are the quiet moments to myself that I savour. I stood in my kitchen rolling out dough from a new recipe I’d found online, listening to Christmas songs on my phone and sipping on a glass of Malbec.

All day I had been preoccupied with the idea that I didn’t think I’d made enough cookies. Even though we have nowhere to go, and nobody to see or even give them to, I was fixated on making more.

This Christmas is so far away from the Christmases of my childhood. Not just in time but in experiences too. Now that I’m a mother I can’t help but look back at those times from a different perspective. More precisely, from a mother’s perspective. It’s interesting, because I have my own special childhood memories, and they’re magical, but embedded in them is a reality that I learned as I grew older. A reality that some of the happiest times in my life, were some of the hardest and most straining times in my parents’ lives. This isn’t to say that they didn’t enjoy our early Christmases too. They did, but the holiday season was a heavy burden to carry some years.

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Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020

The other night I was up late, making Christmas cookies.

My kids were nestled into their beds long asleep, their dad was snoring away too. It was nearing midnight and I was tired, but these are the quiet moments to myself that I savour. I stood in my kitchen rolling out dough from a new recipe I’d found online, listening to Christmas songs on my phone and sipping on a glass of Malbec.

All day I had been preoccupied with the idea that I didn’t think I’d made enough cookies. Even though we have nowhere to go, and nobody to see or even give them to, I was fixated on making more.

This Christmas is so far away from the Christmases of my childhood. Not just in time but in experiences too. Now that I’m a mother I can’t help but look back at those times from a different perspective. More precisely, from a mother’s perspective. It’s interesting, because I have my own special childhood memories, and they’re magical, but embedded in them is a reality that I learned as I grew older. A reality that some of the happiest times in my life, were some of the hardest and most straining times in my parents’ lives. This isn’t to say that they didn’t enjoy our early Christmases too. They did, but the holiday season was a heavy burden to carry some years.

Toying with Christmas shopping season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Toying with Christmas shopping season

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 21, 2020

The other day it occurred to me that I had done what I do every Christmas. I’d put off shopping for longer than I realized.

It happens every year: December hits and there is a whole blank month ahead of me to plan for the holidays and to get my shopping done. So I usually start the month by browsing through websites, leisurely looking for the best deals on things my kids have asked for, or things I think they might like.

And then, like someone who has not been burned by this tactic every single year, I wait.

That’s right. I seldom even add things to a shopping cart, and on the off chance that I do, that’s where my purchases go to die, because I abandon them there.

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Monday, Dec. 21, 2020

The other day it occurred to me that I had done what I do every Christmas. I’d put off shopping for longer than I realized.

It happens every year: December hits and there is a whole blank month ahead of me to plan for the holidays and to get my shopping done. So I usually start the month by browsing through websites, leisurely looking for the best deals on things my kids have asked for, or things I think they might like.

And then, like someone who has not been burned by this tactic every single year, I wait.

That’s right. I seldom even add things to a shopping cart, and on the off chance that I do, that’s where my purchases go to die, because I abandon them there.

Isolation feels heavy, but we can carry it together

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Isolation feels heavy, but we can carry it together

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Dec. 14, 2020

As so many people have during the pandemic, I created a Tik Tok account.

I quickly discovered how good some of the content is. It’s funny, thoughtful, and sometimes educational. So many of the creators are genuine and they bring a perspective that’s new to me. The majority of people I follow are Gen Z kids and millennials, and let me tell you, they are smart. I’ve learned a lot from them and from this platform.

One day I was scrolling through the app and I came across a video from a man named Kevin (@kevinktqiu) who was explaining the definition of a word he had just learned: sonder. If you’ve never heard this word that’s because it’s made up from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The meaning behind this concocted word is what really struck me.

Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own — with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness. They have an epic story that continues invisibly around you with connections to thousands of other lives. You might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

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Monday, Dec. 14, 2020

As so many people have during the pandemic, I created a Tik Tok account.

I quickly discovered how good some of the content is. It’s funny, thoughtful, and sometimes educational. So many of the creators are genuine and they bring a perspective that’s new to me. The majority of people I follow are Gen Z kids and millennials, and let me tell you, they are smart. I’ve learned a lot from them and from this platform.

One day I was scrolling through the app and I came across a video from a man named Kevin (@kevinktqiu) who was explaining the definition of a word he had just learned: sonder. If you’ve never heard this word that’s because it’s made up from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The meaning behind this concocted word is what really struck me.

Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own — with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness. They have an epic story that continues invisibly around you with connections to thousands of other lives. You might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

Loss of Bay evokes heartfelt memories

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Loss of Bay evokes heartfelt memories

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Dec. 7, 2020

The closure of the downtown Bay hurts more that I imagined it would.

It seems silly to write that sentence, considering that I am mourning the loss of a department store. But, like so many other Winnipeggers, a little piece of my life and some of my greatest memories are cemented in that old building.

I admit I haven’t stepped foot in the Bay for more than a year. The last time I was there I distinctly remember being swept with a wave of sad nostalgia because it was empty and I felt like I was wandering through the brittle old concrete bones of a fallen monument.

When I was a child, we used to go to Breakfast with Santa at the Bay downtown every Christmas. It was one of the happy spots that my mom had preserved from her childhood and passed on to us. We would get there early and stand in a long line that stretched outside the Paddlewheel Restaurant on the sixth floor, for what felt like an eternity.

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Monday, Dec. 7, 2020

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
For many Winnipeggers, a little piece of their lives is cemented in that old building.

Pulling positivity from 2020’s dumpster

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Pulling positivity from 2020’s dumpster

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 30, 2020

The other day I asked people on Twitter: “What’s the best thing that’s happened to you in 2020?”

A loaded question, seeing that this year could easily be considered the worst year ever. Or, in the very least, the worst year many of us have lived through or can remember.

However, I posed this question and there were a lot of people who took time to answer it. Their responses varied dramatically, and the highlights in their lives ranged from things like simply waking up each day to adding a new skin-care routine to spending more time with the kids.

Some people found love, while others lost love, yet found an appreciation for the extra time 2020 gave them to spend with the one they lost. A couple of people bought new houses, or had babies; some got married and a few started new jobs, both near and far.

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Monday, Nov. 30, 2020

The other day I asked people on Twitter: “What’s the best thing that’s happened to you in 2020?”

A loaded question, seeing that this year could easily be considered the worst year ever. Or, in the very least, the worst year many of us have lived through or can remember.

However, I posed this question and there were a lot of people who took time to answer it. Their responses varied dramatically, and the highlights in their lives ranged from things like simply waking up each day to adding a new skin-care routine to spending more time with the kids.

Some people found love, while others lost love, yet found an appreciation for the extra time 2020 gave them to spend with the one they lost. A couple of people bought new houses, or had babies; some got married and a few started new jobs, both near and far.

Precious gift of shared memories

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Precious gift of shared memories

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 23, 2020

In September, I wrote a column about my Uncle Bill and his kidney transplant. I thought if I shared my uncle’s story, it might compel someone to go online and fill out a donor registration card or maybe even consider becoming a living donor.

I didn’t expect to find a connection to my uncle, considering he’s been gone for a little more than 28 years. He died when I was just a kid, but he made a profound impact on me.

A week after I wrote my column I got an email from a woman named Wendy McLeary. The subject line simply said “Uncle Bill.” It read:

Hi Shelley,

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Monday, Nov. 23, 2020

In September, I wrote a column about my Uncle Bill and his kidney transplant. I thought if I shared my uncle’s story, it might compel someone to go online and fill out a donor registration card or maybe even consider becoming a living donor.

I didn’t expect to find a connection to my uncle, considering he’s been gone for a little more than 28 years. He died when I was just a kid, but he made a profound impact on me.

A week after I wrote my column I got an email from a woman named Wendy McLeary. The subject line simply said “Uncle Bill.” It read:

Hi Shelley,

Changing holiday traditions not all bad

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Changing holiday traditions not all bad

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 16, 2020

The holidays are inching closer and closer — and COVID-19 numbers are spiking higher and higher. The realization that all our holiday plans are going to be different this year stings. For me, letting go of birthdays, Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween seemed easier than letting go of Christmas.

The season is steeped in tradition and so many warm memories that, year after year I try to recreate with my own kids.

We make cookies, and venture out to look at lights. We elbow our way through a crowded mall at least once so the kids get a picture with Santa. We gather with family we often only see once or twice a year, sharing food and conversation without fears of transmitting or getting an illness. One of my all-time favourite activities is watching my kids perform at their school holiday shows,

I feel a little sad, because I enjoy my traditions so much that I don’t want them to change. However, the changes are inevitable and I need to be open to that. All of us do.

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Monday, Nov. 16, 2020

Christmas can be special this year, even if it looks a little different than usual too. (Kirsty Wigglesworth / The Associated Press files)

Educators, support staff going beyond heroism

Shelley Cook  4 minute read Preview

Educators, support staff going beyond heroism

Shelley Cook  4 minute read Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020

Every day my kids get up, they get ready and they go to school. It’s the one thing that has returned to normal in their lives during this pandemic, and it’s the one thing that all three of them have told me that they’re most grateful for right now.

Obviously, going to school looks and feels different than it used to, but inside the locked-down walls and beyond the procedures and protocols, my kids — and probably so many other kids — have found a little bit of stability and normalcy and a whole lot of comfort in their lives.

I was so hesitant to send my kids back to school. I mean, I am still worried about them catching COVID and getting sick, or not getting sick but spreading it to us. It’s always in the back of my mind, but at the same time we needed to figure out the best way for our family to educate our kids in the middle of a global pandemic.

We also knew that they deserved a better education than we could’ve given them at home.

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Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Despite the procedures and protocols kids have found some stability and normalcy in going to school.

Savour the nuances of ‘normal’ in everyday life

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Savour the nuances of ‘normal’ in everyday life

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Nov. 2, 2020

I have pandemic fatigue. I’m sure, at this point, I’m not alone. It’s been a long year with so many twists and turns and unexpected changes. It’s like, the rug was pulled out from all of us last March, and we are somehow trying to find our footing and live as normal as possible when everything has changed.

It’s strange to navigate.

One of the weirdest things is realizing and measuring the risk of everything you do outside of your home. Stranger perhaps is the fact that we all have different gauges of what’s OK to do during a pandemic and what’s not OK, and it’s hard to figure where the line is on any given decision.

This year, like so many people, we opted out trick-or-treating, given that Winnipeg was on the verge of going into code red. Instead we did our best to make sure they had a good Halloween with costumes and candy, spooky (and I use that term loosely) movies, and everything else except for trick-or-treating. They were disappointed, but understanding.

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Monday, Nov. 2, 2020

I have pandemic fatigue. I’m sure, at this point, I’m not alone. It’s been a long year with so many twists and turns and unexpected changes. It’s like, the rug was pulled out from all of us last March, and we are somehow trying to find our footing and live as normal as possible when everything has changed.

It’s strange to navigate.

One of the weirdest things is realizing and measuring the risk of everything you do outside of your home. Stranger perhaps is the fact that we all have different gauges of what’s OK to do during a pandemic and what’s not OK, and it’s hard to figure where the line is on any given decision.

This year, like so many people, we opted out trick-or-treating, given that Winnipeg was on the verge of going into code red. Instead we did our best to make sure they had a good Halloween with costumes and candy, spooky (and I use that term loosely) movies, and everything else except for trick-or-treating. They were disappointed, but understanding.

Friend finds joy in career taking photographs

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Friend finds joy in career taking photographs

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Oct. 26, 2020

Ten years ago, my friend Sunny took one of the biggest gambles of her life. She decided to quit her well-paying government job of 15 years to become a photographer and start her own business, Sunny S-H Photography.

She had no way to know that her gamble would pay off, and that she would build a name for herself as a Winnipeg photographer of newborns.

On a Friday morning in the summer, we sat around the patio table in her backyard surrounded by three golden retrievers, having a socially distanced visit.

When I reached out to her, I was starved for social interaction and I think I was also longing for a little bit of hope and reassurance in the midst of all the havoc and uncertainty of the pandemic.

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Monday, Oct. 26, 2020

Ten years ago, my friend Sunny took one of the biggest gambles of her life. She decided to quit her well-paying government job of 15 years to become a photographer and start her own business, Sunny S-H Photography.

She had no way to know that her gamble would pay off, and that she would build a name for herself as a Winnipeg photographer of newborns.

On a Friday morning in the summer, we sat around the patio table in her backyard surrounded by three golden retrievers, having a socially distanced visit.

When I reached out to her, I was starved for social interaction and I think I was also longing for a little bit of hope and reassurance in the midst of all the havoc and uncertainty of the pandemic.

Cheer Board delivered magic

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Cheer Board delivered magic

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 19, 2020

Last week, the Christmas Cheer Board announced that it will be replacing the traditional Christmas hamper with food vouchers because of physical-distancing concerns and the risk to the several thousand volunteers who help the Cheer Board operate.

The Christmas Cheer Board came through for my family in a big way when I was a little kid.

Back then we didn’t have a lot, but we didn’t realize it. We lived in low-income Manitoba housing, in a neighbourhood bursting with kids. The housing complex was like its own little world.

I didn’t know it then, but my parents were barely scraping by at times. They were young and had probably bitten off more than they could chew by having three kids in the span of six years. My dad went to university and worked overnights as an orderly; my mom stayed home with us and sold Tupperware. Money was tight, but my mom is creative and frugal. She can stretch a dollar farther than anyone I know.

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Monday, Oct. 19, 2020

Last week, the Christmas Cheer Board announced that it will be replacing the traditional Christmas hamper with food vouchers because of physical-distancing concerns and the risk to the several thousand volunteers who help the Cheer Board operate.

The Christmas Cheer Board came through for my family in a big way when I was a little kid.

Back then we didn’t have a lot, but we didn’t realize it. We lived in low-income Manitoba housing, in a neighbourhood bursting with kids. The housing complex was like its own little world.

I didn’t know it then, but my parents were barely scraping by at times. They were young and had probably bitten off more than they could chew by having three kids in the span of six years. My dad went to university and worked overnights as an orderly; my mom stayed home with us and sold Tupperware. Money was tight, but my mom is creative and frugal. She can stretch a dollar farther than anyone I know.

Sorting through baggage of existence

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Sorting through baggage of existence

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020

Last month my sister moved across the country. A job opportunity came up on the West Coast and she took it. She’s always been a risk taker, unafraid of changing her entire life if the right thing came along.

I wish I was like that. I’m too scared.

For the latter part of August our mom, our other sister and I helped her clean, sort, purge and pack her belongings. There was a lot of life and memories crammed into her one bedroom apartment in St. Vital.

For someone who has no qualms about packing up and leaving for something new and different, she sure had a lot of baggage to go through before she left.

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Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020

Last month my sister moved across the country. A job opportunity came up on the West Coast and she took it. She’s always been a risk taker, unafraid of changing her entire life if the right thing came along.

I wish I was like that. I’m too scared.

For the latter part of August our mom, our other sister and I helped her clean, sort, purge and pack her belongings. There was a lot of life and memories crammed into her one bedroom apartment in St. Vital.

For someone who has no qualms about packing up and leaving for something new and different, she sure had a lot of baggage to go through before she left.

COVID test ends well but proves emotional

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

COVID test ends well but proves emotional

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Oct. 5, 2020

I went for a COVID-19 test.

It started with a tickle in my throat on a Friday evening, which progressed to a salty, raw sore throat and runny nose the following night. By Sunday, I developed a full-blown head cold, with chills, headache and body aches that aggravated the deep level of anxiety in my gut.

Could this be the novel coronavirus at work? If it is, could I be one of the people who gets really sick or even dies from it? Where did this come from? How did I get sick?

I wear a face mask. I wash my hands. I don’t go out. I’ve been really careful.

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Monday, Oct. 5, 2020

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Vehicles wait at the COVID-19 testing facility at 1284 Main St.

Mother mourns 'kind and sweet' daughter killed by truck fleeing police

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

Mother mourns 'kind and sweet' daughter killed by truck fleeing police

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2020

Jenny Dethmers was on her way to pick up her mom with her partner, her stepdaughter and their baby when their minivan was struck by a pickup truck fleeing from police in the William Whyte area on Saturday afternoon. She was pronounced dead in hospital that day.

Dethmers spent the morning decorating her house for Halloween, then called her mom, Candy Volk, and told her she was going to pick her up so she could show off her newly decorated house.

It would be the first Halloween for Dethmers' 10-month-old son, A.J. She was adamant it would be special, even if possible COVID-19 restrictions prevent kids from trick-or-treating.

That was Jenny. She was very creative, and she always went out of her way to make things special for the people she loved. She was helpful and kind, and she spoiled the people closest to her. The pandemic wasn’t going to ruin her son’s first Halloween.

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Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2020

HANDOUT / Jessica Bird Photo / The Canadian Press
Jennifer Dethmers

Heroic gift gave us seven more years with lovable Uncle Bill

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Heroic gift gave us seven more years with lovable Uncle Bill

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 28, 2020

The other day I saw a post on Facebook from someone asking for a kidney.

Right now, she wrote, her kidneys are failing her and they don’t work well enough to keep her alive without being connected to a dialysis machine four times a day.

While this machine keeps her alive, it also hinders her ability to really live.

I don’t know this person, but her post was jarring. It’s not the first post I’ve seen of someone online or in the news asking strangers to find it in themselves to help save their lives, whether it be by sharing a post, signing up to be an organ donor, or actually giving them an organ.

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Monday, Sep. 28, 2020

The other day I saw a post on Facebook from someone asking for a kidney.

Right now, she wrote, her kidneys are failing her and they don’t work well enough to keep her alive without being connected to a dialysis machine four times a day.

While this machine keeps her alive, it also hinders her ability to really live.

I don’t know this person, but her post was jarring. It’s not the first post I’ve seen of someone online or in the news asking strangers to find it in themselves to help save their lives, whether it be by sharing a post, signing up to be an organ donor, or actually giving them an organ.

Wearing orange to honour, remember the children

Shelley Cook  4 minute read Preview

Wearing orange to honour, remember the children

Shelley Cook  4 minute read Monday, Sep. 21, 2020

Orange shirt day is Sept. 30.

If you’re not familiar with this movement, the inspiration came in 2013 from a residential school survivor named Phyllis Jack Webstad, who shared the story of her first day of residential school at six years old in Williams Lake, B.C., in 1973, when her new orange shirt — bought by her grandmother — was taken away from her.

Now this is a day when we honour Indigenous children who were sent away to residential schools in Canada and learn more about the history of those schools. If you have children, you have probably received a note or bulletin from their school encouraging them to wear orange on this day.

Many residential school survivors, such as Webstad, have bravely shared their own stories and traumas so that we can learn from this stain on Canadian history. However, there are some stories that have never been shared. Many traumas were never acknowledged and many people died with this burden.

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Monday, Sep. 21, 2020

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Senator Murray Sinclair, former chair of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission launches Orange Shirt Day in 2016.The day promotes awareness of residential school history.

Daycare child proves she’s a real doll

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Daycare child proves she’s a real doll

Shelley Cook 5 minute read Monday, Sep. 14, 2020

Before the pandemic hit, when life used to be normal, my daughter went to daycare all day, her sisters went to school, and her dad and I went to work.

It’s funny how I look at that as normal, because that kind of lifestyle seems so far away now.

Anyway, before COVID-19 I would frantically rush around the house to get ready for the day. The clock felt like a time bomb, inching closer and closer to the school bell.

Our goals as a family were modest. I didn’t care if we were early, I just didn’t want to be late.

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Monday, Sep. 14, 2020

Before the pandemic hit, when life used to be normal, my daughter went to daycare all day, her sisters went to school, and her dad and I went to work.

It’s funny how I look at that as normal, because that kind of lifestyle seems so far away now.

Anyway, before COVID-19 I would frantically rush around the house to get ready for the day. The clock felt like a time bomb, inching closer and closer to the school bell.

Our goals as a family were modest. I didn’t care if we were early, I just didn’t want to be late.

Finding strength in school day memories

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

Finding strength in school day memories

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2020

School is starting in a matter of days. My kids are heading back into the classroom and I’m scared to death. I’ve been in denial about the upcoming school year since home-learning wrapped up last spring, but I don’t have much more time to be ambivalent about it.

When that bell rings and classes start in a few days, it’ll be me who will have to put on the brave face. They are ready and excited to break free from our bubble. They miss their friends and the sense of normalcy that school gives them, even if this year will be anything but normal.

I understand that longing.

I dropped out of school after failing most of Grade 10.

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Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2020

School is starting in a matter of days. My kids are heading back into the classroom and I’m scared to death. I’ve been in denial about the upcoming school year since home-learning wrapped up last spring, but I don’t have much more time to be ambivalent about it.

When that bell rings and classes start in a few days, it’ll be me who will have to put on the brave face. They are ready and excited to break free from our bubble. They miss their friends and the sense of normalcy that school gives them, even if this year will be anything but normal.

I understand that longing.

I dropped out of school after failing most of Grade 10.

A ‘hole’ lot of drama that doesn’t really matter

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

A ‘hole’ lot of drama that doesn’t really matter

Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 31, 2020

A little while ago I got my nose pierced.

I’ve wanted this piercing since I accidentally pulled out my first nose piercing about a decade ago and couldn’t get it back in, but I kept talking myself out of it. I always had a reason for why I shouldn’t do it.

I am too old. There was other stuff I could spend that money on, because there is always other stuff I can spend my money on, and I didn’t want people to see this as a symbol of me having a mid-life crisis.

I mean, they probably wouldn’t be wrong.

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Monday, Aug. 31, 2020

A little while ago I got my nose pierced.

I’ve wanted this piercing since I accidentally pulled out my first nose piercing about a decade ago and couldn’t get it back in, but I kept talking myself out of it. I always had a reason for why I shouldn’t do it.

I am too old. There was other stuff I could spend that money on, because there is always other stuff I can spend my money on, and I didn’t want people to see this as a symbol of me having a mid-life crisis.

I mean, they probably wouldn’t be wrong.

Check mark on my bucket list and dream come true

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Preview

Check mark on my bucket list and dream come true

Shelley Cook 6 minute read Monday, Aug. 24, 2020

A few weeks ago I took my kids to the beach.

It was kind of cold and, if I’m speaking frankly, I didn’t really want to be there, because it didn’t seem like a beach day. But I promised my kids that we would go, and I always try to keep my promises to my kids. So we headed to Birds Hill on a cloudy July day with tiny raindrops spitting on us on and off and we turned the day into a beach day.

I gave it my all not to shiver violently in the water as the kids splashed around until their lips turned blue. It was uncomfortable, but they were making memories and having a good time. I kept bribing them with candy to get out and take a little break in our beach tent so we could all wrap ourselves in blankets and be warm.

They took me up on my offer about half the time.

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Monday, Aug. 24, 2020

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Beach-goers enjoy the great weather at Bird’s Hill Park Sunday, July 26, 2020. .

Reporter:?

Loving my body unconditionally

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Loving my body unconditionally

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Sunday, Jun. 28, 2015

After I had Riel, the confidence and empowerment that I felt were like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

I remember getting out of the shower one morning and looking at my naked body in the mirror -- my saggy belly, my engorged breasts, my thick thighs -- and I remember thinking to myself how strong and powerful my body was after what it had been through.

It's weird, and I can't explain it, but for a short time after giving birth to Riel I experienced complete and total happiness with my body. It was a temple, a tank, a beacon of life. For some reason, I felt nearly perfect. The meaty reflection staring back at me in the mirror was one that had not only survived childbirth, it was like a trophy I had earned.

 

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Sunday, Jun. 28, 2015

Submitted photo
Shelley Cook with her daughter, Riel.

Turns out happiness isn’t in my pant size

By Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Turns out happiness isn’t in my pant size

By Shelley Cook 5 minute read Sunday, Apr. 14, 2013

I used to tell myself, "If only I could lose xx pounds, everything would be better..."

I lost those pounds and life is better, but not because I lost the weight. In fact, the weight loss has very little, if anything, to do with my happiness.

I'm happy because I have come to a point in my life where I accept myself and all of the things that make me "Flawsome" (Note: That's a Tyra Banks term, and I think it's perfect.) I'm happy because I love myself.

I had a revelation last summer while looking at myself in the mirror. As I stood there examining all of my flaws, I saw the person staring back at me as someone I had bullied and berated for years.

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Sunday, Apr. 14, 2013

Tribune Media MCT
For those who follow the Chinese zodiac, the year of the snake begins Feb. 10. Some ways to incorporate the symbol of the year into your wardrobe, with no harm done to any living creature include these 7 For All Mankind the skinny laser snake jeans, $198 from Amazon.com. (Amazon.com via Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Cold-case task force not official

By Shelley Cook and Darrin Bauming 4 minute read Preview

Cold-case task force not official

By Shelley Cook and Darrin Bauming 4 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010

More than a year after it was announced, the Manitoba task force on missing and murdered women still does not officially exist.

An access to information request made to Manitoba Justice revealed "a document to formalize the Integrated Task Force has not yet been completed" as of Oct. 19, 2010.

Manitoba Justice also refused to release any establishing documents related to the task force including an annual budget, a mission statement and the names or position titles of the officers on the task force.

That contradicts a news release the Manitoba government put out 15 months ago that said "the province, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) have formally established a task force to review cases involving missing and murdered women."

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Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010

Matt Bushby photo
Claudette Osborne with her son Iziah Bushby in 2007. Her fiancee, Matt Bushby, feels out of the loop with regard to the ongoing investigation into her disappearance.

Manitoba Olympic torch celebrations set

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Preview

Manitoba Olympic torch celebrations set

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

With the Olympic torch arriving back in Manitoba on Tuesday, there will be two Olympic celebrations taking place.

Day 68 of the Olympic torch relay kicks off with a celebration in Steinbach, after the torch arrives in the province from Kenora.

Organizers say the celebration will take place at the Clearspring Centre parking lot from 10 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m.

The community torchbearer will be Special Olympian Lennie Plett, who will run the final 300 metres of the Steinbach leg of the relay and then light the 1.3-metre-high celebration cauldron on the event stage.

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Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

Brent Linton / Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Dakota Sagutch, 16, and Kailie Keast, 17, pass the torch at the Terry Fox Memorial Lookout to start the Thunder Bay, Ontario leg of the Olympic torch relay Sunday.

He’s more than a torchbearer

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

He’s more than a torchbearer

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

Winnipeg's Olympic torch celebrations will end up in the hands of a kid -- but he's not just any kid.

Noah Palansky, 13, has been named Winnipeg's official Olympic torchbearer when the flame hits the city Tuesday. The honour means he will run the last 300 metres of the Winnipeg Olympic relay, lighting the cauldron at The Forks at 7 p.m. and kicking off a community celebration.

Noah is like many youths, in that he loves hockey, radio station Hot-103, animated series The Simpsons and video games. The Grade 8 student from Gray Academy of Jewish Education has a dog named Crosby -- namesake of his mom's favourite hockey player, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins -- and his favourite colour is blue.

One more thing you should know about Noah: In the last two years he's raised more than $60,000 for CancerCare Manitoba.

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Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Noah Palansky, 13, was named Winnipeg's official torchbearer. Thanks to his fundraising efforts, Noah will have the honour of carrying the torch during its final leg through the city.

An ice place to visit

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

An ice place to visit

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

SELKIRK -- While most people hide from the cold and try to stay warm, there is a strange breed of Manitobans whose enthusiasm rises as the temperature drops.

When people ask, "Cold enough for you?" they typically answer, "Not yet." They want water to freeze as hard as pavement.

Parka-clad examples of these winter contrarians can be found huddled in a tiny winter village made up of dozens of ice shacks on the frozen Red River at Selkirk. The ice here is 13 inches thick, Dave Simpson says approvingly.

Simpson, 40, started ice fishing with his dad when he was 11 and he's passed on his love of the sport to the next generation. He's been ice fishing with his own boys, Kieran, 5, and Riley, 3, for the last three years.

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Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA
Ice fishing shacks on the Red River south of Selkirk.

Bethlehem flame lights Ukrainian Christmas

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Preview

Bethlehem flame lights Ukrainian Christmas

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009

The Bethlehem Peace Light has come to Winnipeg.

The flickering flame, fetched every year by a child from the grotto where Christ is said to have been born, travelled through Europe and the U.S. before entering Canada, local organizer Oksana Shulakewyck said.

"The light signifies hope, peace, warmth, tranquillity and love for all the people in the world," she said, noting that the flame has been burning since November.

The light, and the message behind it, will be shared Jan. 3 at 9:30 a.m. at a service at the Saints Volodymyr and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, at McGregor Street and Flora Avenue.

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Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009

PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA
Oksana Shulakewyck (from left), Right Rev. Mitrat Michael Buyachok and Marta Hnatiw show off flame at cathedral Wednesday.

Aboriginal artist earns unique Olympic spotlight

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Aboriginal artist earns unique Olympic spotlight

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009

Since she was old enough to pick up a paintbrush, Winnipegger Jackie Traverse knew she would be an artist. Her destiny was confirmed Monday when she received national honours for art that will be displayed at the Vancouver Olympics.

The 40-year-old mother of two daughters is the only Manitoban Coca-Cola selected in their Aboriginal Art Bottle Program.

The program will showcase the work of 15 aboriginal artists from across Canada who created art from giant-sized Coca-Cola bottles.

Traverse, who is of Anishinabe descent, said she was inspired to paint her bottle, entitled Nokomis Mikinaak -- Mother Turtle, from one of seven sacred aboriginal teachings. Her bottle, which is about two metres tall, will be unveiled at The Forks National Historic Site on Jan. 5.

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Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009

DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Jackie Traverse says the inspiration for her art comes from her life experiences.

City snowplowing map to go online

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

City snowplowing map to go online

Shelley Cook 3 minute read Monday, Dec. 28, 2009

During the next big snowfall, up-to-date information on Winnipeg's snowplowing will be only a click away.

The public will have access to a new web-based system that maps the progress of the big machines that clear snow from streets, city spokeswoman Michelle Bailey said.

The computerized snow-clearing map is already up and running, but it's currently being tested by 311 operators before the public gets a peek. Wide-open access to the map will begin during the next heavy snowfall, Bailey said.

"Being able to provide that information online keeps people less in the dark," she said.

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Monday, Dec. 28, 2009

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The city's winter parking bans are meant to keep streets free of vehicles so snow-clearing equipment can operate unhindered after a snowstorm.

For some, Christmas like any other day

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

For some, Christmas like any other day

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

FOR most Manitobans, Friday was a day to celebrate Christmas, exchanging gifts and feasting on a turkey dinner with loved ones. However, for some, Dec. 25 is just another day.

According to a 2001 Statistics Canada poll, more than a quarter of Winnipeggers do not identify themselves as Christian -- mainly people with no religious affiliation.

Some Winnipeggers who don't follow Jesus enthusiastically embrace Santa anyway, but not Kien Dang, 31.

He has never celebrated Christmas, but he doesn't feel like he's missing anything, since he doesn't really know what it's like to partake in traditional Christmas festivities.

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Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

FOR most Manitobans, Friday was a day to celebrate Christmas, exchanging gifts and feasting on a turkey dinner with loved ones. However, for some, Dec. 25 is just another day.

According to a 2001 Statistics Canada poll, more than a quarter of Winnipeggers do not identify themselves as Christian -- mainly people with no religious affiliation.

Some Winnipeggers who don't follow Jesus enthusiastically embrace Santa anyway, but not Kien Dang, 31.

He has never celebrated Christmas, but he doesn't feel like he's missing anything, since he doesn't really know what it's like to partake in traditional Christmas festivities.

Storms deliver a nasty present

By Jen Skerritt and Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Storms deliver a nasty present

By Jen Skerritt and Shelley Cook 4 minute read Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

Grab your shovels, it's time to dig out.

Forecasters say the worst is over and the severe winter storm that walloped southern Manitoba should taper off this morning.

The good news comes a day late for Manitobans whose Christmas Day travel plans were stymied by a blustery storm system that dumped between 10 and 20 centimetres of snow on Winnipeg and across the Red River Valley. The severe weather shut down travel past the Manitoba/U.S. border, prompted flight delays and cancellations and caused slippery road conditions that killed two Manitobans and sent many other motorists sliding into snow-packed ditches.

"It's the time of year when there's a lot of people travelling," said Environment Canada meteorologist Curtis Downie. "It's definitely bad timing."

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Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

Did grief spark auto thefts?

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Preview

Did grief spark auto thefts?

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

THE recent spike in auto thefts in Winnipeg may be connected with the tragic death of the city's 26th homicide victim of the year, Jessie McKenzie.

Liz Wolfe, program manager for the Empowering Justice program at New Directions, said McKenzie was a well-loved friend of many of the boys in her program, including Level-4 auto offenders.

The 17-year-old was fatally stabbed in a Main Street bus shelter on Dec. 5 after apparently trying to intervene in a domestic dispute.

Wolfe said many of the boys, ranging in age from 15 to 19, didn't know how to react to McKenzie's sudden and violent death.

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Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

THE recent spike in auto thefts in Winnipeg may be connected with the tragic death of the city's 26th homicide victim of the year, Jessie McKenzie.

Liz Wolfe, program manager for the Empowering Justice program at New Directions, said McKenzie was a well-loved friend of many of the boys in her program, including Level-4 auto offenders.

The 17-year-old was fatally stabbed in a Main Street bus shelter on Dec. 5 after apparently trying to intervene in a domestic dispute.

Wolfe said many of the boys, ranging in age from 15 to 19, didn't know how to react to McKenzie's sudden and violent death.

Two Manitobans killed in crashes

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Two Manitobans killed in crashes

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

TWO people died on Christmas Eve in separate crashes on icy roads north of Winnipeg.

A 22-year-old Winnipeg woman was killed on Highway 8 after the sport utility vehicle in which she was a passenger passed another vehicle, then fish-tailed and rolled.

Earlier in the day, a 75-year-old St. Andrews man died when his car collided with another car and then a pickup truck on Highway 9 south of Lockport.

The names of both victims have not been released while RCMP notify their families.

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Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009

Santa pays special visit to excited kids in north

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Preview

Santa pays special visit to excited kids in north

By Shelley Cook 4 minute read Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009

RED SUCKER LAKE -- Before gearing up for his busiest night of the year, Santa Claus paid a visit to thousands of lucky First Nations children from remote northern Manitoba communities Wednesday.

Stocked with 3,000 bags of goodies, Santa boarded Santa's Express -- a six-seater Merlin aircraft -- with his helpers, Grand Chief David Harper and event co-ordinator Dave Spence from the northern Manitoba chiefs organization.

"We did this so that we could bring Santa to the kids," said Harper, who has three children of his own.

"Unlike kids who live in the city, or in drive-in communities, these kids are isolated," he said.

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Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009

KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Santa and Grand Chief David Harper hand boxes of goodies to Perimeter Airways pilot Trevor Ryder.

Trying to change the world changes you

By Shelley Cook 5 minute read Preview

Trying to change the world changes you

By Shelley Cook 5 minute read Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009

Three years ago, I decided I was going to change the world.

Inspired by my first semester of university, and all of the new-found knowledge and insight I had acquired in those four months, I decided I needed to do something to help others in need.

"I'm going to feed the hungry," I thought. "That's a good place to start."

During my Christmas break that year, I called the volunteer co-ordinator at Winnipeg Harvest, Gary McGhee, and signed up for what I thought was going to be a temporary gig.

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Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009

JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA
Harvest volunteer Edwina Thomas, right, with Free Press intern Shelley Cook.

Fundraising burst pushes United Way closer to goal

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Fundraising burst pushes United Way closer to goal

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009

After what chairman Jeff Zabudsky called "four unprecedented $100,000 days," the United Way is getting closer to its $18.2-million target.

Following a plea for donations five days ago, the agency was overwhelmed with the generosity of Winnipeggers and has reached 95 per cent of its goal, he said.

With the mid-January deadline looming, he hopes the momentum continues. "It's not just about meeting the goal, it's about meeting the need," he said.

Poverty reduction, healthy neighbourhoods and supporting Winnipeg youth are the three key priorities of the United Way.

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Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009

RUTH.BONNEVILLE@FREEPRESS.MB.CA
Millie Anderson works at Oyate Tipi Cumini Yape, which distributes used furnishings to women in need.

Hair today, rink tomorrow

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Hair today, rink tomorrow

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009

Wearing a parka and heavy-duty snow boots, shop owner Edward Carriere was icing "an NHL-sized rink" behind the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre.

After enlisting the help of Claudia Venevongsa, 10, the hair salon owner spoke excitedly about the neighbourhood children's response to his efforts.

"The amount of people and kids that are coming out has really changed the feeling of the neighbourhood."

Carriere took it upon himself to change the formerly dismal rink three years ago because he was frustrated by seeing area children with nothing to do.

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Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009

Wearing a parka and heavy-duty snow boots, shop owner Edward Carriere was icing "an NHL-sized rink" behind the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre.

After enlisting the help of Claudia Venevongsa, 10, the hair salon owner spoke excitedly about the neighbourhood children's response to his efforts.

"The amount of people and kids that are coming out has really changed the feeling of the neighbourhood."

Carriere took it upon himself to change the formerly dismal rink three years ago because he was frustrated by seeing area children with nothing to do.

United Way falling short of goal

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

United Way falling short of goal

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Friday, Dec. 18, 2009

Hundreds of kids who frequent Rossbrook House are counting on Winnipeggers digging a little deeper into their pockets this year.

The inner-city drop-in is one of the United Way's sponsored agencies, but with only a couple of weeks left until its annual fundraising deadline, the city-wide charity is falling $1.5 million short of its $18.2-million goal.

Jeff Zabudsky, the 2009 campaign chairman for the United Way, said if it doesn't reach its goal, this will be the first time in the organization's 44-year history a campaign will raise less money than the previous year. Last year, the United Way met its goal of $17.9 million. Zabudsky said the United Way's fundraising goals are based on what it will cost to maintain an essential network of social programs and services in Winnipeg.

He said he is amazed by the generosity of Winnipeggers. However, tough economic times have made this year an especially difficult one for the people who use United Way agencies.

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Friday, Dec. 18, 2009

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Free transit to return on New Year’s Eve

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Preview

Free transit to return on New Year’s Eve

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Friday, Dec. 18, 2009

WINNIPEG Transit is again partnering with Molson Coors Canada to offer free transit service to city residents on New Year's Eve.

The "Taking You Home for the Holidays" initiative, which will offer free rides for all regular and Handi-Transit riders on Dec. 31, will run all day, with the last bus departing from downtown at 1:38 a.m. It's the second year in a row for the service.

Deputy Mayor Justin Swandel said that this initiative will help keep the streets safer on New Year's EveHe encouraged Winnipeggers who plan on going out on New Year's Eve to "make the right choice" and not drive after drinking.

Patrol Sargent Damian Turner, the impaired driving counter-measures co-ordinator with the Winnipeg Police Service, urged the public to consider the cost of an impaired-driving charge compared to using a safe alternative like the free transit service, Operation Red Nose or a cab.

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Friday, Dec. 18, 2009

WINNIPEG Transit is again partnering with Molson Coors Canada to offer free transit service to city residents on New Year's Eve.

The "Taking You Home for the Holidays" initiative, which will offer free rides for all regular and Handi-Transit riders on Dec. 31, will run all day, with the last bus departing from downtown at 1:38 a.m. It's the second year in a row for the service.

Deputy Mayor Justin Swandel said that this initiative will help keep the streets safer on New Year's EveHe encouraged Winnipeggers who plan on going out on New Year's Eve to "make the right choice" and not drive after drinking.

Patrol Sargent Damian Turner, the impaired driving counter-measures co-ordinator with the Winnipeg Police Service, urged the public to consider the cost of an impaired-driving charge compared to using a safe alternative like the free transit service, Operation Red Nose or a cab.

Bundle up, enjoy Winnipeg winter

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Preview

Bundle up, enjoy Winnipeg winter

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009

Kevin Walters of Manitoba Homecoming 2010 wants Winnipeggers to bundle up in January and February for a 10-week event that will celebrate the frosty Winnipeg winter.

Walters, along with Festival du Voyageur, The Forks and Manitoba Lotteries Corp., launched Saison Voyageur Wednesday afternoon at McPhillips Street Station Casino.

The event offers Winnipeggers and visitors two months of winter activities is an effort to brand Winnipeg's winter season as a destination.

Walters said Saison Voyageur will be a way for Winnipeggers to enjoy the notorious winter and show the rest of the country that "we don't just sit around and hide in our basements in January and February, but that we will come out and enjoy the winter, and celebrate the winter."

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Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009

Kevin Walters of Manitoba Homecoming 2010 wants Winnipeggers to bundle up in January and February for a 10-week event that will celebrate the frosty Winnipeg winter.

Walters, along with Festival du Voyageur, The Forks and Manitoba Lotteries Corp., launched Saison Voyageur Wednesday afternoon at McPhillips Street Station Casino.

The event offers Winnipeggers and visitors two months of winter activities is an effort to brand Winnipeg's winter season as a destination.

Walters said Saison Voyageur will be a way for Winnipeggers to enjoy the notorious winter and show the rest of the country that "we don't just sit around and hide in our basements in January and February, but that we will come out and enjoy the winter, and celebrate the winter."

Students give teachers a lesson with their powerful song mosaic

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Preview

Students give teachers a lesson with their powerful song mosaic

By Shelley Cook 3 minute read Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009

GUIDANCE counsellor Ryan Miller wanted to teach Grade 4 and 5 students about social justice in a way that would be fun, so he did it through music.

"I wanted to give them a voice," said Miller, who has a musical background.

After enlisting some nine- and 10-year-old students from Brooklands School, Miller applied for and received an Equity and Social Justice Initiative grant from the Manitoba Teachers' Society to create a song mosaic called Listen. A song mosaic is a song that is arranged by taking contributions from a number of performers to create one song.

The powerful ballad that explains issues of social justice through the minds of children had a big impact on Miller and the rest of the teachers at Brooklands School when it was unveiled at a school assembly Monday.

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Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009

PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA
Brooklands School counsellor Ryan Miller (centre), with students Dylan Kearney (left) and Sarah MacDonald, received a grant to create a song mosaic.

Cold snap boosts towing firms

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Preview

Cold snap boosts towing firms

By Shelley Cook 2 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009

IN the midst of a bitter cold snap, some Winnipeggers are finding they really need a boost.

Actually, their vehicles do.

"As soon as there's a slight change in weather, our call volumes go up," Sheldon Sass, operations manager for Dr. Hook Towing Services, said Monday as the temperature reached a high of just -19 C by mid-afternoon.

Dr. Hook has been swamped with an average of 450 to 600 calls a day from people whose vehicles won't start or who've left their vehicles running and then locked themselves out.

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Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009

DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS (December 14, 2009) Immobilized car Monday afternoon. For potential story about cars getting stuck and needing tows in the winter.